Forever Hunted

by Kathleen Brooks

  “I could take you home and ravish you, but I am betting you’re wanting to see the puppies born,” Carter whispered into her ear as his fingers began to dance up her inner thigh again.

  “You know me so well.” Reagan grinned at Carter as she stood up.

  They called out a goodbye and hurried over to Bridget and Ahmed’s house. Sydney and Deacon had to leave in a couple days for Milan Fashion Week, so Bridget had offered to deliver the puppies and take care of them until Sydney and Deacon got back.

  Reagan pulled the car to a stop next to Wyatt and Sydney’s and gently pushed open the front door. She didn’t want to knock and startle Robyn. They found them in the guest bedroom. Ahmed was pale and sweating. Robyn was panting hard.

  “That’s right girl. Hehehe, hahaha,” Ahmed said, breathing in short pants.

  Sydney looked ready to die from barely contained laughter and Deacon was biting his lip to keep from laughing out loud. Bridget, meanwhile, rolled her eyes. Wyatt looked down at Robyn and slapped on a pair of gloves.

  “Okay, we’re ready.”

  “You can do it, Spawn. Push,” Ahmed said, holding Robyn’s paw as Robyn lay on her side and grunted as the contraction rippled down her abdomen. A little dark brown sac appeared and Ahmed wobbled a bit as sweat dripped down his face.

  “Are you all right, dear? You know you’re not the best during childbirth,” Bridget said, resting a hand on her husband’s shoulder.

  “I’m fine. I’ll have you know I had no problem when Carter was shot. Or when I was shot. Or stabbed. I’m fi—, what’s that?”

  “The puppy’s head,” Wyatt grinned as his hand moved to hold the puppy’s head as Robyn pushed again.

  “Why is it slimy? And why can’t I really see it?” Ahmed, if possible, turned paler.

  “Puppies are born in their sacs,” Wyatt informed him as the puppy the size of Reagan’s palm slid the rest of the way out. Wyatt tore the sac open, the fluid gushing onto the disposable bed pads lining the whelping box. At the same time, Ahmed landed face first into the whelping box.

  “Well, he lasted longer than he did with Kale’s birth. Someone thought he was a hotshot for not looking during Abby’s birth and decided he could watch,” Bridget snickered. “Deacon, help me out here.” Deacon and Bridget grabbed a shoulder and pulled Ahmed out of the box and placed him on the carpet.

  “What?” Ahmed mumbled as he was roused by the screaming cry of a puppy being thoroughly cleaned by her mother.

  “Just stay down, dear. This is not a one-and-done situation. There are five more to come.”

  “But I have to be there for Spawn. She needs me,” Ahmed said as he struggled to sit up. Robyn wagged her tail as she licked her first puppy.

  “Now I understand why Ahmed is never around when the foals are born,” Carter whispered in Reagan’s ear. She felt the grin of his lips against her ear right before he gave her a quick kiss.

  “Close your eyes, Ahmed,” Wyatt instructed calmly. “Here comes puppy number two.”

  “I guess I should have taken that rescue Nikki found when she offered it,” Reagan said, smiling as a little boy puppy was born. The puppies’ eyes and ears were closed and their little legs were unable to hold them upright, but they were the cutest things she’d ever seen.

  “Would you like to stay longer?” Carter asked as Robyn took a break to clean her new addition. Ahmed opened his eyes and praised his Spawn.

  “No, let’s go home. Robyn could take another couple of hours and I want to celebrate you being able to get rid of your crutches.”

  Carter raised an eyebrow. “And your father thinking you’re here all night has nothing to do with it?”

  Reagan rolled her eyes. “He’s horrible. I’m going to scream if he comes over with one more wedding planning board. He strategizes our wedding as if it were a military assault. Why do I need the blueprints for an old distillery?”

  She felt Carter laugh next to her. “But you have to give him props for getting us a reservation at Barrel Creek Distillery. After all, no one has been in it yet. It’s all Keeneston can talk about. I heard the owner is the daughter of some big shot distiller who passed away.”

