by Ava Walsh
“Yeah, that is her way, isn’t it?”
“Ethan, Lindsay. You’re here.” My mother waves us over. As we walk in her direction, her eyes drop to my hand in Lindsay’s. She meets my gaze, raising her brows in question.
“Hi, mom.”
“Hi, Mrs. Taylor,” Lindsay says timidly.
My mother gives her a smile and pulls her in for a hug. She has always loved Lindsay. She practically lived with us, as she and Amanda were inseparable as kids. “Hello, dear. How are you? And how’s that little girl of yours? You must bring her over to the house and introduce her to Edward and me. You know we love you, dear.”
Lindsay fidgets with her dress, looking away from my mother. “We’re both fine. I’ll try and arrange a visit.”
I frown, studying Lindsay. She’s never been nervous around my family before. What’s gotten into her? “Where’s Amanda?” I ask.
“I have no idea. She arrived with Nathan but then she disappeared. I can’t get her on her phone.”
“I see.” I whip out my phone. Perhaps I will have better luck. I want us to get this shindig underway and done so I can pop the question to Lindsay. I won’t do it during my sister’s dinner, of course. I’ll wait until I take Lindsay home.
“Ethan?” I’m relieved when Amanda answers.
“Hey, baby sis. Where the hell are you? Everyone is here except you. This is your party, get your ass here.” I frown when I’m met with silence. “Amanda?”
“Is Lindsay there?”
“She is.” Amanda doesn’t sound right. Now I’m starting to worry. “Are you alright?”
“Uh, yeah. Put Lindsay on the phone, will you?”
I hand the phone to Lindsay, who looks at me enquiringly. I shrug. It must be a female thing. I listen to the one-sided conversation, watching the expressions play across Lindsay’s face. Something is definitely wrong.
“Okay, Amanda, just calm down. I know, honey. Stay where you are. I’m coming.” Lindsay hangs up and hands me the phone. “She’s in the restroom. I’m going to her.”
“I’ll come too,” my mom says, her tone filled with concern.
“Um, she asked me to come alone.” Lindsay shrugs apologetically and moves off.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask, quietly.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” mom responds.
I glance toward Nathan suspiciously. He’s chatting animatedly to a group of people who seem quite bored. He’s probably boasting about something or another, the braggart.
“So, what’s going on with you and Lindsay? She’s a good girl, you know.”
My eyes shift to my mother. “I know she is. Why does it sound like you’re warning me off of her?”
Margaret sighs. “You’re my son, and I love you. But you have a certain reputation.”
“Suppose I have changed? Suppose I have met a woman who is worth changing my ways for? Worth settling down with?”
The shock on my mother’s face is quite evident. Of course she’s shocked. I’ve never sounded like this before. “Oh. Well, I suppose that would change everything, then.”
“Yes, it would.” She gives me a warm smile, which I return.
“Your father will never believe you want to settle down. He’ll blame your sudden turn around on being hit too hard and too many times on the football field.”
I let out a laugh. Maybe my father would have a point. I, too, am a bit surprised by the way I have fallen.
Chapter Twelve
Lindsay
“Amanda, slow down and tell me what happened.” I try futilely to get her calm down.
“I can’t marry him, Linds. You and Ethan were right. Nathan is a complete asshole.”
I can’t disagree with her on that one. “What did he do?”
She looks at me with tears in her eyes. “He doesn’t love me. I heard him on the phone talking to one of his lawyer friends. He said I would be nothing but a trophy wife, too young and stupid to realize why he really married me.”
I gasp. “He said what?” I want to take a swing at Nathan with a baseball bat. Amanda bursts into tears. “I’m so sorry, Amanda,” I console, wrapping my arms around her. “He’s wrong, you know. You’re a smart woman, and too good for an imbecile like Nathan.”
Her lips twitch. “He is pretty dumb, isn’t he? Who wouldn’t love me? Look at this face.”
We both snicker. “You want me to sneak you out of here?”
