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Broughton hated crutches, but there was no other way to get around for now. Once they’d been cleared by the trauma specialists and made it back to the ranch, Eve had done some kind of treatment on his knee which made the pain fade to tolerable, but it still wouldn’t support him. So he thumped his way down the hall to Alexandra’s room, then stood dumbfounded when he saw the bed was not only empty, but had been stripped down to bare mattress. Stupid to come here when they told him she was recovered, but he was on auto-pilot.
“You looking for me?”
He swung around too quickly, and had to hop and scramble to keep from doing a face-plant at her feet. Getting his balance back, his eyes tracked up from the orange-painted toenails. Long—extremely long—legs encased in soft, old denim, a flat stomach and narrow waist accentuated by a body-hugging white T-shirt, and...oh, boy. His eyes finally met hers, and he smiled, because he could see the laughter in them even before her grin spread.
“Oh, boy?”
Oops. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud. You’re tall. I mean taller than I thought, even though I knew you were tall. But I was right about what your eyes would look like when you were laughing. They brighten, like with sunshine.”
Very poetic.
Definitely not her voice. He glanced over his shoulder but saw no one.
Down here.
The white cat was staring up at him. Seriously?
What can I say?
“Merlin, you’re so bad.”
“Must be a rabbit hole around here somewhere.” Broughton shook his head. “I like your voice better than his, Alexandra.”
“My friends call me Alex. We were just heading off to hit Consuelo up for coffee and maybe a cookie or two. Want to join us?”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
I prefer the chocolate chip. Oatmeal’s for horses.
They laughed and the cat led the way to the kitchen.
“I heard you had a taste of the paralysis gig.”
“Yeah, but fortunately it was short-lived.”
“Kinda cool to know someone who’s felt it too.”
“I guess, but it’s already ancient history.”
She stopped and touched his arm. “Do you do that a lot? Push unpleasantness away instead of dealing with it?”
“That’s how I deal. No point dwelling on what you can’t change. I’m all about living in today.”
Her smile started slow and built to high wattage. “Then I’d better get to this before it’s old news. Thank you for everything you did for me. For the grunt work when I needed to be lifted or turned, for keeping me company, for carrying on very interesting one-sided conversations, for holding my hand, and for hanging on to me when I was at risk of unraveling completely that night.”
“Alex—”
“Wait, I need to finish. You showed me compassion, and taught me patience.” Her smile faded. “You became important to me. And I know it probably sounds sappy, but I have to say it. If you ever need anything—and I mean anything—a shoulder, a friend, an ear, or hell, my left arm, promise you’ll call me.”
Broughton moved to lean against the wall and prop the crutches beside him, then held out his hand to her. “I need two things right now. The first is this.” He drew her in, and kissed her softly. “The second is a date. Just you and me, dinner sometime, at a restaurant of your choice.”
She took a step closer. “Dinner’s easy, and I’m available tomorrow. But about that kiss. I think you can do better.” Her mouth met his, and she took him on a delightful ride filled with fun, discovery, and passion. Then she stepped back and passed him the crutches.
“Time for cookies. Come on, hop-along.”
“Hey,” he said, scrambling to catch up. “You didn’t say where you wanted to eat tomorrow.”
“There’s a great mom and pop about five minutes from my place.”
“So you’re going back to your practice? Lexington, Kentucky, right? I can do that.” Hell, he’d travel a whole lot farther than that to spend time with this woman. He’d been attracted to her when she was flat out, but now that she was upright and he’d tasted her? Off the charts.
“Lots of my clients have started up with a colleague of mine—Eve’s been keeping track of stuff for me—so there’s no pressure to jump back in too fast. I might even sell the practice and move to Texas, since my new family’s made me an offer I’m seriously considering. Who knows? But for now, I’m going home to all the things I’ve missed.”
***
James stepped into Julia’s office and closed the door. Turned the lock. She didn’t move. Sat there behind that big old desk looking like the most powerful woman alive. Head high, shoulders back, hands folded on the desk. Classy. Confident. Strong. Kick-ass.
