“Lisbeth would have horsewhipped me,” Ben said wryly, “if I left without knowing you were … in one piece. Besides, I wanted to see for myself. I don’t have that many brothers-in-law to dismiss one so easily.”
“Well, I am in one piece,” Drew said grumpily, moving slightly and wincing painfully as he did. “I think.” He sighed. “So you can go.”
“Such gratitude,” Ben said.
Drew glared at him. “You were supposed to be there.”
“You weren’t supposed to get in the line of fire,” Ben retorted, his eyes sparking with competitive fire.
“Truce,” O’Brien said. “I do have to get home.” He stepped up to Drew, held out his hand. “Anytime you need anything …” Then he turned and left.
Kirby was next, pushing forward. He stood there for a moment silently, his face filled with emotion. “I can never thank you properly.… I …”
Drew’s gaze cut to Gabrielle, to her hand lying in his, then to the men standing around. “You gave me more than I ever thought to have, Kirby.” He stopped talking as his emotions overwhelmed him. Kirby had taught him friendship. Loyalty. Commitment. He’d never known how incomplete a man he’d been until now. His pride in earning respect and affection from men like these grew with each moment. He would never be alone again. Never.
And he had Gabrielle. As his gaze fixed on hers, he was aware, but only barely, of the men filing out, leaving them alone.
His hand squeezed hers. “I love you,” he said, finally able to say the words that had eluded him all his life. He had something to offer now. Not land or money. But a soul that was whole, a heart that had opened, a future that was limitless because he had friends. Because he could feel. He could care.
Because he could love.
Gabrielle’s face dissolved, and tears shimmered in her eyes.
“Is the prospect that bad?” he whispered, suddenly afraid.
“Oh no,” she said in a ragged whisper. “I just thought … I was afraid … you would never say it.” She leaned down, her lips touching his in a caress so full of love and tenderness it felt like an angel’s kiss. Maybe it was.
He believed in angels now. In magic. In miracles. In love.
Drew heaved a contented sigh. Lying prostate on a bed, his shoulder burning and every movement pure agony, he’d never felt better in his life.
When Gabrielle lifted her lips from his, he pulled her down next to him with his good arm. “I think,” he said slowly, “that it’s time I had a wife to come home to.” He hesitated, his voice cracking a little. “If she can love a wandering Scotsman without much more than his name to offer her.”
Her smile was brilliant. It lit up his entire world.
“Ah,” she said, “but we have a great deal. Including a son.”
“And a fine horse named Billy Bones,” he said.
“Sir William,” she corrected. “I’ve renamed him. And we have our first head of cattle. Samson will make a fine father for a herd.”
“And a dog,” he added, still counting blessings he’d never thought to have.
“Aye,” she said. “All that and more.”
“Much, much more,” he agreed as he leaned forward and their lips met in a long, lingering kiss.
About the Author
Patricia Potter is a USA Today–bestselling author of more than fifty romantic novels. A seven-time RITA Award finalist and three-time Maggie Award winner, she was named Storyteller of the Year by Romantic Times and received the magazine’s Career Achievement Award for Western Romance. Potter is a past board member and president of Romance Writers of America. Prior to becoming a fiction author, she was a reporter for the Atlanta Journal and the president of a public relations firm in Atlanta. She lives in Memphis, Tennessee.
All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 1997 by Patricia Potter
Cover design by Mimi Bark
ISBN: 978-1-5040-0694-1
This edition published in 2015 by Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
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