Warrior Son

by Rita Herron

  But Roan refused to see her.

  Was he simply angry that she’d told the McCullens about his relationship to them? Or...did he really not care about her?

  Had he only taken her to bed because they’d been thrown together and in danger and she was...available?

  Self-doubts assailed her as she finished an autopsy on a man who’d had a seizure while driving and ended up wrapping his car around a tree.

  Determined to reach Roan, she washed her hands, removed her lab coat and headed to the second floor where he was recovering. When she reached his room, he was trying to get out of bed and arguing with one of the nurses.

  “Tell the doctor I’m ready to go home. I’m not a damn invalid.”

  Megan laughed at his obstinate tone. He was definitely feeling better.

  Still, he winced as the nurse helped him back to bed, a sign he had a long way to go before he was back to normal.

  Her stomach fluttered with nerves as she stepped aside to allow the nurse to exit the room. When she walked in, she was so anxious to see him that his scowl didn’t faze her.

  “Hi, Roan.”

  A muscle ticked in his jaw. “What are you doing here? The case is over.”

  His look indicated they were also over.

  She inhaled a deep breath and stepped closer to his bed. “I know that. But I miss you.”

  Some emotion she didn’t understand flickered in his eyes. “Megan, don’t.”

  “Don’t what? Don’t be honest?” she said softly. “Don’t care about you?”

  “Don’t make something out of what happened between us. It was just one night of sex. Nothing more.”

  She’d been afraid he felt that way, but hearing the words felt as if he’d stabbed her in her heart.

  “But—”

  “There is no but.” He jerked the sheet up over himself, but the movement only caused her to notice his bare legs poking out from that hospital gown.

  God, she wanted to crawl in bed beside him, run her foot up his calf, her hands over his chest. She wanted to love him and for him to love her back.

  All the things her father said to her growing up rose to the surface. She had her brains, her job. Hell, she was married to her job.

  No man would ever marry her because she wasn’t the pretty girl they wanted on their arm.

  “I understand,” she said, grateful her voice didn’t break. “I won’t bother you again.” Terrified, she might break down in front of him, she turned and ran from the room.

  She made it all the way to the elevator before she burst into tears.

  She swiped angrily at them as the elevator doors opened and out stepped Mama Mary.

  Embarrassed, she forced a smile, but her tears must have given her away.

  “What’s wrong, dear? Is it Mr. Roan? Did something happen?”

  She shook her head. “He’s all right. It’s just...he doesn’t want me.”

  Mama Mary gaped at her, then folded her in her arms. “Come on, honey, and tell me all about it.”

  Megan had stood alone for so long that she welcomed the woman’s motherly embrace and allowed her to usher her to the cafeteria for coffee and a good cry.

  * * *

  ROAN WAS TIRED of the hospital, tired of the nurses hovering, tired of feeling weak and damn near helpless.

  He wanted to go home and sulk by himself in his own place.

  Except Megan had been there with him, leaving her sweet feminine scent on his sheets, and images of her climbing on top of him and tormenting him with her body in his mind.

  How could he sleep in his own bed now without remembering that night?

  You told her it meant nothing.

  This time he’d lied.

  It had meant everything.

  He squeezed his eyes closed, desperately trying to blot the memory, but he could see her head thrown back, her breasts swaying above him, her lips parted and closing around his sex.

  Dammit...

  Mama Mary knocked, then lumbered in. “Mr. Roan, I hear you’ve been giving everyone here fits.”

  In just a few short days, he’d come to love the older woman. He especially loved her pies.

  Did she have one with her today?

  No...her hands were empty. And for the first time since she’d taken it upon herself to cheer him up daily, she wasn’t smiling.

  “I’m ready to go home.”

  “Yeah. You also made Ms. Megan cry.” She huffed and planted her hands on her ample hips. “And that girl seems like a tough one. Not like a crier.”

  She was tough. “She was crying?”

