Bright autumn sunlight glinted off the gold band on Lauren’s ring finger as she packed down the last handful of straw in a flower bed on the Cortez family ranch in Sweetwater. Cold weather was coming. Winter would be rolling in before long, and after that the flower beds would be blanketed with snow. But come next spring, the flowers would be bright and colorful again.
She lifted her left hand and inspected her wedding ring a little more closely. She couldn’t help smiling. Her heart felt light and open in her chest. Like a flower in full bloom.
She’d only been wearing the ring for two weeks, so she hadn’t grown used to it yet. She still noticed it fairly often. Felt its weight on her finger like a reassuring touch. A warm reminder that Jason Cortez had promised to stay by her side and that he’d meant it.
For several months she and Jason had seen each other as often as they could while he worked here fixing up the ranch and she was in and around Denver chasing down fugitives. At first it had seemed like there was no practical way their lives could ever be joined together.
But they were happiest when they were together. So they followed their hearts. And slowly, things began to change.
Lauren found that she enjoyed spending time at the ranch. Jason built ramps at the ranch house for her mom’s wheelchair, and her mom loved visiting here, too.
Jason realized he liked bounty hunting, and he accompanied Lauren on assignments with Kevin and also with Toby and Tim. So in the end, Jason and Lauren balanced their time between Sweetwater and Denver. It didn’t take long for both of them to realize that they truly were in love, so why wait any longer?
They got married at the end of August. The service was a small, quiet ceremony at Lauren’s home church in Denver. The honeymoon was a week spent in Hawaii.
And now here they were at the ranch in Sweetwater, with family and friends, having a ranch cleanup day and barbecue before settling in Denver for the winter.
Matt was serving his time in prison. He and Holly had managed to get married despite him being locked up. And Holly and their daughter, Chloe, were here today. Jason and Lauren were determined to make them feel part of the family.
Lauren’s mom, Anna, was enjoying time chatting with her old friends Al and Barb while they kept an eye on the barbecue grill as it heated up. The three of them were also getting to know the neighbors who helped take care of Jason’s animals when he was away from the ranch. Carla, the neighbors’ fourteen-year-old daughter, had brought her new puppy, Winslow.
Kevin, Toby, Tim and Jason were just finishing up a last bit of fence repair near the house. Lauren was finally finished winterizing the flower beds.
“Winslow!” Carla’s shout carried across the stretch of lawn to Lauren. “Winslow, come here!”
Lauren turned in time to see some commotion by the tables set up near the barbecue grill. Barb and Al leaped up so quickly their chairs tipped over. Carla took off running around the corner of the ranch house calling for her dog, and she disappeared from view.
“What happened?” Lauren called out, hurrying to the barbecue area. Barb and Al righted their chairs and sat back down, shaking their heads.
Jason and the guys he’d been working with also hurried over to see what was going on. Lauren’s eyes locked on Jason. She couldn’t seem to get her fill of looking at him. He returned her gaze with a lopsided smile and a warm look in his eyes that made her stomach tingle.
“My daughter’s puppy grabbed a package of bratwursts,” Carla’s mom said. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry,” Al said, “we’ve got lots more bratwurst and burgers to grill. Nobody’s gonna starve.”
But then Carla reappeared around the side of the house, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I can’t find Winslow,” she wailed. “And I’m afraid he’s going to eat the plastic wrap on those bratwurst and get sick. We’ve got to find him!”
Barb got to her feet and looked around at everyone. “Well, we’ve got a bunch of professional bounty hunters here. One of them ought to be able to find a little dog.”
In an instant the competition was on. The bounty hunters took off running behind the house, shoving each other, each one claiming they’d be the first one to find the dog.
In the midst of the action Jason grabbed Lauren’s hand and led her into the stables.
The last she’d seen of the missing pup, he’d been running in the opposite direction. “Do you really think Winslow is in here?” she asked.
“No,” Jason said, pulling her closer to him. “I just wanted to do this.” He leaned down to brush his lips across hers. Then he leaned in even closer for a kiss that nearly made her bones melt.
After a long, lingering moment, they finally broke apart.
“I found him!” somebody yelled outside, obviously talking about the puppy.
I found him, too, Lauren thought, looking at Jason. And she laughed.
“Why are you laughing?” he asked.
She stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the cheek. “Because I’m happy.”
Sometimes you’re looking for something and you end up finding something entirely different. It might be something you didn’t even know you were looking for.
Lauren had been looking for Matt, and she’d found Jason. She’d been looking to track down a bail jumper, and she’d found a partner to help her complete her mission. She’d been looking to keep herself and Jason alive while getting the job done, and she’d found love.
There really was no telling what you might find once you started looking.
Keep reading for an excerpt from Trained to Defend by Christy Barritt.