Then, with the truth finally out, she released his hand and stood. “I’m not going to lie. This is hard for me, but I believe I’m making the right decision for both of us.”
She turned, heard Brent call her name, but she didn’t look back. No. She had to move forward and live the life she had recreated for herself in order to give them both a chance at a better future.
Less than two weeks later, Reagan gathered her catering supplies and loaded them into her van. “We’re running ahead of schedule,” she said to her assistant.
“That’s because you’ve been working non-stop ever since you left the hospital room in Bozeman,” Eric said. “Face it. You’re using your job to run away from your feelings.”
“I’m just focused, trying to make my new line of sauces a hit on the market,” she said, refusing to admit the truth to Eric. But deep down, she ached.
Sure, she’d renewed her contract with the At Home Network and her plans to expand her special marinades and sauces were slowly coming together. A warehouse had been procured, people hired to make the additional batches of sauces, and a marketing schedule was on tap for the following month.
And between wrapping up the live filming of the show, operating the restaurant and catering company, she hadn’t slowed down since returning to Magnolia Falls.
“Whatever you say,” Eric said, shutting the van’s back doors. “But those shadows under your eyes aren’t going anywhere soon.”
“Button it,” she said, then made her way to the passenger side and stepped inside. “Just drive.”
“Gotten a lot grumpier too.” Eric started the engine. “Good thing you’re a pro and the fans haven’t picked up on your perpetually lousy mood.”
Driving down the highway toward Saxon Vineyards, Reagan gazed through the window at the passing winter wonderland. She thought she’d made the right decision by leaving Brent. But ever since she’d walked out of that hospital room, nothing had been the same.
All the things that had once brought her joy had evaporated. Even cooking, running the catering business, everything. All her plans coming to fruition and everything right on schedule for a spring rollout of her sauces.
The show on the At Home Network was a hit. The fans craved even more after what had happened in Montana.
A deer with large antlers loped in the trees they drove beside and then disappeared into the wilderness. Once more, an emptiness settled behind her breastbone that she couldn’t fill. She’d been there before, believed she’d never overcome the true hollow feeling she’d experienced after she’d lost her husband and the pregnancy.
But then, someone had come along who’d refilled that gaping wound. And that someone had been Brent.
She’d used her career and her past to protect herself from losing someone she cared about again. And she’d been too quick to push him out of her life, especially after he’d apologized and come clean about his career, everything that had brought him into her world.
A dullness in her chest along with the invisible press of an anchor on her shoulders weighed heavy. She’d made a gargantuan mistake when she left him alone in that hospital room and had given up another shot at having the life she’d missed for years. A life with someone who stood by her, loved her. How could she have done that to herself? To him?
A surge of energy bolted through her as the winter sun glared through the van’s front window. She’d never even given Brent the chance to show how much he cared after revealing her secret. Running away would no longer be how she coped with her losses. No. She’d face them head-on.
“You know what, Eric?” She turned to her assistant as they cruised into the vineyard’s road. “You’re right. I am hiding behind my pots and pans to avoid facing something really difficult. But that ends today.” Somehow, she’d use her connection to Alexandra and her vast secret agency’s network to track down Brent. Then she’d go to him as soon as humanly possible to apologize for being such a dope. If he truly cared about her, he’d accept her without condition. She’d known that all along, before and after his shocking revelation in Montana.
So Reagan would reach out to her friend while catering Saxon Vineyard’s annual New Year’s Eve Gala. Find out where to find Brent and take the first steps to giving them another shot.
If he’d take her back.
But, as they arrived at the vineyard’s beautiful old world chateau style manor’s parking lot, a familiar Stetson hat came into view.
Her heart skipped, bounced against her sternum. Adrenaline zipped through her veins and her fingertips tingled as a humming buzzed in her ears. “Stop,” she said, unbuckling her seatbelt with shaking hands. “I’ve got to get out now.”
Eric braked, and she rushed out of the van, calling Brent’s name. He turned and locked eyes with her and everything she missed rushed back into her mind, her heart. Her soul.
“What are you doing in Magnolia Falls?” she asked, making her way toward him.
“I transferred here after I got out of the hospital.”
Her breath caught and she touched the hollow at the base of her neck with still trembling fingers. Though still on crutches, every inch of him was just as deliciously handsome and powerfully strong as she remembered. He hobbled closer to her on his crutches.
“Why?” she asked, hope blooming in her heart, taking root in the recesses of her soul. A thousand bubbles seemed to flow through her veins and make her head spin, dizzying her in all the right ways.
“You left without saying goodbye and I needed to see you again,” he said, stopping when they both reached each other.
Standing toe-to-crutched toe, he lifted one hand and caressed her face. “I want you to know that even if we can’t have children of our own, I know we can still be a family.”
Her throat closed, and her nose itched. Hot tears pricked behind her eyes. “How? I mean I guess adoption is an option, but that’s a long process and there are no guarantees.” A cool breeze caught a few loose strands of her hair, feathering them onto her cheeks. “I could hear it in your voice when you talked about how much you love your nieces and nephews. Family matters to you.”
