How Sweet It Is

by Wendy Vella

  “I did not.”

  “You’ve shown nothing but excessive emotion since you got to Howling, and just last night you yelled at me in front of people, which is totally unprofessional. Then there are the rules you broke today when you told that inspector you were an associate of mine.”

  “We associate!” she said indignantly.

  “We’re emotionally entangled, so you can’t avoid that, either. Lastly, you’re one of a kind, Willow Moonbeam Harper from New York, so I’d say you can toss those rules in the trash.”

  “Are we?”

  “Yes.” He knew what she was asking him. “We’re emotionally entangled, baby.”

  “Oh. Well, then.” She blushed.

  “Just tell the woman!”

  Turning, he saw his friends all standing behind him, smiling. If it had to be here, it had to be here, he guessed.

  “I love you, Willow.”

  “Really?”

  “Madly, deeply, with every spatula I own.”

  “I-I… yes,” she whispered, sinking into his arms.

  “Yes?”

  “I love you,” she whispered. “How’s that for excessive emotion?”

  “It’s just fine by me.”

  As the carnival went on around them and his friends smiled encouragement, he kissed the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

  “Is now a good time to tell everyone that I’m pregnant?”

  Willow and Buster turned as one to look at Branna.

  “It’s a perfect time,” Willow said, laughing.

  And it was, Buster realized. Everything about this moment was perfect, especially the woman in his arms.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Six months later…

  “I can’t see my feet,” Branna wailed as she waddled into The Hoot with Jake at her heels. “And it’s hot,” she added, making her way to the counter.

  “Jesus. Moan, moan, moan, that’s all we get out of you these days,” Buster said, coming around the counter to put an arm around Branna’s shoulders and lead her to a seat. “Take a load off, Irish.”

  “And what a load,” she said, sighing.

  “You sure there’s only one in there?” Buster asked, looking at her large belly.

  “Don’t,” Jake said, going white. “Seriously, man, that thought just made me weak.”

  “When’s Willow due back?” Branna asked, putting her feet on the chair Buster had moved into place. “I miss her.”

  “Now, today, any time, and me too,” Buster said, shooting another look out the windows that faced the street. He’d done that at least a hundred times already today.

  “So this is the last trip?” Jake asked.

  “Very last, unless we go together,” Buster said, heading back behind the counter to make Branna the herbal tea she liked, and Jake a strong coffee.

  Willow had traveled back and forth to New York every month for the last six so she could tie up all the loose ends of her life there. She’d sold her apartment, and it had been her choice; Buster hadn’t pressured her.

  “No, Buster, my life is here with you and our friends now,” she’d said, and he hadn’t argued with her because it was what he’d wanted too.

  He missed her. It was that simple. He missed her so much he couldn’t sleep, and that just plain pissed him off because he’d always been able to sleep anytime, anywhere. Not now though; now he couldn’t sleep without Willow tangled around him. She wasn’t what he’d call a calm sleeper. No, she moved and mumbled, and he usually ended up pinned to the edge of the bed with her draped over him, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

  He loved her so much that he had to grit his teeth just thinking about her because he felt emotion flood through him. “I hope like hell it eases,” he muttered, slapping a cup down on the counter hard enough to crack it. Because otherwise he’d be gray before he hit fifty. She got to him on so many levels he didn’t know where to start explaining that thought to himself, let alone her.

  “So she’s going to sell her drawings from now on?”

  “Yup,” Buster said to Jake. “She’s got heaps of orders.”

  “Your girl’s just pulled up!” Branna called to him.

  He ran like a small boy, right out of the shop and onto the street. He wrenched the car door open, then hauled her out from behind the wheel and into his arms.

  “Hey, Moonbeam.”

  “I love you,” she said, kissing him right there on the street in front of everyone passing by. Her old rules, numbers one and six, were once again firmly smashed to tiny pieces.

  “You’re not going anywhere again without me,” Buster whispered against her lips before kissing her again.

  “Two weeks. That was all I was gone.”

  “You saying you didn’t miss me?” He eased her back in his arms so he could look into her pretty eyes.

  “More than I could cope with,” she said honestly. “So much it hurt,” she added, kissing him again. “In fact, Michael told me it wasn’t healthy to miss someone as much as I’ve missed you.”

  “Fuck Michael,” Buster said. “And ditto.”

  “Ditto?”

  “I missed you like you said.”

  Her laugh was a soft little growl that made his body ache.

  “You need to let me go now. We’re attracting attention.” Willow pushed at his shoulders and he reluctantly let her go, but only so he could drag her inside The Hoot.

