Cowboy Fairytales Omnibus

by Lacy Williams

  "Yeah." It didn't quite cure the bitter taste that had been lingering in the back of his throat these past weeks. But at least they could close the case. Move forward, if he could figure out how to do that now.

  "Any reason you didn't tell me about missing ten grand?" Nate asked, drawing Gideon's gaze away from his woman.

  Nate stood with feet spread and arms crossed, looking like he wanted to do battle. He stared at Gideon for a long moment before realization dawned on his face. "You thought I took it?"

  Guilt flushed into Gideon's face, but he didn't back down. "I thought whoever had the easiest access to the bank account and the computerized ledgers did it. I'm sorry." He was man enough to apologize when he'd been so very, very wrong.

  Nate took off his Stetson and slapped it against his thigh, sending a little puff of dust flying from his jeans. "I've been with you for ten years, man. How could you think I'd steal from you?"

  Alessandra started to speak up, but Gideon cut her off with a wave of his hand. This was his mess to deal with. "You want to tell me why you loaned Dan a chunk of cash to pay off his...what, gambling debts?"

  He must've hit right on the money, because Nate flushed a dull red through his neck and jaw.

  "You knew one of the hands had a problem and didn't tell me?" Gideon pressed.

  Nate's lips firmed into a white line.

  Gideon didn't want to fight and he didn't want to lose their friendship. He purposely relaxed his stance, let his arms hang loose at his sides. "It seems like we both made mistakes." He let that sink in for a moment. "You know I don't trust easy."

  Nate snorted, but his frown relaxed slightly.

  "Understatement," Alessandra whispered.

  Gideon cut a glance at her to let her know she'd pay for that dig later.

  "This whole situation," Gideon circled his hand between the three of them. "Me being gone, laying more on your shoulders, trusting you more. It's going to take some getting used to. For all of us," he said with an eye-squint at Alessandra. "So we didn't get it right on the first try. The Triple H needs you. I need you." The words weren't easy for Gideon to say. Alessandra squeezed his hand in support.

  Nate's frown disappeared almost completely. "We might not be blood, but we're family." He stuck out his hand.

  Gideon shook it.

  8

  On Sunday, Mia had tagged along with Gideon and Alessandra to their small church. She'd been enjoying a cup of coffee in the lobby when she'd overheard two women discussing Ethan and what had happened to his brothers over the weekend.

  That afternoon, she hadn't wasted any time in enlisting Alessandra's help and making an impromptu video call to Eloise.

  Now Monday morning, the sun was rising, and she was camped out on Ethan's back porch, waiting for him to come in from milking the cows.

  Even though his world might be imploding, she knew he wouldn't be shirking his responsibilities.

  Hearing secondhand about what he'd been through over the weekend, she'd realized he'd pushed her away the night of the ball at least partly because he'd known there was press in attendance and even more camped out in the parking lot. If she'd run off with him to the county jail, they'd have had a field day.

  He'd wanted to protect her.

  She wasn't falling in love with him. She loved him. Real love. True love.

  The kind of love that made sacrifices. The kind of love she'd been waiting for all her life.

  She wasn't waiting any longer.

  She was going to be here for Ethan, for as long as he needed her. Hopefully for life.

  There was a rush of cows exiting the back of the barn into the pasture. Then, a few minutes later, Ethan emerged from the front of the barn. He had his head down, and his shoulders were low, as if he carried a weight too heavy to bear.

  She was ready to come beside him and bear some of it, too.

  He must've sensed her presence, because his head came up as he entered the backyard gate. He stood stock still for a moment, staring at her. Peanut had had her head snuggled into Mia's lap, but she raised her chin and gave one happy bark to welcome him. The dog's tail thumped on the wood deck.

  Ethan turned to carefully latch the gate closed. He took off his gloves as he approached, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. Too far away for Mia's purposes.

  "Hey."

  * * *

  "Hey."

