He had situated himself on her left side purposely, to make sure there’d be no hiding anything—neither her hand, nor his reaction. He steeled himself for what he would see, tensing his muscles, gritting his teeth to hold back any sound of disgust or dismay that might come out.
She kept her eyes lowered. The glove was attached around her wrist with a Velcro strap, and there was a tearing sound as she pulled it free. She laid the glove on the bed beside her and dropped her left hand into her lap.
Randy kept his own eyes lowered as he examined what she’d revealed. The skin was pale, because it never saw the sun. There was a bit of a wrist and five tiny nubbins that had never grown into fingers. He reached over and slid his hand under hers, feeling her tremble as he did so.
“It’s okay, Faith. Your hand just stopped growing. That’s all.”
She laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. A tear dropped off her lash and onto his palm where he cradled her hand. He leaned over and licked up the tear. And kissed her hand.
He felt her right hand on his head, and then her kiss on his hair.
“I love you, Randy,” she said.
He sat up, then lifted her left hand and drew it toward his cheek. “I love you, too, Faith.”
He knew the courage it had taken for her to trust him. He willed her to believe in him and felt his heart thump hard in his chest when she lifted her left hand and caressed his cheek. He covered her hand with his own, then leaned over to kiss her lips.
A hard knock on the door broke them apart.
“Who is it?” Randy called, jumping to his feet.
“Who do you think?” Hope said. “Have you got my sister in there?”
“I’m here,” Faith answered, crossing to open the door for her sister. “What’s wrong?” she asked.
Randy watched as Hope looked down at her sister’s uncovered hand, then up at his face. A smile curved her lips. “Why, nothing’s wrong,” she said with a grin. “Nothing at all.”
At that moment Sam came walking past the door, noticed Randy and Faith and said, “Jenny and Colt are getting ready to leave the reception. You might want to come and see them off.”
“Just let me get my glove,” Faith said, turning back to the bed. “And I’ll be ready to go.”
“I’ll see you two out back,” Hope said, heading for the courtyard.
Randy and Faith weren’t far behind her.
Randy had stuck at least a dozen pieces of net filled with birdseed into his coat pockets, so he’d have plenty of birdseed to shower on Jenny and Colt.
“Untie those ribbons,” Faith instructed. “And pour the birdseed into your hand, so it’ll be ready to throw.”
“Oh.”
“Will you untie mine, too?”
“Sure,” Randy said, realizing that she was essentially one-handed without her hook. “I’m gonna invent something, Faith.”
“What?”
“A hand—like in the Terminator movies—that you can really use.”
“Oh, Randy. I hope you do.”
Randy heard cries of “Here they come! Get ready!”
He turned to find his sister, Colt’s arm wrapped tightly around her waist, her eyes bright, her smile wide, making her way through the crowd.
THE RECEPTION WAS HALF OVER before Jenny realized the significance of the wedding gift her brothers had given her. She searched frantically for Colt and found him drinking champagne and laughing with his brothers. She dragged him away to the arbor, chasing away at least a dozen shrieking children to have even a modicum of privacy.
“My brothers gave me a wedding gift,” she said. “A honeymoon trip to the Grand Canyon.”
“I know all about it,” he said, alternately tickling his sister’s, Cherry’s five-year-old twin boys, Chip and Charlie. “We leave tomorrow morning, 7:00 a.m. flight out of Amarillo.”
“The doctor’s office doesn’t open till eight.”
“So what?” Colt said, hefting Rolleen’s ten-year-old son Kenny up over his shoulder and letting him drop until he was dangling by his heels. Kenny howled with glee.
“Don’t you see? We won’t have the test results before we leave,” Jenny said.
“We’re going to have a honeymoon whether you have cancer or not,” Colt replied. “The news will wait till we get back.” He leaned over and kissed her on the nose, struggling to stay upright with Chip and Charlie each entwined around one of his legs like vines around an oak. “Anything else bothering you?” he asked.
She lifted a brow and said, “Well, if we’re going to get up so early in the morning, isn’t about time we took our leave?”
Colt’s eyes went wide, and then he smiled. “Mrs. Whitelaw, that’s the best suggestion I’ve heard all day,” he said, prying the twins off his legs.
“Thank you. I love getting compliments from my husband.”
Colt’s gaze locked hers. “Husband. That has a nice sound.” He slipped his arm around her waist and headed for the car. “Let’s go, wife.”
Jenny went with Colt to tell his parents they were leaving, and the word spread quickly.
“Hurry up if you want to get a last look at the bride and groom before they take off!”
“Does everybody have some birdseed?”
Jenny ducked and laughed as birdseed caught in her hair and her eyelashes and slid down the front of her dress.
Colt laughed and ducked right along with her. “Hurry up, wife, or we’re going to turn into two bird feeders!”
Colt didn’t even open the door to the convertible, just dropped her in over the top, then came running around and jumped in behind the wheel.
As they drove away, Jenny reached across the seat and took Colt’s hand. He smiled at her, and she smiled back. This was the beginning of a new life. A new love. And happily ever after.
EPILOGUE
BENIGN. JENNY HAD NEVER HEARD A sweeter word. She still had three more years before she’d feel satisfied that the cancer was truly gone. But she’d been given a respite, a time in which to live life to the fullest. And a husband who was determined to help her do it.
Jenny snuggled closer to Colt, spooning her body against his. She heard him make a sound of pleasure in his throat and whispered, “Are you awake?”
“I am now.”
She pulled his arms tighter around her, and he cupped her breasts and held her close. It was always like this after they made love, holding each other, reaffirming their joy with each other.
“I visited my doctor today,” Jenny said.
She felt Colt stiffen. “Oh?” he murmured cautiously.
“I wanted to ask her what she thought about me getting pregnant.”
“I see,” Colt said. “And what did she say?”
Jenny turned over in Colt’s arms, so she could see his face. “She said it was up to me.”
“There’s no risk to you?” Colt asked.
“I didn’t say that. But I think what we have to gain is worth what risk there is. I want us to have children, Colt. Is that too much to ask?”
“I already feel like I’ve dodged a bullet,” Colt confessed. “I want kids, but not at the risk of losing you.”
Jenny pressed her face against Colt’s throat and felt his arms close around her. “If we have a boy, we can name him Huck.”
She heard him chuckle. “Huckleberry Whitelaw. Now there’s a name to give a kid nightmares.”
Jenny smiled. “Growing up in a houseful of boys, I always wanted a little girl.”
“We could name her Becky,” Colt said.
Jenny laughed. “And the next boy Tom.”
“Three kids,” Colt said. “That’s a houseful.”
“Not like the eight your parents raised,” she pointed out.
“Three’s plenty for me,” he said, lifting his head and finding her mouth with his.
They kissed slowly, letting the passion rise, feeling the hope and ignoring the fear. They would find a way to be happy, living each day and loving each night. For all the rest of their l
ives.
ISBN: 978-1-4603-0519-5
HAWK’S WAY GROOMS
Copyright © 2008 by Harlequin Books S.A.
The publisher acknowledges the copyright holder of the individual works as follows:
HAWK’S WAY: THE VIRGIN GROOM
Copyright © 1997 by Joan Mertens Johnston
HAWK’S WAY: THE SUBSTITUTE GROOM
Copyright © 1998 by Joan Mertens Johnston
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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