by Karen Foley
“When can I see him?”
“They’re stitching his head now. Dad is with him.”
Jessie’s father came forward and kissed her forehead. “You’re a brave young woman, Jessie, to have climbed onto the roof and stayed there as long as you did.”
Jessie shook her head. “That wasn’t bravery, that was necessity. The river rose so fast, I didn’t have time to leave. Evan and Holt are the brave ones. They risked their lives to save me. If anything had happened to Holt—”
She broke off, unable to continue. Unable to even go down that dark path.
“I told you he’d be okay,” Luke said. “Good thing he’s so hardheaded.”
They turned as Dr. Wallace approached and shook hands with Luke and Evan. “Seems like I just saw all of you here not that long ago,” he said with a smile. “You can see Holt now. His lungs are clear and, aside from the mild concussion and some minor bumps and bruises, he’s okay. I expect him to make a full recovery.”
“Thank the Lord,” Rosa-Maria said fervently.
Dr. Wallace glanced between Jessie and the others. “I’d tell you to keep your visit short, but somehow I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
*
“Son, I know you don’t want to be here but you’ll be home a lot sooner if you just follow the doctor’s orders and get some rest.” Gus eased himself into the chair next to Holt’s bed. “You’ve taken a pretty good blow to the head and you were found unconscious in the water. No medical professional is going to release you tonight, nor should you want them to. Not after what you’ve been through.”
Holt felt like he’d been hit with a wrecking ball, but he wouldn’t admit that to his father. After falling into the river, he’d managed to resurface and had fought to reach the shore even as the current swept him downstream. He’d spotted the search lights of the rescue personnel but, as he’d struggled to reach them, something had struck him hard. The next thing he remembered was waking up on the ground with the emergency personnel bent over him. He’d been amazed to hear that Jessie had been the one to spot him and that she and Evan had pulled him from the water. He knew he was lucky to be alive.
“I feel fine.”
A brief smile curved his Gus’s mouth. “Sure you do. And you’ll feel even better after a good night’s rest.”
“There’s no such thing as a good night’s rest in the hospital,” Holt grumbled. “I need to see Jessica.”
“She’s getting checked out by one of the ER nurses.” Gus raised his hands at Holt’s look of alarm. “Nothing serious, just a few scrapes. She’s going to be fine, thanks to you.”
“If it wasn’t for me, she never would have left Riverrun,” Holt said morosely. “I was a jackass.”
“You’re only human, son.” Gus removed his Western hat and placed it on a nearby table before he crossed one leg over the other and considered Holt thoughtfully. “You’ve been hurt and there’s no shame in trying to protect your heart. What do think I’ve been doing for the past twenty-plus years?”
Holt’s interest was piqued in spite of himself. His father rarely, if ever, talked about himself or his failed relationships. “Is there something you want to tell me? Maybe about what’s really going on between you and Rosa-Maria?”
To his astonishment, his father’s cheeks turned ruddy, but his smile broadened. “Ah, yes. I suspected Jessie saw us together in Rosa-Maria’s hospital room.”
“So she was right when she said you two had a thing for each other?”
“I’ve loved Rosa-Maria for longer than I can remember,” Gus acknowledged. “I tried to deny it, to fight it, even told myself a hundred different reasons why it would never work out. That’s why she left, because she’d finally had enough of my foolishness.”
“So what’s changed?”
Gus shifted. “I had an epiphany the day she had a heart attack. An awakening. Neither one of is getting any younger and I might have lost her without ever having told her how I felt.” He gave a rueful laugh. “But I still didn’t get it, not entirely. I admitted that I love her, but I also told her I didn’t think I could risk getting married again. That’s when she chose not to return to the ranch, and I’ve regretted it every minute since.”
“So . . .?”
“So I asked her to marry me.”
Holt couldn’t prevent his grin. “Congratulations. I’m really happy for you. For both of you. We all love Rosa-Maria. Have you told the others?”
“Oh, yes, everyone knows except you and Jessie, although she’s probably heard the happy news by now.” He paused. “So what about you, son?”
Holt shifted uncomfortably. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve had a wake-up call. I don’t intend to spend one more day without the woman I love, and neither should you.”
