Black Hills Forever

by A. C. Wilson

  Garrett’s voice broke through her reeling thoughts.

  “I never imagined anything like this and please don’t take offense, but I never thought it would be with you.”

  “No offense taken.” Garrett sipped his drink and she only just noticed that they had been served. Lifting the glass to her lips, Rayne tasted the sour before the burn of the whiskey.

  “I’m glad you surprised me. It’s amazing.”

  “I wanted to do something that we would never do. At least I don’t think I’d be here without you. I’ll admit it is nice to step outside my comfort zone, but I’ll share a tidbit with you.” Garrett leaned fractionally closer as if to speak of taboo things. “I feel naked without my hat.”

  It caused her to smile and then to laugh. Garrett really did live in his cowboy hat. He looked handsome without it too.

  “Good thing they let you wear your boots then.”

  Garrett raised a brow in conspiracy and nodded.

  “Should we mention they need some good ol’ country music in here?” They both looked around the room. The music was soft and mellow, mostly instrumental. Rayne didn’t mind it.

  “I like it for tonight.” She smiled and picked up the menu the waiter had brought when the drinks had arrived. Her stomach rumbled reminding them they hadn’t eaten anything substantial today.

  “I think I am going to choose the New York Strip Steak.” Garrett set his menu aside and picked up his drink. Rayne smiled.

  “It all looks so good. Still I think I want the Smothered Chicken Breast. I’m a sucker for mushrooms and cheese.” Her stomach growled louder this time. Garrett smirked and finished his drink.

  “Looks like we better get a move on then.” He flagged down the waiter who took their dinner order. Garrett also ordered another whiskey sour for her and a beer for him.

  Dinner was wonderful. She felt like heaven was here on earth and she was glad to experience it. Her stomach was beyond happy now so when the waiter brought a tray of truffles for dessert, Rayne raised a brow in question. Garrett smiled.

  “Chubby Chipmunk.”

  “Excuse me?” Rayne was about to take offense to his words, hoping he wasn’t insinuating something about how she devoured her meal in record time. Garrett’s burst of laughter brought other eyes to them. Rayne narrowed her eyes at him and tried desperately not to smile at his good humor.

  “Chubby Chipmunk makes these truffles by hand.” He lifted a white chocolate covered sphere. “Try one.”

  Rayne leaned in and took a bite of the truffle Garrett offered. The smoldering look in his eyes told her that he hadn’t expected her to do that. She loved that he was still on fire for her.

  “That is amazing. It has toffee in the middle.” Rayne savored the richness of the toffee flavor and the sweet white chocolate on her tongue.

  “Deadwood Toffee.” He took a bite and smiled. “Want to try another?” He lifted a rounded dark chocolate truffle from the plate and held it out. She had started this so she thought she had better see it through. The smell of raspberry teased her nose before she bit into it.

  “Oh, I like this one.” She covered her mouth as a piece tried to slip out. Garrett nodded in agreement.

  “Raspberry Royale.” He grinned. “Sounds like a card tournament.”

  “I think I know what the last one is.” Rayne looked at the square truffle with the white stripes.” Garrett picked it up. “Cheesecake?” She asked as he held it out.

  “Bingo.”

  Rayne thought her eyes might roll back into her head at the taste of sweet and tang on her tongue. It was decadent. She was glad that Chubby Chipmunk wasn’t any closer to Hot Springs or she would weigh a ton.

  Garrett led them out of the sky bar and out of the hotel. Rayne thought this was a perfectly magical night. She was even a bit tipsy from the cocktails and maybe a bit more on love.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

  The valet went to get the car as they waited just outside the hotel entrance. Garrett clutched her hand, pulling her next to him and then he was suddenly pushing her up against the exterior wall. One large palm was on her cheek and his lips were crushed against her own. Rayne could barely breathe. His quickness had caught her off guard and then she was so busy responding that she hadn’t time to catch up. Her fingers were anchored in the waistband of his slacks and her chin tipped up for his access. It was absolutely undeniable how much she wanted him. Garrett Johnson coursed through her blood as if he gave her life.

