“You’re sure you want to live here?” Nicole asked, her gaze roving around the snow-covered acres as she and Thorne sat on the porch while the twins, in matching snowsuits, frolicked in the yard. The old dog, Harold, barked and joined them, acting like a pup, and cattle and horses dotted the landscape. Slade, dressed in a thick buckskin jacket, was walking near the barn, checking the pipes and watering troughs along with the stock.
It was beautiful here and Nicole’s heart was full. Though Thorne’s leg was casted, there was no keeping him down and they’d planned as soon as he was on his feet again to marry.
“I’ll live here as long as Randi lets me.”
Randi was the one worry. It had been nearly a month since her accident and she was still unconscious. Though Kurt Striker was still looking into the possibility of a hit-and-run driver forcing her off the road, he hadn’t found any suspects and Thorne’s plane crash was still under investigation. Was it foul play? Thorne hadn’t thought so, or so he’d insisted, citing the fact that he should have had the plane checked out before flying off in the snowstorm. But he’d been anxious to return to Montana. “By the way,” he said, “I have something for you.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“Something to make our engagement official.”
“Oh?” She lifted a wary eyebrow as he winced and dug into a front pocket of his jeans. Slowly he extracted a ring, a band of silver and gold.
“It was my father’s, from his marriage to my mom,” he explained and Nicole was touched, her throat clogging suddenly as he slipped it onto her finger. “For some sentimental reason, the old man kept it even after the divorce and while he was married to Randi’s mother. He gave it to me before he died and now…because of tradition, I guess, I want you to have it.” His smile was crooked. “I think we’ll have it sized to fit.” The ring, an intricate band of gold and silver, was much too big for her finger but she clutched it tight, knowing that it meant so much to Thorne. That he would share it with her said more than words.
“It’s beautiful.”
“And special.”
“Oh, Thorne, thank you,” she whispered, then kissed him as he held her close and the old porch swing swayed.
“And you’re special to me, Nicole, you and the girls.”
She had trouble swallowing over the lump in her throat. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she’d ever hear those words from Thorne McCafferty, the man who had so callously used her and then walked away.
As if he could read her thoughts, he placed a kiss upon her head. “I know I made a mistake with you and I’ve kicked myself a dozen times over, but I want to make it up to you, to the twins. I…I never thought I’d want to settle down, to have a family of my own to…” he struggled for a moment, looked across the snow-crusted fields “…to share my life here. On the Flying M. But I do. Because of you.” His eyes found hers. “You’re the one, Nicole. The only one.”
She sighed against him and looked at the ring. God, she loved him. Blinking back tears of joy, she whispered, “I love you.”
“Oh, you do, do you?” he said, a slow, sexy smile creeping from one side of his mouth to the other.
“Scout’s honor,” she said. His grin was infectious and she tossed a sassy smile back his way. “You don’t believe me?”
“Maybe…”
“But maybe not?”
“You could prove it.”
She laughed and rose to the bait. “And how would I do that?”
His eyes gleamed wickedly. “Oh, I can think of a dozen or two different ways.”
“And I can think of a hundred.”
He rose awkwardly to his feet and pulled her to hers. “Then let’s start, shall we? As my father would say, ‘time’s a wastin’,’ and he did say he wanted some grandchildren.”
“What about J.R. and the twins?”
“A start, lady, just a start.”
“Slow down, Romeo,” she said giggling.
“No way, lady. We’ve only got the rest of our lives.”
She threw back her head and laughed huskily. “I do love you, Thorne McCafferty, but if anyone’s going to have to do the proving it’s you.”
“All right.” He swept her off her feet and she squealed.
“Thorne, don’t! Your leg! For crying out loud, let me go! Put me down!”
He held her tight, his shoulder braced against the side of the house, his strong arms holding her close. “Never,” he vowed, then kissed her hard. She closed her eyes, kissed him back and wondered if anyone had the right to feel this happy. As he lifted his head and stared into her eyes, he said again, “I will never let you go, Nicole. Never again.”
And she believed him.
* * * * *