He warmed her face with his free palm, slid a bare thumb pad over her lips, stroking gently. “Family doesn’t mean having a special set number of people in it to be real. Family can be two people being in love, growing old together, maybe touching other people’s lives by being fabulous aunts, uncles, friends,” he said softly, half-hopping closer to bridge the scant distance between them. “Maybe, one day, when I’m too old to carry a gun and I get sidelined, we can look into other ways to bring kids into our lives. But, you’re the only family I need. You’re the air I breathe, the sun shining in the darkest corners of my soul. You’re light and joy and bring happiness to me. You’re my family.”
A tear escaped, and he brushed it away. “Brent, I left before saying goodbye and I also left before telling you the truth.”
“You told me everything and I’m still here, aren’t I?”
She flicked her glance away and caught site of another deer hovering in the woods beyond. Even further back, a stag stood tall. Protecting. Shielding his mate. Gathering her courage once more, she locked her eyes onto Brent’s, determined to make things right. “I told you about the infertility, but I didn’t come clean about my choices since the day of the accident.”
“You had a lot to overcome,” he said, lowering his head to hers.
“I did, but I’ve been using my work, my plans and career, to bury myself and hide from the world. From love. I didn’t think I needed it, couldn’t risk it.” The air between them misted, warmed her face. She wrapped her hands around his neck, held onto him. Drew more strength. “I pushed you away after you told me the truth about why we met because…” she paused, inhaled a breath, and his masculine scent of woods and crisp clean winter sunshine wafted into her senses, enveloping her. Oh, how she loved the familiar, solidness of this man. Her man if she fought for him. “Deep down, I was afraid. Afraid to believe in
love again and afraid of all the expectations that come from being with another person. I lost more than my husband and my baby on that day. I lost a big part of myself. Being with you brought that part alive again. And I don’t want to live a half-life anymore. I’m sorry. So sorry for pushing you away.”
“I should have told you. There’s no getting around that truth, but I promise you with everything I have in me that I’ll never keep you in the dark again,” he said, brushing his lips onto her forehead, her cheeks, her mouth. “I can’t tell you everything about my life, my missions, but I can give you what you need the most. Me. If you’ll still have me.”
A rustle of movement sounded behind her in the forest and the sun rays sparkled on invisible ice crystals. Slowly, she became aware of a crowd circling around them. Along with Cooking Thyme’s crew, she spotted Alexandra, Spencer Caldwell and his fiancée. Their faces beamed and the family she’d always relied on became clear.
These were her people. They’d grown up with her and her brother, they’d celebrated with her when she’d emerged from the depths of despair and had landed her show.
And with Brent she could open a whole new world of possibilities.
“Yes,” she said, caressing his cheek. “I’ll have you.”
A soft clapping sounded, and the crutches fell to the ground as Brent drew her into his arms and covered her mouth with his, bringing her home and to where she belonged.
With him. Now and forever.
Epilogue
Six months later
Reagan’s mother handed her the simple bouquet of Gerber daisies and springs of green leaves. “I’m so happy for you,” she said with tears misting her light blue eyes. “Though we never thought we’d see this day arrive again, we hoped.”
She smiled, then kissed her mother’s still unlined cheek. “Neither did I, to be honest.” But Brent had found a way into her heart, her life and her world. And she couldn’t imagine moving forward without him by her side.
“He’s a good man,” her father added as he walked to stand beside her. “You ready to make him yours permanently?”
“Totally.”
She took her parents’ arms and together they strolled out of her room at Saxon’s winery and down the stairway until they reached the bottom floor. Just outside, the man she’d fallen in love with waited for her to join him beneath the vine covered arbor set up next to the vineyard. Already, her brother and their friends, Spencer and Alexandra, had seated the small gathering of friends and family members.
Her heart filled when she heard the sounds of laughter, a baby’s soft cry amidst the harp music playing. Once she’d had a wedding with all the stops pulled out: formal and perfect for then. And the rings she’d said her vows to when they were slipped onto her finger had bound to another good man. A man who would hold a special place in her heart for the rest of her life.
Those rings had never been replaced, but no one could erase what they’d given her.
Love.
And now she made her way to the man who’d shown her she could have love again. Brent.
As she moved toward him, saw his whiskey-colored eyes light up when she approached the altar, a floating sensation bubbled through her, filling her with renewed hope and wonder. Today she’d say her vows and cherish every new memory, every new moment with Brent.
And, after they’d finally exchanged a new set of rings, Brent lowered his mouth to hers, bringing her home all over again.
Thank you for reading Tempted by Her Rescuer! I hope you loved Reagan and Brent’s story as much as I do. If you’d like to read more about her brother Colton and Isabella, dive into my new series Covert Rescuers’ Undercover Shield/C.R.U.SH. today!
Here’s an excerpt from the first CRUSH book, Covert Seduction…
Special agent Colton Sutler hated three things: the tuxedo currently strangling him, snakes, and drug dealing scumbags. No snakes in the grand ballroom—unless he counted the human one who might be at this historic manor house tonight. To secure an invitation, he had to call in a favor from Alexandra, the owner and a friend from his hometown in Virginia. One he hadn’t talked to in forever.