  Ethan couldn't stop staring at Mia. Part of him was sure this was a dream, that he'd missed his three-thirty alarm and was fantasizing the entire thing.

  She stood up, dislodging his dog and straightening to reveal the worn jeans and flannel shirt she had on. He'd never seen her in something so casual. She was even wearing worn-out boots.

  Had he conjured up his perfect fantasy? A Mia who was his to keep?

  "Seems you dropped this when you rushed out of the ball the other night." She held up something black. The dress boot he'd been missing.

  He took it from her, the leather cool against his fingers.

  He cleared his throat. "I thought you'd be packing for your flight."

  An awful ache spread through him, just saying the words. He'd tried not to think about it all weekend, the fact that she was leaving. That he'd probably never see her again, even though she'd said otherwise the other night.

  She moved down one step, which still put her a head above him. Two porch steps still separated them. "I made up with Alessandra."

  He nodded, not sure what that had to do with her leaving.

  "Turns out that family is one of the more important things in life, and between the both of us, we decided not to let our father's secrets and lies ruin our relationship."

  He was glad for her. But the wounds his stepbrothers had inflicted over the weekend hadn't even formed a scab yet, and he felt a great gaping hole where he'd failed them.

  Mia descended another stair, but in his hurt, he couldn't look at her. Instead, he averted his gaze over her shoulder.

  "Alessandra also helped facilitate a conversation with my older sister." She descended the final step, which put her close enough to touch, though he didn't. "Basically, I told them both that I'm not leaving Texas."

  At her words, his gaze flew to her face. "What?" She wasn't leaving?

  She didn't answer with words. Instead, her arms came around his neck, and she stood on tiptoe as she leaned into him.

  His hand that wasn't holding the borrowed boot came around her waist by reflex.

  This time, she didn't give him room to question whether he was imagining her intent. She slid her hands into the hair at the nape of his neck and gave a gentle tug, bringing his head down.

  She kissed him.

  There was no room for thought as her lips feathered over his. She pressed in closer, and he dropped the boot, which fell with a soft thunk. His other hand slid around her waist.

  He hadn't kissed anyone since Sarah Myers in the fifth grade, and this was nothing like that.

  He moved wrong, and their chins bumped, breaking the kiss. But Mia only smiled and reached up to kiss him again. Her lips were incredibly soft, and she tasted like coffee and mint, and he never wanted to stop kissing her.

  But of course, they eventually had to stop to catch their breath.

  She didn't let go of him, and he was no fool. He pressed her close to his thudding heart, mind and adrenaline racing.

  "Mia?"

  She hummed from where she was tucked against his chest.

  He didn't know quite how to get the question out. "You said—you said that the next time you kissed someone, it was going to be the man you wanted to marry." Okay, that wasn't a question at all, but who could think after those passionate kisses?

  She didn't tease him. She moved slightly away, just enough that she could tilt her face up and see his.

  He felt vulnerable even putting the suggestion out there. It seemed ludicrous. That someone like her would want to marry someone like him.

  She reached up with one hand to cup his jaw. "I think you ca
n safely consider that kiss my proposal."

  Her proposal.

  A hot burn started behind his nose. He had to be sure. "You want to marry me?"

  She nodded, her eyes taking on a shine that might be happiness or might be tears.

  He squeezed her close again, burying his face in her hair just in case some of the emotion overwhelming him snuck out as tears.

  He didn't even realize he was shaking until he felt her hands brush calming strokes down his back. Never in a million years had he imagined this happening.

  After she'd kissed him again, just to make sure he understood exactly what she was proposing, they sat side-by-side on the top step with their hands linked and her head on his shoulder.

  Somehow she'd found out about his custody issue. Or non-issue. "If you want to fight for custody of your stepbrothers, the palace can help with obtaining the best attorneys."

