Maverick (Star Valley Book 3)

by Dahlia West

  Leah leaned forward in her saddle and peered out ahead. “Is that the original cabin?”

  He nodded. “My whole family started here. More than a hundred years ago. Kit built it with his own two hands.” Austin knew he didn’t have it in him to do the same, but as before, he hoped his gesture would be enough. Somehow, he was certain it would be.

  They rode over the rolling hills and down Goodman’s Gulch, the hardest part of the trek. Leah’s daily riding lessons paid off and she leaned back in the saddle without having to be told, so that Rocket, her trail horse, had surer footing. In the distance, Austin could already see the marker Seth had left after the spring thaw, at the spot where Dad and Manny had died during the last winter storm.

  When they approached it, it was still upright, having survived the recent storms intact, which was more than Austin could say for himself or Leah. He dismounted, pulled a spade from one of the saddle bags and drove it deep into the ground, just a few feet away from Seth’s marker. He lifted pockets of topsoil and upended them in neat little piles, working slowly and methodically. It was a little like digging a grave, he thought suddenly, but forced himself to renounce the idea. No. It was not like digging a grave. It was the opposite, he reminded himself. Life would begin here, not end. He scraped the blade of the hand trowel across the soil, satisfied with his work.

  Back where Leah stood with the horses, Austin pulled the sapling from the saddle bag, knelt down, and carefully began unwrap its roots. It was small, just under three feet, but he was confident it would have the rest of the season to take root undisturbed. The storm season had passed and the little tree had just enough time to dig in and claim a place for itself before winter set in.

  All it needed was time.

  Leah knelt beside him and helped him peel off the burlap. Then she rolled the scratchy material up into a tight ball and retied it with the twine. Together they placed it in the newly dug hole, filling in the the rest of the void with the damp, loamy piles of earth around them. Austin smoothed the surface with the spade. There were birds above them, singing in the trees, greeting the morning—and the couple—with bright, happy songs. It seemed fitting, somehow, despite the circumstances.

  Life would begin here, Austin told himself again. Then he straightened up alongside Leah and pulled her into his arms. They stood together in silence in the shade of the copse of trees that lined the river bank. “Dad’ll watch over her for us,” he told her. “He’ll take care of her until we see her.”

  They finally turned away and headed back to the horses. “Are you okay?” he asked her. “This is the farthest you’ve ridden yet.”

  Leah nodded and swung up into the saddle. “I’m okay.” She found her stirrups easily and gathered the reins in her hands. “I can make it back home.”

  “How about someplace else?” Austin asked, mounting Colter in a quick stride.

  She turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. “Where?”

  “Some place special. But it’s a long ride.”

  She didn’t ask where and he was glad. She simply nodded again. “I can make it,” she told him. “Just lead the way.”

  Chapter Forty-Six

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  Leah wasn’t sure where they were headed but she trusted Austin to lead them there, where ever it was. It was slow going and the path was steep and rocky. Her horse was sure-footed, though, and Leah wasn’t afraid. The path wound around, snaking back and forth like the river below them, following the deep rock lines of the hill they were climbing. It flattened out at the top, though, and once they came through a short canyon, Leah discovered a large, flat piece of land.

  Austin dismounted, then held her mare so she could do the same. He left the horses to graze as he led her to the center of the field.

  “Where are we?” she asked, looking around. The view was spectacular, like before, but the mountains were hidden by a cliff behind them. Ahead of them lay the Snake and she could see its winding path for miles and miles.

  “We’re on the other side of the ridge we climbed all those weeks ago. Where we first made love,” he told her.

  “Really?” she asked, still gazing around them.

  He nodded. “We came up a different way. On the south side. That’s why you don’t recognize it.”

  “What are these?” Leah knelt to pluck at the twine that was stretched across the grass. Stakes had been driven into the ground at seemingly random intervals.

  Austin reached down, palm open, and she took his hand. He pulled her up and stepped over the first line. They stood in a large rectangle closest to the cliff’s edge. “This will be our living room, the largest in the house.”

  Leah stared up at him, in total surprise.

  He raised his arm and pointed to the service road. “Once you get to the highway it’s less than five minutes around the bend to the Big House by car,” he reminded her.

  “Our own place?” she whispered, kneeling down to run her fingers through the dirt.

  “Our own house,” he confirmed. “The land’s still part of the family spread and it’ll stay that way. But the house will be ours, quiet and out of the way. Our bedroom would be on this side, too, second floor, overlooking the Snake, with a whole wall of windows.”

