Harper's Submission [Golden Dolphin 2] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Skye Michaels

  Next they decimated the wrapping on the big package. When they had stripped most of the paper away, their delighted screeches could be heard all over the house as they beheld the custom-made wooden stable complete with fenced turn-out paddocks, a hot-walker, and all the necessary accessories, including a miniature carriage and exact replicas of Shadow and Ollie standing in their stalls with tiny hay nets full of green hay. The detail was amazing, and the handiwork was beautiful. Morgan had searched high and low for the right artisan to make the stable and had ordered it in July.

  The adults had exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve after the girls were in bed. Morgan had gotten Harper a diamond tennis bracelet, and she had gotten him an authentic hand-knit Irish fisherman’s sweater through a friend who lived in Dublin. Harper’s friend, Kerry O’Donnelly, had a connection with an old woman in one of the seaside villages who actually made the sweaters to order. It was a work of art and completely unique since Harper had been able to choose some of the special stitches herself. The old woman, while practicing an ancient art, was apparently very computer savvy. He could tell that Harper had been nervously waiting for a delivery before Christmas, and she had relaxed after she had gotten a package from FedEx on Monday, just in time for the holiday.

  * * * *

  While the girls set up the stable on the rug in front of the Christmas tree, Harper and Melanie went into the kitchen to start breakfast. Morgan’s housekeeper, Mrs. J., had stocked the kitchen and left a fully prepared Christmas dinner in the refrigerator before she went to her daughter’s house for the holiday, but they were on their own for breakfast. Harper put on the coffee and started the bacon frying while Melanie made the batter for the girls’ favorite blueberry pancakes.

  “We work very well together, Harper. I’m really glad you’re here to share Christmas morning with us. I can see that Morgan is, too. There’s not much he can hide from me.” She had a little smirk on her face. Harper could see that she was a force to be reckoned with.

  “Ha! Good to know. Now I know where to go when I want the real scoop.”

  “Anytime, girlfriend. I love to put the occasional fly in his ointment, or whatever that saying is.” She was looking in the drawers and cabinets for a spatula to stir the batter when she found a small box. “What’s this?” She opened it and found a collection of fortune cookie strips. “For heaven’s sake. Why would my crazy brother save these?”

  “Haven’t you ever heard of the fortune cookie game?” Harper grinned and filled her in.

  “That’s hysterical! I think I’ll order Chinese for New Year’s Eve. We’re staying home this year to watch the ball drop in Times Square on television. I really don’t like to be out in all that craziness.”

  * * * *

  After breakfast had been wolfed down and the kitchen mess cleared away, Morgan took Harper’s hand and said, “Let’s run out to the stables. Shadow and Ollie have to get their Christmas morning goodies. Let’s make our escape while the girls are busy with their new stuff, or they will want to come.”

  Morgan pulled on his new Irish sweater and helped Harper on with her Shearling jacket. They made a beeline for the Escalade before anyone noticed they were gone. When they arrived at the stables, Shadow and Ollie had their heads poked out of their stall windows waiting for their treats. Morgan dispensed carrots and apples from the twenty-pound bags he had in the back of the car.

  “Boy, you really come prepared.”

  “Of course. I always leave a couple of bags of carrots and apples for everyone in the barn. Most everyone does something special for Christmas morning. You know, these guys are our best friends, and they deserve to participate in the holiday.”

  “I know. I brought something special as well.” Harper’s eyes looked a little misty to him, and he put his arm around her shoulder as she continued. “When I was a kid, one of my friends told me about one of her family traditions. Since I didn’t have any great ones of my own, I always remembered it. She said her great-grandmother always made a loaf of bread with a clove of garlic hidden in the center especially for each horse on Christmas morning. They had draft horses they used to pull wagons of produce to market from the family farm. Barbara and her family always continued that tradition.” He could hear the strain in her voice. Morgan looked away to give her a moment. She gathered her composure and petted Shadow and Ollie. Then she took the small loaves of bread from a bag in her tote. She ripped them apart and fed them to the horses. The smell of the freshly baked loaves and garlic was enticing, and the horses loved it.

  “Well, we have a new family tradition. We’ll do this every year. I’m going to hitch them up, and we’ll take a drive.” When he had checked the harness and all the equipment, he handed Harper up into gleaming Meadowbrook carriage that had been gaily decorated by his groom with a garland of pine with red ribbon and sleigh bells.

  “This must be your special Sunday go-to-meeting carriage. I love the bentwood trim. It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s an antique. I found it in some farmer’s barn up in Connecticut and had it restored a few years ago. I usually only use it for special occasions. The guys and I like to bomb around the neighborhood in the war wagon we used last time.”

  They went out the back gate and down the snow-covered back road to the merry jingle of the sleigh bells and the sprightly cadence of the horses’ trotting hooves hitting the ground. They hadn’t gone far when Morgan pulled the team into a secluded park area overlooking a pine-shaded salt marsh. He set the brake and turned in his seat. “I have one more present for you and a question to ask.”

