She sat on a barrel and watched while Shane maneuvered the trailer into its parking slot and then the two men proceeded to clean the inside. The sun was setting with a typical Texas splash of golds and oranges by the time they finished.
“Dinner’s ready, y’all,” Shane’s father announced. “Ladonna texted me.”
Kendra slid off the barrel and went up the drive between the two men. Her nerves had fled, buried under a heavy blanket of exhaustion. Shane slipped his arm around her and whispered in her ear.
“I love you. I promise I’ll tuck you in as soon as I can.”
She smiled, basking in the care and went in the door behind Chase. He wiped his feet and crossed to the sink to wash his hands.
Kendra stood and gawked. The O’Hare ranch kitchen was a cook’s dream that combined a large cooking area with a dining and family area. A fireplace took up one side with a rocking chair positioned by the hearth. The kitchen eating area had a large oak table with six chairs. The cooking area had two ovens, an eight burner stove, a large refrigerator and enough counter space to be able to spread things out. She’d always thought the kitchen in her parent’s house had been big but this one easily topped theirs. She rubbed her hands together. God, to cook in here!
Shane moved past her. “I’ll be right back. Going to wash my hands, too.”
She nodded. The room smelled like roasting chicken and stuffing. Her stomach growled. Lunch had been hours ago.
A woman with soft gray hair, wearing jeans and a green flowered top came into the kitchen. She had Shane’s eyes.
“You must be Kendra. I’m Ladonna O’Hare.”
Once again, Kendra found herself wrapped in an embrace. “I love your kitchen.”
“I think I like you.” Ladonna laughed. “Come into my lair.”
She beckoned Kendra to the center of the cooking space. “I need to make the gravy.”
“Can I help?” Fatigue was forgotten.
“Sweetness to my ears.” Ladonna grinned at her.
Amy Rose and Jess came from the back of the house.
“Kendra!” Amy Rose came to her with arms outstretched. “So glad you’re finally here.”
She hugged her, making eye contact with the question in her eyes.
Shane came into the room before Kendra could whisper an answer and Amy Rose blanked her expression.
To hell with it. Kendra turned so she could address the room in general. “He’s forgiven.”
The room went silent. Shane froze in his tracks.
“Well, I know you all were wondering. He’s forgiven. So there isn’t any question, I love him, too.”
Ladonna put an arm around her shoulder and gave her a tight squeeze. “You are going to fit right in around here.”
The smile Shane gave her was worth every tear, every heartache, every trying moment. He walked straight to her and kissed her. “I love you, too.”
Two hours later when dinner was cleared from the table, Shane made their excuses. After a last round of hugs, they walked to the truck.
“Still up for that quick stop?”
“Where exactly?”
“My apartment. The last thing I didn’t show you. I have to get my fire gear and some clothes anyway.”
“I think I can manage another hour awake.”
Ten minutes later, she followed him up the stairs to his apartment. He flicked on the lights and the first thing she noticed was the bareness. At her house, the living room was bare. But not her kitchen, not her bedroom, not her bathroom. Here, everything was bare. No pictures on the wall, no rugs on the floor. Bed, sofa and boxes were all the room held. He hadn’t lied about that.
She walked further into the apartment and saw the coffee table. “Shane? What’s this?”
Shane walked over to the table and threw off the cover.
Kendra gasped. “It’s beautiful!” The wood coffee table had light oak legs with black leather over the corners like a stirrup. The top was a darker wood with a glass top. Inside was a display of spurs, rope, and cowboy belt welded in an intricate copper design.
She sank to the black leather sofa and ran her hands over the wood. “Do you have a lot of Western stuff?”
He sat down beside her. “Some, I guess. Paintings mostly, but at least three other pieces of furniture and a sculpture. All of it packed.”
“Why?”
“I couldn’t bear to look at it. You’ve seen Bill now. You have to know why. I couldn’t stand the reminder and that was what all of it was.”
