“Because...” She had to swallow to straighten out the knots in her throat. “Because I love you.”
He stared at her so long she thought he hadn’t heard her quiet words. Then he grabbed her hand and pulled her under one of the parking lot lights.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to see your face.” He stopped suddenly and hauled her around to face him. “Say it again.”
Restaurant patrons arriving or leaving stared at them, but Alex ignored them. “I love you, Hank Eden.”
“More than the Garden?”
“More than the Garden. More than French cooking. More than Sugar. More than anything else in the world.”
His eyes blazed with emotion, and his hands tightened on her shoulders. “Even though I’m not too good at telling people what’s going on?”
She smiled softly. “You’re learning. Claire said you’ve been calling several times a week, letting them know which rodeo you were headed to next and talking about what Travis is doing with the ranch. She said Travis never even did—” Her breath caught as Hank suddenly sank to one knee. “What are you doing?”
He pulled her hand against his heart. “Marry me, Alex. I love you, and I want you, and I need you. I always will.”
Her heart hammered against her ribs. She wanted to scream “Yes!” at the top of her lungs, but first she had to know. “What about the rodeo? You wanted to win a gold buckle. I don’t want to tie you down. I don’t want you to look at me one day and know I kept you from going after your dream.”
Hank stood and captured her chin. “I am going after my dream. Don’t you see? The rodeo was my dream when I was a boy. I just never let it go. You taught me what’s really important. The Garden. Claire and Travis. But mostly you. You’re my dream, Alex. The dream of a man, not a boy.”
Alex’s heart raced for the clouds. “Oh, Hank.”
“And why the hell does everyone keep telling me what I want?”
“We thought you’d been dying to get back to the rodeo for eight years. Travis thought you resented the Garden and having to raise him and Claire, because you never won a championship. He thought you resented him because of his gold buckle.”
Hank looked away, his eyes narrowed. “I reckon maybe there was a little of that in my decision to sell the Garden. Okay, maybe a lot. But just at first. When I finally realized what I’d be giving up if I left, I knew I didn’t want to go anywhere.”
“And what would you be giving up?” she asked.
He met her gaze squarely. “You. Darlin’, you’ve put me through hell the past two months. I’ve never been more miserable in my life. Every time a rodeo was over, I just wanted to head home. Then I’d remember you wouldn’t be there, so what was the point? I’ve done nothing but think about you—during the long drives, while I waited for my turn to ride or rope, at night in one fleabag motel after another. Hell, the nights especially. You even haunted my dreams.”
“I did?”
“Waking and sleeping.” He slipped his arms around her and drew her close. “Marry me, Alex. I want to live with you at the Garden for the rest of our lives. Will you come with me and make it a home for both of us, and for our children and grandchildren?”
Tears sprang to her eyes. She’d finally learned what home was. Home was not the place where you set your dishes. It was not a hearth, but a heart. Hank’s heart, and her own, beating together.
She ran her hand lovingly along his jaw. “Yes, I’ll marry you...and live with you wherever you want to live. Because wherever you are, that’s my Eden.”
And the Garden of Eden
continues to flourish!
Look for Claire’s story
in late 1998 or early 1999 as
she meets the man of
her dreams!
ISBN : 978-1-4592-6610-0
HOME IS WHERE HANK IS
Copyright © 1998 by Martha Shields
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, New York, NY 10017 U.S.A.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of Harlequin Books S.A., used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Home Is Where Hank Is (Cowboys To The Rescue 1) Page 19
