“You look happy. Things are going well?”
“I am happy. Are you going to take on another partner?”
“I am.”
“What did you want to see me about?”
“I have a favor and request to ask… hear me out because it's kind of silly,” Jack said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck nervously and looking away. This was stupid, and he didn’t know what made him think of it, but it felt right.
“Anything for a friend,” Fallon said amicably, smiling at him.
Gosh, she was such a good person, he thought, feeling a little envious of their obvious love for each other. Maybe this next partner he would be assigned to, things would go a little differently.
“I’d be honored if you’d let me walk you down the aisle.”
Fallon rushed over and hugged him immediately. Jack closed his arms around her smaller frame and held her as she cried happily against his chest. After a moment, he brushed back her hair and wiped her tears.
“I feel like you are family to me, a good friend, and someone I care for,” Jack said gruffly, wiping his own eyes. “I want to see you happy. I know I’m no replacement for your own father, but I’d be more than thrilled to fill in for the man.”
“You have a special place in my heart that no one can ever take away,” Fallon said, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, “I couldn’t picture anyone else walking me down the aisle but you.”
“I do love you in a way, dollface, just not in the same way your Rourke loves you. You are the friend I didn’t know I needed and wasn’t expecting in my life.”
“I feel the same way, my friend.”
“Let’s get you married before Rourke changes his mind and takes me out of this world regardless,” he smiled, feeling a lightness in his heart. “I may have to tease him a lot over the years that I was here first… even if I know that he was always the one for you.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
1900
Dallas, Texas
“Mama, do you want a flower in your hair again this year?” the dark-haired young lady standing beside Fallon’s chair smiled at her in the reflection. Her oldest daughter was helping her dress this morning for their wedding anniversary celebration.
“I think maybe I’ll go with a comb again this year.”
“Are you certain? I remember Papa likes the yellow flowers against your dark hair. He says they are ‘almost as bright as the stars in your Mama’s eyes’,” Madeline said wistfully, making Fallon smile tenderly at the happiness in her daughter’s expression.
Love was their legacy and their bond.
She recognized that look on her daughter’s face as it was the same one that she gave Rourke every time he made her laugh. She loved that infernal man more now than ever before. Every year since they had married, he went out of his way to make Fallon feel special over and over again.
“Let’s not keep your Papa waiting. He’s not the most patient of men.”
“He should be at this point,” Madeline retorted, rolling her eyes. “No one else’s parents renew their wedding vows repeatedly, every single year, on their anniversary. At least tell me Uncle Jack will come this time. He missed it last year and for good reason. A new life is always a blessing.”
“No, not this year. He’s on assignment but will be here for Christmas.”
“Wonderful. Is the whole family coming then?” she asked innocently, sliding a glance at her mother. Fallon picked up on the look immediately. When Madeline had been a girl, she used to sneak penny candies from the jar when they pretended they weren’t looking. Oh yes, she knew that look all too well.
“Do you have something you want to tell me, Madeline?”
“I was just curious…”
“… Curious to see if Joseph is coming down to visit with his father?”
“How did you know?”
“Mothers know these kinds of things, sweetheart,” Fallon said tenderly, “just make sure he is the right one for you. There should be no doubt in your mind or in your heart. If something isn’t right, then he isn’t the one.”
“Mama, he gives me goosebumps when he holds my hand.”
“I’m glad.”
Fallon stood up and shook out her gown. Opening the door to their bedroom, she saw that Rourke was standing by the fireplace in the living room talking with their neighbor, Pastor Michaelson, who’d performed the renewal every single year that they’d lived here in town. It was bittersweet to think of how many times they’d promised to love, honor, and cherish each other…
“You look as beautiful as the day Jack gave you to me in Denver.”
“It was like yesterday, wasn’t it,” Fallon admitted, placing her hand in his.
Rourke lifted her fingers to his lips and smiled. The playful, charming young man she’d married had weathered and aged a little. His dark eyes had faint lines at the corners and a few strands of grey touched his curly, disheveled hair, but he was still the same young man that crossed the street to dance with her in Shenandoah.
“Are you ready to marry me again, my sweet wren?”
“Always.”
An Agent for Gillian
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Two wrongs don’t make a right – or do they?
Gillian Jameson had lost her world when her husband died. Alone, scared, and desperate for something to fill the emptiness in her soul- she turns to the Pinkerton Agency for help. What she never expected was to be married again, especially to a man like Cade Malone.
Cade had a recklessness to him that was born of sheer desperation. His wife and child were gone. He was running from memories that haunted him with every breath and nightmares that plagued him each night. What he needed was a reason to go on- and it certainly wasn’t in the form of a new partner.
Can two broken souls form a bond between them? Will seeing another person who is struggling to deal with the trauma in their lives be just the thing to help old wounds heal – or would falling for each other simply create another emotional scar that is just too great to bear?
An Agent for Meghan
Meghan Chambers is spoiled and she knows it. Growing up, she had everything you could ever ask for except affection. The close bond she has with her sister Bernadette is essential to her happiness, but when her sister is ordered to marry a stranger – a new adventure together sounds like just the thing to keep the duo in cahoots! There’s nothing quite so exciting, daring, or carefree as tracking down a villain – until she meets Jack Gaines.
Jack takes one look at the pampered princess that he is being saddled with and laughs in sheer disbelief. There’s no way he’s going to willingly agree to be married to a hoity-toity-rich-girl like Meghan. He is tough, lethal, and was hired to track down a killer - not bungle a pretend marriage with a partner who looks like a prima donna.
When Meghan proves to be more than just the frills and lace on her dress, can she earn Jack’s respect and trust when they need it most? Can Jack let down his guard to see that sometimes it’s okay to show a little tenderness and compassion towards his wife, the newest Pinkerton Agent.
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A Bride for Daniel
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Emma Butler is devastated to find her life spiraling out of her control. She is married by proxy at the moment war begins in her own home of Lexington, Massachusetts. The ‘shot heard round the world’ is volleyed directly in front of her, leaving her an orphan. To make matters even more tragic, her new husband never arrives to claim her. The ideas of life, liberty, and happiness seem so far away as she struggles to get by in a world she no longer recognizes. Just when things begin to settle down, she comes face to face with her missing groom, Daniel Knox.
Daniel Knox has had his life put forcibly on hold when he is pressed into service for the King’s Navy. Betrayed, alone, and with nowhere to go – he heads for the one spark of hope that he remembers from years ago, praying for a secon
d chance at happiness with Emma, his Proxy Bride.
Lawfully Yours
Lawfully Yours - available on Kindle Unlimited
Emily and Elias Jessup left their home in southern Texas, tired of living a life of poverty. They soon find out that life is no better alone on their own. With not a penny to their name and no job prospects, the siblings turn to stealing from the rich to survive. Constantly on the run from the law, the two know their days are numbered before the law catches up to them.
Cade Singleton heard stories of the Jessup siblings preying on the rich. When the bounty is increased high enough to entice him into pursuing them, he wants nothing better than to make them see justice.
When he finally catches up to them in a rural area just south of Dallas, Cade captures Emily and decides to use her for bait to apprehend her brother. Can this bounty hunter find it in his heart to see past Emily's lawless ways and be able to see the kind-hearted woman that lies beneath? Can Emily start over and be freed from her past through loving Cade? And will the Jessup siblings finally find redemption?
About the Author
Ginny Sterling is a Texas transplant living in Kentucky. She spends her free time (Ha!) writing, quilting, and spending time with her husband and two children. Ginny can be reached on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or via email at [email protected]
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Copyright © 2020 by Ginny Sterling
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