  “Branna!” Willow squealed and ran to her new friend. She kissed Branna on the cheek and hugged her gently before doing the same to Jake. “Wait, I have gifts!”

  Buster watched her run out the door again and dive into the trunk of her car.

  “You did good there, bud,” Jake said, watching her like Buster was.

  “She’s…she’s so much more than I ever thought I’d have in my life,” Buster said honestly.

  “Oh, God,” Branna wailed. “That was so sweet.”

  Jake rolled his eyes and ignored his weeping woman. “You deserve each other, Buster,” he said. “It’s good to see you happy, my friend.”

  Branna continued to sniffle all through the presentation of gifts Willow had brought for the baby, Branna and Jake. Then, suddenly, she said, “Jake.”

  “Just a minute, sweetheart,” he said. “I’m just looking at this print Willow had framed for me. It’s really something.”

  “Jake!”

  Something in Branna’s tone alerted them all, and they looked at her in time to see a puddle of liquid beginning to pool under her chair.

  “Holy shit!” Jake leaped to his feet and ran for the door.

  “Where’s he going?” Willow said, helping Branna out of the chair. “His wife’s water just broke.”

  Jake came running back inside, looking pale. “I didn’t bring my bag.”

  “There’s nothing in there she’ll need yet,” Willow said. “Just take her other arm, and we’ll get her down to the clinic. Then you can call your mom.”

  “Right. Yes, of course, you’re right,” he said, then began to guide Branna gently toward the door.

  Willow shook her head as she watched.

  “Call Jake’s mother, Buster, and tell her to meet us there. I’ll go with them, in case Jake forgets the way.”

  “How come you’re so calm?” Buster asked, feeling himself start to sweat at the thought of one of his closest friends going into labor.

  “I was at Jade’s birth remember. Helping to bring my nephew into the world was a magical experience and something I will always treasure. Plus I helped out with some births before I left home. Commune, remember? Everything was all about being natural.”

  “Great. You can help me get through having our babies,” Buster said as he began to shut down the café for the day. He couldn’t work, not now.

  “You want babies?” Willow was still standing in the middle of the café, her eyes wide as she looked at him.

  “Of course, and marriage, but there’s plenty of time.” Buster grabbed his coat and
joined her.

  “Oh, Buster.” She threw herself at him. He caught her and embraced her, wearing a huge grin.

  “Don’t you want to make an honest man out of me, Moonbeam?”

  “Yes, I do. I-I just wasn’t sure.”

  “About what?”

  She looked sheepish. “I don’t know.”

  “You’re my life, woman!” he muttered, then urged her toward the door.

  Rose Nancy O’Donnell was born fourteen hours later, much to the relief of her father and her new uncles and aunts.

  They had paced the clinic, drunk coffee and slept, and Willow had never felt closer to a group of people than at this moment. They were all gathered around the bed admiring the pink, wrinkled infant.

  “She’s got your face, Jake,” Annabelle said, touching a soft little hand with one finger.

  “She’s way prettier than him,” Newman said, outraged on behalf of the recent addition.

  Willow made her peace with her family. Jade had given birth to a boy, and she had been present, but these were her people, and the man wiping his eyes was the love of her life. This was her lot in life now, and Willow Moonbeam Harper could not be happier.

  THE END

  THANK YOU!

  Thanks so much for reading How Sweet It Is.

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  • Here's a sneak peek at book four in Lake Howling Series, It Only TookYou – Cubby and Katie McBride’s story, out now.

  IT ONLY TOOK YOU – excerpt.

  “Katie McBride, imagine finding you here.”

  “Kurt,” she acknowledged him. A detective like her, there was bad blood between them.

  “How’s the wrist?”

  He was her height, gorgeous and emotionless. The latter she hadn’t realized until she’d started dating him, four months after arriving in LA.

  “Better, thank you.”

  “Lucky you took that dive when you did is my guess, otherwise you’d be dead too.”

  “I didn’t take a dive,” Katie said slowly. Around them eyes were turning, ears listening. “Is that what you think? What others are thinking? That I took a dive?”

  “No one’s thinking it, Katie,” Brad said, getting to his feet. Unlike Kurt, Katie respected him.

  “Now don’t go getting worked up, my words just came out wrong,” Kurt said, waving Brad back to his seat.

  But they hadn’t and Katie wondered how many others thought she’d hidden when the bullets had started flying.

  “I took out three men before I dived for cover, Kurt, and I don’t much like that you’re saying otherwise. Especially as you called in sick that day.”

  “I was sick!”

  “Sure you were, and I was taking cover, so I guess it’s a matter of perspective.” Katie tried to find a smile just to piss him off, but only managed to grit her teeth. “Now get out of my face before I ugly you up.”