He could use a dozen words to describe that look and her public persona. And they’d all be true of the business side of her nature, but they were a hollow shell compared to who she was at the core of her being.
“Sky.”
“Hey.” Her smile started slow. “About time you got home.”
“Had to work late.” His mouth twisted while he fought the smile.
“You missed Christmas again.”
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“I’m not so easily swayed by a fast roll in the hay anymore.”
He strolled toward her. “Who said it would be fast?”
“There’s a briefing in less than an hour.”
“According to my watch, we’ve got forty minutes to spare.”
“We’ll just be getting warmed up.”
He laughed, circled the desk and drew her into his arms. “I’ve missed you, missed having you and your attitude in my head.” He brushed his mouth across hers.
“The quiet’s been lovely.”
He looked into her teasing eyes. “I could make you scream.”
Now she was the one laughing. “Those were the days, weren’t they? Remember when the boys were pounding on the bedroom door demanding to know if mommy was all right? Refusing to leave until I opened the door so they could see me?”
“Yeah. Me scrambling to hide in the passageway because they didn’t know I was home, and you tying on your robe while trying to straighten your hair. It looked like a whole litter of kittens had been playing in it.”
He’d bartered for twenty-four hours of furlough, and knowing the travel alone would take up at least eighteen of those they’d opted to not to tell the kids he was home.
“That’s when I decided we needed a bed in the hidden room.”
“I didn’t mind the old desk you had in there.”
“Me neither.” She grazed her teeth along his jaw. “But the shower was always one of my favorite places. I guess we’ve made love in every nook and cranny of this house, haven’t we?”
“Good time to build the new one and have a fresh slate to play with.”
He slipped his hands into her back pockets and eliminated any space left between them. “I love how neatly we fit together,” he said, feeling her resolve slipping. “Desk or sofa?”
“Soft.” Her kisses deepened while he walked her backwards to the couch. Her mouth barely left his when she shoved his shirt over his head. She ran her hands up his chest, then back down to rid him of his cargos, and the grip of her fingers on his naked ass nearly sent him over the edge.
He shook her hair free from its braid, made short work of her clothing, then started at her toes and worked his way up until they were finally center to center, heart to heart.
One.
And this was home.
***
Julia loved lying quietly together after making love. Stretched out alongside him, feeling sated, powerful, and feminine. With one leg wound around his, her head rested on his shoulder, and his arm wrapped around so he could gently stroke the side of her breast.
James shifted slightly. “Made it with ten minutes to spare.”
She rose up until her eyes met his sparkling blue ones. “You saying it’s time for me to move?”
“Nope, saying we’ve got five more minutes to enjoy this.”
She pressed her lips to his throat.
“I’m ready to hang it up, retire.”
She didn’t move, was sure her heart skipped a few beats.
“Say something.”
“I’m not sure what to say.” Was this good news? Bad? Would she be running Meyers? Was he leaving the company, her? Both?
“Sky?”
Calm. Rational. “Tell me how you feel about it. Why the decision, why now? Give me some insight.”
“No. I want your straight-from-the-gut reaction, no tempering, no anticipating what response I’m hoping for or not.” He closed his eyes, opened them again. “Okay, that’s not very fair, is it? Let’s try this. I’m ready to retire from Meyers—not run away—just pass the torch and move on with my life. Our life.”
The breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding whooshed out. And a smile bloomed all by itself. “Then I’d say I’m happy for you. Happy I won’t ever again have to sit here alone on long nights just hoping for a few minutes in your mind.”
He shifted again, held her close and kissed her. Mouth moving with the sureness of an old lover, one who knew her, cared about her, both wanted and cherished her. And her heart rose up her throat to meet him. She wanted to crawl inside his skin, be one, spend every day and night with the amazing man she’d been with for more than two-thirds of her life.
But there was a debrief to get to, and a whine at the door. James sat up and tugged on his pants while Julia quickly grabbed her own, and then slid sweater and vest over her head together, the same way they’d come off.
“He’ll be mad at me because I got the first hellos,” she said.
