by Violet Duke
“Not just abandoning him, but also treating Quinn like total garbage.”
Cam’s eyes were filled with sorrow, regret, and definitely shame. “I know what happened with that loan shark before Brody skipped town. I didn’t know about it until way too late. Quinn, you have to believe that if I’d known, I would’ve gotten you out somehow. I would never have left you in that position.”
She nodded. “I know. But I knew you were covering a lot of his debts already. Between the two of us, that brother of yours has several lifetimes of shit to apologize for. But I never faulted you for what Brody did to me, or what I had to do to get myself out.”
Cam shook his head. “You were always stronger than anyone I ever knew, Quinn”
“I appreciate that.”
She reached over for the contract and held it up. “We’re not signing this, Cam. You know it’s not right. But I know you’re worried about your brother. He doesn’t deserve it, but I give you my word that I’ll be your insurance policy. If it does trickle over to your world somehow, I’ll step up and do what I can to keep the backlash as little as possible.”
“Quinn, I can’t ask you to do that. I’d never ask you to do that.”
“But you were willing to ask the man I love to sign over a song he wrote for my son, your nephew. The boy he clearly loves.”
He dropped his head into his hands. “Shit, when you put it that way.”
“Did you think I was going to put it any other way?”
“No. Which is why I tightened the screws as much as I did with Rylan. I didn’t want him to bring you along.”
Quinn chuckled. “Still scared of me?”
“Always.”
She studied him for a beat. “You listened to the words, didn’t you? To the song.”
“Yeah.”
“And you were honestly okay with letting Rylan sign over that song to Brody?”
“I listened to it after. And no, I wasn’t okay with it after I heard the lyrics that Rylan had written.”
Cam sighed. “For what it’s worth, I really didn’t come here with this plan in place. That’s why I needed a few days to get the contracts. I listened to it yesterday.” He glanced over at Rylan. “I made changes to the contract after that. The contract was built to protect Brody’s reputation but it would’ve protected your rights to the song, even from my brother.”
“Too little, too late, Cam,” said Quinn.
Rylan smiled over the echoed words that had come to mind when he’d first met Cam.
“So I repeat,” she stared Cam down. “I’ll be your insurance policy. He may be the last person on earth I ever want to see or speak to again, but thanks to his little swimmers and his stupid reliance on the pull-out method, I have Cooper. And I’d never trade any pain or hardship or asshole ex for any second I’ve spent being Cooper’s mom. If it’ll keep Brody from hitting rock bottom, I’ll smile on camera and I’ll do what I can to help you keep his ass out of the fire.” She ripped the paperwork in half. “But you’re not touching this song.”
“Goddamn, my brother really is the stupidest man alive for letting you get away. And every day, you prove me right. I’ll take your deal. I’d be an idiot not to.”
Rylan growled. “Hold on. I don’t want you having to stand there and do any of that, honey. I can write other songs. You should never have to defend that asshole or paint anything he put you through in any other light but the truth.”
Quinn looked at him for the first time that day. Her hand squeezed his. “If I know Cam, he’ll work like hell to make sure it never comes to that. So I wouldn’t worry. But either way, I’m not letting you tarnish that song. I meant what I said about the man who wrote that song.”
His heart hammered in his chest, his veins filling with hope like pure adrenalin. “Still?” he asked hoarsely.
“We’ll get to that in a bit. Let me finish with Cam, first.”
Rylan fought back a grin.
Cam wasn’t as subtle. He chortled out loud. “God, I’ve missed you. You’ve grown up to become a hell of a woman.”
“Flattery never worked on me. Right now, I’m still pissed that you put Rylan through what you did, and that you even thought about going behind my back to broker a deal that affects me.”
Regret flashed in his eyes. “I didn’t want to disrupt your life again.”
“I believe you. Still doesn’t make your man nuggets any bigger. You should’ve come to me.”
He nodded. “You’re right, I should’ve.”
Quinn leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. “I hear you’re managing a few musicians now and doing well for yourself.” She tilted her head. “They’re in good hands.”
“High praise. Congrats on your MBA, by the way. I always knew you were too good for Brody. That’s precisely why I tried to get you to dump his ass at least a dozen times.”
Rylan’s estimation of the guy went up. He wasn’t getting a single hit off his bullshit meter.
Smiling, Quinn nodded. “This is true. I still maintain it would’ve been a lateral move to start dating you.”
Rylan growled. The asshole was back on his shit list.
When Quinn’s hand squeezed his knee reassuringly, his anger quickly dissipated. Mostly because he never thought he’d ever get to have Quinn’s hands on him again. And also because of the genuine affection he heard in her voice.
“Cam always looked out for me while I was dating Brody. Always.”
A hard look crossed Cameron’s features. “Not well enough at the end.”
“Don’t. It’s in the past.”
Silennce blanketed over them and Rylan broke the awkwardness with the only thing on his mind. “I’d really like to get to our conversation so should I kick this guy’s ass before he leaves or not?”