  He exhaled. And finally admitted to some of what had been running through his head all weekend. Or maybe for weeks, since he'd met with the principal. "It feels wrong to say this, but...maybe it's time to let them go. Robbie and Sam don't want to be with me. They've proved that over and over."

  It felt a little like giving up, but with Mia looking at him like he hung the stars, it soothed the wound somewhat.

  She reached up and bussed his cheek with a kiss, leaving a cinnamon-burn sensation behind as she nestled back against his shoulder. "So what do you want to do? Rebuild your dad's legacy here? Or...there are universities in Glorvaird. I know we could find the best veterinary program for you there."

  Possibilities stretched before him. Limitless, with Mia at his side. He didn't even know what to think, what to start dreaming about first.

  He had the best dream, the brightest star, right here with him.

  She seemed to understand, because she grinned up at him, a smile both mischievous and light. "You don't have to decide right now."

  And she kissed him again.

  Epilogue

  One week later

  "Are you sure you really want to do this?" Alessandra's teasing question turned Mia's head from where she'd been staring at the flower-adorned front of the small Las Vegas wedding chapel.

  But her sister wasn't asking her. She was asking Ethan, who stood tall and handsome at Mia's side in his borrowed tux—and the new pair of dress boots she'd made him purchase to wear with it.

  "Mia is notoriously grumpy in the mornings," Alessandra went on. "And you don't even want to know about her shopping habits."

  Ethan looked to Mia, and his gaze didn't waver. "I'm sure I'll never find another woman as special as Mia."

  Her heart thudded, and she shared a quick glance with Alessandra that expressed aw!

  From slightly behind and to one side of her sister, Gideon made a face. Mia forgave him for it, because she knew he could be just as romantic as Ethan—after all, she'd overheard his romantic sentiments to her sister even before she'd met the man.

  "I'm a little less certain that this is the kind of wedding Mia deserves," Ethan said.

  Mia slipped her hand into his, edging closer. "We could do a fancy wedding in Glorvaird with five hundred in attendance—people you don't know and who'd only be there to be seen. It would take months to plan, and there'd be a million little details."

  Over Alessandra's shoulder, Gideon groaned.

  Mia didn't look away from Ethan's face. "But I don't want to wait."

  His gaze crackled with intensity, and he smiled a slow smile. "I don't want to wait, either. If you're sure."

  She was.

  With Alessandra on her side, she'd talked to Eloise at length about Ethan's situation. She technically didn't need permission to get married, but she also didn't want to make things more difficult with father, considering he might not be with them for much longer.

  Finally, her sister had agreed that because of the media storm that always followed Mia around, a Vegas wedding wouldn't do irreparable harm to the royal family's reputation or diplomatic connections.

  Ethan had made peace with losing custody of his brothers, though Mia knew he still felt guilty, as if he'd let them down—which she found ridiculous. She kept that opinion to herself.

  After much thought and prayer, Ethan had decided that while the dairy farm was his dad's legacy, it wasn't his dream to rebuild. They'd already begun looking for a buyer. Once the transaction closed, they would relocate—with Peanut—to Glorvaird.

  Mia knew Ethan would make a fine prince. His finer qualities, his loyalty and goodness, would win over the hearts of her people, just as he'd won her over.

  She couldn't wait to take him home. But first...

  The rented minister beckoned them to the front of the small chapel. Gideon, who wore a suit, and Alessandra, who wore a simple wine-colored shift, walked arm-in-arm down the aisle first, leaving Mia and Ethan to follow.

  She'd chosen an off-the-shoulder floor-length satin sheath and held a simple bouquet of roses in a deep red that matched Alessandra's dress.

  She could see what Ethan thought of her in his eyes as he looked at her as if he couldn't tear his gaze away.

  There was no doubt in her mind that this was right. Ethan was her one true love, and she knew they'd be blissfully happy together. For life.

  * * *

  "They look happy," Gideon whispered in Alessandra's ear as they witnessed Mia and Ethan speak their vows. They'd foregone the typical maid of honor and best man placement to stand together near the bride and groom.

