She reached out a hand toward him and he grasped it in his. “I do love you, Benjamin,” she said and then fell asleep.
She awakened to a sliver of early morning sun drifting through the window. Benjamin sat slumped in the chair, looking incredibly handsome and equally uncomfortable as he slept.
Her headache was gone and she felt ready to get out of here, ready to face life with all its joy and with all its heartache.
As she looked at Benjamin her heart swelled as for the first time; she truly allowed herself to embrace all that was in her heart for him. Love. It fluttered through her with sweet warmth, filling up all the cold, empty places in her soul.
She gripped the charm around her neck and held tight. She would never forget the baby girl she’d lost, would always have an edge of grief where Mary was concerned. But she couldn’t allow that tragedy to define who she was, to determine her future.
Benjamin’s eyes fluttered open and for a moment she wanted to drown in the brown depths as he gazed at her. He straightened in the chair and quickly raked a hand through his tousled hair. “Good morning. How are you feeling?”
“Ready to get out of here and get on with my life,” she replied.
“I had Tom take your car back to the ranch,” he said as he stood. “I’ll just get Dr. Drake in here and see if you’re ready to be released.”
Before she could stop him, he disappeared out the door. A niggle of doubt shot through her as she got up from the bed and headed for the bathroom.
Maybe he’d decided she was just too much trouble. He’d been emotional last night, but now he’d seemed a bit detached, as if he’d already moved on in his mind.
She changed into her clothes and checked her wrists, grateful that they looked less raw this morning. She finger-combed her hair and rinsed her mouth, then returned to the room to wait for Dr. Drake to come in and release her.
Benjamin came back through the door. “Looks like you’re all ready to take off,” he said as he leaned against the far wall.
“I told you, I’m ready for a fresh stab at life.” She got up from the bed and took a step toward him.
He jammed his hands in his pockets, his expression unreadable. “You should be back on the road within an hour or so.”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking about that. Being locked in that shed for hours, I did a lot of thinking.” She took another step toward him, her heart suddenly beating almost painfully fast. “I thought about the fact that we’ve both suffered from loss, me with my daughter and you with your sister. I grieved for both of us and then realized how silly I’d been to try to protect myself from life…from love. I do love you, Benjamin, with all my heart.”
His eyes lightened just a touch and he shoved himself off the wall. “Yeah, you told me that last night but I figured it was the result of whatever drug Dr. Drake might have given you.”
She smiled. “He didn’t give me any drugs. I meant what I said. I love you, and if it’s not too late I want to be a part of your life. I didn’t think I needed anyone, but I need you. I need my snuggle buddy.”
He seemed to freeze in place. “Are you sure you don’t feel that way because I pulled you out of that shed? Because of some misplaced sense of gratitude?”
“Benjamin, I loved you when I got into my car to leave Black Rock. I loved you the night we made love. I feel like I was born loving you and that when I die, I’ll feel the same way.” She took another two steps forward, standing close enough to him that she could feel the heat radiating from him, smell the scent that made her think of warm male and home.
“I was afraid, that’s why I was running away. I was afraid to believe that I deserved to be happy, but while I was sitting in that shed I knew I deserved happiness, that I deserve you.”
He had her in his arms before her heart beat a second time. “I’ll make you happy, Edie,” he said and his eyes shone with a passion that nearly stole her breath away. “I love you, Edie, and I can’t think of anyone I want more by my side for the rest of my life.”
His lips descended on hers in a kiss that tasted of shared sunsets and fiery passion and love, sweet love. This was where she belonged, in Benjamin’s life, in his strong arms.
When the kiss ended he reached out and touched the charm around her neck. “It’s okay if you don’t want to have children,” he said. “I’ll understand if that’s what you choose.”
He took her breath away. She knew that having a family was important to him and the fact that he was willing to make this sacrifice for her only spoke of the depth of his love.
She placed a hand on his cheek and smiled. “No way. We’re going to fill that ranch house full of kids. Mary would have wanted lots of brothers and sisters.”
He kissed her again and the kiss was interrupted by a deep clearing of a throat. They sprang apart to see Dr. Drake standing in the doorway. “Well, I guess I don’t have to worry about her being in good hands,” he said drily.
“Trust me, Doc, she’s in the best of hands,” Benjamin said as he pulled her against his side.
“Edie, you’re good to go,” Dr. Drake said.
“Great, then let’s leave,” she said to Benjamin. She was ready to start a new life with him.