Amanda sniffs. “No. I’m going to march out there and give Nathan a piece of my mind in front of everyone.”
“That’s my girl.” If my best friend is going to exercise such bravery, so will I. “Um, Amanda. I slept with your brother,” I blurt out, before I lose my nerve.
“What?”
“More than once.”
“Oh my God. I’m going to kill Ethan. Did he seduce you? Charm you into his bed like he does all those other women?”
I gape at her. I assumed she would be disgusted with me and tell me to get out of her sight. Such anger at her brother was not what I expected. “Er, actually, I was the one to seduce him the first time.”
Amanda blinks, surprise flickering in her eyes. A knock sounds, stopping her response. “Amanda? Lindsay? What’s going on in there?” It’s Ethan.
“We’ll be out in a minute,” Amanda calls, her eyes still on me.
“Amanda, please don’t hate me,” I beg.
“Did all this start since Ethan got here for my wedding?”
My eyes shut briefly. I’m going to have to tell her the entire truth. “The first time was after our graduation.”
Her mouth drops open as I continue to look at her, my eyes pleading. “Casey is three, isn’t she?”
My heart is pounding in my chest. “Yes.” I force the word out.
“Lindsay, of all the stupid, selfish things to do. You never told any of us your baby belonged to Ethan.”
“What did you just say?”
Amanda and I wheel around, our expressions of surprise identical. Ethan has pushed the door open.
“Ethan! This is the ladies room, for goodness sake,” Amanda scolds.
It’s too late. I can tell by the look on his face that he heard Amanda. He’s staring at me with a mixture of disbelief and hurt. “Is it true, Lindsay? Is Casey mine?”
I can’t look him in the eyes. “She’s yours. I’m sorry, Ethan. I should have told you, but-”
“Save it, Lindsay. This isn’t the time or the place to have this conversation.” His jaw is clenched, and his shoulders are stiff with tension as if he’s making great effort to hold on to his temper. “Amanda, your guests are waiting.”
“Well, they might as well go home. There will be no wedding tomorrow,” Amanda grumbles. She turns to me, sympathy on her face. “I don’t hate you, Lindsay. I’m pissed as hell, but I’ll get over it. I’m going to go out there and fix my problem, and you fix yours. We’ll swap stories tomorrow over strong drinks.”
I grab her hand and give it a squeeze, grateful for forgiveness from at least one person. “Thanks. Good luck.”
“You too.” She leaves the bathroom, leaving me to face Ethan’s wrath alone.
He glares at me. “I don’t know what that was all about, but if the wedding has been called off, I guess there’s no need for this dinner. Let’s go.”
“W-where?”
“I drove you here, so I’m taking you home.” He turns and leaves without waiting for a response. My shoulders droop with defeat. Great, he’s going to drop me home and drive off as soon as I step out of the car. He hates me, and I can’t blame him. I follow him, dragging my feet, feeling like I’m on my way to the gallows.
***
Ethan parks in front of my building. He still hasn’t said a word to me. I suffered through what must have been the most uncomfortable drive in history. I would feel better if he had said something to me, anything, even words of anger. But all I have gotten is silence, torturing silence. “Ethan-”
“Let’s go inside.”
I sigh. Finally, he speaks. “Will it be safe to be alone in my apartment with you?” I ask sarcastically.
I’m given a withering glare. “You really shouldn’t be a smart ass right now, Lindsay.”
Pulling my lower lip between my teeth, I slide out of the car and march up the steps with Ethan on my tail. I can practically feel his anger. Once we are inside, and he has closed the door, I turn to look at him. My heart twists, seeing his pained expression. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out something, throwing it down on the center table. I stare at the small box with confusion.
“Why, Lindsay? Why would you keep the fact that you have a child from me for three years?”
I take my eyes off the box. “I didn’t want to hold you back, Ethan. You had just been drafted to the NFL. It was your dream. I just wanted you to have a future. If I had told you about Casey, you would have hated me.”
