“If that came as a surprise, then you were in la-la land. And in my opinion, you should’ve been thrilled you had that much time without interruption. Instead, you had a meltdown.”
“Meltdown, hell,” Vince muttered. “It jerked the blinders off my eyes.”
Evan muttered a few choice curse words. “You’re so blinded now I’m going to have to start leading you around! If you were really seeing things, you’d see that no one has a perfect life. And furthermore, Geena doesn’t expect things to be perfect!”
Tossing his sunglasses onto the dash, Vince scrubbed his face with both hand. “Geena isn’t Noelle,” he muttered.
“That’s right. She’s the woman you love. Maybe it’s time you started giving her a little credit for changing her life for the better. For being a single mother. For being a teacher. Most of all, for giving you a second chance.”
Shadows were beginning to stretch across the desert floor while the lights of the city had begun to twinkle in the gloaming. As Vince looked out at the rugged landscape, he wondered if Evan might be right. Had he been blinded to reality all this time?
Since that late afternoon when he’d left Geena’s house, all he’d been able to think about was the way she’d looked at him when she’d said goodbye, the kiss she’d thrown him and the love glowing in her smile.
She’d not complained once about him being called to duty. No, instead of whining, she’d reminded him of the good he was doing. Yet strangely, her understanding and encouragement had made it even harder for him to walk away.
“All I want is for her to be happy,” Vince said.
Evan darted a pointed glance at him. “Then give her the chance to be. Give yourself that chance.”
Chapter Thirteen
Across town, Geena had just finished feeding Emma and was gathering things to put in her diaper bag when she heard a knock on the door.
Darn it, if that was Marcella she was going to choke her, Geena thought. As much as she loved the woman, she didn’t have time for another visit. She was almost ready to leave for Vince’s place, and she wasn’t about to bother calling him first. He might not be home, but that wasn’t going to deter her. She knew where he stored the extra key to the house. She’d let herself in and wait for the man. If he didn’t want to talk with her, that was just too bad. Because as far as she was concerned, he had a lot of explaining to do!
Biting back an impatient groan, she walked out to the living room and peered through the small window on the door.
Vince!
Her hands trembling, she hurriedly fumbled with the knob, yet once she pulled the door wide all she could do was stand there and stare like an idiot.
“Geena, may I come in?”
Silently, she pushed the door wider. After he walked past her and into the house, she glanced quizzically toward the driveway. Except for her little sedan, there was no sight of a vehicle.
“How did you get here?” she finally managed to ask.
“Evan dropped me off.”
After securing the door behind her, she turned and was instantly whammed by the sight of his handsome face. Her crippled heart began to beat with foolish hope. “You two just happened to be in the neighborhood, so you thought you’d drop by for a quick hello?” she asked, not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice.
His jaw rigid, he said, “There’d been an incident a block over from here. A stabbing. I wanted to make sure you and Emma were safe.”
She felt awful. “I’m sorry. I heard the sirens earlier. But I didn’t go outside to look. I assumed it was a fire truck headed on down the street. What happened? Do you know yet?”
He shook his head, and Geena noticed the dark growth of beard on his face was longer than usual and his brown eyes were bloodshot. His weary appearance cut straight to her heart.
“Evan and I aren’t working the case. But from what we’ve picked up on the radio it was domestic.”
Her legs went weak, and she quickly stepped past him to take a seat on the couch. “That’s awful. Since I moved here, this neighborhood has been nice and quiet.”
He took a seat beside her and the trembling inside Geena grew to the point she thought her teeth were going to chatter.
“Domestic violence happens in every type of neighborhood.”
“I’m sorry for sounding so petty a minute ago,” she apologized, then drawing in a bracing breath, she lifted her chin to a proud angle. “But frankly, I’m a little more than angry with you, Vince. In fact, when you knocked on the door I was getting ready to drive to your place. I’m tired of you avoiding my calls—avoiding me! Furthermore, if you’re not here to tell me you love me, then get the hell out!”
Before she could guess his intentions, he was wrapping his arms tightly around her and burying his face in the crook of her neck. “Oh, Geena, Geena, of course I love you! I’ve never stopped loving you. Ever!”
Stunned, she pushed herself far enough away to look into his eyes. “I don’t understand, Vince. Why—”
“I’ve been a blinded fool, my darling. That’s why I haven’t called or come to see you. After our day at the lake and I had to return to duty, I felt sick and helpless. I kept thinking how better off you’d be without me. How much happier you’d be living with a regular guy with a nine-to-five job. I couldn’t let the pain and unhappiness start all over again. So I thought I could give you up—again. But I can’t.”
Staggered by the emotion in his voice, she could barely speak around the raw lump in her throat. “Can’t you see, Vince? I don’t want a regular guy. I want you. A few minutes with you means more to me than a lifetime with someone I don’t love.”
