Everything moved in a flash of chaos and confusion after that.
Beau burst through the front door carrying a huge rifle, and behind him were Riggs, Levi, and Jackson. Then they just kept coming, a line of men through the front and back doors. Some she’d never seen before, others she recognized, like Lenny, the old guy she’d met so recently.
In the commotion, Jennifer lost sight of Colton and Dan where they’d gone down to the floor.
“Colton,” she whispered in the voice of a windpipe constricted and small, so similar to the sound she’d made when Sean burst through their cabin door that first morning.
Was that only two weeks ago? Why did it feel like two years ago?
Once again, her heart was frozen, just a thick block of ice in her chest. Terror spliced through her every raw nerve ending, leaving her arms and legs trembling.
While most of the men crowded around Colton and Dan, Lenny knelt beside her.
“Well, this ain’t no way to treat a lady.” He shook his head. “Some men just don’t know any better, Imma guessing.”
Jennifer crawled on her hands and knees toward Colton. It seemed faster that way. Between several long jean-clad legs, she saw Colton on the ground, holding Dan in a kind of chokehold. But neither of them appeared injured.
“Get off me!” Dan shouted, face beet red with exertion.
The gun had been kicked to the other end of the room, and when Jennifer followed Beau’s gaze, she, too, noticed the hole in one end of the ceiling which the bullet had made.
Beau threw off his hat. “That’s going to cost me even more time!”
“I brought the ambulance,” Lenny said. “When I got the call from the phone tree, I didn’t really know what we’d need so I came prepared.”
“He doesn’t need a hospital, he needs the Sheriff,” said Jackson.
“Nobody needs the ambulance?” Lenny almost sounded disappointed. “What about you, Jennifer?”
Slowly, Dan rose from the ground, pulled up by Riggs and Jackson and hustled outside between them.
Dan cursed at them all as he walked by. “This is none of your business! I’m going to sue every single one of you for invasion of privacy and I’ve got a great lawyer.”
“You’re going to need one,” said Riggs, the lawyer.
Jennifer was still kneeling on the ground watching as Dan was led away, unharmed, when she felt someone behind her take her by the waist and slowly pick her up off the ground.
Colton.
He turned her to him. “You’re okay now. I’m sorry about all this. I know it’s a lot.”
Jennifer studied his handsome face, his earnest puppy dog eyes, and tentative smile. She both wanted to smack him and hug him tight for a trillion years.
She buried her face in his neck. “Don’t ever do that again! Ever!”
“Okay.”
“Why did you come in here?” She pulled back, fisting his shirt. “I told you he had a gun.”
“I’m supposed to leave you in here with an armed man? Think about it.” He cocked his head and tugged on a lock of her hair. “More importantly, why did you go with him? Haven’t I taught you better than that?”
“I had to! He said he would hurt you. And then you talked your way in here without a gun. Imagine my shock and awe!”
“Well, I would rather it be me than you.”
Her heart tripped over the words, and she ached with a deep longing. No one had ever loved her like this. He’d taken her in on day one and never once complained.
“Oh, Colton,” she whispered.
“I mean, your father would kill me.”
Those words were like the screech of metal and squeal of brakes when a car came to a sudden stop.
Had she somehow forgotten taking care of her was first and foremost a favor to her father? His mentor? Had she somehow let the past two weeks of closeness and togetherness in their very fake engagement fool her into thinking this was more? They were more?
Answer: yes, apparently, she had. She wasn’t much better than poor delusional Dan.
She loved someone who didn’t love her in return.
“Right.” She pulled away from him. “Does everyone know now?”
“Know what?”
“That we’re not actually engaged.”
“Say what?” Beau said from next to the front door where he stood. “You two are not engaged?”
“Well, if they didn’t before, they will now.” Colton gave Beau a tight smile. “Word will spread by morning.”
“He was actually my bodyguard.”
Why hold back now?
“Get out of here!” Beau said, holding the long-barreled rifle over his shoulder now. He almost resembled a young Paul Bunyan with his thick beard and big grin. “You two made it seem so real.”
Colton scowled as if he was unhappy she had chosen this moment to tell everyone. But she assumed she’d be leaving here soon and better to leave without people blaming her for breaking off an engagement and leaving one more man of Stone Ridge heartbroken. As if.
“We should call your father now,” Colton said, taking her hand. “Let’s get back to the house and regroup.”
Regroup. Figure out a plan of action and how to get her the hell out of Dodge with the least amount of damage to Colton’s reputation as a liar.
They walked out together, passing Beau, who said he would remain to clean up and secure the scene. The Scene. The scene of her kidnapping. Her kidnapping! She felt Colton’s strong hand on her lower back, guiding her to the group of men gathered outside. Surely, he could feel her spine shaking with the fear that only now seemed to grip her.
Levi, it turned out, had been deputized last month when they’d arrested an out of towner for driving drunk. He had handcuffs and the authority to haul somebody in. Dan would be carted to the jail in Kerrville after first being checked out for any injuries at the clinic in town run by Dr. Grant.
“I’m not pressing charges,” Jennifer said.
“He kidnapped you,” Colton said. “And this might not be entirely up to you.”
