by Caroline Lee
“Stop searching! Happiness is right in front of you!”
Her heart had melted a little, especially considering they were doing something as simple and everyday as finishing a shared moo goo gai pan. Happiness was right in front of her. She knew that then, and she knew that now, with her arms around him.
Tristan cleared his throat. “I’ve had my eye on something in town I was thinking I could buy you.”
Her heart sped up slightly and her tongue got heavy. “You don’t…you don’t have to buy me anything.”
The twinkle in his hazel eyes made her toes tingle. “I think I do,” he said solemnly.
“What is it?” Her question was breathless.
“A pink helmet. One of those full-protection ones.”
Her breath exploded out of her with a laugh, and she pulled back long enough to slap his chest. “I thought you meant something special—”
“Seriously!” he interrupted. “See, my girlfriend likes me to follow the rules, so I thought that I could buy her this helmet, and then I could have mine back. We’d both be protected when we ride.”
She was still chuckling when she laid her head back on his chest. “I like the way your helmet smells.”
“Oh, good.” He nodded seriously. “Then I’ll wear the pink one.”
She smiled against his shirt as he wrapped his arms around her. Well, arm. His left one stayed pressed against his chest, between them, but that didn’t stop her from squeezing him tightly.
She’d come so close to losing him. All it would’ve taken was Jim Quarles to fire six inches to the right. Or to pull the trigger a third time. Charley would’ve lost Tristan, and wouldn’t have known how wonderful it felt to be loved by him. These last weeks had been so special, getting to know him better and teasing him into recovery.
He’d spent two days in the hospital, even though he’d kept insisting he was fine. She wasn’t sure how Shane handled the bill, all she knew was Tristan hadn’t been bothered by paying for his care. Well, that and the fact that Bernie—Wade Weston’s assistant—was newly married to one of the surgeons at Riston Hospital, and that Andrew had recently gone on a date with the head ER nurse. Of course, maybe that last part was less of a bribe and more of a threat, knowing Andrew’s track record with dating.
But either way, Tristan had been released with a clean bill, and even a prescription for pain meds, which was a big deal for someone with a drug charge on his record. He hadn’t used them, but Charley had smiled when she’d seen someone else had trusted Tristan as much as she did.
They’d taken things slowly since then; he’d agreed to stay at the ranch, and she’d arranged a campsite for him. They went out to dinner sometimes, but more often he just met her at her office after her shift, and they walked around the ranch. Holding hands and talking, just like today.
The first time he’d come to her office, he’d stared up at the word “Jail” written in big white letters above the door, then swallowed and came inside. She’d been wearing that sheriff’s costume, sitting behind the desk, watching him breathlessly through the window. When he’d entered, his intense gaze had swept over the fake wanted posters on the wall, hesitated when it flicked over the jail cell in the back, and finally settled on her. From the tightness in his jaw, she’d known how hard it had been to come in there, so she’d offered him a smile.
“Not nearly as intimidating as the real thing, huh?” she’d said, reminding him of how he’d made the decision to step into the Riston Police Station.
He’d nodded, and the tension in his face had eased. “Yeah,” he’d drawled. “And you’re just about the prettiest sheriff I’ve ever seen.”
She’d blushed then, and kissed him of course. Maybe she wasn’t ever going to be the hot-shot detective her brother was, but here…she was home. This was her ranch, and her people to protect. And she would protect them, because she loved them.
And if that meant wearing a big white cowboy hat and a tin badge pinned to her vest was the closest she was ever going to get to being a real sheriff, then it was worth it.
Tristan’s throat-clearing brought her back to the here-and-now, the feel of him in her arms, and the knowledge that he was alive and healthy and in love with her.
“Sooo…you’re not thrilled about the helmet idea, huh?”
“I’m thrilled about anything that keeps us both safe. And orderly.”
He kissed her then, and when he pulled back, he said “One thousand, seven hundred and thirteen.”
“Wha—“ Her eyes widened slightly. “You’re still counting your kisses?”
He nodded solemnly. “Each one of them is special.”