“But Bill loves this stuff.”
“Yes, he does. I don’t know how.”
“Maybe it’s Goldie.”
Shane coaxed her into his lap. “I don’t understand.”
“Maybe his love for Goldie offsets what Demon’s Daughter did. What happened to Demon’s Daughter?”
“She’s still on the circuit according to Amy Rose.” He pulled her against him and she laid her head on his beating heart.
She let her mind drift, but it kept coming back to one thing. She didn’t want Shane making the trip back and forth between his apartment and her house, never belonging either place. “My living room is pretty bare.”
“Yes?” A quizzical look crossed his face.
She kissed his chin. “Well, how about you bring your stuff to my house?”
Shane’s arms tightened around her. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”
She turned to him and he pulled her closer still. Every fiber of her being was aware of his warmth, his strength, his love. “God’s honest truth, Shane, last week was the worst. I’m trying to keep my business growing, my father is coming up for trial and I’m so tired of feeling alone, like I’m in a sea of people who don’t care about me. I don’t feel that way when I’m with you. I feel like the future is right there and I can touch it and be happy again. I never want distance between us again.”
He looked uncomfortable, his face set and somber.
She touched his face, fear flashing through her. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
“I do want to.” He gave her quick kiss and squeezed her hand. “But I have another secret and in the interest of full disclosure…”
“Tell me. Let’s get everything out, here. I need the honesty and so do you.”
“I can’t explain it, but I’ve loved you since I laid eyes on you.”
She tipped her head and stared at him. “With me on the ground, cowering before a horse?”
He chuckled. “That was a sight, but no. I saw you in the parking lot before that. I watched you stretch. I followed you, watched you move. Paced you to make sure you were okay. Then when you disappeared, I went nuts. I kept trying to talk myself out of those feelings. But I dreamed of you and couldn’t let it go.”
“How did you know that fast?”
He shook his head. “I can’t answer that, Kennie. I just knew. I also know this. I don’t want to shack up. I don’t want to call you friend or girlfriend. I want to marry you and call you wife.” He twisted to lie down and pulled her on top of him.
“What if I want to marry you and call you husband?”
“Yes.” He kissed her mouth. “Deal sealed and I said yes first.”
She raised up and lightly punched him. “Not so fast.”
He dropped the teasing and got serious. “What, Kennie? Name it. I’ll do whatever it is – even if it’s fly to the moon.”
“You have to be sure. My father’s trial is coming up and could get really ugly. I’ve been under the radar since I left Houston, but I had trouble dodging the press in the past and could again.”
“I can handle it, Kennie. I want to be there for you. If you feel like you need to go to the trial…”
“No. I’m not going, but that doesn’t mean all the media coverage won’t come to me. That doesn’t mean my mother won’t need me.”
“Honey, I used to ride broncing horses. I walk into fires for a living. I can handle it. I love you. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for
you.”
“Then, you’ll move your stuff?”
“Yes, but not tonight.” He kissed her, taking his time, until the kiss threatened to get out of hand. “Let’s go home. I want to make love to my fiancé.”
“Now that’s a word I can get behind.”
They gathered his bag with his fire gear and his duffle, then after debating about her car, decided to leave it at the Low Down and use his truck to deliver desserts in the morning.
He drove to her house. He dropped both his bags inside her door, lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom. The room was dark. He walked to the bedside and shifted so he could turn on the night light. A soft glow filled the room.
He laid her on the bed and gently pulled off her boots and socks. He locked his eyes with hers. “Thank you for today.”
“No thanks needed. I wanted to go. Am glad I did.” He put his knee between her legs and leaned to undo the button of her jeans. She sucked in a breath at the feel of his warm hands against her skin. “Oooh, you’re not playing fair.”
“Hmmm, don’t believe I promised that.” The zipper fought him, but he gave a hard tug and it released. His fingers brushed the skin around her white lace underwear.
