She knew she must look like a deer in the headlights. “Question?” She busied herself putting away dishes she had washed and set to drain. She turned when she heard the scrape of the chair.
Brad rose and crossed the kitchen to stand in front of her, his movements predatory. Despite his pain, his expression was focused and direct. Her pulse scrambled when, in a deliberate move, he took the dishtowel from her hand. Emma backed up a step, bumping against the counter. He stepped closer, crowding her, and then used his free hand to reach out and grasp hers. Bringing her knuckles to his lips, he nibbled them lightly, eyes gleaming with intent. “The question, Emma. The question I asked you after I was shot. Before I blacked out.”
Emma felt her heart thumping in double time. “You were suffering from blood loss. I didn’t think you remembered.” She tried to pull her hand away but he simply turned it to press a kiss into her palm. “Frank Singleton was here earlier,” she blurted out.
He paused, lips against her hand. “So?”
“He said you’d moved on me so fast because you wanted my property.” She said it rapidly, to get it all out before she lost her nerve. “He said you bought the land between my place and yours and that your family owns a lot of land around the lake. That you all would make a fortune if the development that Great Mountain wants to build gets done.” At the flash in his eyes Emma took a deep breath, determined to finish what she had started. “He said the reason you put the moves on me so quickly was because you wanted possession of my cabins before he or Marla could work out a deal with me.” There, she’d said it.
She had definitely gotten his attention. “And you believed him?” His tone was incredulous.
“Not entirely.” At his arched brows, she blundered on. “Maybe I did believe him, at least some of it.”
“Jesus Christ, Emmaline.” He looked away from her for a moment, then back, banked-down hurt in his expression.
Her stomach clenched in knots, and she tried to explain. “Brad, no one has ever fallen for me like you seemed to. It happened so fast it doesn’t seem real.”
“It is real, Emmaline, and it wasn’t all that fast. Walt used to talk about you. And then there was that picture of the two of you together. I got hung up on you before I’d even met you.”
“But don’t you see? Nobody has ever gotten hung up on me. I look in the mirror so I know I’m no supermodel, but you acted like somehow I was irresistible.”
He cupped a warm hand at the back of her neck, fingers threading through her hair. “Supermodels are a fantasy. I want something real.”
“Why did you buy the land between our properties?” She was trying hard to keep her emotions in check, but his constant attentiveness elicited a response from her she had trouble fighting.
“I bought that property three months ago. Think about it. I didn’t know if you’d ever show up or that you wouldn’t sell the property once you’d inherited it. I wanted a buffer between my land and this place if it was going to get turned into a five-star hotel.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.” He tipped her chin up so he could kiss her, his lips seductive. “Emmaline?” He eased back, and Emma looked into eyes of fathomless green.
“Yes?”
“I love you.”
Emma felt the knots in her stomach unravel. Emotion bloomed, the lightness and beauty of sheer delight. A smile spread across her face and he trailed his hand along her jaw, thumb stroking gently. When he moved to dip his head again, she put a restraining hand against his chest. “Wait.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to tell you.” Emma sucked in a deep breath, and then released it in a whoosh. Looking him in the eye, she said, “Bradley Gallagher, I love you. You make me happier than I have ever been in my life.”
A flash of intense emotion crossed his face and he lowered his head to kiss her. Her lips parted and he slid his tongue over hers, warm and sensuous. She wrapped her arms around his waist, mindful of the sling, and worked a hand under his shirt to feel the warm skin of his back.
After several long minutes, he shifted to bury his face into her neck, holding her close despite the awkwardness of his immobilized arm. “I need you.”
His voice was muffled, but Emma could hear the intensity in his voice. When she pulled back to look at his face, his expression was serious. “I’ve always been the one people needed, I’ve always been there for my family, my friends. But I need you.”
Emotions exploded. Emma didn’t know how she could contain the sensations and felt they must be radiating out from her, like the warmth of the sun. She poured herself into another kiss as his mouth devoured hers.
Easing back, Brad ran his hand down her arm to lace his fingers through hers. “Answer my question, Emmaline. Say yes. Say you’ll marry me.” She lost herself in the intensity of his gaze. “Say you’ll be my wife, that we’ll have children together. I want you to make a life with me here in Hangman’s Loss.”
The glorious feelings grew and swelled inside her, like he had given her the sun and the moon and the stars in one beautiful, glowing bouquet. Gripping his hand tightly, she looked up at him, love tingling like an electric charge through her body. Rejecting all the doubts and reservations, she promised, “Yes, Brad, I’ll marry you. I’ll be your wife and have our children and make a life with you. As long as you’re with me, I feel like I can do anything.”
He enveloped her in his one-armed embrace and sighed deeply. Emma rested her head on his uninjured shoulder, knowing that finally, at last, she was where she belonged. She had family and friends, a community, and a man who needed and loved her.
He raised his head suddenly with a gleam in his eye. “We could get married this weekend in Reno.”
Despite his expectant expression, Emma shook her head. “Brad, if I’m to be a member of your family and part of this community, I won’t start our life together without them. We will have a proper wedding right here in town. Your mother and sisters will help us set it up, and we’ll do it right.”
“Heaven help us. You’re sure?”
She knew he was asking about more than the wedding itself. He was asking if she would take the life they would build in Hangman’s Loss, a life that would include all the good and the bad, the highs and lows, of being husband and wife, family and community.
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Good.” He grinned, then leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss that sealed the promise.
Come back to Hangman’s Loss. The High
Sierras series continues with
Dead Giveaway.