She grinned, then reached up on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his. “One thousand, seven hundred and fourteen.”
“I can’t wait ‘til we reach two thousand.”
She chuckled, and rested her head against his chest once more. They were quiet for a moment, but it was surprisingly awkward. Like there was something left between them that needed to be said.
When he finally spoke, the hesitance in his voice was matched by the tension in his chest. “Charley? I know that when I brought up buying you something, you weren’t thinking about a pink helmet.”
Hoooo-boy, no. She’d been thinking something else. Something glittery that represented a future together. And part of her had panicked at the thought.
The rest of her had thrilled to think he wanted to be with her forever.
“But I’m sorry.” Her gut clenched at his words. “I…I can’t.”
“Can’t what?”
“I can’t ask you to…to commit to someone like me.” He took a deep breath, his breath hitching a little.
She took that opportunity to step back, to let go of him, to try to hide how hurt she was. He didn’t want a future with her?
“Charley, I…”
When he realized she’d pulled away, he muttered something under his breath—definitely not a curse, since he’d cleaned up his potty mouth since meeting her—and ran his free hand through his hair.
Then he inhaled and started again. “Charley, I live in a campground. In the winter, I share rooms in cheap motels. I get paid in cash and I don’t have any kind of retirement fund. I live out of two saddlebags and do laundry every week. The most expensive thing I own is my motorcycle, and I bought that second-hand.”
She knew all this. Why was he telling her again?
But he surprised her when he grabbed her hand. He didn’t pull her closer, but just stood, holding her hand. “It’s not the most valuable thing I own, though.”
She swallowed. “What’s that?”
“Somehow, I got amazingly lucky. Maybe it’s karma, making up for what happened when I was a kid. Maybe it’s God. Maybe…I dunno.” He twined his fingers through hers, and stared into her eyes. “Your heart, Charley. Your love is the most valuable thing in my life.”
Oh.
She was pretty sure she’d melted into a big pile of goo, but he kept speaking.
“You are the most valuable thing in my life, and I will never, never be worthy of you or your love. I will spend every day for the rest of my life trying to prove myself though, you can believe it.”
She did believe it. She trusted him.
His crooked smile was almost sad. “But because of all that, because I have a record and because I don’t have a stable life and because I don’t know what my future will bring, I can’t…” He inhaled sharply. “I can’t ask you to share that future with me. I can’t ask you to—”
“You don’t have to.”
Just like seeing him lying hurt on the ground had shown her she loved him, just like this last month had proved she wanted a forever with him…the sight of that hopeless smile as he claimed he was unworthy of her told Charley exactly what she needed to do.
She didn’t need a man who had a steady job, or a nice apartment, or a big wardrobe. She just needed him.
Still holding his hand, she stepped backwards and cleared her t
hroat. “Tristan Quarles, I’ve been continually impressed by your strength, your courage, and your heart. I know that putting my trust in you was one of the smartest things I’ve ever done—outside of taking a job as a security guard at River’s End Ranch, I mean.” He grinned, and some of the tension in her stomach loosened. “I love you, and I hate to think that you consider yourself unworthy of anything.”
“I am—”
She squeezed his hand. “You are worthy. You’re worth so much more than your family ever gave you credit for, and—”
“So are you, you know.”
His words made her hesitate, but then she nodded. If he was going to accept that about himself, she needed to accept it about herself too. They were both worth more than their families thought. “You showed that to me, you know.”
“Same here, officer.” He squeezed her hand in response.
“I love you, Tristan. I will love you—the good man, the hardworking man—forever. I’m sorry you don’t feel like you can ask me to be a part of your forever…” She hurried on when he looked like he was about to interrupt her again. “But you don’t have to.”
The look of confusion on his face turned to incredulity when she sunk to one knee, still holding his hand. “Tristan Quarles, would you do me the very great honor of becoming my husband?”
He stared down at her.
She stared up at him.
And then he burst into laughter.
“Really?” he managed to choke out between chuckles, and soon she was doing her best to hide her own laughter and maintain her serious expression. “That’s your plan?”
