by Meg Maxwell
“Or here,” Autry said. “Whatever would make my bride-to-be happy. If you want to get married at the Ace in the Hole, that would be fine with me.”
Marissa laughed. She couldn’t see Autry Jones saying I do beside the pool table and dartboard. Or maybe she could. He’d changed. She’d changed. And now all their lives were changing.
“I don’t care where we get married as long as we do,” he said. “And I want us to become a family as soon as possible.” He pulled Marissa into his arms. “I love you.”
“I love you.”
“A kiss to seal the deal?” he asked Marissa.
The girls giggled. “Ooh, la, la,” Abby said.
Autry took her face in his hands and kissed her so passionately that she felt her toes curl.
“Bonjour!” Kiera said and they all cracked up. Out of the mouths of babes.
As Marissa gazed into the gorgeous blue eyes of her fiancé, she vaguely heard her daughters planning a Euro Disney wedding with Mickey Mouse as the officiant. The future was theirs—as a family.
Epilogue
Autry took a photo of Marissa and the girls sitting on the low stone wall along the Seine, Abby holding the baguette they’d just bought from a café.
“We’re in Paris. I still can’t believe it,” Marissa said, touching the charming, very Parisian silk scarf she’d purchased from a little boutique. Her daughters already looked like French schoolgirls. They had started at the American school last week and were fitting in well. All three were enchanted with Paris, and Abby and Janie were texting away, sharing photos of home and France.
A few months from now, she and Autry would say “I do.” Nope, not in Paris, their adopted city. In Rust Creek Falls, in the Ace in the Hole, where they’d met. Where a man who didn’t date single mothers first fell for a single mom. And where a widowed mother of three who didn’t think she’d ever find love again, found it.
Marissa’s phone beeped with a text. Her mom and dad texting their first selfie at the railing of the Caribbean Star cruise ship. Her mother’s big smile and her dad’s rested expression made Marissa so happy.
“I love you, Marissa,” Autry said, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her.
“I love you, too,” she said.
“Je t’aime aussi!” Kaylee said.
Marissa and Autry stared at the little girl, their mouths agape.
Marissa turned to Autry. “Did my three-year-old just say ‘I love you, too’ in French?”
“She most definitely did,” Autry said, picking up Kaylee and kissing her on the cheek.
“Ooh, la, la,” Kiera said. It had become one of her favorite phrases. “Je t’aime, je t’aime!” She twirled around and Autry picked her up with his other arm, two little Fullers caught for hugs.
Just then, a little stray dog came and swiped the baguette right out of Abby’s hand and ran off.
“There are many more where that baguette came from,” Autry said.
Marissa laughed. “To Paris. And to us.”
“To all of us,” Autry said, as Abby came rushing over for the family hug.
* * * * *
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THE GREAT FAMILY ROUNDUP
Zach Dalton is in search of the perfect kid-loving, pie-making bride. Lydia Grant is anything but perfect! She knows zilch about babies, and can’t bake to save her life! She’s got nothing Zach wants—but what if she’s really everything the lonely cowboy needs?
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THE MAVERICK’S BRIDE-TO-ORDER
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Do You Take This Cowboy?
by Vicki Lewis Thompson
Chapter One
Drew Martinelli walked backward up the steps of the ranch house to the porch while keeping her camcorder focused on the couple strolling toward her hand in hand. Cade and Lexi’s wedding was four days away and they’d hired Drew to create a video illustrating their love for each other, their appreciation of Thunder Mountain Ranch and their gratitude to both sets of parents. They planned to give a copy to the two couples at the rehearsal dinner as a surprise.
Because they’d wanted to shoot it at the ranch Cade grew up on, they’d had to get his foster parents, Rosie and Herb, to leave for the afternoon. They’d sent them to town on a somewhat bogus errand to pick up more decorations for the wedding. Drew knew Rosie and Herb pretty well by now. She doubted they believed the decorations were necessary but they’d played along, probably realizing something secret was going on.
Drew had begun the video down at the barn with Lexi and Cade tossing hay at each other. Next she’d followed them out to the pasture where they’d played tag with their horses, Hematite and Serendipity. She’d shot footage in the cabin where Cade had lived with two of his foster brothers as a teenager.
Then she’d walked with Cade and Lexi to their own recently constructed cabin and recorded Cade fixing lasagna. Cade’s ability to cook must be a big deal because the two teased each other unmercifully during the process. Drew had struggled to keep from laughing, which would have been picked up on the mic.
A last shot on the ranch house porch would be the finale. Drew turned slowly to keep them in the frame as they climbed the steps. Cade sat in one of the roomy Adirondack chairs lining the porch and Lexi nestled on his lap.