  Her father had told her the story. It was a sad one, but she was happy to support the new local business. “Yes, the owner is the twenty-three-year-old daughter of Michael Woodson. He died last year. When Miss Woodson graduated from college last year, she wanted to take his place at the major company where he was the master distiller. But, she had two big strikes against her. One, she was young. And two, she was a she. So, Miss Woodson decided to set up her own shop with her inheritance. She said her father taught her everything she knows and she’s ready to show the world some of the recipes the two of them had thought up.”

  “I didn’t know she was up and running. I haven’t met her yet. Have you?” Carter asked.

  “No. Not yet. My dad did and said she was very polite and extremely serious about her work. The banquet hall is renovated and that’s where we’re having the reception.”

  Okay, so Reagan had to hand it to her father. They had been planning to get married at Ashton Farm, but her father had burst in, literally, to tell them he had the wedding and reception site. He had managed to reserve the most talked about Keeneston gossip that didn’t involve a marriage or a baby—Barrel Creek Distillery. The distillery was on the north side of the county, but the creek that ran through the distillery was the same one that ran through her grandparents’ farm, Desert Sun Farm, Ashton Farm, and several others. So far, Miss Woodson had been keeping too busy to come into town, but everyone was hoping to meet her at the wedding.

  Father Ben was all lined up and the invitations were sent. While they had filed the marriage license already, no one in Keeneston counted that as a real wedding since very few were there when it was performed. It was along the lines of “if a tree falls in the woods and no one hears it, does it make a noise”? If a resident gets married and the town isn’t there to see it, did they really get married? The answer is no.

  Reagan slipped her hand into Carter’s and smiled at the dog that had helped save her life. “You keep up the good work, Robyn. We’ll see y’all later.”

  “I’ll be over before I leave for Milan so you can try on your dress,” Sydney said, hugging her cousin.

  “I can’t wait,” Reagan said as she hugged her and Deacon goodbye.

  “It’s not every day a father of the bride designs a wedding dress,” Sydney said as she struggled not to laugh.

  “I’m scared to know.” Reagan shook her head. “But I trust you not to make something hideous, so I’m going with it. It’s embarrassing the way my father has taken over all the wedding planning. He even insisted on going with us to taste the cakes. And he had a cake topper custom-made by some guy in Hollywood he used to work with in the props department.”

  “It’s what any good father would do,” Ahmed said seriously as he stroked Robyn’s head.

  Bridget rolled her eyes again. “You don’t even let your daughter go out on a date without the drone flying above her. And you think you could plan her wedding?”

  “I could if she were to get married, which she’s not. So it’s a nonissue.”

  Reagan covered her laughter with a cough. No wonder Abby had moved to Washington. To be fair to Ahmed, there was no information on Abby dating anyone since Nolan in high school, so Ahmed probably didn’t need to worry about a wedding anytime soon. But then again, you never know. Look at her and Carter.

  Carter’s hand rested on the small of her back, and Reagan leaned back into his touch as he led her from Ahmed and Bridget’s house on Desert Sun Farm. As Reagan watched Carter drive to their house, she couldn’t help but think of how lucky she was. She’d fallen in love with her best friend.

  Epilogue

  Six weeks later . . .

  * * *

  “Here, let me do it,” Cy said with exasperation.

  “Cy!” Gemma chided as Reagan’s father snatched the veil from his wife’s
hands.

  “I designed it. I know how to put it on,” her father explained as Reagan simply kept her eyes glued to the full-length mirror and refused to look over at her sister, the matron of honor, who was practically crying with laughter.

  Her father, bless his heart, was a father-of-the-bridezilla. He’d overseen the decorations, the food setup, her makeup, and now her veil placement. But Reagan had to admit the dress he’d designed with Sydney was absolutely stunning.

  The white satin dress had a band that ran from off her shoulders to straight across her neckline. The bodice was fitted and the full skirt gathered at the waist before cascading down to the floor. There were no big flowers, no sparkling designs; it was breathtaking in its simplicity.

  “There,” her father said as he fluffed the veil trimmed in white satin.

  “Thank you, Dad.” Reagan squeezed her father’s hand as Riley and her mom stepped up next to her.