His brown eyes suddenly began to glow with understanding, and then he was covering her lips with his, kissing her with more hunger and love than she ever thought possible.
When he finally pulled back to give them both a chance to breathe, she asked impishly, “Does this mean your visit this evening was more than just a check on my safety?”
Chuckling, he pulled her onto his lap, then stood with her cradled in his arms. “I’m going to show you exactly what my visit is about.”
*
Much, much later, in her shadowy bedroom, Geena and Vince lay in the middle of the bed, cuddled beneath a light blanket.
“Vince?”
“Hmm?”
“What really made you decide to come to me tonight? Other than trouble in the neighborhood.”
“Every day that’s gone by since we were last together has been pure hell,” he admitted. “And nothing was getting better. Earlier this evening, Evan and I were driving back to town from the east county line. He was giving me a hard time, trying to make me see reason about you—and us. And I came to the conclusion that he was right. I had to try to make things right between us. That’s when we heard about the stabbing. We both realized it wasn’t your address, but it was close enough to scare me. I forced him to break the speed limit laws to get me here. What about you? Why did you suddenly decide tonight that you were going to go to my place and confront me?”
She laughed softly as she remembered the smug look on Marcella’s face when Geena had jumped up from their table in the Green Lizard.
“Let’s just say I had a well-meaning nudge from a friend.”
“Marcella?”
Another chuckle slipped past her lips. “That’s right. The woman is a hopeless romantic. It’s a crying shame she’s single.”
“Hmm. Maybe you can do something to change her situation,” he suggested.
Rising up on one elbow she looked at him. “Oh, no. If you’re thinking about fixing her up with a blind date, forget it. She’d never go for that.”
“That’s not what I had in mind. I was thinking you could make sure she catches your wedding bouquet. That is how the adage goes, isn’t it? The one who catches the bouquet will be the next one married?”
“Wedding! You mean you want us to have a real one?”
This time it was Vince who laughed. “I hardly wan
t a fake one. Not after the hell we’ve gone through to get back together.”
“A wedding,” she repeated dreamily. “We had one all those years ago in Reno, but this one would be special. Like a new beginning.”
“My thoughts exactly,” Vince murmured. “A new beginning with a love that will last for a lifetime.”
She was planting a kiss on his lips when Emma let out a loud fuss from the nursery. Geena quickly sat up and reached for her robe draped on the footboard of the bed.
“Would you mind fetching Emma from her crib?” she asked. “I have something I want to get from the kitchen.”
Grinning, he flung back the blanket and retrieved his jeans from the floor. “Sure. It’s time I started my daddy duties.”
Moments later, Geena returned to the nursery to find Vince making a valiant effort to change Emma’s diaper.
She stood to one side, her heart overflowing with love as she watched him tenderly dress the baby, then lift her into his arms.
“Not the neatest of jobs. But I don’t think the diaper will fall off,” he said as he shifted the tiny girl to a comfortable position against his chest.
“I can assure you that Emma thinks it’s perfect,” she told him, then pulled a large artist’s pad from behind her back and thrust it in front of him. “This is what I wanted you to see. It’s not perfect and I still have a bit to do on the shading, but it’s almost finished.”
She’d never seen such a look of astonishment on his face as he looked at the pencil drawing she’d been working on for the past several days.
“When did you do this? How—”
“Did I remember your father’s face and the uniform he was wearing?” she finished the question for him.
He nodded, and she gave him a wan smile. “While I was staying at your house, before the amnesia went away, I used to stare at his photo—the one you have in the living room. I was sure I had a connection to him. Turns out I did.”
Vince shook his head with amazement. “This is incredible, Geena. Every detail is perfect. I realize you’re an art teacher, but I never thought you could do anything like this! And my father—”
His gaze met hers, and Geena’s heart squeezed with a mixture of love and regret as she noticed the mist coating his brown eyes. They’d lost so much in the past, she thought, but now they had a future to make up for it.
“You understand how much he meant to me,” he continued in a soft, wondrous voice. “How much he still lives inside me.”
“I didn’t realize it, Vince. Not during our first marriage. But I do now. That’s why I wanted to surprise you with this gift of his image. To show you that your decision to become a lawman will never come between us again.”
“I love you, Geena.” Bending forward he kissed her slowly, thoroughly until Emma began to squirm in his arms.
Stepping back, Geena laughed softly. “See, it just goes to show you that sometimes having the sense knocked out of your head is a good thing.”
He curled his free arm around her back and tugged her close to his side. “A good thing is you and me and Emma. A family together. Finally.”
Yes, Geena thought happily, a family together—for always. That was all she’d ever wanted.
Epilogue
Eight months later, on a cool Easter day, Vince and Geena peered down at the newborn infant lying in a wooden cradle. He was swaddled in a blue blanket, and a matching sock cap covered a thatch of thick, dark hair.