“But he wasn’t going to hurt me.” It sounded crazy to her own ears, but it was also the truth. “I’ll…testify on his behalf if that’s what it takes.”
“He was going to hurt himself in front of you. You’re telling me that wouldn’t have changed who you are?” Colton took her by the shoulders. “If you don’t press charges, he won’t get the help he needs.”
Maybe that was true. She’d have to look into it because she wasn’t going to give up on Dan. She’d heard his cry for help. Hell, the entire town had heard him. He would get help now because even though she’d failed before, she couldn’t give up. Not after hearing his story.
It was Joe’s influence. Joe, who for a while, didn’t look like he could or would change. But he had because she hadn’t given up on her own brother. Maybe it wasn’t her place, but someone had to believe in Dan. Either she’d find someone who would, or it would be left up to her.
“I’ll think about it.”
Colton considered swinging by the clinic with Jennifer to get her checked, but with Dan there he didn’t want any more run-ins. And she claimed to be fine. Except “fine” was said in a tone of voice that probably meant “not really but I’d rather die than tell you more.” She’d skinned her elbows while attempting to get away from Dan, but that appeared to be her only physical injury. Colton was at least glad to hear that she’d tried to get away.
Her hands were still shaking as he drove them back to the Grange and she clasped them together, holding them on her lap as if to disguise the movement. She wasn’t fooling him. She was a wreck, and he didn’t blame her.
Either way, she was ready to go back home to LA now that she was safe from Dan. She’d rushed to tell everyone the truth the second she could. It would all be in the open now and Colton didn’t know what he’d say to Delores. She’d be heartbroken to get her ring back, hurt to see Jennifer leave Stone Ridge.
So would he, by the way.
More than anyone else. But he’d done what he set out to do. Keep her safe. If in the process he’d grown used to her always being home to greet him at the end of the day that was his own damn fault. No one told him to expect anything in return. He’d had a great two weeks, better than he could have imagined, and eased back into life on the ranch. The past few nights had been particularly amazing, life changing, and he’d miss her in bed most of all. He’d miss the way her body curled into his, the see-through T-shirt she kept wearing to bed, the smell of her hair. The way she’d moved over him, sure in her own body, shattering in pleasure and calling his name.
While he’d had a great deal of loss in his life, something told him this was the one he’d remember.
Inside the cabin, he called Horace Walker on the landline and explained everything.
“He’s in custody.”
“Thank you. Thank you. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you for this favor.”
If Colton didn’t know any better, he’d say Horace sounded close to tears.
“You won’t have to.” He gave Jennifer the handset. “Want to talk to your father?”
“Sure,” she said, taking the phone.
Colton busied himself in the kitchen to give her privacy, but he managed to hear every word.
“Yes. I’m okay, thanks to Colton. He saved my life.” She paused. “Daddy, I know you love me but try to show me with more than your actions. Sometimes your children need the words, too. I know Joe did.”
Another pause, and she kept going. “No, I’ll make the reservations. Don’t you worry. Sure, I’ll be home soon. I’ll call you with the information.”
He would make a warm chocolate cake tonight. That would probably solve this ache in his chest. It worked for nightmares, why not for heartache? He rubbed at the spot and pulled out all the ingredients he would need.
Butter, milk, chocolate, sugar, flour, oil, eggs.
“Colton.”
He glanced up to find Jennifer standing in the kitchen as if she’d been watching him.
“Yeah? What’s up? What did your father say? How quickly are you headed out?”
She paused. “How fast do you want me out of here?”
He cracked an egg and cleared his throat. “Well, it would be nice if you could stick around and say goodbye to everyone. You have been here for a while, and I think they’ll miss you.”
“I would like that, too. But I didn’t want to intervene with your plans.”
“What plans? Riggs knows and he’s not pissed. He’ll get over it.”
“Everyone will.”
Except for him. Most definitely not him.
“Why don’t you take a shower and get cleaned up? I’m making another cake. You finished the other one.”
“Isn’t that why you baked it?” This was said with an edge of annoyance he didn’t miss.
He wasn’t accusing her of eating too much. He’d had quite a bit himself. Jesus, he’d apparently completed his word count for the day with Dan and now he didn’t know how to talk to people.
“Of course. Why else?”
“Never mind.”
She stalked off, passing the kitchen table, and went to the spare bedroom where she was likely packing. Packing up her life here, getting ready to leave.
Damn it. What was he going to do now? Carry her to his bed and show her how he loved her? How could she not know he loved her, with everything he’d done? It hadn’t been out of obligation. He’d told her he was crazy about her. He’d fallen for her the moment he’d first seen her in that smoky restaurant looking lost but trying so hard to be brave.
And every day since the she’d settled into his heart, digging a trench inside. He was never going to be the same without her. She had to know this and was choosing to ignore it. If she wanted to go, there wasn’t anything he could do to stop her.
An hour later the cake was ready, he was a lot calmer and clear-headed, but Jennifer still hadn’t come out of the room. Still wasn’t talking to him. Heading down the short hallway, he passed by the table and recoiled to see it sitting there all alone.
The ring.