Only tonight he hadn’t come to party. He’d come to stop a monster.
He’d just wrapped up an investigation for the Drug Enforcement Agency when the intel came in about a suspect moving into Magnolia Falls’ jurisdiction. Someone who’d surfaced as a connection to a case haunting him for three years.
Mario Rossi.
Colton was here to spy on the bastard, and finally get somewhere in a coveted drug investigation that cost his agency already too much time and lives. Now he had a chance to expose Mario and his crime boss. He’d learned they planned to import heroin to the region and Mario’s boss planned to handle the details personally.
Colton could finally discover the brains behind this worldwide operation. He’d shut down the drug cartel and even the score on a personal level. His last operation in Magnolia Falls’ had resulted in losing one of his best friends. He still blamed himself for the loss. This time no one he loved would die because of a deadly betrayal.
“Colton.” Alexandra crossed the room and moved toward him, then brushed his cheeks one by one, European style. “I finally see you after all these years.”
He smiled. She’d always been elegant with an air of sophistication even back in high school. Tonight, she exuded class in her strapless golden formal gown and her honey blonde hair swept into an elegant chignon. “It’s been too long,” he said, holding her hazel eyes with his.
“True.” She lifted a glass of red wine from a passing server’s tray. “I was surprised when you called, especially wanting to visit my winery, let alone attend my family’s annual charity event. So not your thing.”
“You’d be astonished by how much I’ve changed since you attended university overseas,” he said, focusing on their past friendship revealing nothing about the real reason that brought him here.
And that reason still hadn’t shown up at the gala. Not anywhere obvious. Had his informant been mistaken? Frustrated, he glanced at the dance floor where several guests swirled around the gleaming parquet surface. Some catchy pop song he hadn’t heard before played and then a flash of red had him riveted on the woman twirling away from her partner’s arms. Her smiling face, gorgeous and flushed, filled with laughter as she spun back into the man’s body.
A slow burn simmered beneath the surface of his skin, catching him off guard. As did the thrumming of his pulse in his ears along with the instant attraction. He took another hit of his rich red wine and wished he’d chosen a crisp, cold chardonnay instead.
Her dance partner whirled her away from him again and before she could rebound into his waiting arms, her gaze collided with his. He locked onto the sultry dark eyes for a mouthwatering instant. Her lips parted, curved into another seductive smile just before her partner swiveled her away.
He swallowed another large gulp of wine. “Who’s that woman?”
“Isabella Cavelli.”
The hairs on the back of his neck raised. Her name sounded familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Yet. “Tell me more,” he said, nodding toward the gorgeous brunette.
She switched dance partners, moving with grace over the floor despite the man’s girth. He kept her in his sights.
“How’d you meet her?”
“She’s one of my partners in a Global Winery Consortium to promote our wines. And she’s become a friend,” Alexandra said. “She owns a centuries’ old vineyard in Tuscany and comes from a prosperous background.” She placed her empty wineglass on a passing server’s elegant silver tray without missing a beat, her movement as well-timed as a karate expert.
He tilted his head and stared at the dance floor. Adrenaline beat a tempo behind his ribcage. Mario Rossi grew up in Tuscany. He operated his primary resort on the coast near Isabella’s winery. With declining harvests, did she have another source of income? “Sounds like she’s on top of her game,” Colton said, continuing
to track her movements on the dance floor, mesmerized. Damn. He had to get his shit together. Mario might show up at any moment. But was he connected to Isabella somehow? He didn’t recall her name showing up in any of his research before.
“Your sister Reagan told me about your business venture,” Alexandra said, cutting into his thoughts. “I’m curious. Are you going to operate this venture from your office in Washington, D.C. or are you making this break a permanent one?”
His pulse accelerated, sending a drumbeat of wariness behind his sternum. If he hadn’t known her throughout his childhood, he could have sworn she had more than a casual curiosity by her probing hazel eyes and carefully modulated tone of voice. Almost as if she didn’t buy his cover story.
He swirled the wine in his glass, stalling until he had his heart rate and his unwarranted suspicion under control. His friend only wanted details about his return Magnolia Falls, and his pretense of taking over a bankrupt river rafting business. Part of him wanted to make his venture a reality. After all, his memories of growing up here made him nostalgic for easier, simpler times. Times when rafting the rivers and hiking the Shenandoah mountains while hanging out with his friends had given him a strong sense of security and love.
Unfortunately, the security had been false. Even this beautiful region had skeletons and problems lurking in the shadows of the sun-dappled pink rhododendrons, lush green forests, and acres of vineyards.
Which was why he’d committed himself to the DEA.
“Well?” she asked. “Are you moving back?”
“Not sure,” Colton said. “Depends on how things play out.” He continued scanning the room for Mario.
“Getting more tourist money into the region will be good for the local economy,” Alexandra said.
The prickling intensified as he continued to survey the room. No sign of the bastard yet. But his stomach clenched and his intuition beat a warning against his breastbone. The Italian socialite’s attendance at his friend’s charity gala couldn’t be coincidental. Not when they came from the same region and could easily have run in the same social circles.
Tempted By Her Rescuer: Brotherhood Protectors World Page 11
