“The doctor said you should be in bed,” Leah said to Deacon. He’d convinced her to wheel him out to the back porch at the ranch. A couple of the windows were open and the air was warmer than the last time she was in this room a week ago.
Deacon had taken a bullet in the thigh and it had nicked an artery. He’d lost a lot of blood but, thanks to his physical condition, was already recovering. Dougherty had been charged with the murders after confessing to everything. Elijah was found alive and was recovering.
The sounds of nature came alive at night on the ranch, she’d noticed. It was a different life than in the city but she refused to leave Deacon’s side until he was better.
Plus, Connor loved being on the ranch.
“I have a confession to make,” Deacon said as he repositioned in the chair.
Leah’s heart raced. “What’s that?”
“I’ll be up and around soon,” he hedged. What was that look on his face? Was he about to tell her that it was time for her to leave? He’d said that he loved her before he collapsed. Did he mean it? Or had he been delirious?
After spending a week taking care of him, being with him in his home, she couldn’t take hearing the words from him. So, she preempted. “Connor and I should probably get back to our lives in the city soon.”
Deacon didn’t respond.
“Is that what you want?” he finally asked. “Because the confession I have to make is that I’ve fallen in love with you.”
She started to speak but he put a hand up to stop her.
“Some people might say that this is rather sudden.” He looked her in the eyes. “They’d be wrong. I knew there was something special about you the first time I saw you. I wasn’t ready to open my heart again to anyone. But logic didn’t matter. The heart knows what it wants. Mine wants you, Leah. What do you say? Do you feel the same or am I wasting my breath?”
Leah kissed him.
“I’ve been waiting my whole life to love you, Deacon. I didn’t know that before we met. But I’ve never felt this way about another person before and I want to spend the rest of my life figuring out what that means with you,” she said.
Deacon pressed his lips to hers. He pulled back enough to say, “Did you just ask me to marry you?”
“I don’t know. Would you say yes if I did?” She couldn’t suppress her smile or the happiness bursting through her insides.
“I’d get down on one knee but that’s tricky right now.” Deacon pulled her to his chest and kissed her. “I wasn’t sure I could ever be happy living here on the ranch, but with you and Connor I’ve finally found where I belong.”
“I want to live here if it’s okay with you. Connor loves it here and I love being surrounded by family,” she said.
“What about your job?”
“I got into law enforcement to make a difference in people’s lives. You made a few calls to set up programs for the homeless. Any chance I could get involved in those projects?” She pressed her lips to his.
“You can do anything you like as long as you come home to me every night.” He chuckled that low rumble from deep in his chest. Leah placed her head over his heart and listened to the sound of it beating.
This was home. He was home. Everything else could be figured out as they went.
“I’m ready to get that dog now,” Leah said.
Look for more books in USA TODAY
bestselling author Barb Han’s
Rushing Creek Crime Spree miniseries in 2020!
And don’t miss the previous books in the series:
Cornered at Christmas
Ransom at Christmas
Available now from Harlequin Intrigue!
Keep reading for an excerpt from Dangerous Conditions by Jenna Kernan.