  Leah walked the grid, taking it all in, one step at a time. There was a promise here, just like the last time. There was a future here, if she was just strong enough to reach out and take it. And with Austin by her side, she knew she was. It was beautiful here. The perfect place to call their own. She turned to look at him to tell him so but hesitated when she saw the way he was looking at her.

  “This is our place, our spot,” he told her. “We’re going to claim it.”

  The look in his eyes told her that Austin was more interested in claiming her. Leah looked around, heart hammering in her chest. They were alone, on top of the world. She knew what she had to do and her hands didn’t even shake as she reached for the buttons on the front of her blouse.

  Austin watched in silent approval as she shrugged it off and let it drop. She unhooked her bra and let the straps slide down her shoulders. In just a few minutes, she stood naked in front of him, no longer afraid of what he’d think when he looked at her. Austin loved her and he’d never, ever hurt her.

  Now that she was done, it was his turn. Leah, for her part, couldn’t believe the contrast. Austin’s lean, bronzed body glistened in the sunlight. He was already hard, his erection straining against his lower abdomen. He took her down to the dirt, to the earth, warm and soft underneath them. Inside the wooden stakes, Austin staked his claim, cupping her with the palm of his hand.

  Leah spread her legs wide for him, sun beating down on her bare skin. She was no longer embarrassed or ashamed of her battered body. Austin (and Snake River) had healed her soul to the point where it didn’t upset her to be seen anymore. Not by him. The pieces that were still missing, the ones that had been taken from her, would heal as well, in time. Everything would heal as long as she had him.

  As long as they had each other.

  She could never forget he’d lost the baby, too. Their pain was a shared one but it was their love that bound them together.

  Leah’s fingers dug into the dirt as Austin’s entered her, gently with no sense of urgency. They had forever, after all. First one finger dipped in, then a second. He wet her clit and stroked it slowly as he ducked his head and drew a nipple into his mouth. Soon every swollen nub on Leah’s body thrummed and tightened in the cool breeze as he squeezed and licked and pinched and rubbed them into hard points, each one in turn.

  She needed no words of encouragement or explanation as he moved over her, positioning himself at her throbbing entrance. She wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted her hips, taking him inside all the way. The only sound was a gasp that escaped her lips as he pushed in deep and stretched her wide.

  A tear dropped onto the hollow of her throat and she realized they were both silently crying. That was okay. There would be a lot of tears, she was c
ertain. There was no point in holding them back. Her own slid from the corners of her eyes and dropped onto the grass underneath her.

  She put her hand on his chest, felt his heart, felt her own. They weren’t hollow anymore, at least.

  She finished quietly, legs and arms wrapped around him. She knew he felt it, though, because he slowed a little, in obvious deference to her.

  When she was done, he thrust a few more times until he emptied himself inside her but she didn’t release him even though they were both done. They lay together in silence, nothing but their breath between them. Leah ran her fingers through his hair and drew his head down to her lips. “We start here,” she whispered.

  Epilogue

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  Austin stood in front of his family and his closest friends, with Walker at his side. Candace stood just feet away, holding onto her bouquet of yellow roses. Willow had scattered the path with petals, happy once again to reprise her role as Flower Girl. She was far too young to understand what had happened or her role in it. She only knew there had been a baby but now there wasn’t. It seemed cruel to explain anything else.

  He kept one eye out for uninvited guests, knowing his brothers were doing the same. Court had braved the storm in pursuit of their trespasser, but Palmer Conroy had been long gone by the time he’d crested the ridge that night. No one had seen hide nor hair of him in town or on their land. A complaint had been filed, and Palmer was, once again, wanted for questioning.

  Austin half hoped the man was already in Colorado or Texas or Oklahoma by now. If the man never stepped foot in Wyoming again, that’d be just fine with the Barlows.

  Palmer didn’t appear but Leah did and a hush fell over the small, assembled crowd. She wore a blue dress that matched her eyes and a smile that matched her soul. Austin didn’t think any woman could look more beautiful. There was no music but the morning birds but that had been the way she’d wanted it.

  Austin had promised her it wouldn’t rain, despite the clouds overhead. It provided a nice bit of shade from the summer sun and the grass stayed dry as a bone as she walked between the rows of chairs to stand with him.

  Tears pooled in her eyes but Austin was used to it at this point. Leah’s tears had a thousand different meanings. He’d spend the rest of his life learning every damn one of them and never get tired of it.

