To Protect His Own

by Talty, Jen

  “She’s going to make a wonderful mother,” his father said.

  Jake tapped his chest in unison with his heartbeat as Kenzie looked over at him and smiled. “She’s too good for me. Always has been.”

  “I wouldn’t say that.”

  “I have this entire proposal planned out and I know I’m going to screw it up.”

  “That I believe,” his father teased.

  Kenzie gently rocked back and forth as she kissed the little boy on his bald head before handing him back to his mother. She took long slow strides across the yard, her white shirt clinging tightly around her baby bump. A short jean skirt showed off her long, lean supple legs.

  “My two favorite men,” Kenzie said as she sat on the side of Jake’s chair, looping her arm around his shoulders.

  He finished the last swig of his beer and stood, stretching his hand out. “I’ve got something I want to show you back at the cabin.” If he didn’t take her away now, he just might get cold feet.

  “Now?” she asked. “I don’t want to leave the party?”

  “Humor me,” he said.

  “Just go Kenzie,” his father said.

  She narrowed her eyes. “What are you up to?”

  “Come on.” He laced his fingers through hers, holding tightly, wondering if his hand shook.

  “Okay,” she said. “Better be good because I’m having too much fun.”

  Nothing like putting the pressure on.

  He pushed open the door to the manager’s cabin. His chest hurt as he tried to control his breathing, keeping the adrenaline from kicking in.

  He tapped on the kitchen table, which was covered in architectural plans. “Check these out.”

  She picked up on of the large sheets of papers. “What is this?”

  “A house,” he said. “Specifically, turning this place into a home, a real home with five bedrooms and a reading room, just so you can curl up with a good book when you need your space. This is so you never have to even consider living in the main house and it’s an open plan and not too big. And this one.” He held up another sheet of paper. “This turns the main house into room rentals for people who are either training here or just want the farm experience. Of course, that’s on hold for as long as my dad wants to live in the main house, though he could also live here with us. Doug said, if you like the plans, he can have the house ready right before the baby is born.”

  “Wait a minute.” She peeked over the plans. “What do you mean live here with us?”

  “Dad could live with us, here. He’s going to need a lot of help over the next few months and we don’t know how long he really has, but only if you’re okay with it and Dad is willing to move in.” He blinked a few times, trying to think before opening his mouth, but it wasn’t working, and the words poured out so fast he wasn’t sure what he’d said so far. “I was hoping you liked the plans, though I don’t understand them at all. Doug can explain them.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. This wasn’t going quite as he had anticipated.

  She just stood there, her gaze going from the blueprint to him as she chomped down on her lower lip. “When did we start living together?”

  “We haven’t, but...” He pulled out the pouch he’d stuffed in his pocket earlier. His hand trembled slightly, though it felt like it was being rocked by a level five hurricane.

  “What’s this?”

  “A necklace I had made out of my parent’s rings,” he said.

  “Your parent’s wedding rings?”

  Jake nodded. “Take a look.”

  He watched as she carefully opened the pouch, inserting her fingers, gently lifting the silver chain up.

  “Oh, my, God.” Kenzie held up the necklace, staring at the two rings made an infinity sign with the diamond from his mother’s engagement ring in the middle. “This is gorgeous.”

  “Let’s put it on you.”

  “This is for me?”

  “Who else would I give it to.” Jake took the chain, undoing the clasp and reached around her neck as she held her hair up. It took him three tries to secure it before letting it dangle just above her cleavage.

  “That’s a huge diamond,” she whispered.

  “Ten years ago.” Jake traced the outline of the design on her skin. “My father wanted me to give that diamond to you as an engagement ring.”

  “Come again?”

  “Right before I turned twenty-five. My father said it was mine when I was ready.”

  “You were going to propose to me ten years ago?” Her fingers traced the necklace as her eyelids fluttered.

  “I thought about it, a lot,” he said. “And I’m thinking about it again.”

  He reached into his other pocket, slipping the tiny ring onto his pinky. “I loved you ten years ago and I still love you. I never stopped loving you.” He held his hand up. “I thought this might be a little more your style than my mother’s ring.”

  “Oh, my God.” She pointed to his hand. “That’s a ring. A diamond ring.”

  He glanced at the simple band with three small diamonds set low so she could wear it when she worked. “Technically, the three diamonds on this one equals the one around your neck.”

  “Are you asking me to marry you?”

  “I thought that part was obvious.” He took her hand, taking the ring off his pink and gently glided it on her ring finger. “I want to be with you. Always. I know now that I can still be a Trooper and you can have everything you want too, including our farm. This cabin has always been a home to us and it can be that again.”

  A long excruciating pause made him wonder if she might actually say no.

  “That’s it?”

  “What else is there?” he asked.

  “You’re hopeless.” She rested her hands on his shoulders. “You could try the words, ‘Will you marry me’.”

  “Yes,” he said, smiling. “How could a guy turn down that proposal?”

  “You can be infuriating.”

  “So I’ve been told.” He grabbed her hips, lifting her up, carefully putting her over his shoulder.

  “Put me down.”

  “I will after I put you in my truck. I am whisking you away to my cabin in the middle of nowhere for our much needed alone time.