  Mama Mary marched over to him. “If you don’t love her, I get that, but that girl was plumb devastated with worry the night she brought you in. She waited here all night praying and frettin’. She’s crazy in love with you, Mr. Roan.”

  Roan clenched the sheets in a white-knuckled grip. He didn’t know how to respond. Megan had never said she loved him.

  Because you didn’t give her the chance.

  “Worst thing is, she thinks you don’t want her ’cause she’s not one of those beauty queen types.”

  That took him by surprise. “What?”

  In spite of the fact that he was bandaged, she actually poked him in the chest. “You heard me. Seems her daddy did a number on her. Told her she wasn’t pretty like her sister, that girls like her had to use their brains to get by.” She made an indignant sound. “Now, I sure as heck agree with that. But Ms. Megan is strong and brave, and she cares about folks with all her heart, and that makes her ten times more beautiful than any of those plastic model types with their fancy clothes and three-inch heels and gobs of makeup.”

  Roan remembered the way she’d looked with her hair tumbling around her shoulders, with her eyes dark with passion. Then her comment about being a cactus. “I agree.”

  Mama Mary narrowed her eyes. “You do?”

  “Yes, of course. She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

  She stared at him with a confused look. “But you don’t have feelings for her?”

  Roan looked away. Mama Mary was way too perceptive. “I didn’t say that. I just don’t have anything to offer her.”

  “What kind of foolishness are you talking about?” She tsked at him. “All a woman really wants is a man to love her.” She poked him again. “Do you love her?”

  Roan chewed the inside of his cheek. “It’s not that simple.”

  “It is if you want it to be. If you love her, get up out of that bed and tell her.”

  Roan looked at the door, then at Mama Mary, and an image of Megan crying taunted him. She thought he didn’t love her because she wasn’t beautiful enough.

  He wasn’t accustomed to being part of a family, to having brothers, or a mother figure, to...having someone love him.

  But hadn’t he envied Maddox and Rose?

  He had wanted what they had. Maybe he had it with Megan.

  But he’d been too stubborn and cowardly to admit his feelings. Too afraid of losing her and being hurt.

  In protecting himself, he’d hurt her. The one person who loved him for himself.

  He shoved at the covers. “Push that wheelchair over here. I’m going to see her now.”

  “Hot damn.” Mama Mary gave him a big hug that nearly tore out his stitches, but he chuckled as she pulled away and pushed him into the chair. He wheeled himself to the elevator and started toward the morgue, but decided to stop at the flower shop instead.

  Fear pressed against his heart as he made his purchase and rode the elevator to the morgue. What if he’d hurt her so badly that she couldn’t forgive him?

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Megan splashed cold water on her face and patted her tear-swollen eyes dry.

  Good grief, she couldn’t believe she’d poured out her heart and soul to Mama Mary. But that woman had a way of wrapping her arms around you that made you feel like you’d come home.

  Maddox, Brett and Ray had missed growing up with their bir
th mother, but they’d been blessed by having a wonderful woman like Mama Mary in their lives.

  Roan would be blessed with that now, too. She could already hear the affection in the woman’s voice when she said his name. One of the nurses had told her that Mama Mary had been doting on him and spoiling him rotten.

  Roan deserved it.

  She blew her nose, then gave herself a pep talk before returning to work. She was fine. She might be alone, but she had her job.

  Yep, all those dead people waiting on her. But dead people didn’t talk to you or hold you at night and keep you warm when your nightmares crept up on you.

  Maybe she’d get a dog. Or a cat. She could become one of those cat collectors who had half a dozen...

  She tossed the paper towel in the trash, dabbed a little powder on her cheeks, then stepped from the bathroom and headed back to the morgue. When she arrived, she was surprised to see Roan in a wheelchair.

  “What are you doing here?” She skimmed her gaze over his torso. His bandage was still in place, but his coloring was better.

  “I came to see you.” His jaw tightened as if he might have come under duress. “You’ve been crying.”