She’d taken it off, which quite frankly was a statement in and of itself. It wasn’t a ring he’d picked out, or one she’d wanted. He hadn’t even slipped it on her finger. But it was a slap in the face to see Delores’s family ring, practically an heirloom, discarded this way. An heirloom that meant so much to her and that she wanted Jennifer to have. And Jennifer had left it there like it didn’t mean a blasted thing to her. Well, he could take insults and rejection, but he wouldn’t accept them when directed at Delores. The woman was practically a saint.
He found Jennifer sitting on the bed, staring out the window. As he’d suspected, her suitcase was open, but everything seemed to be in disarray. Her chucks were on the floor, jeans and shirts scattered over the bed.
“What’s this?” He held the ring between his thumb and forefinger, knowing of course, exactly what it was.
She turned and gave him a long look. “Delores’s ring.”
“Why did you just leave it on the table?”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”
“Did I say I wanted it back?”
She stood, straightening, and crossing her arms. “That is exactly what you said when you gave it to me. You said Delores would want it back.”
Damn it, that was true.
“But that was then. Things are different now.”
She blinked. “They are?”
She honestly didn’t seem to have any idea.
“Well, yeah.”
“Then why don’t you tell me how they’re different. Because it seems like you can’t wait to get rid of me.”
“What in the hell gave you that idea? The minute I asked you to stay and say goodbye to everyone before you go? If I had ever for one second wanted you out of here, you’d be out.”
“No, I wouldn’t. You can’t do that because of my father. He’s your mentor and you owe him a lot. Now, he owes you big time. I’d take advantage of that if I were you.”
“Is that what you think? You think I’m the dutiful soldier not making waves with his superior?” He stepped closer to her, still holding the ring in his palm, so tightly he might draw blood.
“Well, aren’t you?”
“No. I left the service and I have no obligations to anyone other than myself, my family, and the ranch.”
“I know. But you were forced to fit me into your plans.”
“Wrong again, I didn’t have to do anything. I don’t take orders anymore. From anyone. That part of my life is over. I was very close to telling your father no. That I just couldn’t help this time around.”
“And then he said ‘please.’ I was there and I remember. He never says please.”
“That’s not why I said yes.”
“No? Why, then?”
“I had to say yes when you walked into the room. Because you…”
He didn’t have words for more because the feelings were too big.
“I walked into the room, and…”
Right. He should probably complete that thought. It was like peeling back his skin, that’s what this was like. Not that simple.
“Oh my God, how did I fall in love with a man who can’t talk?”
Wait. What? She was in love with him?
“What did you say?”
“You heard me.” She lowered her head and seemed to be fighting a smile.
“I think I did but you don’t sound happy about it.”
“That’s because it’s hard to feel the way I do about you and even think about leaving. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do when I go back to LA. Because everything is different, and it will never be the same. Not without you. I’m going to miss your surly attitude and the way you think cooking is art. I’ll miss watching you walk with Freya, not riding her because you think she’s too old and you want her last days to be good ones. I’m going to miss the way you hang on to me every night like you’re afraid I’m going to take off.”
“Did it ever occur to you that’s exactly what I’m afraid of?” Colton took another step toward her.
She lowered her gaze and shook her head. “You’ll be fine without me.”
“No, I won’t be.” He tugged her into his arms and pressed his forehead to hers. “Here’s what happened. You walked into the room, and I fell in love. Just like that. And every single day I spent with you I fell more in love with you. Even when you annoyed the hell out of me, I loved you. That’s what happened. I know it doesn’t make any sense, but it’s all I’ve got.”
“That’s everything.” She smiled up at him. “All I need.”
“Except for this.” He pulled back to open his hand and show her the ring.
“But it’s not that simple, is it? We lied to everyone. It wasn’t real.”
“Not the engagement, no, that wasn’t real. But you can’t deny this…” Threading her fingers through his own, he held up their entwined hands. “This is real.”
“What do we do? How do we make this work?”
“We could go slow for a change.”
“Hm. It’s an idea.”
“We covered a lot of territory in these two weeks. We met and within a few hours we took a road trip together, were engaged within twenty-four hours, survived Sean surprising us with his rifle, a highly publicized wedding, and an attempted kidnapping. Maybe we can slow down and chill for a while.”
“Take some time, get to know each other?”
“Might be a good idea. No more faking a thing. What do you think?”
“I love you, Colton, and I’m in no hurry to go home. But how are we going to do this?”
“Would you marry me? For real this time? Whatever else happens, we can figure it out.”
“I’ll marry you whenever you want. Tonight, tomorrow, or next year.”
“It can’t be soon enough for me.”
She held out her finger and he slipped on the ring. “Now it’s real.”
“You realize this is going to require a great deal of explanation. First, we lied about being engaged. Now, we are. Is anyone actually going to believe us?”
“I don’t care if anyone else believes me, just so long as you do.” He hauled her up into his arms, heading toward his bed across the hall.
“What about the cake? It smells so good.”
“Tell me the truth. Do you love me because I’m such a great cook?”
“No, but it’s a nice perk.”
She laughed when he threw her on the bed and joined her, rolling her into his arms.
“If you’re good, really good, we can have cake as a midnight snack.”