by Duncan Leigh
Emma’s heart thudded an extra beat. She knew that sound. Almost afraid to breathe, to look, she pivoted slowly. Framed in the open doorway stood the imposing figure of Colt Judd, the one man she’d never expected to see again. Her traitorous heart broke into a staccato rhythm.
“Mr. Colt!” Bree broke free. Making a beeline for him, she clambered over a chair and fairly launched herself into his arms. “Did you bring Chocolate?”
Colt lifted the girl high and hugged her close. He ruffled Bree’s hair. “No, sweetheart. He’s too little to be this far away from his mama.”
“That’s what Mommy said. But I miss him.” Bree curled her little arms around Colt’s neck. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed.
Tears stung Emma’s eyes, but she mustered a firm, “Let’s go.”
She swept past, her head held as high as her throbbing heart would allow. Figuring Marco Paulo’s staff had heard enough of her personal life, she led the way through the cramped kitchen, down the hall and out the door into the alley.
Carrying the stench of rotted food, a heavy blanket of heat and humidity slapped her in the face. Her feet stuttered to a halt. She scanned the dark passage and the blinding sunshine that lay beyond. Where now? She had no home, no job, no future.
“I know a place.” Colt shifted Bree to one hip. “It’s not far.”
Her head full of questions she refused to ask, Emma put her feet in motion behind Colt’s. A short walk along Fort Lauderdale’s tree-lined Riverwalk took them to a gazebo set among lush tropical plants. Built to resemble a cupcake, the pink-and-white setting looked far too romantic for goodbyes, and the tiniest drop of hope that Colt had come to whisk her home to the Circle P landed in her chest.
She wiped it away. Instead, she stared at the river that lapped gently against a peach-colored breakwater while she gave herself a stern talking-to. By choosing the PBR over her, Colt had stomped on her dreams of home and forever and family. So why had he trailed her to Fort Lauderdale?
“Mommy, can I look at the water?” Bree scrambled from Colt’s arms.
“Is it safe?” Emma hesitated.
“It’s fine,” Colt answered. “She won’t be out of my sight for a second.”
When they met hers, his blue eyes ignited a flame under her broken heart. She drew in an unsteady breath when he tore his gaze away long enough to tell Bree to stay on the safe side of a wide coquina border.
“Did I hear right back there? You’re walking away from Marco Paulo’s?”
Her hands grasping the gazebo’s sturdy rail for support, she met Colt’s probing gaze. “Life’s too short to waste it doing the things I don’t want to do. Bree’s growing up. Before I’m ready, she’ll start school, make new friends, develop her own interests. The time I have with her right now is precious to me, and Marco Paulo’s is no place to raise a child.”
“Any chance you’d consider coming back to the Circle P?”
“You fired me, Colt.” Her breath hitched. Colt hadn’t said he wanted her there, and why would he? He wasn’t sticking around. He was leaving. Her resolve firmed, she focused on unfinished business. “Why are you here?”
Colt took a thick roll of paper from his back pocket. “Turns out, you and Sarah were on the same wavelength. She had every one of the Circle P’s recipes stored on her computer. She said to give you this copy.”
He thrust it into her hands. Relief flooded her chest as she gazed down at the pages that fluttered in the midmorning breeze. The recipes had been saved, after all. Did that mean she’d wasted time trying to recreate them with Colt? She glanced up at the tall rancher and knew, despite her broken heart, she wouldn’t have traded a moment of it.
“Thanks,” she whispered.
Colt stared over her head. “Luke and Sarah were miffed when you weren’t there for their homecoming. Jimmy misses Bree and wants her to come back. They all do. As quick as you can.”
She imagined creeping down the stairs to put the coffee on in the mornings and not being able to share a cup with Colt. Serving meals he hadn’t taste tested. Roaming the house alone in the middle of the night because he wasn’t there to put her troubles to rest. Slowly, she shook her head.
“No,” she said, her voice a soft sigh. Blinking rapidly, she spared a quick glance at Bree. Her daughter stood far from the river’s edge, tossing pebbles into the water. “I’ll find another ranch, another place. Somewhere that doesn’t hold…so many memories.”
“I’m sorry I let you go. Sorrier than you could ever imagine. Won’t you think about coming back?” Colt’s blue eyes sought hers. “Will you come back…to me?”
A gust of wind muffled the last part of his sentence. Certain she hadn’t heard him correctly, she drew in a breath that was far too unsteady for the words he was forcing her to say. She squared her shoulders, her voice a mere whisper. “I don’t think I could stand it without you there.”
Colt’s brows knitted. He stepped closer, invading her space, herding her toward the wall of the gazebo. “What if I changed my mind? What if I stayed?”
Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to understand what she was hearing.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he said rather emphatically. “I turned down the PBR’s offer. The only reason I considered it in the first place was to let you have a chance at the kind of success you deserve.”
Despite a pulse rate that rocketed toward the stars, she held her place. “Bree showed me your bags. She said it was a secret.”
“She’s four,” Colt insisted. “Are you really going to leave over something a preschooler said?”
