“If I truly believed that I wouldn’t be here.”
His gaze locked with hers and before he knew it, he was crossing the small space between them and wrapping his hands around her shoulders.
“I don’t know why you’re here, Mariah,” he said hoarsely. “But I have to tell you—”
“Wait, Finn!” She touched her fingertips to his cheek. “Before you say anything, I have to tell you—I’m here because I love you. I should’ve told you that from the very beginning. But I was mixed up and so afraid.”
“Afraid? Oh, Mariah, there wasn’t any reason for you to be afraid. Not of me.”
Her head moved back and forth as tears began to fill her eyes. “It wasn’t you, Finn. I was doubting myself. When you told me you loved me—that you wanted for us to get married—I couldn’t believe it. You see, I’ve always thought of myself as the forgotten daughter—the second-best sister. Compared to Aimee I was the quiet wallflower who rarely got noticed.”
He gave her shoulders a gentle shake. “That’s ridiculous, Mariah. You’re a beautiful, intelligent woman with so much to offer. I’m sure there have been plenty of guys who’d give their eyeteeth to date you.”
Her gaze slipped to the middle of his chest and Finn could suddenly see the raw vulnerability on her features. The sight made his heart ache, made him want to wrap her in a tight hold and shield her from every hurtful thing in the world.
“A few,” she said quietly. “But once they met Aimee I was usually forgotten.”
“That’s hard for me to believe.”
“I imagined it would be. That’s why I never said anything. But now I have to tell you how things were back then. So that maybe you’ll understand.”
“Tell me what?” he urged.
She sighed. “The reason why my engagement ended all those years ago. You see, when I met Kris during my college studies, I thought he was different. When he proposed and gave me a beautiful engagement ring, I thought finally someone loved me just for being me.”
“But something happened.”
Nodding, she said, “We were about to set the date for the wedding when Aimee started insisting she couldn’t let me make a mistake. She kept telling me Kris was no good. Which didn’t make sense. When we’d first gotten engaged, she’d thought he was a great catch for me. I finally demanded that she explain herself and that’s when she admitted that she’d been sleeping with Kris. That she’d seduced him as a test to determine whether he was going to be faithful to me and he’d failed.”
Finn felt sick. “Oh God, Mariah, I can’t imagine what that must’ve done to you. But I’m guessing that you forgave your sister. You have that kind of heart. It’s why I fell in love with you.”
She let out a long breath and lifted her gaze back to him. Tears were still in her eyes and as she tried to blink them away, they dropped like wet diamonds onto her cheeks. “Yes, I forgave her. But I couldn’t forget. After that, I couldn’t trust her. And I especially couldn’t trust another man. So when you started talking about love and marriage—it all came crashing at me.”
He nodded glumly. “And I’d already had a brief affair with Aimee. And had a baby with her. You must’ve been feeling like you were my second choice.”
Hope suddenly lit her gray eyes. “Then—you do understand?”
Groaning, he pulled her into his arms and pressed his cheek against the top of her head. “I do now,” he murmured.
“Oh, Finn, I’ve been so miserable without you. I’ve been moping about, wondering how I could go on without you and Harry.”
“What made you finally decide to drive down here?”
“You can give Linda the credit for opening my eyes. She convinced me I’d be making a huge mistake if I let you get away from me.”
The joy surging through Finn couldn’t be contained, and for the first time since they’d parted, he was able to put a genuine smile on his face. “I wasn’t going to get away from you, my darling. When you walked up a few minutes ago, I was explaining to Colley that I was leaving for California in the morning.”
Her head reared back as she stared wondrously up at him. “For California! To see me?”
He laughed at her dismay. “Yes. To see you. Sassy did some convincing with me, too. She told me I’d be a fool if I didn’t do something to win you back.” Pressing his lips to her forehead, he said, “I’m so sorry, Mariah. I made such a mess of things that night when I proposed. Nothing about it was right. I shouldn’t have mentioned the ranch. I shouldn’t have said anything—except that I love you and want you to be my wife. It doesn’t matter where we live. As long as we’re together.”
With a rueful shake of her head, she reached up and tenderly cradled his face with both hands. “No, Finn. You didn’t make a mess of things,” she said huskily. “Everything you said was right—and beautiful. I was just too blinded with self-doubt to let myself see the love on your face. Can you forgive me?”
“I already have. Now, tell me, are you going to marry me?”
Smiling, she slipped her arms around his waist and pressed herself tight against him. “Yes. As soon as you’d like.”
“How about tomorrow?” he asked excitedly. “We can drive down to Vegas, get married, and catch a plane to anywhere you’d like for our honeymoon.”
“Tomorrow? I don’t have a dress with me. Except the one I have on.”
“As far as I’m concerned you look perfect in it. But I’ll buy you a dress for the wedding. I’ll buy you a dozen dresses and whatever else you’ll need while we’re away.”
“Hmm. That’s quite an offer,” she said slyly, her eyes gleaming. “And I can choose where we go on our honeymoon?”
“That’s right. Hawaii, Europe, Australia, anywhere. Just name it.”
“All right, since you’re letting me choose, what would you say about us going back to Stallion Canyon?”
Uncertain, he stared at her. “Are you serious?”
She nodded. “I’m very serious. Now that the three of us are going to be living there as a family, Stallion Canyon is going to be a new and exciting place for us. Can you think of a better place for us to go for a honeymoon?”
For a moment Finn was so overwhelmed with emotion he couldn’t speak. All he could do was press her head against his chest, stroke her hair and savor the amazing joy filling his heart.
“I don’t deserve you, my darling,” he finally managed to whisper. “But I promise that you will always come first in my life. You and our children. The horses, the land, the ranch, they’ll be a distant second. You do believe that, don’t you?”