  She heard the hoots of laughter coming from behind him. She had earned respect from the men in this department because she could take anyone on in combat and was damn good at it. She could bring most men down if she got under their guard quick enough.

  His smile didn’t reach his eyes; they were simmering with hatred. “Don’t get your panties twisted, McBride,” he said, and she knew that he blamed her in some way for Jessie’s death. They’d been dating a while, and Jessie had told her she thought he was the one, which had surprised the hell out of Katie, because Kurt to her mind was a selfish asshole.

  “Katie?”

  She hadn’t seen Cubby arrive, but suddenly he was beside her, and she should be pissed to find him here, but strangely she felt calmer knowing he was.

  “Who’s this?” Kurt looked Cubby up and down as he walked toward them. The sheriff of Lake Howling had a long, loose-limbed gait that usually made her heart thud, but as that particular organ was encased in ice, or maybe pickled in bourbon, it didn’t happen anymore. “Is this one of your little buddies from home, Katie?”

  “James Hawker.” He held out his hand and Kurt reluctantly shook it. “Katie’s little buddy.”

  “Detective Kurt Sinclair.”

  The fact that Cubby used his birth name told Katie he was seriously pissed. Because since his first day of school, when he’d entered the classroom on his hands and feet making bear noises, and his teacher had called him her little bear cub, Cubby had been his name. Kurt’s statement about the sheriff being her little buddy was ridiculous considering his size and the fact that he could never be a little anything. From the uncomfortable look on his face Kurt knew it.

  “You about done, Katie?” Cubby smiled, looking relaxed and comfortable. He’d always been able to do that, look at home wherever he was. “Thought we’d grab a bite to eat.”

  “So what’s the deal, James?” Kurt said, trying to regain some of the ground he’d lost with his “little buddy” comment. “You one of these Howlers I heard her talk about?”

  “I am.”

  “So what do you do, work in the local store?” Kurt looked at the other officers in the room and laughed, but he was the only one. “Knit homemade sweaters, or hunt for skins?”

  “I’m the sheriff.” Cubby didn’t elaborate and let the silence settle after his words. He’d always been able to do that too, be silent at just the right time.

  “Must be a cushy gig, writing out that parking violation every day?”

  Kurt could take asshole to a whole new level if he wanted to. He thought he was funny, but what he was, was an idiot.

  “Don’t be a dickhead, Kurt,” Katie said, which made Cubby laugh.

  “Just being friendly.”

  “Actually what you are is an asshole, but I’ve found that every place has one,” Cubby said. “We all know the type. Big mouths, small....” He let the words trail off.

  Kurt had a short fuse, and Cubby had just lit it. “Go home to your little town, country boy, and let us city men do the real work. And take this gutless bitch with you!”

  Katie watched Cubby step closer to Kurt, suddenly his easy smile had gone, replaced by anger. It clenched his jaw and made him look fierce.

  “Cubby,” Katie cautioned him. He was an expert in martial arts and kept himself in top physical condition; she knew that because she’d watched him work out when he didn’t know she was looking. Right now, he looked angry enough to break one of Kurt’s limbs.

  “You listen to me, city boy,” Cubby said, as the two men glared at each other. “You say one more word about Katie being a coward and I’ll break both your arms. We both know what she did was in fact courageous, that she fired off several rounds and left herself exposed before help arrived. So whatever is fueling your anger, you better find a release for it, bud, before I find it for you.”

  “I’ll have you up on charges for threatening an officer!” Kurt snarled.

  “It’d be worth it,” Cubby replied.

  “Katie, bring your friend into my office once the boys are done playing.”

  Katie managed a jerky nod at E.J.’s words, then followed him back to his office with Cubby on her heels.

  “Fuck, Cubby. You had no right to do that!” she said so only he could hear. “I could have handled it.”

  “Your language has deteriorated, princess, and here’s me without my soap.”

  It Only Took You – out now!

  OTHER BOOKS BY WENDY VELLA

  Contemporary Romances

  The Lake Howling Series

  A Promise Of Home

  The Texan Meets His Match

  How Sweet It Is

  It Only Took You

  Historical Romances

  Regency Rakes Series

  Duchess By Chance

  Rescued By A Viscount

  Tempting Miss Allender

 
The Langley Sisters Series

  Lady In Disguise

  Lady In Demand

  Lady In Distress

  The Lady Plays Her Ace

  The Lady Seals Her Fate

  Lords Of Night Street Series

  Lord Gallant (Novella)

  Lord Valiant ( Novella)

  Stand Alone Titles

  Christmas Wishes (Novella)

  The Reluctant Countess