“Nope, he was there to greet me when the helo landed. I left him in the kitchen with the menagerie when I came up.” He opened the door and Swagger came in wagging and whining with delight. Stood on his hind legs for special hugs and head rubs.
“Menagerie?”
“People, dogs, cats, kids, all gathered around the table with a pile of cookies in the middle.”
“Bless Consuelo.”
He raised an eyebrow.
“She knows how to keep the troops occupied when I need some one on one with my husband.”
He kissed her. “Worth her weight in gold.”
“Responsible for at least a couple of our children.”
Julia wasn’t exactly preoccupied during the debrief, but she definitely had more than one train of thought chugging around in her head. Would it be best to stay at the helm while James adjusted to retirement, or should she make the leap with him?
Would they grow tired of each other if they were together all the time? Would he still work with the program at Haven? Or not? Would he completely take over the new house construction? Did she want him to? How did he see them going forward?
Once James had walked through the entire case and was winding down, she made herself tune back in.
“Coming back to Meyers, and working with a team that’s matured immensely in my absence has been eye-opening. You’re damn good. All of you. Not only as individuals, but together. You’re as cohesive a team as any I’ve been involved with. So good, in fact, that you actually don’t need me at the helm.”
He glanced from one face to the next. “You were great before I returned, and you’ll be great after I leave. Effective immediately, I’m retiring.” He held up a hand. “But I’m not going anywhere. I’ll always be available to consult. However, my day-to-day energies will be directed toward building our new home and driving your mother crazy.”
Silence hung like an entity. One beat. Two. Three. Then Logan said, “Congratulations. Nothing like tying up all the loose ends first.”
“Yeah, figured it was a damned good note to leave on.”
A steady buzz of congratulations followed from everyone, and most glanced her way, wondering, she was sure, if her position would be changing, but she just smiled. This was James’s moment, not hers. His decision, not theirs. And besides, she didn’t know yet what she was going to do.
“What about Haven?” asked Rachel when things quieted.
“I don’t think you need me there anymore, either. The service dog program is solid now, healthy and well-managed. Again, I’ll be happy to help if something comes up you want my input on.” He glanced at Julia. “I would like to keep my cottage, though, until the new house is ready.”
“Of course,” said Quinn, and Rachel nodded. Julia bit the inside of her lip to keep from asking them to keep it for him indefinitely.
Wouldn’t he still need his safe place? Or at least need to know it was there, just in case?
“It’s yours,” said Rachel. “I’d never put someone else in it. Because it will always be yours.”
“Thank you,” said James, and then he turned to Grace. “I’m sorry I forgot to ask about Sarah? How is she?”
“Fragile, and feeling adrift. It will take work, but she’ll find her strength again, and that core of steel I’ve always known. She’s going to hang with her father for a while. He’s an incredibly kind man, who understands loss and betrayal. She’ll be okay. He’ll see to it.”
Odd to think that Grace and Sarah each had exactly what the other didn’t. Grace had Logan—friend, lover, soulmate—who would move heaven and earth if that’s what Grace needed him to do, but she didn’t have a father. He’d been murdered only a few short years after she met him.
Sarah’s extraordinary father fought a long, hard battle to keep her, to be her rock, her sounding board, and everything else, from before she was even born. But Sarah’s marriage to Kelton had been shockingly loveless. An emotional wasteland after the first few months. Yet she’d stayed for years.
He’d left her a parting letter of explanation. All the why’s answered, all the mysteries explained, right down to how he would end his life, and why it was necessary.
“Anything else?”
Brought back by James’s question, she studied the face she knew as well as her own. He’d aged well. Looked healthy. Fit. Still kept his hair trimmed and tidy, but avoided his razor as often as possible, and she loved how his stubble was as silver as his hair. But it was the eyes now locked on hers that reflected who he was. Right from the day they’d met, she’d loved how they brightened and darkened with his mood. How she could tell when he was secretly laughing, or when he wanted to be alone with her.
At the moment, those eyes were filled with questions, and there was at least one she could answer.
“As for me,” she announced to anyone listening, “I’ll be continuing as the head of Meyers for now. Meantime, if anyone is looking for us, we’ll be up at the building site.”
