The ringing of hammering and the buzz of a saw filled the air. Cody stood next to Allison as a team of her men worked to build a dream tree house for him.
A dream. That’s what she felt she’d been living for the past week. Knox’s face being the first she saw in the morning and the last one she saw before sleep was beyond wonderful.
During the days, he’d been working with this crew of men and while he seemed content in his position, she had a feeling there were greater things ahead of him.
She believed he might secretly have his eye on a sheriff’s badge, and she would fully support him if he decided to run against Bud Jeffries in the fall.
Shadow Creek deserved a lawman like Knox and she knew that most of the town would also support him. But, fall was months away and she was just enjoying living in the moment with the two males who held her heart.
She and Knox had spent long hours talking about their past, healing from any wounds and instead focusing on their future together. There had been no more information about Livia. She was still out there somewhere, with the authorities working hard to find her. But she wasn’t much of a conversation piece anymore between Allison and Knox. They had far more important things to talk about than a sociopathic woman on the run.
“This is so totally awesome,” Cody exclaimed as he danced around impatiently.
The tree house was almost done. The men were just putting on the finishing touches. Knox set the wooden rung ladder against the tree, tested the strength and then hammered it into place. He climbed up and disappeared into the wooden structure. A moment later, he appeared in the window, a huge grin on his face.
“Come on up, son,” he said.
Cody scrambled up the stairs and soon after he appeared with Knox at the window. “Mom, you should come up here.”
“Not me. That’s strictly a man cave. But both of you stay where you are.” She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket to take a picture. She was determined to capture every moment of happiness in their lives and had already taken more pictures in the last week than she had in the entire preceding year.
George and the other men began loading up their tools as Knox came back down and joined her. “Can I bring some of my horses up here?” Cody asked. “And can I call Josh and have him come over to play? He’s gonna freak when he sees this.”
“That would be fine,” she replied.
Cody climbed down and raced toward the back door. When he disappeared inside the house, Knox pulled her into his arms. “Happy?”
“Delirious,” she replied.
“Cody is definitely happy, but I had a talk with him last night and I know what would make him even happier.”
“A horse,” she replied.
“No, something else.”
She looked up at him curiously. “What?”
He leaned into her and nuzzled her ear and then whispered, “A brother or a sister.”
Her heart glowed and danced at the thought of having a baby, with him here and present with her. “You know how much I like to make Cody happy,” she said half-breathlessly.
His warm blue eyes held hers intently. “You’re ready to have another baby?”
“Oh, Knox, I’d love to carry another one of your babies. I’d love for you to place your hand on my belly and feel him or her kick. You’ll need to rub my back and make midnight runs to buy me butter toffee ice cream and cheeseburgers.”
“You aren’t scaring me,” he said with a laugh.
“Then you can be with me in the delivery room and...” Emotion choked her. “Like you should have been with Cody.”
“Nothing from the past matters anymore, Ally. I’m with you now and always,” he replied.
She gazed into his warm, emotion-filled eyes and knew that Fort Knox had been cracked. He kissed her then, a soft, gentle kiss that spoke of enduring love and hearts forever bound.
* * * * *
If you loved this novel,
don’t miss the next thrilling romance in
the COLTONS OF SHADOW CREEK miniseries:
COLTON UNDERCOVER by USA TODAY
bestselling author Marie Ferrarella,
available in April 2017
from Harlequin Romantic Suspense!
And check out other suspenseful titles by
New York Times bestselling author Carla Cassidy:
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Available now from Harlequin Romantic Suspense!
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Keep reading for a sneak peek at the first episode of
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