  “I have to pack.”

  “Bag is in the truck.” He kicked opened the door. “You’re heavier than I remember.”

  “That is not going to get you laid,” she said. “We need to go back to the party. I just can’t leave without saying good-bye.”

  “Dad knows. He’ll fill everyone in.” He set her down in the passenger side, and before she could protest anymore, he buckled her in.

  “You told your father?”

  “I showed him the ring,” Jake said.

  “What if I want to go back and tell Stacey? Show her the ring.”

  “Then we’ll never get out of here. You can do that when we get back.” He smiled, slamming the truck door shut before racing around and hoping behind the driver side.

  “You really suck at understanding women.”

  He laughed, opening the center console, pulling out his last gift. “You’re going to take that back after you open this.”

  She tore through the wrapping, revealing a picture frame with the words, ‘I love Mom’ and their latest ultrasound picture.

  “How long to your cabin?” she asked.

  “Less than an hour.”

  “I think someone is going to get lucky. Very lucky.”

  He ran his hand across her stomach. “I’m the luckiest man alive.”

  Epilogue

  KENZIE WATCHED IN AWE as Jake took a lesson from the nurse on how to swaddle their newborn baby girl. The last thirty hours had been grueling, and there were moments she didn’t think she’d be able to continue, but through it all, Jake stood by her side, whispering encouraging words, even when she had chomped down on his arm during a contraction.

  She rolled her wedding rings around on her fingers. It had only been a month since t
hey officially tied the knot, having waited for their house to be finished so they could have a small private wedding in their own back yard.

  “Let’s go see Mommy,” Jake said as he took the nine-pound baby into his arms and carefully walked the five paces to Kenzie’s bed side. “So, what’s it going to be? Matilda or Emma?”

  Kenzie laughed. “You have to ask?”

  Jake gently set the baby down on her chest. “We never talked about middle names, but I like the idea of using Chorley.”

  “I like that,” Kenzie said. “I hope your father got to his treatment okay.”

  “I got a text from Elsie. She took him and said she’d bring him by when he was done.” Jake pushed down the side railing and slid next to Kenzie on the gurney, wrapping his arms around both mother and child. “I didn’t think I could love any one as much as I love the both of you.”

  She looked into his eyes, noting a small dot of water forming in the corner. “Save a little love for others because I'm going to want a few more kids.”

  “How can you say that after what you just went through?”

  “It was nothing.”

  Jake rubbed his forearm. “Nothing? I got a tennis ball tossed at my head. Was called a mother you know what a few times and do I need to remind you that you bit me?”

  “Only thing I remember was you holding our daughter for the first time and then placing her on my chest.”

  Just then a knock came at the door.

  “Hey there,” Elsie peeked her head in. “I heard a new member of the family arrived about an hour ago.”

  “Yep,” Jake said. “Is my dad out of chemo?”

  “He’s right here,” Elsie said. “Doctors said he could come in and say hello for a few minutes.”

  Jake leaped from the bed and wheeled Ethan into the room. The cancer treatments were taking their toll on his body, but he was responding better than they had expected and though he was still terminal, he fought, wanting to spend time with his grandchild and his son. He had hope. They all had hope.

  Jake kissed his little girl’s forehead before holding her up. “Emma Chorley Prichard, meet your Grandpa.”

  “She has your hair,” Ethan said. “Maybe even more than when you were born.”

  “We’ve already started calling her Goldilocks.” Kenzie took Jake’s hand as he eased himself next to her on the hospital bed.

  “She’s perfect,” Ethan whispered.

  “She’s her mother’s daughter.”

  Kenzie smiled at her husband. It had taken a long time for all of them to heal the wounds of generations past, but this new life brought with her a new beginning.

  Excerpt from DEADLY SEDUCTION

  BOOK VI IN THE NEW YORK STATE TROOPER SERIES

  Coming 23 May 2017

  Amazon.com

  CHAPTER ONE

  DELANEY MERVIS couldn’t believe her bad luck when the man she’d been watching had decided to sit outside. Normally, sitting under the stars as they twinkled across the ripples of the picturesque lake, during a warm summer evening would be a treat, but not tonight.

  Her phone vibrated, sending her stomach on a roll, twisting and churning. She didn’t check the text, she knew exactly who it was from and what he wanted her to do.

  She ordered a glass of house white wine and a salad while pretending to be deep into a book on her kindle. Seemed like an easy cover and kept people away so she could focus on how the hell she was going to seduce a man.

  The outdoor patio seemed crowded for a Tuesday evening, though she’d heard some of her co-workers talk of some wild times in the Village of Lake George, New York. Looking around, it didn’t look tame, but it certainly wasn’t wild. Then again, what did she know of wild. Taking a sip of her wine, she looked across the deck at the four men sitting at a table right against the railing, overlooking the water. She recognized one of them as the owner of the hotel she was staying at. There was a pitcher of beer on the table, along with a plate of chicken wings, what looked like mozzarella sticks, and maybe nachos.