Ethan runs a hand over his face. “Are you listening to yourself? Why would I hate you because of our child?”
I shrug. Now that he says it, I feel like a complete fool for keeping something so big from him. My lower lip quivers as I fight back tears. “I didn’t want to ruin your life, burden you with the responsibility of a child. I thought at least one of us should live our dream.”
“You should have told me. We could have made things work.” He falls silent. “I have a daughter,” he whispers. It’s as if he still can’t believe it.
“I suppose all I have managed to do is make everything worse by keeping such a secret. I kept it from everyone. My mother suspects, but she doesn’t say anything. She looks like you.” He looks at me with sad eyes. My conscience berates me for hurting him this way. Because of my stupidity, he missed out on three years of his child’s life. “I’ll understand if you never want to speak to me again.”
“I was going to ask you to marry me.”
My eyes widen. “What?” I eye the velvet box once more. “W-why?”
He looks at me as if I’ve lost all sense. “Because I love you, Lindsay. I fell in love with you, okay? I think I did when you approached me at your graduation three years ago.” I’m gawking at him at this point. His lips twitch. “Yeah, I was just as surprised at the discovery too.”
I blink rapidly. Ethan is in love with me? Well, hallelujah, because I love him too. “I love you, too. I always have.”
Ethan gives me the full intensity of his stare. This time, there is nothing sexual about it. What I would give to know what he’s thinking right now. Is he condemning me? Planning to take me to court and sue for full custody of his child? My mind is racing, and I’m on the verge of panic. “Please don’t take her from me, Ethan. I’ve already given up so much in my life.”
He frowns. “What are you talking about?”
“If you’re contemplating taking Casey from me, please don’t. We’ll work something out. You can see her whenever you like.”
He lets out a laugh, taking me by surprise. “Take her from you? I’m planning to take away the both of you.”
Huh? “I- I don’t understand.”
He moves toward me, and I instinctively take a retreating step back. “I have a family. I’m not leaving you or Casey. You’re both coming back to Texas with me.”
My heart jumps excitedly, but I’m a bit apprehensive. “We can’t just uproot our lives, Ethan.”
“What’s here for either of you, Lindsay? If you come with me, Casey will have everything she’ll ever want and need and so will you. You’ll be able to go to the best art school in the country if you wish. I’ll take care of both you. I’ll pay for your mother to visit anytime she wants.
Wow. I honestly thought things would go much worse. He’s offering to take Casey and me with him. I didn’t see it coming. I’m starting to feel a little bit like Cinderella, and I hate that damn fairy tale. “Ethan, I don’t know what to say. This is all so-”
“Just say yes. And say yes to marrying me.”
“That’s not a very romantic proposal,” I murmur.
Ethan swallows a grin. “Give me a break, here. I’m still in shock. I’ll wine and dine you later and pop the question again. How about that?”
I can’t help but smile, elated that he still wants me in every way and incredibly relieved that I’ve been forgiven. “I don’t care about wining and dining. I’ll marry you.”
He lets out a long breath. “Good. Let’s go get Casey now. I need to meet her. I don’t want to waste another minute.”
“Of course. Let’s go.” I move toward the door, but Ethan snags my wrist, pulling me back.
“You’re forgetting something.” He reaches for the box on the table and opens it, revealing an intricately designed ring with a solitary stone. It’s the biggest diamond I’ve ever seen. My breath hitches in my chest. This is really happening. My dreams are starting to become reality.
“I love you, Lindsay. You have no idea how much you have changed me. You make me a better version of myself.”
A face splitting smile spreads across my face. “You never needed any improvement. You’ve always been perfect in my eyes.”
He swallows hard. “It’s dangerous for you to say things like that to me. Now I want to take you to the bedroom. But there will be plenty of time for that later. Let’s go get our little girl.”
As we head through the door, I glance down at our intertwined hands. My time has finally come to be wholly happy.
*****
THE END
Bonus Book 4: The Cowboy's Virgin
Description
He asked if he could kiss me. Who does that?