Quinn laughed. “Let’s go with not. Cooper may not have a biological father worth knowing but his uncle is a decent guy.” She looked at the man in question. “I want to give Cooper a few more years to grow up but I’ll tell him he has a pretty cool uncle in Europe. If he says he wants to meet you, and you’re in the states on a trip, I’ll be sure to make that happen.”
Cameron looked utterly humbled by that. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now, I want you to go get on that 1 p.m. flight you have scheduled and forget this whole thing happened.”
Cam shook his head. “I’m impressed. Your P.I. is good. I still don’t know how he was able to find this meeting location for you.”
“Jay’s the best.”
Rylan had to concur. Jay, the PI.. that worked for Connor Sullivan, the lawyer who did a lot of legal work for Cactus Creek, was pretty legendary.
Cam got up from his seat, tucking the ripped contract back into his suitcase. After a proud, affectionate look at Quinn, he glanced back at Rylan. “I never told my brother to fix things with Quinn because he was a dumbass who didn’t deserve her. You...you’re a good guy. So you do whatever it takes to get her back. Because if not, you’re officially dumber than my brother. And you’ll deserve the shitty regret you’ll feel for the rest of your life for losing out on a really great girl.”
And finally he was gone.
Quinn turned to him, her expression fierce even as her eyes softened when they met his.
“And now for you…”
* * * * *
QUINN STARED HARD at the man she loved.
“You once told me you’d never wager something you weren’t willing to lose,” she stated, watching his reaction carefully. “But you were willing to jeopardize my feelings for you, the trust I had in you, and with it, any possibility of us having a future.”
“No,” he nearly growled. “I was never willing to risk any of that. But I couldn’t let myself be selfish. If it was going to keep you and Cooper safe, keep him from hurting you two again and turning your lives into a circus…then that was a risk I was willing to take. I was willing to risk it for what was best for you two, but never, ever was I willing to lose what we had. What
we can still have if you would just give us a chance.”
She nodded. “And that’s the only reason I’m standing here right now. And that’s the only reason why I’m going to torment you with my presence every day for the rest of your—“
His lips crashed onto hers. “God, I love you. I was so afraid I’d lost you forever. And every damn second since, I’ve done nothing but think about a million ways to beg you to take me back and forgive me.”
“No.” Quinn pulled back and shaped her hands to his face. “There’s nothing to forgive, Rylan. What you did, you did because you loved us, because you were trying to protect us. There’s absolutely no fault in that. And I meant what I said the other night. The man who wrote that song for Cooper is the one I’d want to be his father.”
“He’s also the man I love.”
He dragged her back to him for another soul-searing kiss. “Can we please go pick up Cooper and spend some time together as a family? I’ve missed the hell out of you two all weekend.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“MOMMY! COME hear the new song that Rylan and I wrote for you.” Cooper bopped up and down excitedly.
After six tough months with lots of ups and downs, it was amazing to see Cooper back to his old self. Better, even. The doctors told her children are more resilient but his speed of recovery had been astounding to her. Where once he could barely breathe after running around the yard, now, he was hopping around the place without a struggle in the world.
Plopping down on the couch she grinned as her two favorite men put on their serious-musician look that they used whenever they would perform one of their duets. Rylan had been by her side every day of Cooper’s recovery, and since they’d spent much of that time in the hospital or holed up on bedrest, he and Cooper had had plenty of time to make up songs. As his recovery progressed, some of the songs were even implemented into his rehab, much to Coop’s delight.
The kid was a complete ham.
Rylan played a plinkety plunkety tune and Quinn laughed as she saw Cooper dancing around like a marionette before settling down and singing in that adorably sweet voice of his.
Chocolate cake for breakfast,
Bed time after seven,
Splashing puddles in the rain
till I’m soggy,
A lizard, a snake,
or even another doggie…
I know just what mommy would say
More dancing and then some pretty smooth rock star moves with a fake mic that had both she and Rylan laughing.
TV all weekend,
Practical jokes on my cousins,
Filling water balloons
with grape jelly
Belching my name,
using colorful language,
Or waving with one finger like Aunt Penny…
I know just what mommy would say
Quinn rolled her eyes and laughed. Sadly, her sister Penny was responsible for teaching Cooper every single one of those items in that verse.
Cooper then came up to her and stretched his arms up for a hug.
Instantly she picked him up and felt her heart wobble when he sang the next verse.
Huggles when I’m scared,
Kisses on my ouchies,
And no matter what, when I ask
if I’m gonna be okay…
I know just what mommy would say.
Tears—actual tears—rushed to her eyes. But who could blame her? It was too soon. The doctors had only just told them a few days ago that Cooper was done with surgeries.
And that he was officially ‘going to be okay.’
She’d been irrationally crying with relief at random times ever since—months, years of scared emotions being granted the chance to overtake her life after the fact.
So yes, she was still a tiny bit emotional when he began wriggling to be let out of the abominable snow rabbit hug she was smothering him with while just barely managing to keep her tears at bay.