  Her tongue dueled with his and she felt the hardness of him through the thin material of her skirt. It was all she could do not to start stripping right here before all and sundry. Of course the idea had its appeal, but sitting in jail didn’t sound like much fun.

  Handcuffs…yes. Jail…no.

  They needed to get home and quickly. Home. Her senses reeled at the word and no matter where it was physically, emotionally her home was wherever Garrett was. It could never be without him. The world as she knew it was starting to change. She was starting to evolve into someone who knew what she wanted.

  Garrett leaned back, breaking their kiss and staring at her wide-eyed. Oh yes, she wanted him. Forever.

  “I don’t know what’s come over me.” Garrett’s deep voice was nearing a whisper when his words fell over her ears.

  “I do.” Rayne answered him, her lips curving into a teasing smile. He replied in kind. Her hand slipped into his again and she squeezed.

  “We have one more stop before we go home.” Garrett moved towards the black sports car that pulled up and opened her door. Rayne attempted a pout as she lowered herself to sit. She couldn’t resist the promise in those blue eyes she loved so much. They never lied to her. They were very much the window into her beloved’s soul and she was happy to know it.

  “Just part of the surprise?” She asked, tucking her legs inside the car and waiting for him to close her door. He winked.

  ***

  His head was spinning and all of his thoughts were whirling around like the paddles of a windmill in a stiff breeze. Garrett had never experienced the like before Rayne and he prayed he never would without her. His heart had nearly stopped when he saw her in that curve hugging dress. Never before had he seen the appeal of heels on a woman, but damn, he wanted those gold heels to stay on her feet minus everything else. He was rising to the occasion just thinking about Rayne bent over the bed or the table or the couch arm.

  Pausing before he opened his own car door, Garrett took a couple deep breaths of cold air to cool his ardor. A grin crooked his lips when he sat down beside her. The glow in her eyes made him happy that he hadn’t claimed to be a gentleman. It just wasn’t going to happen tonight. Not when an angel was sitting beside him dressed to sin.

  “I wanted to show you my favorite spot. There’s nothing quite like it.” Garrett drove them back towards his house. Rayne sat in her seat looking out the window as they drove up through the tall spruce trees. The world twinkled up here on the hill above the city. The lights looked like flickering candles beneath cut glass.

  “Wow. I can’t say as I’ve ever seen anything like this.” Rayne’s wonder made him smile. He hadn’t shared it with anyone else. None of his regular dates or the couple girlfriends had inspired him to share this secret.

  “I found this spot when I first came to Rapid City. I felt so alone and somehow being up here gave me time to think without feeling like I had to figure it all out right that very minute.”

  Rayne removed her seatbelt as he shut off the car’s engine. Everything was so quiet. He wondered if she could hear his heart beating like a frightened animal.

  “Lena hurt you so you came to Rapid City.” Rayne had heard the story of his first love who shattered his heart. A young man experiencing such a thing thought there would never be anyone else. He had felt blind, betrayed and shamed.

  “I had to find myself. I knew I couldn’t do it staying on the ranch.” Garrett took off his own seatbelt and settled the seat back so that he could look out the
window in a more relaxed state. It was silly really. He felt anything but relaxed.

  “I think that’s why I ran away from home too. I couldn’t stand being reminded of the past and what might have been.” Rayne said absently, her face turned away from him.

  “You have suffered more than I have.” Garrett swallowed hard.

  “Betrayal hurts no matter how it happens.” She bowed her head and ran her hand over the bare skin of her thigh. Her skirt had ridden higher as she sat in the seat. The darkness offered them an anonymity to respond in truth without suffering the looks of pity.

  “I promise never to betray you. I promise never to hurt you intentionally.” His voice was soft and low. He wasn’t even sure Rayne had heard his vow. Garrett swallowed hard wondering if she would ever know just how true he would be.