Fire, hot and wanting, streaked up her spine. He eased her shirt up and feathered kisses along her stomach and across her hip bones, until she was swamped by a wave of need.
When his mouth slid over her underwear, she pushed away from him. “Wait.” She shucked her jeans and attacked the buttons on Shane’s shirt, wanting the last barriers between them gone. “Help me, please.”
“Since you asked so nicely...” He bent and tore off his boots, hopping on one foot when the leather was stubborn. His jeans hit the floor, followed by his underwear. He tossed the shirt on the clothes pile and stood looking at her with hot, yet vulnerable eyes. “This is what you get. Scars here, bruises there.”
She eyed his body and thrilled that he was hers. “I hear kisses make everything better.” She unbuttoned her shirt, letting her white lace bra peek through.
The brown of his eyes deepened with pleasure. “Let’s test that theory.”
He advanced on her, propping one knee on the bed. She scooted back to the pillows.
He moved forward and reached for her sleeve, giving it a pull. She helped him by wiggling out of the garment. He grinned. “Oh yes, this is much better.”
He settled on top of her and took her mouth with hungry intent. She parted her lips on a sigh of intense pleasure and let him take her under.
His hands stroked her sides, teasing the edges of her bra, drifting down to her panties. Over and over, he stroked her with warm, tantalizing fingers, until need had her twisting to touch him. She grasped his hands, licking and kissing her way down his chest.
“Kennie, God.” He buried his hands in her hair.
She nuzzled his groin and took him into her mouth. His moan was all she needed to apply herself to his pleasure for several long minutes. Any barrier left from their argument fell away.
“Stop, Kennie. Stop.” He eased her up to his mouth and kissed her, while busy hands unclasped her bra and tossed it over the side of the bed. His questing hands moved down her hips and shoved her underwear down her legs.
His bare skin against hers elevated the heat and wetness between her legs, forcing her to draw several ragged breaths. When his mouth settled over her breasts and sucked hard, she lost herself in a white haze of unfettered pleasure.
She wanted to talk, to tell him how good his mouth felt on her, how good his hands felt molding her breasts, but words were scrambled and scattered. She arched her back, forcing every part of her body to mold to his.
“Kennie, Kennie.” He repeated her name in a rhythmic chant, then rolled her underneath him and separated her legs.
His big hands cupped her face and she opened her eyes. “I love you, Kennie.” He plunged into her, filling her with one thrust.
The fullness of him was everything she needed. “Welcome home, Shane.”
He gently kissed her mouth. “Thank God.” He started a long, slow rhythm. She scratched her nails up his back and tried to force him to move faster, but he resisted.
“Let’s make this last.”
She moaned, resigned to dying of an overdose of pleasure.
He took her to the edge, pulled her back with pauses and kisses, rocked her to the edge, pulled her back with strokes and whispered sex words, then rocked her world. She cradled Shane, anchored in their little world, and let every wall fall. Pleasure, hot and brilliant, tipped her over. With one last thrust, Shane followed her.
His hand found hers. He eased out of her and sagged against her. His face pressed against her neck.
Neither moved. Neither wanted to.
She should have been tired. She’d been up close to twenty-four hours, but instead she was energized, basking in extreme loving comfort and happiness.
“You never did answer me.” Shane lifted his head.
She brushed her fingers through his hair. “I know.”
“Something else bothering you? Tell me.”
“Not anymore.”
“Then?”
“Yes, I’ll be your wife. I love you so much.” She spread gentle kisses across his face. “When I first arrived in Copper Canyon, I’d lost my family and all my friends. I had no one. I was broke, scared and lonely. I can’t believe how lucky I was to find you. You, my love, are my champion and my hero.”
His raised her fingers to his lips and kissed them, his eyes tearing. “You, my love, are my sweetheart, my everything.”