  “You look beautiful,” her mother said as tears shone in her eyes.

  “Are you ready to get married . . . again?” Riley asked, pretending to sound mad. Riley hadn’t let her forget she’d gotten married with their brothers in attendance and not her.

  “I am,” Reagan said, taking a deep breath. She’d felt married before, but there was something about standing in a white dress with all your friends and family surrounding you to celebrate that made it seem like the first time.

  “Let’s get this show on the road. I took a peek in the kitchen and saw the wedding cake. I need a slice of that wedding cake,” Riley joked.

  “Then we better get married pronto!” Reagan teased her sister as her mother and Riley gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried from the room.

  Her father held out his arm and Reagan placed her hand in the crook of his elbow. “I thought it would get easier the second time, but this one’s harder.”

  “I love you, Dad,” Reagan told him as she leaned her head against his shoulder. The music began to play, the doors opened, and Reagan saw her past, present, and future waiting for her at the end of the petal-lined aisle.

  * * *

  “That was beautiful,” Gemma sighed as she kicked off her shoes under the round linen-clad dinner table and watched couples dancing the night away. The reception room’s walls were made with hundred-year-old wood that had recently been sanded and polished to a shine. Large rustic chandeliers made of wrought iron hung from the ceiling. Historic pictures of Barrel Creek and blueprints of the distillery hung on the walls. The warm glow of the lights and lush honey-colored wood walls made the room appear magical. It was if they stepped back in time.

  “That Cady Woodson is so sweet. She’s done a remarkable job with the place already. It really was a stunning ceremony, Gemma,” Dani sighed as she took a seat next to Gemma.

  “It was,” Tammy said, rubbing her pregnant belly. “I do believe I’ll be in this chair for the rest of the night, though. I feel as if I’m about to burst.”

  “Both you and Sienna look as if you could go into labor at any minute,” Morgan, Gemma’s sister-in-law, said looking between Tammy and Sienna Ashton Parker as she danced with her husband, Ryan.

  “Not tonight,” Tammy said before her brows knit. “Where are Reagan and Carter?”

  “They disappeared again,” Kenna answered with a smirk. “I can’t believe you didn’t notice that before.”

  Gemma gasped and slapped her hand on the table. “You knew?”

  Kenna looked smug as she nodded. “Of course I knew. They slipped out of every event for a short while—sometimes a longer while. And that could only mean one thing.”

  “Do you . . . no, it couldn’t be them, right?” Gemma asked as she nibbled on her lower lip.

  “You need to be a little more clear, “ Annie said dryly.

  Gemma leaned forward and dropped her voice. “Could they be the panty droppers?”

  Katelyn’s eyes widened and Kenna looked as horrified as Gemma felt.

  “I always thought it was Gabe,” Dani said about her son.

  Annie laughed. “I thought it was you,” she said to Dani who blushed.

  “It’s got to be Nikki,” Paige said with certainty.

  “Does Nikki even wear underwear?” Tammy asked as the table broke into laughter. “But seriously, I know who it’s not. Look at my daughter.”

  Gemma looked to the dance floor as Cassidy, beautiful with her long blonde curls, danced with several of Colton’s firefighters-in-training. “I can’t believe she’s twenty-one.”

  “Not Cassidy. Piper. Look at her. It’s as if the weight of the world is on her shoulders. Bless her heart, she needs the panty dropper.”

  “Tammy!” Katelyn gasped as she gently swatted her sister-in-law.

  “That’s that then,” Dani said with finality. “Piper is the next name in the notebook.”

  “Maybe she can meet one of the men coming to the Keeneston Training Center in a couple of months,” Bridget suggested.

  “Oh, what about Luke Tanner from Moonshine,” Kenna suggested as the table turned to look as the deputy held out his hand and asked Dr. Ava to dance.

  “Oh,” they all said with disappointment.

  “Or the firefighters. Firefighters are hot,” Annie said, nodding to a couple of them standing near Piper.

  “They’re a little young, right?” Tammy asked.

  “No, we’re getting that old,” Morgan teased.