“Aw, how precious!” Geena crooned. “And all that hair!”
“I hate to say it,” Vince joked, “but he looks like you, Evan. Same big mouth and horse nose.”
“Vince!” Geena scolded. “This little boy is beautiful and you know it!”
Laughing, Vince raised up from the cradle and slapped an affectionate hand on Evan’s shoulder. “Just kidding, partner. He’s a handsome guy. Have you decided on a name yet?”
Evan looked over at Noelle, who was standing a few steps behind Geena. “She’s named him Barton, after Granddad. Barton James Calhoun.”
“He’ll be little Bart until he grows up,” Noelle said proudly.
“I’ll bet the old man is as pleased as punch about that,” Vince remarked. “Having his new great-grandson named after him.”
Evan chuckled knowingly. “He and Noelle have a special bond.”
“That’s right,” Noelle teased her husband. “I think I fell in love with Bart before I did you.”
“Ha. The old codger always could charm the women,” Evan said.
“Well, all the family has gathered at the Silver Horn today for an Easter celebration,” Noelle explained, “except for us. I didn’t want to expose little Bart to that big a crowd. He’s only a week old.”
“The family understands, honey,” Evan told her. “Granddad Bart was disappointed that we weren’t going to be there, but he’ll get over it.”
“So you declined a big celebration on the Horn and settled for a quiet little Easter with us,” Vince joked. “Evan, your life is going to the dogs.”
The four adults were still laughing when Joanna came running into the room, followed by Talulah, with ten-month-old Emma clutched in her arms.
“Eggs, Daddy! It’s time to hunt eggs!” Joanna shouted with happy excitement.
Evan made a big show of consulting his watch. “I believe you’re right, darlin’. I’ll bet the Easter Bunny has already come and gone. Let’s go see.”
Everyone except Talulah and little Bart made their way outside to a large backyard fenced with cedar railing. For the next several minutes, colorful plastic eggs were discovered behind legs of lawn furniture, potted plants and anything large enough to partially hide the bunny’s treasures.
When Vince offered Emma a large pink egg, she clutched it with both hands, then squealing with delight, drew it straight to her mouth. But thankfully, the object was too big for the toddler to do more than drool on it.
Laughing, Vince said, “I think she wants a real one to eat.”
Smiling, Geena said, “She thinks everything is to bite. God help us when she gets a mouth full of teeth.”
Vince adjusted his daughter’s frilly bonnet, then glanced at Geena. If possible his wife had grown more beautiful to him since they married some eight months ago. Maybe that was because he was finally seeing her as a woman who loved him in spite of his flaws, his job and the mistakes of the past.
As Evan had succinctly reminded him, life was never perfect, and there’d been times it had been difficult juggling their jobs and the needs of the baby. But their love for each other had never wavered. And Vince never worried that it would.
If six years apart and a bout of amnesia couldn’t tear the bond between them, then nothing would.
Geena’s arm slipped around the back of his waist. “What is that sly smile on your face about?” she asked impishly.
“I was just thinking how special it is to be spending this beautiful day with our friends.”
With a sigh of contentment, her gaze turned to the rolling bald hills that were just starting to turn green with spring grass.
“Yes, Easter signifies new life,” she said softly. “That’s why I waited until today to tell you that we’re going to have a baby.”
It took a moment for the significance of her words to sink in on him. When they finally did, he snatched hold of her shoulder and thrust her out in front of him.
His expression incredulous, he sputtered, “A baby! Are you positive?”
Her eyes misty, she looked at him and nodded. “That shopping trip I took yesterday afternoon was actually a visit to the walk-in clinic to see if my suspicion was correct. The doctor says we should look for him or her by mid-October. Are you happy?”
“Happy? Oh, my darling, I couldn’t be more ecstatic! Bu
t what about you? Emma is still so young and your job is—”
Smiling, she placed a finger against his lips. “I can hardly wait for the challenge. Maybe after we have four or five kids, I’ll be ready to slow down. But not now. We’re going to have that big family, my love. The one we always dreamed of having.”
“Yes, a big family,” he agreed, then bent to place a loving kiss on her lips.
As he lifted his head, he noticed the tiny silver cross resting in the hollow of her throat. Touching the symbol with his forefinger, he murmured in awesome wonder, “I gave you this Easter gift so long ago. Now this Easter you’re giving me a baby. Miracles really do happen.”
Clasping her hand around his, she squeezed his fingers. “Come on, let’s go share the good news with our friends.”
*
Don’t miss Marcella’s story,
the next installment of
USA TODAY bestselling author Stella Bagwell’s
MEN OF THE WEST miniseries!
Coming in soon from Harlequin Special Edition.
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His Badge, Her Baby...Their Family? Page 19