∞∞∞ ∞∞∞
EPILOGUE
Shane glanced at Kendra and Amy Rose, who were sitting in the back booth at the Low Down. They were in an animated discussion with a dozen magazines spread out in front of them. Every so often, light would catch Kendra’s diamond engagement ring and send off a sparkle that filled Shane with deep contentment. He hadn’t been to the table since they’d pulled out the magazines, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out the publications were baby and wedding related.
Friday poker night had changed a month ago, when the girls had been invited. It had been Sully’s idea and Shane was as relieved as Jess. He didn’t want to be apart from Kendra except to work. They were on better footing over the last month and he wanted to keep it that way. Even though she assured him he could go and she’d be okay home alone, he hadn’t liked leaving her by herself. Jess hadn’t wanted to leave Amy Rose home either.
“Will you lovesick fools quit looking at your girls?” Giff shuffled the cards.
Shane grinned and elbowed Jess. “I’m happy to claim that lovesick label. Think he’s jealous?”
“Potentially.” Jess reached for another nacho off the plate of appetizers.
Giff snorted. “Uh, no. Got too much to do to even think about women right now. Where is Peyton? Anybody heard from him?”
Shane glanced over at the bar where Nick and Sully were talking. “Don’t know. I tried texting him. He still didn’t answer.”
Jess swallowed his bite. “Nick’s been checking his house and business every day. Not there. He even drove out to Justin and checked with his father. No luck. I have to admit that I’m worried.”
Shane leaned closer to Giff. “What did he tell you when he called about your truck?”
“I already told y’all last week, and the week before that, and the week before that.”
“Tell me again.”
“There’s no clue there. Said he was going away for a bit. That he couldn’t work on my truck. Gave me the name of another guy and said he would miss three or four poker nights and not to worry.”
Nick and Sully headed their way. The two men took their seats.
Shane took a sip of his beer and snagged some appetizers. “It’s been three weeks. Think he’ll show tonight?”
Nick twirled his drink on the table, a frown on his face. “All I know is that I’m going to beat his ass for not saying what he was doing. H
erman Carr’s been in my shop six times looking for him. Peyton promised to do some work on his race car.”
“We playing with five then?” Sully’s eyes swept the restaurant.
“Unless you want the girls to play.” Nick leaned away from Giff’s punch.
Jess smirked. “I think they’re busy planning the rest of our lives.”
The five men looked over at the women.
“Lord,” Sully muttered. “I know Amy Rose is looking at baby catalogs. My mama sent them over. But what’s Kendra up to? You two getting married soon?”
“No. We decided to have a big wedding with all of you in the wedding party. So probably not until next spring. I imagine Kennie’s started looking for what she wants.”
Sully groaned. “Oh God, that means tuxedos.”
Shane rubbed his hands together and gave Sully an evil grin. “Yep. I hear girls like them.”
Sully pointed a finger at Shane. “I swear if she puts me in purple, I’m bailing.”
Shane failed miserably at containing a laugh. “I’ll be sure she makes that her first consideration.”
Giff rapped on the table. “Are we gonna play poker or chit chat?”
“Settle down, man. We’re playing. Deal.” Nick took a drink and counted his chips.
The waitress came around and collected dinner orders from both groups.
When she left, Gifford dealt out five hands. “I’m going to be out next week, by the way. I have to go to Austin to see a man about a horse.”
Sully reached for his cards. “Taber is finally finished with the internship he took after he graduated from veterinarian school last June. We’re heading to College Station first thing in the morning to help him move. He’ll be here next weekend. He can play with us.”
“God, I can’t believe your little brother is old enough to be a practicing vet.” Jess sighed. “What’s he going to do?”
Sully swallowed part of his beer. “Besides come home? Don’t know. Not sure whether he’s starting his own clinic or going to work for someone else.”
“If Peyton’s not back, I’m calling Cooper to play with us.” Jess laid his cards back on the table.
Pumpkins, Cowboys & Guitars Page 45