Holt drew in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. There was no question he’d had his own wake-up call. He could so easily have lost Jessica. But before he could reply, the door opened and suddenly she was there. Holt was vaguely aware that his brothers, Rosa-Maria, and Jessie’s parents were also filing into the small room, but he only had eyes for Jessica, looking both disheveled and adorable in a pair of oversized hospital scrubs.
Her eyes locked on to his and her face crumpled as she launched herself across the small space and into his arms.
“Holt.” Her voice was muffled against his chest. “Don’t you ever, ever do that to me again!”
Nothing had ever felt as good as Jessie did in his arms. She was safe and she was here. She raised her face and the expression in her dark eyes made his heart clench hard in his chest.
“Holt—”
“Shh. There’s something I need to say.” Pulling back just a bit, he surveyed her. Over her head, he watched his father and brothers and Jessie’s family slowly retreat from the room and quietly close the door behind them. He tucked a tangled strand of Jessie’s still-damp hair behind her ear and swallowed hard. “I love you, Jessica Montero. I think I have for a long time. I’ve been an idiot and I realized it the morning you left the ranch.”
“Do you want to know why I left? After that night, I knew we were going to be seeing more of each other.” She gave him a meaningful look. “A lot more. But I didn’t want to disrespect your father while I was technically working for him and living under his roof. I wanted a relationship with you that had nothing to do with my working at the ranch.”
“You wanted me to woo you,” Holt said, smiling.
“Yes.”
Holt pulled her closer as he struggled to put unfamiliar feelings into words. “I’ve spent so many years keeping people—women—away, that it’s become second nature. I don’t want to have my heart broken, but I’m afraid that’s what will happen if you make me live without you. I love you, Jessica, and I need you in my life.”
“You’ve got me,” she assured him. “You had me at tequila.”
Holt laughed, bemused and relieved. “What?”
“That night at the cantina, when you ordered a tequila and I brought you a top-shelf brand.”
Holt laughed softly, remembering his surprise when he’d sipped the expensive liquor, knowing what she’d done. “I deserved that.” Tipping her face up, he searched her eyes. “I hope I can deserve you.”
“You can start by kissing me.”
Holt did, very thoroughly.
Epilogue
Three months had passed since the river had swept Jessie’s rental cottage away. The floodwaters had receded in a few days and the landlord was already in the process of rebuilding the house, stronger and better, and a little farther back from the river than before. Now, on this beautiful, sunny October day, Jessie had difficulty believing there had ever been a time when the skies had been gray and stormy. Three dozen white chairs had been set up on the sweeping lawn of Riverrun Ranch. Beneath a flower-bedecked trellis, with the now-calm waters of the Pedernales sparkling in the background, Gus and Rosa-Maria exchanged wedding vows in front of their families and closest friends.<
br />
Jessie stood to one side, holding her grandmother’s bridal bouquet, but her eyes were on the best man. Holt looked handsome in a black jacket and crisp white shirt and she privately thought the new scar on his forehead gave him a rakish, slightly piratical look. As if he sensed her watching him, Holt lifted his gaze to hers. His blue eyes grew heated before he dropped one eyelid in an audacious wink.
As the minister pronounced them husband and wife, Gus swept Rosa-Maria into his arms for a gusty kiss and the guests burst into spontaneous applause. Jessie sprang forward to give her grandmother the bouquet of flowers and then she and Holt fell into step behind them as they made their way to the ranch house, where a brunch buffet would be served on the terrace.
Holt captured her hand in his own and bent his head to speak softly in her ear. “You look beautiful, sweetheart. That dress looks real pretty on you.”
Jessie swept a hand over the pale-pink organza gown that left her shoulders bare. “Thank you. You clean up pretty well yourself, cowboy.”
As the wedding guests followed the bride and groom to the house, Holt drew Jessie aside, tugging her along a path that led to the water’s edge.
“Where are we going?” she asked, laughing. “We’ll miss the opening toasts.”
“They can’t start without me. I’m the best man.”
“You’ll get no argument from me there,” Jessie said, smiling. “I’ve known that for a long time. But I still need to oversee the buffet preparations!”
Rosa-Maria had asked Jessie to prepare the wedding menu, featuring the same food she served from her shiny new food truck. Jessie had purchased the truck several weeks after the flood and had sent it out for a custom-wrap that featured bold, Mexican colors and the name Jessie’s Cocina emblazoned across the side. She’d been in business for almost two months and she’d never been happier. The food truck had been an instant hit and business had been brisk wherever she went. She’d spent the previous day stocking the ranch kitchen with food for the buffet, and her father had enlisted the kitchen staff from Rosa’s Cantina to do the actual cooking.