  Compassion softened the accusation, and a blush heated her neck. She didn’t intend to tell him about her meltdown. “What do you want, Roan?”

  Her voice sounded harsher than she’d intended, but he had dismissed her earlier as if she was nothing. Better he think she was angry than hurt.

  “I’m sorry for hurting you,” he said, his voice hoarse.

  So much for hiding her feelings.

  “You were just being honest, Roan. I’m a big girl. I’m fine.”

  “Well, I’m not fine.”

  Worry knifed through her. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain? Are your stitches coming loose?”

  He pushed himself to stand and pulled a bouquet of sunflowers from behind his back. “This is not about my gunshot wound.” He took a step closer to her, and Megan’s chest squeezed.

  “Roan, you shouldn’t be down here. You need to go back to your room and rest.”

  “I can’t rest until I make things right.”

  Her heart fluttered, but she ordered herself not to latch on to hope.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean you’re not a cactus, you’re a sunflower.” He thrust them in her hand. “And I was a coward,” he said bluntly. “I lied to you before.”

  She smiled at the sunflowers in her hand. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? “Lied about what?”

  “About that night meaning nothing. It was...” He cradled her hand in his and pressed it over his heart. “It was everything to me. You are everything to me.”

  Megan’s heart pounded. “I am?”

  “Yes.” A smile curved his sensual mouth. “It hurt so much when I lost my mother that I vowed never to love anyone ever again. I...didn’t think I could stand that kind of pain.”

  Megan’s heart fluttered.

  “Then I found you and my brothers and I didn’t think I deserved any of you.”

  “Oh, Roan, that’s not true. You are the most honorable man I’ve ever met.”

  He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. “And you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

  “Roan, you don’t have to stay that. It’s not true—”

  “It is true.” He stroked her arms with his hands. “Your father was wrong to make you think that you aren’t beautiful.”

  Her breath caught. “My God, Mama Mary told you.”

  He nodded, but his eyes didn’t hold pity. They held a tenderness that made her heart fill with warmth.

  “I love you, Megan. I...don’t want to lose you.” He leaned closer and brushed a kiss across her lips. “I have three brothers now. I’m just getting used to that. But I still need you.” He kissed her again. “I still want you.”

  “I want you, too,” she said breathlessly.

  “I love you,” he whispered.

  “I love you, too.”

  His kiss came hard and fierce this time, a give-and-take, a dance of love and promises.

  When he finally pulled apart, they were both panting. “You really do need to get back to bed,” she whispered.

  “Not until you promise me something.”

  The fact that she’d broken her other promise echoed in her mind. “What? Anything...”

  A teasing smile flickered in his eyes. “Promise me that you’ll marry me.”

  Megan’s heart soared with love and happiness. She threw her arms around him and they both fell into the wheelchair, the sunflowers fluttering to the floor as she kissed him and told him yes.

  Epilogue

  Three weeks later

  Megan smiled as Mama Mary adjusted her veil. She was marrying Roan today. The McCullen wives had welcomed her like a sister into their family and helped her put together the wedding, which was taking place at Horseshoe Creek.

  Rose had found a wedding gown through her antiques shop, Vintage Treasures, that reminded Megan of the dress her mother had worn. In the dress, she felt...beautiful.

  Willow and Scarlet had helped decorate the gazebo by the pond on the property that the McCullens had given Roan as a thank-you gift and a wedding present. But it meant more than a piece of land—it meant they accepted Roan as part of the McCullens.

  A knock sounded at the door of the cabin where she and Roan were living temporarily until their house was built. Mama Mary answered, then returned a moment later.

  “Megan, there’s someone here to see you.”

  Megan finished applying lip gloss. “Who is it?”

  “It’s me, your father.”

  The deep baritone voice made Megan swirl around. She stared at her father, speechless for a moment. He looked older, his hair was graying and he wore a dark suit, but he still stood tall and imposing.

