by Kylie Brant
Sully looked at him. “You think he intended to get at you all along?”
“He was a planner.” Cage tried for a weary smile, didn’t quite pull it off. “And every time, he’d try for a bigger thrill, take more risks. What could up the stakes higher than going head-to-head with the man who knows him better than anyone else?”
Jed was clearly trying to put the pieces together. “So what does this have to do with the hanging?”
“Tanner threw us Donny Ray as a solution to the murder, all wrapped up nice and neat. He had a violent past, he was involved with drugs…I suspect Tanner forced him at gunpoint to write the note, planted one of the victim’s fingernails on him and made him hang himself. One of my deputies brought in Billy McIntire, a fella who wanders the woods around here. I thought he might have seen something today, but turns out what he witnessed was Tanner disposing of Janice Reilly’s body. He was afraid no one would believe him if he came forward.”
Zoey was shaking her head against his chest. She felt good in his arms, pressed up against him like this. It reminded him of his vow to keep her near. He dipped his head. “What is it, sugar?”
“I still don’t understand how you knew I was in danger. I thought—I hoped you would come, but I wasn’t sure.”
He squeezed his eyes shut, remembering the stray thought he’d had about postponing their meeting. “I was putting it all together, probably just the way Tanner meant me to. Earlier today Fern Sykes had described a car like Tanner’s hidden near the woods.” He hadn’t wanted to believe what that might mean. He still didn’t.
Sully looked at Jed. “Can’t say things don’t stay interesting around him.”
Cage tipped Zoey’s chin, considered her mouth. Touching her seemed to be his only line to sanity right now. He smoothed a finger over her jaw and let himself concentrate on her lovely face. “Stick around. They’re about to get more interesting.”
Jed cleared his throat and the two men drifted to the opposite side of the room.
Zoey looked into Cage’s eyes and a breath shuddered out of her. “I’ve never been so scared.”
His hand stroked her hair soothingly. “I know, sweetheart. But you did…great. I was so afraid you were going to go for that knife. You didn’t stand a chance.”
“I considered it. But in the end, I guess I had to trust you, after all. I thought if I could just get him to change position a bit, you’d have a better shot.”
Her reward for the words was a bruising kiss, which turned softer and lingered. When their lips parted, he whispered huskily, “I believe you had something to tell me.”
“You know, kids,” Sully informed them politely, “that’s what back seats are for.”
“Stuff it.” Cage’s eyes were gleaming. “Every guy is entitled to a little romance at his big moment.”
“Is that what you’re after, Gauthier?” asked Zoey, her head tilted back to look up at him.
He recognized that glint in her eye. His smile was a slow lazy promise. “I fall for it every time.”
The wedding was going to go off without a hitch. It was, Cage assured himself. But that didn’t explain the clutch of nerves in his stomach, or the sweat on his brow.
Julianne Sullivan smiled at him, not without pity. “Stop fidgeting, honey. Everything’s fine.”
He sent a quick grin at the blond woman, recognizing the teasing light in her eyes. “I’m not nervous.”
“Of course you aren’t.” Laughter danced in her wide brown eyes and she crossed the small room in back of the church with lazy grace. “Because there’s absolutely no reason to be.” She curled a hand around his nape and pulled his face down for a light kiss. “That’s for luck, which you don’t need. And a belated welcome to the Sullivan family.”
Cage rested his hands on her shoulders, bared by the long gown she was wearing. He gave her a light squeeze. “Thanks, sweetheart. I gotta tell you, so far the Sullivan women are the best part of this family.”
Jed raised a brow. “Is that why you have your hands on my wife?” Cage was astute enough to hear the warning in the even words so he gave Julianne another quick kiss, and grinned at his older brother’s reaction.
“My turn.” The mound of Ellie’s stomach was only a slight obstacle between them, as Cage dropped a gentle kiss on her lips. “I’m so glad they found you, Cage.” She turned and smiled at her husband. “Glad for all of us.”
“Why is it that you’re handling our women?” Sully grumbled. “Get your own wife.”
Cage checked his watch again and straightened his tie for the hundredth time. “I plan to. The sooner the better.” He ducked out of the room and headed toward the front of the church.
Nadine was seated at the organ, and as she began the music, the wedding party clustered into order. Behind Patrick and Caroline, Sully led his wife up the aisle, handling her as carefully as if she were made of spun glass. Although he’d scoff at anyone who said so, the thought of becoming a father in three months intrigued and terrified him by turns.
“Who would have thought you’d have to put on a tux so quickly after Jed and Julianne’s wedding?” Ellie teased.
Matching his steps to hers, Sully countered, “I’d do anything to get pretty boy tied up with another woman. He’s entirely too free with other men’s wives.”
“He is handsome, isn’t he?” At Sully’s quick scowl, Ellie patted his arm. “I tend to go for the deep and dangerous type, myself.” She exchanged a smile with her husband.
Jed suspected that Julianne was in her element as they walked smoothly down the aisle. Having all eyes in the church zeroed in on his wife wouldn’t make her the least bit uncomfortable. Quite the opposite.
“There’s something you should know, Sullivan.” She smiled brightly at the guests crowded into the small church. “Ellie will beat me to the maternity ward, but I’ll be darned if Zoey does. You’ve got some work ahead of you.”
Jed dipped his head. “I’m willing to practice for as long as it takes.”
She stole a quick kiss. “See that you do.”
It was anxiety, rather than the heat, that had perspiration beading on Cage’s brow. But when the music changed and the vision in white made her way down the aisle, nerves faded away. He knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he didn’t care.
His voice was pitched low when Zoey reached his side. “What are you wearing underneath that dress, sugar?”
Her lips curved. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to wait until tonight to find out.”
He faced the minister, content. He’d wait, all right. For a while. They had the rest of their lives, after all. And he was nothing if not a very patient man.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-8341-5
FALLING HARD AND FAST
Copyright © 1999 by Kimberly Bahnsen
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*The Sullivan Brothers