With one great yank, he pulled her to her feet and against him, where he wrapped his good arm around her and kissed her until her toes curled inside her uniform boots. One thousand, seven hundred and fifteen. They were both breathing heavily when he pulled away, but just far enough so he could drop his forehead to hers.
“Thank you for trusting me, Charley,” he whispered.
“Thank you for being worth trusting,” she whispered back.
A pause, and then… “I do love you, you know.”
There might’ve been a but in there, but she didn’t want to hear it. “Good,” she said, then kissed him again.
And as she did, she felt him relax. Felt him give into the inevitable.
His breath exploded from him in a little ironic laugh. “Fine!” He pulled away just enough to stare into her eyes. “You really mean it? You’re willing to marry me?”
”Willing?” she teased. “I just got my pants all muddy to prove it.”
He smiled and she felt it in her soul. “Well, if you were willing to muddy your pants, I guess I’d be silly to say no.”
“Yes,” she agree solemnly. “You would be.”
“I’d love to marry you, Charley.”
“I’d love to marry you too, Tristan.”
He smiled at her, and she smiled at him, and the moment stretched impossibly long.
Then she blinked. “So, are we just going to stand her smiling at each other like idiots, or what?”
“I’ve got an idea.” He stepped back and offered her his free hand. She took it, twisting her fingers through his. “Let’s go start our forevers.”
She giggled—actually giggled—and gestured for him to lead the way. “Together.”
And as they strolled out of that clearing by the lake—her favorite place on the ranch—Tristan cleared his throat.
“So, hey, have you met this weird old lady who talks to gnomes? I met her a few weeks ago around here. She said her nephew was coming to visit…”
What’s going on with Jaclyn’s nephew? Why is he coming to the ranch? Find out in Midwife’s Marvel by Caroline Lee, coming October 2017!
You can find all of the River’s End Ranch books here.
And the next book’s first chapter can be read here.
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Sneak Peek:
Snickerdoodle Secrets (River’s End Ranch book twenty-five) by Cindy Caldwell
If anyone had told Erica Sloan a year ago she’d end up on a ranch in the middle of Idaho, baking snickerdoodles and running the inventory office, she’d have called them crazy. But here she is, doing just that, at River’s End Ranch, working for Dani Weston. Even more crazy, she loves every minute of it. Some days, she is even able to forget what had brought her here—or what she’s trying not to remember. Something about these snickerdoodles, though, has spurred the arrival of an unexpected guest to the ranch and turned everything in her world upside down. Now, with her memories sprouting up right before her eyes, Erica must face them once and for all, or risk her heart being closed forever.
ACKNLOWEDGEMENTS
Back in May of 2016 I had the utter pleasure of meeting Kirsten Osbourne, Pamela Kelley, and Cindy Caldwell in Chicago during a conference. Soon after, they invited me to be part of this delightful world they were creating, and introduced me to the wonderful Amelia Adams. I was thrilled to join their team, and have had hours and hours of fun, playing via our imaginations at River’s End Ranch.
Thank you, ladies, for letting me be a part of the magic.
And thank you to Julie and Alyssa, to my beta readers and Cohort members, to our continuity reader Amy, and to CM Wright, my awesome editor.
Aaaaand one more: thank you to my cousin Todd, who answered a bunch of questions
about motorcycles, and demanded acknowledgement as “technical advisor” in the “credits”.
You’re awesome, Todd, even if you have no idea how romance novels work.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Caroline Lee has been reading romance for so long that her fourth-grade teacher used to make her cover her books with paper jackets. But it wasn't until she (mostly) grew up that she realized she could write it too. So she did.
Caroline is living her own little Happily Ever After in NC with her husband, sons, and brand-new daughter, Princess Wiggles. And while she doesn't so much "suffer" from Pittakionophobia as think that all you people who enjoy touching Band-Aids and stickers are the real weirdos, she does adore rodents, and never met a wine she didn't like. Caroline was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year in 2006 and is really quite funny in person. Promise.
You can find her at www.CarolineLeeRomance.com.