  Mama Mary and the McCullen women slipped quietly out the door.

  Her heart fluttered with dread. “Hello, Dad. What are you doing here?” Had he come to try to talk her out of marrying Roan?

  “I heard you were getting married.”

  She nodded, braced for an argument. “I am. To Deputy Roan Whitefeather. He’s a wonderful man.”

  Her father studied her for a second, his face twisting with emotions. “I tried to reach you several times lately, but you didn’t return my calls.”

  “I was busy. Working.”

  “I know. I read about you and this deputy and what you did.” His voice thickened. “I came to say I’m proud of you, Megan. I...know it’s late in coming, but I’m so proud.”

  Tears clogged Megan’s throat.

  “I was...not always the most understanding father, or at least it didn’t come out that way. I didn’t handle losing your sister and your mother well at all, and I guess I retreated into some kind of shell.”

  “We were both grieving, Dad,” Megan said softly.

  “Yes, but I pushed you away, I let you down.”

  “I understood. I wasn’t pretty like Shelly or Mom, not the girly girl—”

  “That’s just it, you are so beautiful, Megan, but in a different way. You’re strong and smart and kindhearted and...you always seemed so independent. I suppose I doted on Shelly because she was easy, and she didn’t have the brains and drive you did. I thought she needed me more.”

  “Oh, Dad, I needed you, too.” Megan swallowed, battling more tears.

  “I realize that now.” Her father rubbed a hand across his forehead. “Anyway, I’ve thought a lot about it and I want us to see each other again, to be...to build a relationship.”

  Megan bit down on her lip. “I’m not leaving the ME’s office, Dad.”

  “I know that.” A smile graced his mouth. “And I’m not asking you to. All I’m asking is that you give me a chance to be your father again. To have a place in your life.”

  How could she say no to that?

  He removed a velvet box from his pocket and held it out to her. “Here, sweetheart, plea
se open this.”

  Her hand trembled as she accepted the box and lifted the top. Her breath caught at the diamond earrings sparkling back. They were stunning.

  “Those were your mother’s. She wore them at our wedding.” His tone grew gruffer. “I thought you might want to wear them today.”

  Tears filled Megan’s eyes and she stood and rushed to her father. “Thank you, Dad. I don’t know what to say.”

  “Just know that she loved you, honey. I wish she was here to see you now.”

  “I wish she was, too,” Megan said through her tears.

  He closed his arms around her. “I love you, Megan. I really do. I’m sorry for wasting so much time.”

  “I love you, too.” She kissed his cheek, then took his hand and squeezed it. “Will you walk me down the aisle?”

  His gaze met hers, the pain and turmoil of their past fading away. “I would be honored.”

  * * *

  ROAN ADJUSTED HIS bolo tie, smiling at his half brothers who’d joked about how uncomfortable they all felt in a suit. They’d been grateful he’d asked them to wear jeans and a Western duster instead.

  He’d been moved when Maddox, Brett and Ray had given him the land their father had bought from Clark. They assured him he’d earned it, and they wanted him to be part of Horseshoe Creek.

  His half brothers filed out from the cabin and they took their places at the gazebo the womenfolk had decorated in front of the pond on what was now his land.

  Tears clouded his eyes as Megan walked across the field on her father’s arm. Mama Mary had told him that the senior Dr. Lail had shown up, and he’d been nervous that Megan would be upset.

  But her radiant smile as she looked up at him and then her father told him they’d made peace.

  His wife-to-be looked stunning in an antique ivory lace dress. A shoulder-length veil was held in place by pearl combs, and today she’d worn her hair down, long and flowing and blowing in the wind.

  He stepped up to take her hand, and she kissed him before the ceremony even started.

  Laughter erupted from the McCullens and Mama Mary, and Brett’s little boy clapped. Dr. Lail gave him a serious look, then shook his hand.

  “Take care of my girl, she’s special,” he said in a gruff voice.

  Roan nodded. “Yes she is, sir.”