“Eve.” His tone was utterly flat, the look on his face one of extreme patience as he snagged her arm to pull her closer. “The reason my mother wouldn’t hold your glance is strictly a cultural difference. We believe that the spirit is visible in a person’s eyes, and the spirit is private. It’s a sign of disrespect to invade another’s privacy. Those of us who’ve lived off the res had to learn that we weren’t being insulted when someone looked us in the eye when they spoke. Just like we had to learn not to insult them by looking away.” He smiled, some of the tension fading from him. “Those who’ve lived their entire lives on the res, like my mother, don’t understand the difference in customs.”
“There’s so much I don’t know.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll teach you.”
He’d pulled her a foot closer, but it was his words as much as his proximity that caused her heart to hitch. Eve didn’t get a chance to consider why that was, though. He was edging her closer still.
“You said you knew I couldn’t feel about you the way you feel about me,” he reminded her. “How do you feel about me, Eve?”
He posed the question simply, but she sensed a faint uneasiness in him, a guarded anxiety that wasn’t like him at all. Far more familiar with the feeling than he seemed to be, she ducked her head, intent on the tear at the knee of his jeans.
She’d no sooner noticed the raw scrape and dirt beneath that tear when he nudged her chin back up.
“How do you feel about me?” he repeated, quietly insistent.
“The same way I always have.”
“Try again.”
“Rio…”
“Eve…” he mimicked. “Come on. You made the statement.”
She took a deep breath, blew it out, then felt the subtle warmth of his hand skimming up her arm. This man had given her her daughter. Once she’d allowed him to be, he’d been there for her whenever she needed him. Especially at the most crucial time of all. He had saved their lives. “I love you.”
“Then you’re wrong again,” he informed her, drawing her between his legs. “Because I love you, too. I was just too unfamiliar with the feeling the first time to know what it was.”
The admission was spoken simply, his eyes moving over her as he cupped the side of her face in his hand. The way he touched her made her feel as fragile as glass, as precious as gold. “You’d once asked me if I’d found what I was looking for,” he said, brushing his thumb along her jaw. “And I told you that I had no idea what it was I wanted to find. Except I had found it. Six years ago.”
A muscle in his jaw jerked, the fatigue etched in his face seeming more pronounced. “You were the only person who didn’t demand that I conform to their idea of what I should be. You accepted me just as I was. But I lost you,” he said, his hand slipping to curve around the back of her neck. “Then I found you again, and you gave me the child I’d never thought I’d have.”
He paused, searching for the words he needed as he studied her face. “I’ve done a lot of thinking in the past hours,” he finally said. “It made me realize what was really important to me, and that I don’t ever want to lose you again. We’re better now, Eve. And we need to do it right this time. We need to be a family.”
For a moment, Eve couldn’t speak. She couldn’t seem to do anything but stare into his eyes while her own filled with tears. She didn’t want to cry. Not now. But the sting behind her eyelids refused to go away.
“Hey,” he whispered, catching a tear with his thumb.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Slipping his arm around her, he pulled her to his chest. As many times as he’d seen her pushed to near breaking, he’d never actually seen her cry. That this should do it made him feel like a louse. “My timing is rotten. The last thing you need right now is to deal with getting married.”
“You’re proposing?”
“I was getting to it. But we can talk about it later.”
She shook her head, pulling back to frame his face with her hands. The tears were still there, brightening her eyes, but she didn’t care. All she cared about was him. “There’s nothing to talk about. Can we have the ceremony on the reservation?”
His entire body seemed to go still. “I take it that’s a yes.”
She didn’t actually answer him. She merely gave him a nod that had him sucking in a low breath before his hand slipped over the back of her head.
“I hope you’re into feathers,” he murmured, his breath warming her lips moments before his mouth claimed hers.
There was as much promise as passion in his kiss, as much hope as desire. Eve kissed him back just as fiercely. She loved this man. She always had. And, by some miracle, she had been given back the dreams she’d been too young to handle the first time. Yet as she felt her body relax against his when he carried his kiss to her temple and he pressed her head to his shoulder, she had to admit it was more than having his love that mattered to her. She had his trust.
From the other side of the curtain came the drone of voices and the squeak of a gurney wheel as it rolled past their cubicle. The happiness filling her heart dimmed as reality hit.
Lifting her head, she searched the strong lines of Rio’s face. “You’re giving up the story, aren’t you.”
The worry was back in her delicate features, stealing the light from her eyes. Seeing that concern, hating what had put it there, Rio brushed her hair back from her drawn and pale face.
From the moment he had realized what had happened to Eve and Molly, there had been no question in his mind about what he’d do. He’d give up his own life before he’d jeopardize the lives of the two people he loved most. As long as there was a breath in his body, he’d do whatever he had to do to keep them safe.
Drawing her back to him, he brushed his lips over her forehead. “Yes, I’m giving it up,” he whispered, then drew her closer again and kissed her with all the newly discovered love in his heart.
The truth about Olivia Stuart’s murder would have to be discovered by someone else. He had far too much to lose.
A spring storm shouldn’t be that devastating—but this one was. Not only did it destroy roads and the mountainside, but it caused utter panic and ruined lives. Eve Stuart lost her closest friend, her mother, Olivia. Hal Stuart not only lost his bride-to-be during the storm, he too, lost Olivia. While Eve is mourning the loss, Hal is trying everything he can to make the whole situation go away. But now that the police know the mob is involved, how long will it take them to connect Hal’s role to the whole situation? Did Randi find out the truth just before the wedding? Is that why she risked her life and hightailed it out of town during one of the worst storms in Grand Springs’ history? But now that the storm has left town and the floodwaters have receded, who knows what evidence might float to the top, revealing the killer. Read on and see….
Up next, The Rancher and The Runaway Bride by Susan Mallery.
A pounding rainstorm hits the town of Grand Springs, Colorado, causing blackouts and mudslides. As the people of Grand Springs are forced to come together, find out who will find love, family and each other.
Be sure to check out all the titles in Harlequin E’s first serial, 36 Hours, a story told in 36 parts, by these bestselling authors:
When Lightning Strikes: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Mary Lynn Baxter
Strange Bedfellows: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Kasey Michaels
Ooh Baby, Baby: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Diana Whitney
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Cinderella Story: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Elizabeth August
Father and Child Reunion: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Christine Flynn
The Rancher and the Runaway Bride: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Susan Mallery
Marriage by Contract: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Sandra Steffen
Partners in Crime: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Alicia Scott (April 2014)
Nine Months: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Beverly Barton (April 2014)
The Parent Plan: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Paula Detmer Riggs (A
pril 2014)
You Must Remember This: Parts 1, 2 and 3 by Marilyn Pappano (April 2014)
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ISBN: 978-1-4603-3096-8
FATHER AND CHILD REUNION PART 3
This is the revised text of a portion of a work first published by Harlequin Enterprises Limited in 1997.
Copyright © 1997 by Harlequin Books S.A.
First part of revised text Copyright © 2014 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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Father And Child Reunion Part 3 (36 Hours Serial Book 6.3) Page 9