A feat she was managing rather admirably…that is, until she heard him start singing the final verse.
An ace of spades,
A cool green diamond,
And finally a dad for me…
I HOPE I know what mommy will say.
Her eyes widened to the size of saucers as she replayed the lyrics in her head.
But then she just laughed when Rylan pulled a card out of his pocket, not a ring.
An ace of spades card.
A Disney Princess ace of spades card.
“What’d you do? Steal that from the deck?”
“I did. It’s been sitting in my wallet for quite some time.”
The man never ceased to be adorable. “When exactly did you take it? And you better not tell me it was before that one time we played Bullshit because that’ll mean you already knew I didn’t actually have four aces that day.” She’d lost that hand and inevitably ended up losing the entire game, if memory served.
Rylan’s lips twitched to the side.
“You little cheat!” But before she could demand reimbursement—preferably in the bedroom—for the one month of laundry she’d had to do for him as a result of the loss, she did the math. “Wait a minute, that was months ago. You’ve had the card since way back then?”
“Nope.” He tilted his head and gazed into her eyes. “I stole it that first night we played High Card.”
She blinked, feeling the air in her lungs getting mighty thin, and her pulse galloping at an alarming rate. “You kept that card in your wallet all this time?”
Then he dropped down to one knee and she stopped breathing altogether.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the emotions shining in his golden gaze. “I took that card with me at first because I was going to use it as leverage if you ever turned me down for a date. But I’ve kept it with me ever since just in case you turned down my proposal.”
He opened the ring box.
When she saw the stunning green diamond ring, she gasped.
“It’s called a chameleon diamond. I knew I could never replace or erase the pain of remembering the heirloom you had to give up to cover Brody’s debts. And I didn’t want anything tarnishing our engagement. So, I got you a diamond ring that, hopefully, would only give you good thoughts. So Quinn Christiansen, will you be my wife?”
Then he reached over and plopped Cooper on his lap. “If it helps, Cooper already said yes to my proposal for him.”
“Look, mommy. Rylan gave me a cool green ring too! A Green Lantern super hero ring!” Cooper swung his legs back and forth happily. “But I would’ve said yes even without the ring,” he shrugged with all the matter-of-fact candor of a kindergartener. “He’s already the best dad I’ve ever had.”
Oh that sealed it. Her tears had no chance of staying in now.
“Mommy, did you say yes yet? I’m getting kinda hungry.”
She laughed and cupped one hand on Rylan’s cheek and the other on Cooper’s. “Yes, honey. Of course I’m saying yes.”
EPILOGUE
March 14th the Following Year
Rooftop of Desert Confections
“SO LET ME GET this straight,” said Quinn, trying to wrap her brain about what Dani was telling her. “The entire town has a bet going on not when Xoey and Isaac are getting back together, but rather, how quickly Isaac will be able to get Xoey to agree to marry him after they get back together?”
“Yep.” Dani nodded, sitting on the edge of the head table, as if she weren’t decked out in a gorgeous bridal gown that was currently very close to a plate of wedding reception cake.
Quinn slid the cake away from Dani’s butt. Just to be safe.
“Do Isaac and Xoey know about it?”
“Nooo, and you can’t tell them. Or the whole thing is off.”
“How big is the pot?”
Rylan came over to join them and fielded that one, “Well, there’s no money involved. It’s all services and products, subject to approval, of course. So I’m in with some free landscaping, Sienna’s offering
a year’s worth of mechanical labor. Mrs. Wyndham wagered up one of her famous pies and cakes every night for a month, Jilly’s making a big ole sex toy basket. Lia was going to do some of her martial arts classes but everyone begged her to go in with twenty free babysitting gigs. If there’s a prize that the winner can’t use, then they’re free to auction it to someone else in town.”
“Hold up, you mean one winner is going to win ALL of that? That’s insane.”
“Why do you think the entire town is taking bets?”
“Please tell me that Mr. Callahan went in with a lifetime supply of his pumpkin bread and that insane maple butter he made last year.” Made with top grade Canadian maple syrup—all the difference in the world—Quinn would put that maple butter on everything if she could.
Rylan laughed. “Not a lifetime supply, but one a month for a year.”
“Then I’m in. Dani, are you already in?”
“They won’t let me play,” replied Dani crossly. “And it’s completely unfair.”
“Oh. Is it because you’re her best friend?”
“No.” She flat-out pouted then.
Luke filled in, with obvious enjoyment. “I believe the exact words were because Dani meddles too much.”
“I don’t meddle that much.”
Everyone within earshot burst out in laughter over that one.
“Oh yes you do,” Quinn said with a smile. “But we’re thankful for it. You got Rylan and me together.”
“See.” Dani stuck her tongue out at Luke. “I do good deeds.”
He sighed. “Please don’t encourage her.”
“Wait, so back to the town bet.” Quinn peered over at the couple in question, who were currently thumb wrestling and bickering like they always did. “So everyone in town is just assuming those two are getting back together?”
“It’s pretty much a given.”