As they’d planned, Drew crouched down and zoomed in on Lexi’s face. Bits of hay stuck in her brown curls and her cheeks were flushed. Drew had a hunch Lexi’s parents would totally lose it when they saw the joy and happiness in their daughter’s eyes. Even Drew was a little choked up.
Lexi’s warm smile completed the image. “Thank you, Mom and Dad, for always supporting me in everything I ever wanted to do and for welcoming the man I’ve chosen to share my life with. I l
ove you both so much.”
Drew’s throat tightened. She didn’t often become emotionally invested in her video subjects, but Lexi and Cade had become friends as well as clients. She slowly panned over to Cade. Wow. The big cowboy was clearly moved. That level of intensity wasn’t common in the men she’d photographed.
He cleared his throat. “Mom and Dad, you took me in when I had nowhere else to go.” He cleared his throat a second time. “There’s not enough thanks in the world for that. Because of you I became a man worthy of this wonderful woman. I love you more than you’ll ever know.”
Blinking back tears, Drew widened her camera’s focus to include Cade and Lexi as they turned to each other and leaned in for a sweet, lingering kiss. Then she switched off the camera, reached for the tissue in her pocket and blew her nose.
When she looked up, Cade and Lexi were watching her in obvious bemusement.
“You got me.” She tucked the tissue back in her pocket and stood. “That’s one of the most touching scenes I’ve ever shot. Your folks are gonna turn into faucets when they see this.”
“That’s the idea.” Lexi slid off Cade’s lap.
“Yep.” Cade got up and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I don’t know about anybody else, but I could use a beer.”
“Me, too.” Lexi glanced at Drew. “Do you have time?”
“Sure, but what if Rosie and Herb come back and catch me here?”
“We’ll say that you and I had more details to iron out regarding the wedding video.”
“Okay, that works. Let me put my stuff in my truck.”
“Oh, and you can meet Austin,” Lexi said. “He’s probably still working on the kitchen sink that got clogged while we were cleaning up after lunch. Thank God Austin was here or Herb would have stayed home to fix it and our plan would have been wrecked.”
Cade laughed. “And we all know Herb would never have left me to do it.”
“We do?” Drew looked at him. “Why not?”
“Sorry, Drew. I keep forgetting you haven’t been around forever.” Lexi slid her arm around Cade’s waist. “My husband-to-be has many talents but he’s so not a handyman.”
Cade shrugged as if he’d accepted that minor flaw long ago. “I didn’t get that gene. Austin, though, he’s good with tools.”
“Is he the brother who just flew in from New Zealand?”
“Two days ago. Austin Teague. Nice guy.” Lexi waved Drew toward her truck. “Get rid of your stuff. Your beer will be waiting for you in the kitchen.”
This Austin person would be in the kitchen, too, apparently. Drew was eager to talk with someone who’d been halfway around the world, especially when he’d lived in a place she’d love to video someday.
She stashed her equipment in her truck and headed back to the house. She’d looked forward to meeting Austin ever since Rosie had mentioned him during a discussion of the wedding setup. They’d needed a head count of the foster brothers who’d be participating in the wedding.
Over the years Rosie and Herb Padgett had taken in quite a few boys, who at different times in their lives had ended up at Thunder Mountain Ranch. Cade had been one of their first foster boys, and it seemed that the whole family was excited about his wedding.
The ceremony would be held in the barn, a trendy wedding venue choice these days. But this ceremony would be unique in that the horses would remain in their stalls. Cade and Lexi were very much into horses and they loved the idea that the ranch’s equine population would attend the wedding. This way Cade’s cat, Ringo, could even be there if he chose.
Human guests would be seated on benches facing the barn’s wide front door, which would be open. Instead of an arbor placed in the open doorway as a backdrop, the foster brothers in attendance would stand in a semicircle behind the minister.
Not all of Cade’s foster brothers could make it to the wedding, but at last count at least nine would be standing in that group. Drew couldn’t wait to film this ceremony, which promised to be more visually interesting than most.
She walked into the ranch house without knocking. People didn’t stand on ceremony at Thunder Mountain, and while the living room was comfy and inviting, the large kitchen with its sturdy oak table was the heart of the house. She found Cade and Lexi sitting there, each with a bottle of beer. Two other open bottles were on the table along with a large bowl of chips.
Drew figured one beer was for her and the other must be for the man who was half-hidden under the kitchen sink. All she could see were scuffed boots, wear-softened jeans, a silver belt buckle with a kiwi bird etched on it, and a small section of skin that told her he was shirtless.