  “I never thought you would betray me, Garrett. I did think you might betray yourself by feeling obligated to me.” She turned her head and slid sideways in the seat. Her hands rested on the center console between them and Garrett wanted to reach for her.

  “I would think you’d know me by now. I wouldn’t say something I don’t mean and I wouldn’t make a promise I don’t intend to keep. It isn’t in my DNA.”

  “I do know it, at least I think I do. I’ve spent a great deal of my life thinking I didn’t deserve half of what I had found. Royal proved that to me in spades.”

  Garrett growled with irritation and anger.

  “Royal is an idiot and an ass. He never deserved you.”

  Rayne could only nod her head. The air was thick with emotion and Garrett only wanted to hold her. He settled for placing his hand on top of hers.

  “As incapable as Royal was to love only one woman, I do think he cared about me. I don’t know that it was ever love though.” She sounded almost surprised by that revelation. Garrett wondered how she could be so forgiving. The man had knocked her up, married her and then after losing the baby, he had chased every skirt available. It was disgusting and only made Garrett want to punch Royal all over again.

  “I honestly believe that things happen when they are supposed to. There is a time. There is a place. There is a purpose for each person.” Garrett squeezed her hand and leaned fractionally closer. He could only see the soft outline of her cheek. “I was made to love you, Rayne. The first moment I saw you, I knew you were mine.”

  Garrett could see her in the snowstorm on top of that big sable horse with her hat shielding her from his eyes. With all the bulky winter clothing, he wasn’t sure she was female until he touched her. That one kinetic burst told him everything he needed to know and the moment she had proposed no strings attached, he’d fallen head over heels for her.

  “I’m sorry for doubting you.” Her tears fell on top of his hand and he felt scalded. Her apology was completely out of left field and he didn’t know how to handle it. “I love you. I want us. I’m done fighting it.”

  Garrett couldn’t speak. His throat was tight and his eyes misted. Leaning forward, he was beyond thankful when she kissed him. He was finally starting to understand. It wasn’t all about having a baby, but what it represented. It was someone who was always going to be there. It was someone who would love her unconditionally when everyone else walked away. Well damn it, he wasn’t walking away. He wasn’t leaving of his own volition ever.

  “I love you so much and I want to spend the rest of our lives together. Will you marry me? Please be my wife.”

  Garrett was a breath’s length from her when he felt around in his coat pocket. The little box he had fetched earlier felt smooth and warm in his hand. Holding it up, the silver fairly glowed with the moonlight. Rayne seemed to be holding her breath. Her fingers trembled as she lifted off the lid to find the ring he had chosen for her.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  Only something unique and timeless would suit Rayne. It was a single band of rose gold with the leaves raised and linked around it. She picked it up as if afraid it might combust at her touch. Smiling to himself, Garrett flipped the overhead light on in the car. They both squinted a second to get used to the abrupt lighting, but she immediately saw why he had done it. There was an inscription inside the band.

  Black Hills Forever

  Her smile was worth everything he would ever make in his life as she let a couple of tears slip down her cheeks. She lifted the ring to him, holding it out for him to take.

  “I want very much to be your wife, Garrett. Yes, I will marry you.”

  Garrett slipped the ring onto her left hand and watched it settle on her finger with pride. She was his from this moment until death parted them. He was hers for much longer than that.

  CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

  Travis Johnson felt like the world was out to get a rise out of him. He was discouraged, pained and irritated by the little things. Physical therapy was a process with which he wasn’t well acquainted and although he tried not to give up, it frustrated him. The head injury sustained from that damn bull had caused a minor stroke. It made his right hand and right leg slow to respond. Just trying to write was enough to make him want to scream.

  “Take a deep breath.”

  Travis was so annoyed that he threw a glance at his daughter and then grimaced. Nora lifted a brow as if to challenge his snarly attitude. It should have been funny watching his very pregnant daughter act so motherly, but it didn’t dawn on him until she sniffed loudly.

  “This is so frustrating! I feel like an infant trying to learn everything all over again.”