After her dad died, curvy 19-year-old Lauren Jones is ready for a change. Taking up her best friend Jane’s offer, she moves from Atlanta to a small village in Colorado to live with Jane and her boyfriend. They seem very happy, but Lauren’s decided that love just isn’t for her.
Too bad that Jane’s a notorious matchmaker.
Cole Harmon is a cowboy who looks exactly like Lauren’s favorite actor, Dermot Mulroney. He always hangs around Jane and Adam’s house so he’s hard to avoid. His lean muscles, tight abs and the V that disappears into those worn jeans are sending hot flashes through Lauren’s body, even though she’s determined she’s not on the market.
But when Lauren gets to know Cole better and hears about what happened to him, she realizes that she could develop feelings for this cowboy with a wounded heart.
There’s just something about a cowboy, isn’t there?
Slowly but surely, Lauren finds herself falling in love with the village and the cowboy. Is it too soon to want him? What will he say when he finds out she’s still a virgin and doesn’t know what she’s doing? Can she find room in her heart as she makes a new start for herself?
Chapter One
Lauren Jones pulled her backpack from under the seat in front of her as she waited for everyone else to exit the plane. She was young, just nineteen, and starting over after her father died six months ago. Her best friend Jane Reynolds had asked her to come live with her. Jane had recently moved to a little town in Colorado that revolved around farming and the outdoors and Lauren had never seen her happier. Not seeing any reason to refuse Jane’s offer, Lauren had packed up her belongings and left her home in Georgia.
Lauren brushed her soft red hair back and walked towards the door of the plane. She was ready to start her new life and thrilled to see her friend, but there was one thing she was not looking forward to too much. Jane was a notorious matchmaker and had mentioned a certain cowboy in town to her several times. She’d allowed it and didn’t protest too much, but she’d have to somehow make clear to Jane that she wasn’t interested in a relationship right now. Lauren was bigger than most girls and men hadn’t always been nice about that. Right now, she wanted to focus only on herself and on positivity.
Lauren walked into the airport and to the escalator taking her to the baggage claim. She thought fondly about Georgia and what she’d left behind. Once her father was gone, Jane had jumped right
in with her invitation, but Lauren had taken some time to make a final decision. It wasn’t easy to leave everything she knew behind. But here she was, ready to start her new life.
Lauren looked over the crowd of people and saw her pixie-like friend waving. Her blue eyes lit up. She smiled and rushed forward to hug Jane.
They’d been friends for years, ever since elementary school. Jane had moved with her family from Georgia to Colorado and now lived on her own with her boyfriend, Adam. He was a cowboy who worked with cattle as well as riding them on the rodeo circuit. Jane still had the same black hair cut into the cute bob around her face and she was glowing today. “Hi! I am so glad that you’re finally here! It took you long enough,” Jane teased Lauren as she looked her over. “Come, give me your bag and let’s head back to the cottage. I can’t wait for you to see it!”
“Are you sure that Adam doesn’t mind me taking up the guest room?” Lauren asked as they made their way through the airport.
Jane waved her hand and laughed. “No, not at all. He works a ton so he’s happy that I’ll have someone to hang around with.” Jane leaned closer to her. “It’s not crowded like this, Lauren. It’s small and close knit and beautiful.”
Lauren had to admit that she liked that idea as they walked into the parking garage, where Jane led her to a chunky Jeep that had its share of bumps and bruises. “This is a long way from your little yellow Jetty in Georgia, Jane.”
“Everything is a long way from Georgia in Julesberg, Lauren. It’s like a breath of fresh air,” Jane said, as she opened the back and slid the suitcase inside of the car, laughing.
“You only say that because of Adam,” Lauren teased, but Jane looked at her with a thoughtful gaze.
“No, I mean…he’s the reason that I moved there. But I just love the slow way about the town and the quiet when the sun goes down. There’s a peace about it that you have to see.” Jane smiled and stared at her. “Let’s go. I want to show it to you.”