“Hey, Drew,” Cade said. “That would be Junior’s legs sticking out from under the sink over there. He says he’ll be done in thirty seconds, tops.”
She frowned. “Junior?”
“The name’s Austin, ma’am.” He wiggled partway out from under the sink, wiped his hand on his jeans and thrust it toward her. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Hi, there.” She walked over, leaned down and shook his outstretched hand. She tried not to stare, but oh...my...God. She had the urge to race back to her truck and fetch her camera. Abs and pecs like that should be captured on film and preserved for posterity. She was also amazed that he could fit those broad shoulders into such a small space.
On top of that he was blond and blue-eyed. Even his chest hair was blond, although a little darker than the sun-bleached, close-cropped hair on his head. Because of her Italian heritage, she’d spent her life surrounded by dark-haired, dark-eyed people. She had a weakness for men who looked like Austin.
As they shook hands he smiled. “Really glad to meet you,” he murmured.
“Same here.” Lord help her, she sounded breathless. He probably got that a lot.
“Be done in a jiffy.” He released her hand, scooted back under the sink and bumped his head on the pipe. “Ow.”
“Are you okay?” She leaned down to peer into the cabinet.
“Yes, ma’am. Didn’t watch where I was going is all.”
“He’ll be fine,” Cade said. “Junior’s practically indestructible.”
“The name’s Austin.” His voice echoed a bit coming from under the sink.
“Why do you call him Junior?” Drew walked over to the table and Cade got up to pull out her chair.
He winked at her. “Because it’s his name.”
Lexi leaned over and gave him a light punch on the arm. “He’s all grown up now. Retire the Junior thing.”
“Yes, please,” came the voice from under the sink.
“So I take it he was Junior when you all lived at the ranch?” Drew took a sip of her beer.
“And still is, as far as I’m concerned.” Cade grinned as he went back to his seat. “I don’t care how big he gets, he’ll always be Junior to me.”
“No respect.” Austin slid out from under the sink and rose to his glorious height, which had to be at least six-three. “I go and sell my truck so I can buy a plane ticket to attend your wedding and this is my reward—still stuck with the same old crummy nickname.” His dramatic sigh made his chest heave in a most arresting way.
“I call you Austin,” Lexi said.
“Yes, you do, Lexi, and I appreciate the support.”
Cade tipped his chair onto its back legs and picked up his beer. “The way I heard it, you didn’t sell your truck to buy a plane ticket. You sold it because you wanted to buy a new one over here instead of shipping your old rattletrap across the Pacific.”
“Technically, yes, but some of the proceeds went toward the ticket, so my statement stands.”
“So you’re staying?” Drew hadn’t been clear on that but it was the best news she’d heard all day.
“Yes, ma’am. New Zealand was great, but I missed Wyoming.”
/> “And me,” Cade said. “I know you really missed me.”
Austin laughed, flashing beautiful white teeth. “Can’t live without you, bro.”
“And FYI, your beer’s getting warm the longer you stand there working your jaw.”
“Let me wash up.” He turned back to the sink.
Much as Drew would have loved to admire the ripple of his back muscles as he scrubbed his hands clean, ogling would be inappropriate. She redirected her attention toward Cade and Lexi. Why was she here, again? Oh, yes. “I think we got some great stuff today. I’ll edit it as soon as I get home and email you a link to a preview.”
“Good.” Lexi reached for the chips. “I’m really excited to see it.”
“So am I.” Cade returned his chair to its original position so he could also reach the chip bowl. “By the way, I was impressed that you walked up the steps backward while you filmed that last part. I’m not sure I could have done that.”
“I know I couldn’t,” Lexi said.
“My years of playing hockey probably helps. You have to have eyes in the back of your head to play that game.”
“You played hockey?” Austin joined them at the table.
“Yes, and I was really, really lucky that I got to. Some parents organized a Montana youth league and my brother and I were both in it. I don’t think that league exists anymore. For three years I lived and breathed hockey. Every night before I went to sleep I recited that famous Wayne Gretzky quote.”
Austin picked up his beer and reached for a chip. “I don’t think I know that one.”
“I do, more or less,” Cade said. “Instead of following the puck, you need to anticipate where it will be and go there.”
“Aha!” Lexi looked as if inspiration had hit. “That’s why you’re such an excellent videographer. You’re always a little ahead of the action. I couldn’t put my finger on why your videos are so much better than others I’ve seen and I’ll bet that’s the secret.”
Drew’s cheeks warmed. “Thank you. I never thought of it that way but if I manage to pull it off I’m glad.”
