The knowledge that Jace was under her roof safe and sound filled her with inexpressible joy. At last she could relax. She lifted the remote from the coffee table and turned on the TV.
It was too late for the ten o’clock news. She grazed the channels. When she came to the cable news she saw the words Breaking News, and paused.
“There’s word out of Austin, Texas, that two wanted felons responsible for three murders during an armored car robbery last Christmas are in custody tonight.
“The manhunt, led by Ranger Captain Jace Riley, apprehended the two men in the mountains of West Texas where they’d kidnapped a woman whose name has not been disclosed. She was released unhurt.
“Lewis Burdick was on the FBI’s ten most wanted list. Glen Mason was a prison escapee wanted in the state of Georgia. Both the stolen plane and a million dollars were recovered.
“Now, turning our attention to Spokane, Washington, a child—”
Dana switched off the remote and disappeared into the bedroom to slip on her sweats. Once she was ready for bed and her teeth were brushed, she dragged her bedding into the living room and set up a makeshift sleeping bag next to the couch.
This was the closest she could get to Jace right now without disturbing him. For the rest of the night she would keep watch over this heroic man who’d risked his life again and again to save her from Glen.
His exhaustion was so complete, he never moved while she was still awake to see to his needs.
Dana didn’t know at what point she fell asleep, but oblivion must have taken over. The next time she was aware of her surroundings, she opened her eyes to a living room filled with daylight.
As she lifted her arm to check her watch, it brushed against Jace’s right hand, which dangled to the floor. The contact brought both their heads around.
The second he saw her he grasped her hand, threading his fingers through hers. It made her heart leap.
She looked up at him. “Good morning.”
“Good morning,” he whispered back. “You slept by me all night?”
“Yes. When I led you to the couch, you passed out. After what you’d been through, I wanted to stay close by in case you needed anything.”
His thumb rubbed her flesh. “You were kidnapped yesterday. I should have been the one watching over you in case you had nightmares.”
Dana smiled, enjoying this moment more than he would ever know. His five o’clock shadow was back, and his black curls were disheveled. With dark brown eyes gleaming from thick black lashes, he reminded her of a modern-day pirate.
“My sleep was dreamless,” she assured him. “The last nightmare I had was about prison, and they hardly ever happen anymore. As for the kidnapping incident, that was different. Lewis dragged me to the cave for Glen’s sake. When I realized he wanted me alive, not dead, I was more sickened and angry than anything else.”
His jaw hardened. “You shouldn’t have had to go through either experience.”
She decided it was time to act on Gideon’s advice about a man not minding a little begging if it was from the right woman.
“We’ve had this conversation before.” She gazed directly into his eyes. “Our orbits would never have crossed otherwise. How could I ever be sorry about that?
“Do you know they talked about you on the news last night? It was my fantasy come true,” she confessed with great daring.
He leaned closer. “What fantasy?”
“Ever since Heidi caught herself a detective, I’ve been jealous. We go back to childhood, remember. She and I did everything together. And then she went and found herself this big, gorgeous wonderful hero who’d take bullets for her because he was so crazy in love with her.
“He was willing to do anything she wanted. She even managed to drag him to the prison in order to save me, if you can imagine.
“After his first visit, I’d lie on my cot and pretend the same thing had happened to me. This fantasy cop would come into my life. He’d take me away and protect me and love me the way Gideon loved Heidi.”
Jace held her hand tighter without realizing it. “I thought you hated the law.”
“That was an hysterical reaction to being on the wrong side of it. Last night the anchorwoman talked about you saving me. It hit me then that a real live Texas Ranger had come to my rescue, just like I’d imagined in my dreams.
“This big, gorgeous hunk of a hero with the most beautiful brown eyes I’ve ever seen had put his life in jeopardy. Not just for me, but for all the people Glen and Lewis had destroyed with their evil.”
She turned on her side and kissed his arm. “Do you have any idea how amazing you are to me, Jace Riley? This wasn’t a one-time deal for you. Next week, next month, next year you’ll be out there saving more lives, putting yourself in harm’s way, protecting the innocent.”
Tears filled her eyes as she continued to look at him. “I’m so proud of what you did, what you do. I saw the same awe in my parents’ eyes last night.”
“Dana, there’s a difference in admiring what I do, and being able to live with it on a twenty-four-hour basis.”
If he’d just said what she’d thought he’d said…
She sat up.
“The only thing I couldn’t live with is a ghost.”
“Do you feel a ring on my finger?”
Her gaze flicked to their hands. The gold band was gone. Breathless, she looked back at him. A faint smile lifted the corner of his mouth.
“I told you before. Your gravity pulled me out of my orbit. When we collided the other night, it felt like a hundred thousand hydrogen bombs had gone off.”
“How did you know about that?” she cried in surprised delight at his reference to the measure of an earthgrazer’s impact on the rare occasion it did escape its orbit.
“I have my sources.” Then he sobered once more. “I also happen to know how you feel about having a baby.”
“Of course I want one. Maybe even three or four. Don’t you?” she asked gently.
“I can’t give them to you.” She heard a world of pain in his voice.