  “Oh, Morgan, the bracelet was lovely and much too expensive as it is.”

  He looked into her huge blue eyes. He had been planning this since November, and now he was worried about what her response would be. He took a deep breath. “Harper Cameron, will you do me the honor of being my wife?” He felt a little funny about the formal sound of the proposal. “I love you and want you to share my life. I want us to share each other’s lives. I’m making a mess of this. I guess you can tell I’m a little nervous.” He knew his smile had an uncertain caste.

  She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in the soft wool of the Irish sweater. When she had gathered herself, she looked up into his penetrating black gaze. “I would be honored to be your wife, Morgan Court. I can’t think of anything I’d rather do than share your life.”

  He held her gaze for a moment and then lowered his head. He took her mouth in a warm kiss that quickly escalated with the fierce possession he always felt for her. When they came up for air, he said, “I almost forgot!” He pulled the black box out of his pocket and opened it. The three-carat Asscher-cut canary diamond surrounded by two brilliant white one-carat round-cut side stones blazed up from the bed of black velvet. “I wanted it to be something special, different from what everyone else has.”

  * * * *

  Harper gasped in a sharp breath. He took the ring from the box and slipped in on the third finger of her left hand. She was blown away. It was stunning. She had seen canary diamonds in the windows of the “red” and “blue” box stores on Fifth Avenue, and she had all but drooled over the beautiful settings, but she had never imagined she would be wearing one. That was all wonderful, and she was excited, but the best part was the meaning behind the ring—the promise of a lifetime of love and support and hopefully a family of her own. A few months ago, she would have said this was impossible, that it was a pipe dream that could only happen to someone else. Now she had her very own happy ever after.

  Morgan took her into his arms again, and Harper drifted into the kiss that quickly turned hot. That was just the way they were together. They went from a gently glowing ember to a four-alarm blaze in a heartbeat. She hoped that never changed. They sat quietly basking in the glow of intense happiness.

  “Merry Christmas, baby.”

  “Merry Christmas, Morgan. This is one Christmas morning I’ll never forget. I can’t wait to show Melanie and the girls. They’ll be so
excited.”

  “You know Melanie. Do you really think she didn’t worm this out of me weeks ago? She’s been almost as excited as I have waiting for Christmas morning. You’re a part of the Court family now, Harper. You can leave all that old baggage behind you, and we’ll start to collect our own.”

  “I can’t wait to start our new lives—your new drug trials, my new practice, planning a wedding. We’re going to be busy but never too busy for each other.”

  “How would you feel about a honeymoon on the Golden Dolphin? Jamie told me he has a cruise from Miami to Rio planned for February. I didn’t want to mention it before I proposed. I know it’s going to be tight timing, but I think we can pull it off.”

  “I would love that, especially since we didn’t get to finish our last cruise. Maybe we can get married aboard before the ship leaves harbor. Wouldn’t that be fabulous?”

  “That would be great, but you’re fabulous.”

  THE END

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  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I was born in New Jersey and grew up an only child on a small farm in the “Garden State.” My father grew acres and acres of flowers for commercial florists and various produce such as tomatoes. My high school years were spent at Wayne Hills High School, where I was not one of the popular, preppy kids, or one of the hoods—which kind of left me in limbo as I wasn’t one of the brainiacs either. Weekends were spent going into “the City” and Greenwich Village with my friends and doing a lot of things I probably shouldn’t have—don’t tell my grandkids!

  After attending Katharine Gibbs School in Montclair, New Jersey, I began a career as a legal secretary and then a paralegal. I moved to Florida and currently live in Davie, Florida, with my dog, Snickerdoodles. I was married for eight years but have been single for many years. My major addiction is jewelry, but any kind of shopping will do for a fix!

  After my longtime job as a paralegal was ended by the economic downturn, I decided to turn lemons into lemonade and finally write the stories I’d had in my head for many years. I had always wanted to write romance novels, but my family and job kept me too busy.

  My major interest aside from my family and friends is horses. I enjoy putting an animal character into my stories if possible. I am extremely “low-tech” and probably should have been born in the 1800s as I enjoy driving a horse and buggy for fun. I also enjoy horseback riding, but the ground has gotten harder and further away over the years.

  I have a small farm and vacation home in Ocala, Florida, which is my favorite place in the world. There’s nothing as wonderful as swinging in the hammock in the shade and listening to the music of the wind in the pines while cuddled under a quilt reading a good book.

  Books have always been my escape into love and adventure, and through reading, I have been able to be many people, do many things, and go to many wonderful places I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to be, do, or see.

  I hope that all hardworking women who have a moment to put up their tired feet and relax with a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine) enjoy getting to meet my fantasy friends and to experience something new and different with a touch of hot romance thrown in for good measure!

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