  “Well, her name is in the book. Fate has been sealed. Piper will find love if she wants it or not,” Dani decreed as she closed her notebook and held up her champagne glass. “To Carter and Reagan and another job well done.”

  * * *

  Miss Lily shook her head at her sisters. “They don’t have a clue about what they’re doing.”

  “Bless their hearts,” Miss Daisy and Miss Violet said together as they shook their heads at the table of mothers.

  “Thank goodness they have us. After all, who provided cover for Carter and Reagan sneaking around?” Miss Daisy said, taking a sip of the special iced tea she’d smuggled into the reception.

  “Remember that time we had to distract Cy for thirty minutes at Gabe’s wedding?” Miss Violet asked.

  “As I recall, you simply smothered him in your breasts, Vi,” Miss Lily said with a roll of her eyes.

  “It was worth the dirty look from my husband. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make so those two young lovebirds could get their relationship moving along.”

  The three women looked over at their husbands and smiled innocently. They knew better by now. Now when the guys saw their wives give them that look, they knew trouble was going to follow. Smart men.

  “While our sweet friends fumble about trying to find someone for Piper, I think there’s someone else who needs our help,” Miss Lily said as her sisters followed her gaze.

  “Ah, yes. They’ve had long enough,” Miss Violet agreed.

  “What are you ladies plotting?” John Wolfe asked, placing a light kiss on his wife’s cheek.

  “Plotting? Us?” Miss Lily answered. John snorted in disbelief at her innocent look.

  “How about a dance?” Anton asked, holding out his hand to his wife.

  “I’d love to, dear,” Miss Violet answered, placing her hand in his. They weren’t up to busting a rug anymore, but the three married couples stood swaying by the table as they soaked up the love that surrounded them.

  * * *

  Reagan slipped her hand into her husband’s as they talked to her cousins from South Carolina. Her family may have had a rift before, but it was now fully mended. All of her cousins came to her wedding, and right now were even talking to Colton about helping build the fire station and FEMA office.

  “Carter? Rea? Can I steal you away for a moment?” Sydney asked.

  “Of course you can. It was good catching up,” their cousin Gavin Faulkner said with a smile. “Enjoy your honeymoon.”

  “And I’ll be back. I want to talk to y’all too,” Sydney happily said to their new famil
y. “But first I have a wedding gift I want to give you. Now, it’s not all the way ready, but by the time you get back from your honeymoon it will be.”

  They walked through the crowd and Sydney waved Ahmed over. “Can you help me give them their wedding present?” Sydney asked.

  “Of course,” Ahmed said solemnly as he followed them out back and over to Sydney’s car. Deacon opened the door and reached inside.

  Reagan gasped when he turned around. Sydney’s smile grew as she plucked the little puppy from Deacon’s hand and handed him over to Reagan and Carter. “Syd, you’re giving us a Robyn puppy?” Reagan asked as she was already nuzzling the pudgy puppy with loose skin and the best puppy smell. It wasn’t just any puppy. It was the one puppy that always snuggled Reagan and Carter when they came to visit.

  “Yes. You’ve spoiled Robyn like crazy since she helped you, and I thought it would be fitting for you to have one of her puppies. It was actually Carter’s idea.”

  Reagan looked to her husband as he winked at Sydney and Deacon. “Thank you all!” Reagan cuddled the puppy against her neck as she kissed her husband and cousins. “Now he needs a name.”

  “We’ll figure that out during our honeymoon,” Carter said, leaning forward to baby talk to the puppy.

  “Oh, and Ahmed. I do need your help,” Sydney said, turning to Deacon. “Can you help Deacon with this?”

  Deacon reached back into the car and when he turned around, he held the little runt of the litter. The little girl that might have been small in size, but she was fierce with attitude. And she’d claimed Ahmed as hers from the moment she was born. The little puppy squirmed in Deacon’s hands as the small, baby-pink collar flashed in the lantern lights surrounding the distillery.

  “What is the little demon doing here?” Ahmed asked as the puppy struggled to get out of Deacon’s hold and over to Ahmed.

  “She wants to see her daddy,” Sydney said. When Ahmed quickly looked up to her, she nodded and Ahmed rushed forward.