Not leaving. Her heart staggered beneath the weight of what she was hearing.
Colt moved marginally closer. “She was right about one thing. I am moving. To the little house. Now that Luke and Sarah are home, I thought it’d be best.” His shirt stretched across his chest as he took a breath. “I was actually kind of hoping you’d move there with me. You and Bree.”
Her heart stopped. “You want me and Bree…” Her voice trailed into nothingness.
“Not forever.” He held up a hand, shushing her when her face fell. “Just until I can buy a piece of land, build us a real house. One with lots of space, a huge kitchen.” He grinned. “I’ll tell Hank to start looking for someplace close by. But I’m gonna need a cook…”
“What a coincidence.” She summoned a tremulous version of her sauciest smile. “I happen to know one who’s available.”
Laughter sparked in Colt’s eyes. He closed the gap between them. “I don’t know.” He frowned, teasing. “I’m kind of hard to please.”
With that, Emma moved into his arms. “What kind of terms are you offering, cowboy?”
“I’ll need a lifetime contract. I won’t take anything less. They tell me I’m a hard, demanding man. It would take someone special, someone I loved with all my heart, to fill the position.”
“Mmm.” Emma pretended to give his offer some serious thought. “I think I can go for that. I’m head over heels in love with a rancher.” She tipped her head, expecting the press of his lips against hers. Instead, he backed out of her arms, out of her embrace.
On bended knee, he drew a small box from his pocket and said the words she’d longed to hear ever since she first glimpsed him on the front porch of the ranch house.
“Emma Shane, I’d be honored if you’d do me the favor of becoming my wife.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Oh, yes.” Tears stung her eyes.
At her quiet cry, Colt slipped a ring on the fourth finger of her left hand. The diamond flashed like fire when it caught the sun’s golden rays. Colt stood, but before he could sweep her into his arms, Bree tugged on the hem of Emma’s white coat.
“Mommy, Mr. Colt, what’s going on? What’cha doing?”
Emma placed one hand over her heart as Colt leaned down to her daughter.
“I asked your mommy to marry me. She said yes,” he answered. “But I have one more question.” The heart-shaped locket h
e slipped from his pocket hung on a simple gold chain. “Will you be my little girl?” he asked Bree. “Forever and ever?”
Bree stared up at him. “Can I have Chocolate?”
“What would a ranch be without a dog or two?” Taking her response for an answer, he fixed the clasp around Bree’s neck.
Emma smiled up at him as Colt slipped an arm around her waist while Bree studied her new necklace. When the little girl looked up, Emma held her breath. Her heart leaped into her throat as her daughter dropped to one knee in a perfect imitation of Colt’s pose.
Her little voice filled with hope, Bree asked, “Will you be my daddy?”
Emma choked back tears, but she wasn’t the only one. Moisture glistened in Colt’s eyes, too, as he said words that, not so long ago, she’d never dreamed she’d hear.
“Forever and ever.”
She was still brushing tears from her eyes when Colt’s mouth claimed hers. The kiss to seal the deal didn’t last long enough or go deep enough before she felt his lips curve into a smile.
They drew apart to the scattered applause of passersby who’d glimpsed his proposal and stopped to watch. Pulling Bree into a group hug, Emma leaned into Colt’s embrace, knowing they’d pick up where they’d left off once they were back home on the Circle P, where she’d found happiness and forever in the arms of her Glades County cowboy.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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About the Author
Leigh Duncan is the award-winning author of more than two dozen novels, novellas and short stories. Her first full-length book was published by Harlequin American Romance in 2010. Leigh went on to write seven more books for Harlequin, including the highly acclaimed Glades County Cowboys series, before she began writing the more complex, heart-warming and emotional stories that have resonated with her readers. The lead author for Hallmark Publishing’s new imprint, an Amazon best-selling author and a National Readers’ Choice Award winner, Leigh lives on Central Florida’s East Coast where she writes women’s fiction and contemporary romance with a dash of Southern sass.
Leigh loves to stay in touch with readers through social media. Find her at http://facebook.com/LeighDuncanBooks, or visit her website at http://leighduncan.com.
Other Books by Leigh Duncan
Rodeo Daughter
His Favorite Cowgirl
The Rancher’s Lullaby
A Reason to Remember
The Billionaire’s Convenient Secret
The Growing Season
Pattern of Deceit
Journey Back to Christmas
A Country Wedding
The Orange Blossom Series:
Butterfly Kisses
Sweet Dreams
Broken Road (coming soon!)
Hometown Heroes Series:
Luke
Brett
Dan
Travis
Colt
Find these and all Leigh’s other books at:
http://leighduncan.com/books/
Want the inside scoop on the next book by Leigh Duncan?
Join my mailing list so you don’t miss release news, fun giveaways, free books and more!
http://leighduncan.com/newsletter/
Behind every book is an amazing team.
Many thanks to those who made Colt possible:
Cover design:
Kim Killion
The Killion Group, Inc.
Interior formatting:
Amy Atwell and the Author E.M.S. team
Proofs:
Marlene Engel at Precision Revision