  And Ethan and Mia did look happy. He hadn't known Mia well before this trip—still didn't consider himself close with her—but Alessandra had expressed several times that she'd never seen her sister more settled and at peace.

  Love did that for you.

  For those few tense days when he'd been in the midst of investigating the Triple H theft, he'd questioned whether his and Alessandra's love would be enough to hold them together. When he should've been holding on to her. After the dust up with Dan, he and Nate had sat down and worked out some security measures for the ranch's finances and worked through some of the communication issues they'd had when Gideon had been gone to Glorvaird for weeks on end.

  He hoped they could still make the transition work, for both his and Alessandra's sake, and for the Triple H.

  There was still the issue of the royal family's overall security. Although nothing had happened in several months, and the threats they had received had been garden-variety and harmless, he wasn't convinced that the threat was over. If Alessandra's aunt was truly unhinged, danger could lurk around the next bend.

  And he'd just gotten an email this morning from one of his contacts regarding Alessandra and Mia's half-sister. His guy had found a last known alias and an address. The information was several years old. It wasn't much to go on, but it was better than the nothing he'd had before.

  Alessandra had been sequestered with her sister in their shared hotel room all morning, so Gideon hadn't had a chance to tell her yet. He could only hope this led to something positive.

  What if the missing half-sister wasn't what Alessandra was building her up in her mind to be?

  He wouldn't let his girl get hurt, but how did he protect her from this family issue that had been years in the making, since Alessandra had been a little girl?

  All he could do was be there for her.

  She glanced over her shoulder at him, eyes moist and shiny.

  He leaned slightly closer, so he could whisper to her again. "Do we really have to invite five hundred people to ours?"

  Her smile widened.

  He'd go through the circus act of a big wedding. Heck, he'd walk through fire if she would just keep smiling at him like that, for the rest of their lives.

  * * *

  Pieter might technically be a prince, but he'd never met his royal cousins. The crown princess and her two sisters lived in the royal palace in the heart of Glorvaird, while Pieter, his mother, and his older brother Henri had been forced out of the kingdom. They reside
d in a villa in nearby Regis, a small territory close to Glorvaird.

  It was a comfortable living, at least financially. The king of Glorvaird had been unable to sever his mother's inheritance, though he'd done everything in his power to ruin their lives.

  Pieter and Henri had been dealing with their mother's eccentricities alone, ever since they'd been young boys.

  But lately, things had grown worse.

  Pieter had one love—bicycle racing. He wasn't good enough to ride in the Tour de France, but he'd hired on as a driver to follow and assist the team. In the weeks he'd been absent, apparently his mother had hired assassins in some hare-brained attempt that made sense only to her to claim the crown. Henri had gone incommunicado. Disappeared.

  His mother's plot had been a mess to clean up and had cost more to keep quiet than he'd like to think about.

  He was tired. Tired of dealing with his mom's mental health problems on his own. Tired of being rejected by a country that was in his blood.

  He wanted to be acknowledged by the royal family. And a small part of him wanted to hurt them like he'd been hurt by the abandonment he'd suffered his whole life.

  He just had to discover the best way to enact revenge.

  It wasn't hard to follow his cousins' movements via the American media. Except for Eloise, who never seemed to leave the palace.

  Could he insert himself in his cousins' life, without revealing his true identity? He'd need to be close to find out what could truly cause them pain.

  After all, he'd learned from his mother, the master of pain.

  The Toad Prince

  1

  Five-point-two miles from home.

  She'd been planning her big escape from her small life for twelve months and two days, and she'd only made it five-point-two miles from her home in north-central Texas.

  All her careful planning, all the scrimping and saving, down the drain.

  McKenna Hastings took two steps back from the open hood of her battered twenty-year-old pickup and stared at the steam rising from the engine. The truck made an ugly roadside decoration against the bright blue sky and fields green with their spring growth.