“Do you have a problem considering adoption? Because I don’t. Consuela and I have already talked it over. If it turns out Gideon can’t get her freed from prison, then I’ve told her I’ll raise Rosita on my own. If Consuela never gets out, I plan to adopt her little girl. She’s so adorable, Jace. I love her.”
Quick as lightning he sat up. His gaze seemed to search her soul. “You really mean that, don’t you?”
“Yes. I’ve never been pregnant, so I don’t know what it’s like. But I have to tell you, I’m all for avoiding nine months of morning sickness, serious weight gain and fifty years of worrying about birth control.”
“Dana—”
Desperate to convince him his sterility meant nothing to her, she pressed a kiss to his lips. “The important thing is to have a child to love.”
Just then her cell phone rang. The timing couldn’t have been worse, yet she didn’t dare ignore it. “That’s probably my mom or Heidi calling. I’ll be right back. Don’t you dare move.” She kissed him again before running into the kitchen to pick up.
“Hello?”
“Dana? It’s Gideon.”
“Good morning!” Heavens, it had to be the most wonderful morning of her life! “Did you get a good sleep?”
“Yes, but a I need a couple more nights just like it.” Dana could well imagine. “We decided to drop in on Ralph Mason on our way to breakfast. He’d like to talk to you. Afterward, your parents will meet us at the café.”
“Jace and I will be right there.”
“You sound happy,” he teased.
“I’m afraid you don’t know the half of it, Detective Poletti.”
“Do you want to bet?” he murmured before ringing off.
“Where are we going?” Jace asked as she put down the phone.
“To see Glen’s grandfather. He’s asked for me. While I get dressed, why don’t you freshen up in the bathroom. There’s a ne
w toothbrush in the cabinet you can use.”
“I thought you told me not to move.”
The man was irresistible. “I did, but—”
“First we have to get everything else out of the way.” By now he was on his feet, all two hundred pounds of hard male muscle. “Keep in mind our time’s going to come,” he vowed before disappearing down the hall.
A MAN WHO TURNED OUT to be Ralph’s nephew answered the door. Dana was glad Mr. Mason wasn’t alone. The minute she entered the house with Jace, she could hear the old man weeping in the living room. It tore her heart out. She couldn’t bear to see him so unhappy.
Heidi’s solemn expression said it all. The sadness was hard on everyone, even Pokey, who’d settled himself next to the couch and plopped his head on Ralph’s slippered feet.
After squeezing Jace’s hand, Dana left him to go over on the couch next to Ralph.
“Mr. Mason?”
“Ah—” He lifted his head. “It’s good of you and Jace to come. Glen did such a terrible thing to you, I can hardly find the strength to speak of it.”
“Then don’t try. It’s over, Mr. Mason. I’m fine. Jace rescued me. You need to know Glen never wanted to hurt me, and he didn’t.”
“My son abandoned him. It turned him into a criminal.”
“Glen’s mother also shares the blame. He became a victim who craved love. I know he would have protected me from Lewis.”
“You’re a sweet person to try and make me feel better, but nothing can do that. Where did my wife and I go wrong?”
“My parents used to ask themselves that same question about my sister, Amy.”
“You have a sister?”
“She’s dead now.” In the next breath, Dana explained the whole sad story.
“If Gideon hadn’t ordered an autopsy, we wouldn’t have known Amy had a brain tumor, which explained her irrational actions. I’m not saying your son might have had the same thing, but there may have been a physiological explanation for your son’s behavior.”
“I could pray that’s the reason.”
“The best parenting in the world can’t fix someone’s off-balance chemistry. Assure yourself that you did the best you could for both your son and Glen. Leave the rest to God.”
“Thank you for reminding me.” He wiped his eyes with a tissue. Then he took hold of her hand. “I guess you know I wanted you for my daughter-in-law.”
Dana fought to hold back her tears. “I’m very honored.”
“How come no man has claimed you yet?”
“I already did,” Jace declared in an authoritative voice as he joined her on the couch. He slid an arm around her shoulders. “For two long weeks I’ve been in love with her, but couldn’t do anything about it until now. We’re getting married as soon as we drive to Austin so she can meet my family.”
It was a good thing Jace was holding her on the couch or she would have passed out from too much joy.
“Good for you. Does that mean you two will be living here in Cloud Rim?”
“We haven’t worked out the details yet, but rest assured we’ll visit you often.”
“Please do. It would make an old man happy.”
“How are you going to manage now?” she asked.
“My nephew is arranging for someone to come and live with me.”
“That’s wonderful!”
“You run along now. Young people in love have plans to make.”
Jace grinned and reached for Ralph’s hand. “That’s a fact.”
No sooner had everyone said goodbye than Heidi hustled Dana out of the house ahead of the others. When they reached Jace’s car, she let out a squeal of happiness and hugged Dana so hard, she couldn’t breathe. Pokey kept jumping up and down on them.
“I almost died of excitement in there. You’re going to get married! When did he propose? Why didn’t you phone me?”
Dana shook her head. “I’d have told you, but he never asked me.”
Heidi’s shocked expression was priceless as she digested Dana’s words. “You mean that announcement just now—”
“Yes!”
