Wes had said much the same thing the last time Peter confronted him. Walsh, this case is bigger than just a murder investigation…
“Who is the undercover agent?” Peter looked to Jake. “You?”
Jake shook his head as Mary said, “We don’t know who, don’t care who, as long as it all gets settled. Soon. We trust Wes, Peter. He’s a good lawman.”
Peter propped his elbows on the table and raked both hands through his hair. “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”
“It’s classified. We shouldn’t be telling you now, but when you go off and confront the Coltons at their ranch…” Mary heaved a sigh. “We asked you to drop your investigation weeks ago. For your safety as well as Patrick’s. If what we’ve told you tonight isn’t enough to convince you to leave this case to the authorities, then think about Patrick. Don’t you want him to be able to sleep at night without fearing his father will be shot or run off the road or poisoned?”
Peter thought of his son, already facing the heartache of losing Lisa thanks to their break-up. He raised his gaze to Mary and Jake. The decision was easy.
“All right. I’ll drop my investigation.”
Jake gave a satisfied nod. “I’ll try to keep you informed, but honestly we don’t know that much ourselves now that we’ve backed off. I trust Wes and the FBI, Peter. And you can too.”
Peter drew a cleansing breath. “Let’s hope so.”
Careful not to disturb the sleeping pair, Peter sat on the edge of the couch. He studied the tear tracks on his son’s cheeks, and his stomach bunched. Patrick had needed comfort tonight, and his father had not been there for him. Peter had let his grudge against the Coltons get the better of him. Making a scene, disturbing a family holiday meal, all to satisfy his own sense of retribution.
Thank God Lisa had stayed. Not that Jolene couldn’t have handled Patrick’s tears, but his mother had been through so much recently herself. And Patrick had really bonded with Lisa.
…is it okay if I call you Mom?
Peter curled his hand into a fist of frustration. He had to change Lisa’s mind about ending their relationship. Somehow.
You can’t pick your family…
The old ranch hand was wrong. You could pick the people you loved, the people you surrounded yourself with, the people who became your family, even if not by blood.
Patrick had chosen Lisa to be his mother. And Peter wanted her as his wife. Needed her. Loved her more than anything—except his son.
Taking a deep breath and saying a prayer that he’d find the right words, he stroked Lisa’s cheek and whispered, “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. I’m home.”
Her eyelids fluttered open, and a smile graced her lips briefly before shadows crept into her gaze. “Are you all right? Your face—”
“Turns out Maisie Colton has a vicious right hook.”
“Peter…”
“I’m okay. Help me get this guy to his bed. We need to talk.”
A wary concern narrowed her eyes as Peter jostled Patrick lightly. “Wake up, sport. I’d carry you to your bed, but you’ve gotten kinda big for that.”
Patrick grunted and rolled away from Peter.
“Patrick.” Peter jostled his son again, and this time Patrick’s eyes sprang open and he bolted up, alarm on his face.
“Dad? Did you find the guy who sent the letter? Are you okay?”
He tousled Patrick’s hair and helped him up from the couch. “Everything’s fine. No one is going to hurt you or me. I promise.”
“Or Mom…I mean, Ms. Navarre?”
Peter’s gaze darted to Lisa’s. She bit down on her bottom lip, her eyes sad.
“I intend to keep all of us safe.” Peter’s gaze included Lisa. “No matter what. Okay, sport?”
Patrick nodded sleepily, his eyelids drooping again. Peter ushered his son to bed, kissed his forehead and bade him goodnight before returning to the living room. His mother puttered about his kitchen, still discreetly giving him time and space to sort things out with Lisa.
Lisa sat on the edge of the sofa, putting her shoes back on as if preparing to leave. “If you would drive me home, Peter, I’ll get out of your hair and—”
“Don’t go.” He wrapped his fingers around her wrist, halting her progress. “Please talk to me.”
“I don’t know what we have left to say. You asked me to decide on all or nothing, for Patrick’s sake. And I saw tonight why you had to make that call. Patrick doesn’t deserve to have his heart broken. He’s an impressionable boy who needs a mother and I—”
“He needs you, Lisa. He’s bonded with you. Just like I have.” He squeezed her hand, his expression pleading. “We love you.”
Tears bloomed in her eyes. “Peter, don’t make this harder than it already is.”
He swiped moisture from her cheek and locked his gaze with hers. “Listen to me. I was wrong to give you an ultimatum. I see that now. I have no excuse except…I wanted assurance that we were both dedicated to making our relationship work…because I want us to work so desperately. But instead of supporting you and giving you the understanding you needed in facing the pain from your past, I pressured you and forced you to make a hard choice. I’m so sorry, sweetheart.”
She flashed a weak, sad smile. “Apology accepted. But—”
“No. Not but. I learned something else tonight. Figured it out really…” He captured her face between his hands. “I overheard a comment that made me really think about what family is, who my family is, why we love our family. And blood is only a small part of deciding who we love.”