  Nora’s dark hair was pulled up off her neck and she rubbed it absently.

  “First of all, you aren’t starting completely over.” Travis growled and Nora grinned deviously. “At least you aren’t in diapers.”

  He forced himself not to smile. Nora was always very determined to prove her point.

  “There is that.”

  Travis really did feel like a kid. It wasn’t in his nature to be grouchy and so down on his luck. He wasn’t sure how to pull himself up out of the ditch.

  “Look, Dad, well…thank you.” Nora watched him carefully with her clear blue eyes. For a déjà vu minute, she looked just like her mother.

  “Thank you?” He was confused by her meaning.

  “I don’t know if anyone has said it to you, but I know we all wanted to tell you. Thank you for saving Garrett. Thank you for being so wonderful and selfless.”

  Travis looked back at his daughter wishing that he didn’t feel so trapped by the adulation. Such praise had never been something he wanted or set out to search for.

  “Selfless?” He scoffed. He couldn’t help it. “I wasn’t being selfless. I saved your brother because I was being selfish. I didn’t want him to die. I couldn’t stand there and lose one of my kids right before my eyes.”

  “Dad, I…” Nora didn’t know what to say. She sat there in the chair as speechless as he had ever seen his rebel child. Her eyes were wary and taken aback by the revelation he had shared. Suddenly her vision of him was altered.

  “I know a bit about this.”

  The interruption of the tense moment came from Blake who was standing in the doorway of the hospital room. Nora slowly got up from her chair and grabbed her coat along with her bag. She slung them both over her arm. Travis felt like a heel. That irritated him more so he sat there in stony silence. The old adage going over and over in his head.

  If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.

  Nora kissed Blake’s cheek and he hugged her. The whole family had accepted Blake into their midst. It was like he hadn’t just entered their lives six months ago. She left the room with a soft backwards glance, but Travis could tell she still didn’t know what to say. Cue self-loathing and guilt now adding to the insane need to break something.

  Blake walked into the room as a man might on egg shells. His Johnson-blue eyes told an entirely different story though. There was a calmness and pride in his bearing. No doubt courtesy of the whole military career and all, but there was more. Travis
’s heart clenched at the man before him. The boy had had to go a third of his life alone.

  “Do you want to talk about it? I’m a pretty good listener.” Blake asked, sitting down in the chair Nora had vacated. Travis decided that pouting like a child was no good. He sat up in the bed and adjusted his t-shirt. Thankfully Lacey had brought him a set of pajamas.

  “I keep thinking I should be happy that I’m alive and Garrett is fine. I should be supremely thankful.” Travis closed his eyes as if in physical pain and grabbed his shoulder. He was searching for the right words.

  “But sometimes you are so angry you can’t see straight.” Blake offered without emotion coloring his words. Travis nodded shortly. He struggled to breathe.

  “Other times you feel ashamed and there’s a darkness that you just can’t shake.”

  Either Blake was psychic or he really did understand what was happening here. Travis pressed his lips firmly together and had to grit his teeth. He physically hurt from the emotional turmoil.

  “I know we haven’t had a great deal of time to talk, but if you want to listen now, I can share what I’ve learned.” Blake tipped his head fractionally and Travis could see what the man looked like as a boy. His heart ached for the lost chance. Travis nodded unable to trust his voice.

  “You know what happened to Tanner and me when we were on patrol. Our vests blocked some of the shrapnel, some sank into my leg and Tanner caught a piece in his neck. I think I could have taken anyone else dying, except him. So there I was in the worst nightmare of my life holding my best friend in my arms and trying to convince us both that he wasn’t dying.”

  Blake cleared his throat and rubbed a palm over his mouth. Travis felt his insides twist.

  “As he bled out in my arms, I became so angry that I started to fight the other men around me. Next thing I knew, I was waking up in Germany at the military hospital that would keep me for a few weeks while my leg wounds healed. The emotional wounds…well, that’s a totally different animal.”