“Holy cow— Do you realize that if you two start the process right away, we could have babies at the same time?”
“Well maybe not the same day,” Dana teased.
“Gideon will help. He has resources to speed up the process.”
A smile broke out on Dana’s face. “So does my husband.”
“I like the sound of that.” Two strong arms slid around her waist from behind. “Am I interrupting something private?” Jace murmured against her neck.
Dana leaned against him. “I was just reminding Heidi that she’s not the only woman married to an exciting cop.”
“Except we’re not married yet, my love.”
She turned in his arms. “It feels like we are.”
“I’ve got news for you. There’s a lot more to it than what we’ve been doing.”
She threw her arms around his neck. “I hope so.”
“I love you.”
“I’ve been in love with you forever,” she cried softly.
“Now she tells me.”
“Maybe you two should skip the trip to Austin and fly to Nevada. That’s what Gideon and I did. It solved one huge problem,” Heidi said before walking away.
Dana hid her red face against Jace’s chest.
“You know something?” he murmured into her hair. “She’s on to a good idea. My boss has given me three weeks off. How about we get married in Las Vegas today, then fly back for a visit with my family tomorrow. After that, we’ll honeymoon in England.”
She lifted her had. “England?”
“Yes. Prison got in the way of your getting your Ph.D. there. I thought we might look into it.”
“But, Jace, that would require a year and half at least. You’re a Ranger. I wouldn’t dream of taking you away from your work.”
“You’re an astronomer. If I’m going to be married to one, I’d like to learn more about it.”
“What?”
He nodded. “I can take a sabbatical for graduate work. I’d like to study physics—then I’d have a better understanding of what you do. I’m sure your father could recommend an honor student to operate the observatory while we’re gone. Of course, if the idea doesn’t appeal to you—”
“Jace, I never said that. I’m just having trouble believing this is real, that you love me.”
“Let’s go to breakfast and break the news to your parents. By the time we reach Nevada, you’re going to know it’s so real you’ll be as desperate as I am to say our vows.”
WHILE HER HUSBAND was in the shower, Dana lay in bed, looking around the quaint room of the little country inn in the Cotswolds where they’d known rapture.
Tomorrow morning they had to drive back to London for their flight to Austin. This was the last night of their honeymoon. These precious days and nights were a time out of time that would never come again.
When she saw his silhouette in the near darkness she trembled with desire, longing for him to join her. He dropped the towel on a chair and slid into bed, pulling her into his arms.
“You feel so good, sweetheart,” he moaned the words. “You’re all I think about, all I want.”
He crushed her mouth beneath his.
She’d never known a man more generous. Love seemed to pour out of him. He’d been sacrificing himself for her ever since they’d met. Now it was time to give something back.
“Jace? Can we talk for a moment?”
His body tensed. He lifted his head. “Is something wrong?”
“No. You’ve made everything so perfect, it’s been paradise. But I’ve made a decision about something and want to tell you now.”
She heard a change in the tenor of his breathing. “Go on.”
“I found out I don’t want to go to graduate school here. No one is more brilliant than my own father. Wanting to come here was the dream of a single woman still seeking adventure in far-off places. But
it pales in comparison to the reality of being married to you.”
“Dana—”
“Let me finish. For the rest of my life I want to be your wife as totally as I’ve been on this honeymoon. But you’re a Ranger and you need to get back on the job, because no one does it better.”
He responded by giving her a kiss to die for.
“I’ll keep working on my Ph.D. through Cal-Tech. While you’re at work, I’ll work. When you’re home, I plan to devote all my time to you. How does that sound?”
Jace answered her question so satisfactorily, it was an hour later before either of them was coherent.
“I can hear you thinking,” he murmured against her neck. “What do you want to ask me?”
“Would you like to live in Austin?”
“No. I’d prefer Alpine.”
“Can you do that?”
“I’ll talk it over with Tom as soon as we get back.”
“Oh, Jace—” She eased herself on top of him. “It’s what I’ve wanted for a long time! I have all these things in storage. I can’t wait to get them out and make a beautiful home for you.”
“Do you want to start adoption proceedings right away?”
“Whenever you’re ready.”
“I’m ready, especially since Gideon and Heidi phoned to tell us Consuela’s been set free and has taken her daughter back. We’ll put in for our own little Rosita.” He bit her earlobe tenderly.
“It will be so exciting to fix up a nursery.”
“Everything’s exciting with you. Our daughter will grow up knowing all the planets.”
She smiled. “And the boys will grow up to be Rangers like their handsome father. How did you become a Ranger?”
“Well, for one thing, I had an ancestor who was a Ranger before the Civil War. I was named after him, and that kind of played around in my mind.
“Then when I was in fourth grade, my dog, Mutley, followed me to school as usual. But he got hit by a car out in front and died on the way to the vet. I was inconsolable until a Ranger named Gibb Barton came to the house and brought me a new puppy.
“He checked up on us every once in a while, and as I grew older I’d go visit him. My dad’s an insurance agent, and both my brothers have gone into the same business. But Gibb’s career sounded like the only way to go.
Beneath A Texas Sky (Harlequin Super Romance) Page 22