“You have some of the best cooks I know taking care of the buffet. Just enjoy yourself.” Holt drew her to a stop on the edge of the lawn and turned her to face him. “With your new business and all the wedding preparations, it seems like ages since I’ve had you to myself.”
In fact, it had been just two days. After the flood, Jessie had moved back home with her parents until she could find another place to live, but she and Holt managed to make time to be together every day. He had spent the past three months wooing her with a sweetness that stole her heart. There had been picnics and moonlit drives, and so many kisses. The past two days had been the exception, due to the wedding preparations.
“It sounds as if you might miss me,” Jessie said, looking at him from beneath her lashes. She wrapped her arms around his waist and tipped her face up to his. “Don’t worry; once I find a place to live, we can be together every night.”
Holt’s father wasn’t old-fashioned and likely wouldn’t know or care if Jessie chose to spend the night at Riverrun Ranch, but Jessie’s family was another issue altogether. Out of respect for her more-conservative father and grandmother, she made sure she was home each night, but the strain was telling, and she knew Holt’s patience was beginning to wear thin.
“What if I told you I’ve found a place for you?” Holt asked.
Jessie leaned back in his arms. “Will I like it?”
Holt smiled and nuzzled the sensitive skin of her neck. “I think so.”
“When can I see it?”
In answer, Holt turned her around and pointed in the direction of the foreman’s cabin. “The cabin’s been empty since Luke and Jorie moved out. I thought it might be perfect for us.”
“Us?”
Jessie didn’t want to tell Holt that no matter how much her father liked him, he wouldn’t approve of them living together. She was a grown woman, but she didn’t want to go against her family’s traditional values, no matter how tempting the offer.
“I was going to wait,” Holt said, “but seeing how happy my father is made me realize that I don’t want to put this off any longer.”
Jessie turned as Holt withdrew a small velvet box from his jacket. Her heart skipped a beat and then began pounding in her chest like a herd of stampeding cattle.
“Holt—”
“I love you. I have for a long time.” He went down on one knee on the grassy knoll and opened the box to reveal a single, stunning solitaire that sparkled in the sunshine. He held it out to her and Jessie had never seen his expression so earnest or so serious. “Marry me, Jessica. The sooner, the better, because I don’t think I can wait much longer.”
Jessie covered her mouth with her both hands as she stared, speechless, at the man who knelt before her. “Oh, Holt . . .”
“Just say yes, darlin’.”
His easy words belied the anxiety she saw in his blue eyes. Heedless of her bridesmaid gown, Jessie fell to her knees and threw her arms around his neck.
“Yes, a thousand times, yes!”
He exhaled in relief and then he was kissing her more sweetly than he’d ever kissed her before.
“Here, let’s get this on your finger before you come to your senses and change your mind,” he muttered. He slid the ring on with hands that trembled. Jessie held her hand up to admire the stone and how it caught the light.
“Oh, it’s beautiful,” she breathed. “I love you, Holt Claiborne.”
Holt grinned and helped her to her feet, wrapping her in his arms. “Well, for better or worse, you’ve got me.”
“I think you mean I’ve caught you.” Jessie smiled up at him. “You’re the best thing that’s ever been fished out of that old river. I think I’ll keep you.”
Holt laughed and together they walked hand in hand toward the ranch and a new life together.
The End
Want more? Check out Luke and Jorie’s story in Counting on the Cowboy!
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If you enjoyed How to Catch a Cowboy, you’ll love the other books in….
The Riverrun Ranch series
Book 1: Swipe Right for a Cowboy
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Book 2: Counting on the Cowboy
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Book 3: How to Catch a Cowboy
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More books by Karen Foley
The Glacier Creek series
Book 1: Montana Defender
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Book 2: Montana Firefighter
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Book 3: Montana Protector
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About the Author
Karen Foley admits to being an incurable romantic. When she’s not working for the Department of Defense, she loves writing sexy stories about alpha heroes and strong heroines. Karen lives in New England with her husband, two daughters, and a houseful of pets.
Visit her website at karenfoleyauthor.com
Follow her on Twitter @karenefoley
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