  Josh Burdett sat directly across from her, sipping his beer while the other men laughed about something. Josh was certainly better looking in person with his sandy brown hair, cut in a stylish fade that only accentuated his square dimpled jaw, sharp-high cheek bones, plump lips, and piercing green eyes that made it difficult for her to keep from constantly staring, which could be a good thing.

  She knew she was a pretty woman. The rare occasion she went out to a bar, she would get hit on, but she had a rule about dating men she’d met in bars and that was, she didn’t date them. Lately, she hadn’t dated all, her last relationship hadn’t been a very good and it left her feeling as though there might be something wrong with her.

  Setting her glass down, she poked at her salad with the fork, doing her best to keep her eyes on the kindle in her hand, while keeping the hot sexy trooper in her peripheral vision, hoping he had noticed the woman sitting alone. Her heart pounded, rattling her ribcage. If she did what grey eyes asked, he wouldn’t kill her brother. Simple enough, right?

  Not.

  “How is everything?” The waitress appeared at the side of the table.

  “Great,” Delaney said. “Can you bring me the check?”

  “More wine before I do that?”

  “One more glass, with the check,” Delaney said. Might as well have something to slowly sip, figuring Josh and his friends might be awhile and she’d look silly at a table, reading a book, without at least a beverage. Plus, she could use it to spill on him. One way of getting a man’s attention. She shook her head. The art of seduction wasn’t her strong suit.

  Right after the waitress left, she snuck a glance in Josh’s direction, connecting with his sea green eyes. She swallowed, holding his gaze, unable to shyly look away. Isn’t that what men liked?

  He tipped his glass, nodding.

  She smiled weakly as she raised her nearly empty glass, then took a sip, before lowering her head, eyes focusing on the kindle screen. The information she’d been given indicated Josh was nearing his thirtieth birthday. Same age as her. He’d been a Trooper since graduating from the Academy at the age of twenty-two and worked as a detective in special crimes unit most of his career. The portrait that the man with the grey eyes had built for Josh, made him out to be this bad ass cop who abused his power. But when she looked at him, all she saw was a young man with this boyish quality that made a woman want to go curl up in his strong powerful arms because you knew he was the kind of man who would forever and always be your protector…and love and worship you as if you were the most important person in the world.

  But looks could be deceiving as she’d found out with Kirk.

  She swallowed her pride and stiffened her spine, as she took a long slow sip of her wine noting that Josh continued to look her way, even while engaged in conversation.

  When the waitress returned, Delaney had pushed aside her salad, only half eaten, then quickly paid the bill. This way she could just sit and drink her second glass, while she argued with herself that if the tables were turned, her brother would do the very same thing.

  The next thirty minutes dragged on as she watched Josh and his friends enjoy a meal, but finally they had begun to stand, shaking hands. She took the last sip of her second glass of wine when the waitress showed up with another glass.

  “I didn’t order that?” Delaney glanced toward the table where Josh had been, his buddies heading toward the parking lot, but Josh seemed to have disappeared. She couldn’t blow this chance. Not now.

  “I did,” a husky deep voice said. “Thought we could have a drink together.” Josh stood in front of her, fresh beer in his hand.

  The waitress set the glass on the table. “Let me know if I can get you anything else.”

  “Thanks Viv,” Josh said.

  Delaney let out a long slow breath. Both relieved and terrified at the same time.

  “I’m not usually this forward,” he said. “But we noticed each other, so thought I’d sa
y hello.”

  “Hello,” she said smiling. “Please. Sit down.” Kirk had been right, she did sound like she was conducting an interview.

  Josh pulled out the spare chair at her table and sat down across from her. “Name is Josh Burdett.” He held out his hand

  She took it in a firm handshake. “Delaney. Nice to meet you.”

  “Are you from around here?”

  She tucked her kindle, along with her notebook into her purse. “No. I’m just here for a couple of weeks.”

  “Vacation?”

  “Working vacation,” she said. “I’m a writer and I’m here to finish my novel.”

  “Are you published?” he asked, leaning forward, elbows resting on the table, his green eyes focused a little to intently on her face, but it least his gaze wasn’t on her non-existent boobs. Or maybe that was a bad thing.

  “Not yet.” Keep as much of the truth about yourself as you can. “The novel writing is a hobby. I hope to turn it into a paying gig sometime soon.”

  “So, what do you do…as a career?”

  “I’m a copy editor for a publishing house.” So far, no lies. “What do you do?” she asked.

  “I’m a State Trooper.”

  “Impressive and dangerous. I bet exciting too.” She did her best to act surprised by his profession while gauging his responses and body language, which by the way he pulled back a tad, he wasn’t into girls who thought his job was sexy. But what did she know about reading people? She thought Kirk loved her fried chicken when he actually hated it.

  Josh chuckled. “Honestly, more than half my job is sitting in a patrol car or in a patrol boat, waiting for something to happen, hoping nothing does, wishing for boring, which I think is the complete opposite of why I became a Trooper in the first place.”

  “Did you join because you’re an adrenaline junkie?” What the hell kind of question was that? The gene that gave a woman the art of seduction had passed her by.

  “I suppose a little.” He swigged his beer. “I wanted to make a difference. Help people. Protect them.” Laughing, he shook his head. “This is a deep conversation for two people who just met.”