Her brow wrinkled. “Peter, what does this have to do with us?”
“Everything. My dad was related to me by blood, but Craig Warner is more a father to me than Mark Walsh ever was. Patrick wants so badly to call you Mom, because he sees you in that role, wants you to be his mother. He loves you, even though there is no blood relationship.”
Lisa’s chin trembled as new tears spilled from her eyelashes. “I love him too. He’s a great kid, Peter. But I—”
“Please, Lisa. Stop saying but. I know you’re scared, but I’m not ready to give up on us. Think about what we could have together. We are a family—you, me and Patrick.”
Her expression grew more wistful, more pained.
“And we can adopt more children. If you’re worried about a birth mother changing her mind, then we’ll adopt children already in the system, kids who are desperate for the kind of love we can offer.”
She was softening. He saw the yearning that flashed brightly in her eyes. “We can choose our family. I chose Craig to be my father figure. Patrick chose you to be his mother. And we can choose to adopt children who need us as much as we need them. Maybe they’ll be babies, maybe not. But we will adopt as many children as you want. I swear it.”
She began to shake, and he pressed her trembling hands between his. “The…approval process can be long and full of red tape.”
He heard the years of dejection and frustration in her voice, still holding her back.
“Good thing I’m a stubborn and persistent man then.”
She grinned finally, laughing through her tears. “You are that!”
Peter framed her face in his hands and touched his forehead to hers. “And I choose you, Lisa Navarre, to be my wife. I want you to grow old with me, no matter what else happens in our lives.”
She drew a quick, shallow breath and curled her fingers into his hair. “Oh, Peter…”
“If we never have any children besides Patrick, I will still be happy as long as you are beside me. And I will do everything in my power to make you happy until your dying day. I love you as you are. And if you give me a chance, I’ll show you how much every day for the rest of our lives.”
She grew still, her gaze searching his as if assessing his sincerity. “You still want me, even knowing what my infertility will mean in our marriage?”
He gave her a quick kiss. “Unlike Ray, I’m prepared to stand by you, support you, be a team, even
through whatever bad times may come our way. Marry me, Lisa. We belong together. I want to build a family with you.”
Lisa felt her world tilt as the possibilities Peter was offering her sank in and shifted her whole perspective on her future. Adopt children with Peter? Be Patrick’s mother? Grow old with Peter at her side?
In a matter of hours, minutes really, she’d gone from facing dismally lonely days of heartache without the man she loved to a bright future with everything she’d dreamed of and wanted. Because of Peter. The man she loved. The man with whom she wanted to build a home.
The answer was clear, but she hesitated. She’d had her hopes dashed so many times, and as wonderful as Peter’s proposal was, she had to be sure she wasn’t dreaming.
Peter’s brow puckered in a frown. “That’s an awfully serious face, Lisa. What’s wrong?”
“I just have to be sure… I—” She lifted her chin and laid a hand along his cheek. “Kiss me, Peter.”
“Gladly.” He caught her lips with his, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close, as if she’d never let him go. Because she had no intention of letting this loving man out of her life. His lips stirred a sweet hunger inside her, but more important, his kiss touched the vulnerable part of her soul, a place she’d spent years protecting.
She wasn’t dreaming, and she wasn’t alone anymore.
She sagged against him, feeling the weight of the world lift from her. Her arms tightened around him, and she whispered, “I choose you, too, Peter. I love you, and I want very much to be part of your family.”
Peter held her as she cried happy tears. “Consider it done.”
Epilogue
L ater that night, Wes returned to his office, eager to wrap up the paperwork associated with Maisie’s arrest and get back home to Lily and their interrupted family dinner. Several minutes later, a knock roused him from his work, and Damien opened Wes’s office door a few inches and slipped inside. “Got a minute?”
Wes shrugged. “I guess. You here to post Maisie’s bond?”
“That, and…we need to talk.” As Damien took a seat in a visitor’s chair, his brother’s dark gaze sent a chill through Wes.
“Can this wait until we get home?”
A muscle in Damien’s jaw flexed as he ground his back teeth. “No. It’s official business.”
Wes set his pen aside and leaned forward. “Okay. You have my attention. What’s this about?”
“It’s about the person responsible for all that’s been happening around Honey Creek lately. Mark Walsh’s murder, Craig Warner’s poisoning, the money-laundering—” Damien’s expression darkened. “I think I know who is behind all of it.”
Special thanks and acknowledgment to Beth Cornelison for her contribution to The Coltons of Montana miniseries.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7505-2
P.I. DADDY’S PERSONAL MISSION
Copyright © 2010 by Harlequin Books S.A.
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Table of Contents
Epilogue
P.I. Daddy's Personal Mission Page 19