  Walker produced the rings when asked, opening the dove gray velvet box with ease. Leah had found a jeweler in Jackson Hole that would let her use her own design. The box held two of them—His and Hers—side-by-side gold bands that looked like tiny braided reatas. When he slipped the smaller ring onto her finger, it fit perfectly against his mother’s gold engagement ring. His own eyes stung a bit as Leah gently slid on his. She was so totally, and completely a Barlow, yet hadn’t lost a bit of herself. She stood barefoot in the grass smiling up at him and he had to lean a bit farther to kiss her, but he didn’t mind at all.

  *

  For their honeymoon, such as it was, they stepped off the plane in Denver and checked into their hotel before Austin informed her he had a surprise planned. They walked downtown, taking in the charm of the city’s center until they turned a corner and came to their destination.

  “We’re here,” he announced, as they stepped over the curb.

  Leah gazed around them, trying to guess which storefront might be the right one. Her eyes skipped over western wear, antiques, a law firm, and a tax consulted but halted at a large set of steel double doors shaded by a gray awning.

  Forever Families.

  She pulled him to a stop on the sidewalk. “Austin,” she said, eyes wide.

  “Nothing’s decided,” he said calmly in a tone totally at odds with her racing heart.

  Leah shook her head. “We can’t adopt.”

  “Of course we can. If we want to.”

  “We don’t have the money, Austin. It’s expen—”

  He grinned at her and squeezed her hand. “We have some money. I still have my award money. And we’ll have more when the Folly really starts to pay off. We’ll have so much more. And they’re not going to give us a kid today,” he reminded her. “But we can get more information, find out what’s involved. We can’t adopt a whole football team, true, but we can adopt one baby. One baby that we’ll love with everything in us. I don’t care how much it costs. That’s what the money’s for. For family.”

  The odds of Leah getting pregnant the first time had been dismally low. The doctors had been clear that the damage to her uterus during the fall and subsequent miscarriage coupled with the almost nonexistent supply of viable eggs made it next to impossible for a second miracle.

  One had been enough, though, Austin thought. They’d make their own miracles from now on. “There’re a lot of ways to have a family, Leah.”

  “I know. I know! I just…I…You want to do this? Really?” Before he even answered, Leah felt a familiar tug inside her and held herself perfectly still.

  Hope.

  That’s what she felt.

  She resisted the urge to tamp it down, to tell herself that she was an unlucky person, that no good would come of trying to pursue more happiness than she’d already been given. Her breath came quickly anyway, and she felt lightheaded.

  He leaned down and cupped her face with his free hand. “It’s a gamble, Leah, remember? When you want something this much? But I’m all in. I am all in. What about you?”

  She nodded, though, and squeezed his hand in return. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’m all in.”

  Under the hot summer sun, Austin held the door as they stepped into their future, hand in hand.

  THE END

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  Twister (Star Valley Book Four)

  Phoenix Snow came into the world already at a disadvantage and not just because of her name. She’s the short, plain daughter of a supermodel, but she’s learned to make the best of it. Instead of being in front of the camera, she’s behind it. A fashion photographer in L.A., she’s happy enough just to photograph beautiful people if she can’t be one.

  She has a great eye and she never misses a shot. That photo of her fiancé with his hand up a runway model’s skirt is particularly sharp. It cuts to the bone, in fact. Before she’s even aware of what she’s doing, she’s applied for a job as a wildlife photographer for a magazine and hopped on a plane to Star Valley, Wyoming to get as far away from L.A. as possible.

  For Phoenix, the Tetons are a happy, hazy memory of summers spent with her grandfather, August Snow, world famous wildlife photographer. He’s gone now, but he left Phoenix his quaint little cabin, nestled in the bend of the great Snake River. It’s the perfect place to hide out and lick her wounds.

  Well, it would be, if it had a roof. Or indoor plumbing. Or a working fireplace. She’d settle for a soft bed at this point. But no amount of hardship will make her turn back, not even when Latin lothario Gabriel Vasquez heats up her sheets every night, but tells her to get the hell out of dodge every morning.

  As the Twister for the Barlow family, Gabe’s job is to break in new horses, but it’s been just as fun teaching Phoenix a thing or two about how to ride cowboys. He enjoys bedding down with his little city girl, but as far as he’s concerned she isn’t cut out for Wyoming and should just go back home where she belongs. He’s been burned before by a high-class woman who claimed to be ready for the ranch and the ride, a woman who turned out to be anything but.

  Gabe’s not making that mistake again, but he’ll enjoy Phoenix while she’s here. God knows he can’t resist the challenge she presents. It’s painfully obvious that Phoenix Snow hasn’t been under the hand of a strong, savvy male before, but she’ll learn to respond to Gabe’s every touch soon enough, like any nervous, untrusting filly does for a good, skilled cowboy—at least for as long as she’s in Star Valley.

  Coming Fall 2016!

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