James met her halfway across the room and grabbed her for a smacking kiss before dragging her out while they were followed by laughter.
“Sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
“How would you feel about camping out up there tomorrow night, so we could welcome the new year in style? Celebrate our new beginning.” They’d spent their wedding night in an old canvas tent and danced under a canopy of stars.
“You’re trying to get out of wearing your monkey suit, aren’t you?”
“The Gala. I can honestly say I’d forgotten.”
“And considering recent events, I believe you.”
“We have to go, don’t we?”
“It’s expected, and besides, you owe me from last time.”
––––––––
Julia’s breath caught when she stepped out of the bathroom. James was standing near the patio door, head to toe elegant in the most masculine way. She always thought her favorite look for him was black cargoes, T-shirt, and boots. Until she was reminded what he looked like in a tux. She had to grin at the stubble he’d apparently decided to retain to offset the fanciness of the clothing. Sexy man, and all hers.
She padded across the room wearing nothing but a towel, raised up on her toes and brushed his mouth with hers before continuing on to her closet.
“What was that for?”
“For being so freaking good to look at.”
“We could stay here and fool around instead.”
“No.”
He glanced at his watch. “I thought we were supposed to be there by eleven?”
“We will be.” She’d already swept her hair up into an elegant twist, so all she needed was her dress, and she’d be ready. It was an incredible creation of silky, translucent layers like the finest of scarves in white, gray, silver and black, with some gold edging here and there. Dreamlike, backless, and it made her feel wonderful the moment she slipped it over her bare skin. Yes, tonight would be special.
And the look on James’s face when he saw her was all the confirmation she needed.
He opened his mouth as though to speak, but closed it again. Took her hands, placed a kiss in each palm. Drew her in until her fingers teased the back of his neck. “You take my breath away.”
He simply held her until she kissed him softly and moved away. “We should go.”
They drove in comfortable silence until James swept past the turn to Haven.
“Where are we going?”
“A short detour. I have something to show you.”
This would work. She smiled to herself, loving when a good plan came together, and when they rounded the bend, she was pleased to see how the clearing looked with the old white canvas tent glowing in the moonlight and tiny fairy lights flickering in the trees beyond.
As they came to a stop she noticed the small table set for two with crystal, china, silver and flowers. More important, though, was her husband’s lack of reaction to the surprise.
James came around to open her door, offer his hand to help her out, then pulled her into his arms. “You’re not surprised.” His mouth tipped up on one side.
“Neither are you.”
“Isn’t there some saying about great minds?”
“Yeah, but we’ll ignore the fools part.” She grinned. “I asked Angie and Matt to put up the tent and lights for me this afternoon. And I tossed quilts and pillows in the back of the car.”
“I had the twins set up the old tent and ask Consuelo to put together some food.”
“Looks like they all went above and beyond.”
He took her face in his hands. “More important, it looks like we’re still on the same page. Have I told you lately that I adore you?” His mouth moved across hers with a kind of reverence. His fingers slid down across her throat and his mouth followed.
“Wait.” The hoarseness of her voice gave away her emotion, and she led him to where they could look out over the ranch.
He wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her against him. “This is our place.”
“It is,” she said. “And I’m ready to get on with the new beginning.” She turned in his arms. “I’m retiring with you. I want our life to be about us and our new home.”
“I’d ask if you’re sure, but you’d never say it if you weren’t.”
“What time is it?”
“What time do you want it to be?”
“Midnight.”
“Then, my love, it’s midnight. Happy New Year.” His kiss was old and familiar, but new and tantalizing as well.
“Endings and beginnings,” she murmured. “That’s what you said to me on our wedding night, do you remember?”
“Every minute of it.” He lifted her hand and grazed her knuckles with his teeth. “Are you ready for our new beginning, Mrs. Meyers?”
She laid a hand against his cheek. “I’m so ready.”
“Then let’s begin with this.” He slipped his arms around her, and began to sway while his fingertips caressed her back, and he whispered, “Dance with me.”
~ ~ ~