by Carol Finch
She grinned and said, “Has it occurred to you that I don’t want to be away from you? Besides, I want to make certain you don’t overdo it after getting shot on my account.”
Quin sighed audibly, knowing this was likely the first of many times he wouldn’t be able to tell Boston no. “Fine. We’ll go together. And what’s the second stipulation?”
Her smile disappeared and she stared intently at him. “I want you to contact your brothers and sister. Let them know you’re injured and your parents’ wagon wreck wasn’t an accident.”
“No,” he muttered. “Having my siblings gather around while I’m injured and vulnerable offends my pride. I’m the eldest, damn it. I’m supposed to be in charge—”
His voice dried up when Boston skimmed her moist lips over his mouth, then said, “I understand how you feel. I suffered the same kind of conflict with my father. I loved him, but he angered me because he forced unreasonable demands on me. He disappointed me because he couldn’t accept me for who I was.”
Quin couldn’t imagine her father finding fault and trying to stifle her spirit. It was who she was.
She smiled ruefully as she traced the curve of his lips. “You are caught between aggravation, disappointment and love, too. But your brothers and sister are part of who you are and, deep down, you care about them. You’re angry because they left you to hold the ranch together by yourself. They disappoint you because they don’t share your dreams and your interests. But each of us has to be who we are, Cahill.”
“I know you’re right, but they left me alone to pick up the pieces, manage the ranch and deal with the gossip,” he mumbled. “It wasn’t easy.”
“I know, but your parents’ deaths altered their lives, too,” she reminded him. “They have a right to decide if they want to be involved in this investigation. There is one man running around loose who knows what happened two years ago. We need to find out what happened to the fourth gang member. Whoever killed your parents should pay for what they did to your family. Your brothers and sister can help serve justice. Bowie is a sheriff, after all. What better place to start than calling him in to continue the investigation while you’re recovering and driving the cattle herds to Kansas?”
She kissed him so tenderly that every objection he’d formulated fizzled out. Maybe it was time to contact his family. According to the man who died at Triple Creek, there was far more to learn about his parents’ deaths.
“Please, Quin,” she whispered softly. “Let your family help solve this awful crime while you recover your strength and tend your ranching duties…. Did I tell you I love you…?”
“Not often enough, sweetheart.” He stared into those mystifying green eyes and saw his future. “I’ll marry you on one condition,” he stipulated.
“Name it,” she said without hesitation.
“Love me until the end of time, Boston.”
Her radiant smile lit up the room—and his lonely soul. “Done. I’ll have the parson here first thing in the morning for our wedding ceremony. Rosa and Lucas can bear witness.”
Quin used her thick braid like a rope to draw her head back to his. “Tomorrow can’t come soon enough. Then you won’t have an excuse to leave me alone again.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She smiled adoringly at him. “Stampeding longhorns couldn’t drive me away.”
After tomorrow she would belong to him, with him, he mused as they sealed their promise with a kiss. Quin had enough sense not to spout those specific words to a woman with Boston’s feisty, independent temperament. He loved her the way he’d never loved anyone or anything in his whole life. Quin vowed to spend every day telling her so. Or better yet, he’d show her that she was everything he needed to be happy for now…and until long past the end of eternity.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-1579-5
THE LONE RANCHER
Copyright © 2011 Connie Feddersen
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*The Hawk Brothers