They left the hospital and stepped out into the cool autumn morning sunshine. Once again Benjamin pulled her into his arms, his eyes filled with love and more than a touch of amusement. “I can’t believe we owe all this to Walt and his space aliens.”
“Maybe that means this was written in the stars,” she said.
“So, you’re willing to hitch your star to a full-time rancher?” he asked. “I’m not sure what I am without my badge.”
She smiled up at him. “Oh, Benjamin, I’d hitch my star to you no matter what you did. I know what lies beneath your badge—a man with honor and compassion, the man I love with all my heart.” She backed out of his arms. “Now, are you going to make me stand around in this hospital parking lot all day or are we going to the ranch and start practicing for those babies we’re going to make?”
She laughed in delight as his eyes sparked with a fiery need and he tugged her toward his truck and into the future that she knew would be filled with laughter and passion and love.
Epilogue
“I still think we should have done corn bread stuffing,” Poppy said as he and Margaret worked to stuff the giant Thanksgiving turkey.
“Sage dressing is traditional,” Margaret said, her voice brooking no argument.
Edie smiled as she stood at the window and watched Benjamin as he approached the house from the pasture. It had been two months since the day she’d left the hospital, and in that two months much had occurred.
Benjamin had driven with her to Topeka to pack her belongings and bring them back to his place. Margaret had moved out of the cottage and into Poppy’s house and the two seemed satisfied with their slightly contentious, but very caring companionship.
Benjamin still wore his badge, although he’d told his brother that he was resigning in the spring. For Edie, the past two months had been magic. Her love for Benjamin had simply grown deeper, more profound, with each day that had passed.
All the facts of Josh’s crimes had come to light. Jeffrey Allen was cooperating with authorities, hoping to get a lighter sentence when he came to trial.
Josh had provided the body parts for Jeffrey’s experiments with the understanding that he would share in whatever proceeds Jeffrey eventually made. It had been Josh who had beaten Walt in the cemetery, an attempt to scare the old man into leaving things alone. It had also been Josh who had shot at them in the woods when he’d been burying the botched experiments.
Pure and simple it had been rage and greed that had driven Josh, and Edie was comforted by the fact that he would be in prison for a very long time to come.
Later this evening Tom and his fiancée, Peyton, were coming for dinner, as was Caleb and his fiancée, Portia. They had invited Jacob, but Benjamin had warned her that he probably wouldn’t show
up, that he’d prefer his isolation in the small cabin.
The front door opened and Benjamin came in, as always his face lighting up at the sight of her. He pulled her into his arms for a welcome kiss and then smiled as he heard Poppy and Margaret arguing about sweet potatoes. “I hear that our master chefs are at it again.”
“At least we can be thankful to know that the dinner is probably going to be amazing,” she replied.
“It will be nice to have everyone here,” he said, but his eyes darkened just a bit and she knew he was thinking about the two who would be missing—Jacob, who for some terrible reason that he refused to discuss had isolated himself from life, and of course, Brittany.
The darkness in his eyes lasted only a moment and then was gone, replaced by the light of love as he gazed at her. “I have a lot of things to be thankful for this year, and the main one is you.”
As his lips met hers, her heart swelled with her own thanksgiving, happy that she’d been smart enough to open her heart to happiness, to love.
He was escalating his timeline.
When their captor brought in the fourth woman, Brittany realized the last two had been taken within a short span of time. She recognized the latest victim as Casey Teasdale, a young woman who worked as a receptionist in the dental office.
The masked man whistled as he carried the unconscious woman into the cell across from Brittany. Both Jennifer and Suzy went crazy at the sight of the new woman, one begging and the other cursing the man who held them.
Brittany sat silently, watching his every move, looking for something that might help her identify the man behind the mask. But as always, nothing he did led to an identification.
He locked the door of the cell where he’d placed Casey and then headed back toward the door of the barn where they were being kept. He stopped in front of Brittany’s enclosure and she felt his sick energy, his excitement as he looked at her.
“Almost time,” he said. “I only need to add one more to my collection and then the games will begin.” He began to whistle again as he left the building.
Brittany stared after him, knowing that time was running out for her, that time was running out for them all.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7962-3
COWBOY DEPUTY
Copyright © 2011 by Carla Bracale
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*The Delaney Heirs
**Cherokee Corners
†Wild West Bodyguards
††Lawmen of Black Rock
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Epilogue
Cowboy Deputy Page 16