“I do,” she said, then tilting her head back, she smiled impishly up at him. “But I won’t mind you proving it from time to time.”
“Mmm. What a pleasure that will be.”
Bending his head, he kissed her. A kiss that bound their future together. A future that spread before them like a bright, beautiful sunrise.
“Finn, what—”
Finn’s head jerked up, and over Mariah’s head, he saw his father standing in the doorway. From Orin’s expression, he was clearly shocked to find his son with a woman in his arms.
“Sorry for the interruption,” Orin said awkwardly. “I’ll come back later.”
“Don’t go,” Finn said quickly. “You’ve actually shown up at a great time.”
His expression full of questions, Orin entered the room and Mariah stepped out of Finn’s arms to face her future fatherin-law.
“Dad, this is Mariah,” Finn explained. “She’s just agreed to marry me.”
Mariah quickly walked over and extended her hand to Orin. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Calhoun.”
Pressing her hand between his, he gave Finn a crooked grin. “I can see what you’ve been pining for now.” He turned his attention back to Mariah. “Welcome to the family, Mariah. I’ve no doubts that you and Finn will be very happy.”
“Very happy,” Mariah agreed, then glanced coyly at Finn. “Raising mustangs.”
&nbs
p; Moving up behind her, Finn wrapped his arm around Mariah’s shoulder and drew her close to his side. “And babies,” Finn added. “Let’s not forget those.”
“I doubt you’ll let me forget that part of our bargain,” she teased.
Orin shot Finn a perceptive look. “Besides giving me more grandchildren, I have a feeling my new daughter-in-law is going to change my mind about those damned wild horses.”
Laughing softly, she said, “I’ll be disappointed if you don’t come visit us often, Mr. Calhoun.”
“I’m not Mr. Calhoun,” he told her. “Call me Dad. We’re going to be family.”
She smiled at Orin, then looked up at Finn. Her eyes were glittering with happy tears.
“Yes,” she murmured. “One big family. For always.”
Epilogue
Six months later, on a cold November night, Finn and Mariah were in the kitchen of Stallion Canyon’s ranch house, preparing for tomorrow and the big Thanksgiving meal they planned to share with some of Finn’s family. The smell of baking pumpkin pies filled the room, and holiday music played softly on the radio. While Mariah stood at the cabinet counter peeling boiled eggs to put into the dressing, Finn washed a sink full of pots and pans. Across the room, Harry, who’d been walking for the past two weeks, was squealing with delight as he tried to keep up with a collie pup.
Mariah placed the last egg into an airtight container before she glanced over her shoulder at Harry. The toddler had managed to catch the collie, or the pup had simply tired of the game of tag. Presently, boy and dog were now cuddled together on a braided rug near the breakfast bar.
“You made our son one happy little boy when you brought that puppy home to him,” she told Finn. “Look, he’s stroking Samson’s head exactly how you showed him.”
“Naturally,” Finn said proudly. “He’s a smart little boy. And our next son will probably be brilliant, too.”
Smiling, Mariah’s hand slipped to the growing mound of her waistline. A month after she and Finn were married, she’d gotten pregnant. Now that she was five months along, Finn was already making plans to turn one of the larger bedrooms in the house into a nursery big enough to hold Harry and the new baby.
“You don’t know if this one is a boy,” she reminded her husband. “Remember, we didn’t want the doctor to tell us. It’s going to be a surprise.”
“I confess. I called him a few days ago without you knowing and asked him to spill the beans,” Finn teased. “The baby is going to be a boy.”
Mariah chuckled as she placed a stalk of celery on a chopping board. “You’re telling a whopper. And what are you going to say when the baby turns out to be a girl?”
He gave her a broad grin. “Yippee! That’s what I’ll say. And right now I say you’ve been on your feet for too long. You need to sit.”
“I have a few more things to do here first,” she protested. “And I feel fine.”
He stepped over and took her by the arm. “Don’t argue. You can finish things here in the kitchen after you rest a few minutes.”
With Harry and the puppy leading the way, they made their way to the living room, where Finn guided Mariah over to a big stuffed armchair. Once she’d sunk into the soft leather, he propped her feet on a matching footstool.
“There. Comfy now?” he asked.
She patted the wide armrest of the chair. “I’ll be even more comfy if you sit down here beside me.”
“Okay. For a minute. And then I’m going to go make you a cup of hot chocolate. You need the extra milk.”
She let out a good-natured groan. “Finn, you fuss over me more than you do your pregnant mares.”
Leaning over her, he slid his forefinger beneath her chin. “You’re number one to me. Didn’t I promise that you’d always be number one?”
Tilting her head back, she smiled dreamily up at him. “Yes. And you’ve kept your promise.”
She reached for his hand and drew it to her lips. The past six months of being Finn’s wife had changed her life in the most wonderful way. Harry was happy and healthy. Their new baby was coming soon and Finn was slowly and surely building Stallion Canyon into the ranch he’d always wanted. He’d made several profitable sales in the past couple of months, but he’d used most of that to purchase more of the wild horses in order to keep building the herd.
Seeing the ranch return to a thriving business had lifted Mariah’s spirits more than she could’ve ever guessed, and she thanked God every day that a buyer hadn’t come along before she and Finn had married. As for her teaching job, she was still enjoying being in the classroom on a daily basis. And with Linda more than glad to help her with Harry and the coming baby, she didn’t see any reason to give up a job that was an important part of her life.
She let out a contented sigh. “We haven’t had a big Thanksgiving dinner in this house for several years. It’s wonderful to be celebrating again. And I’m so excited about Dad and Rafe and his family coming tomorrow to spend a few days with us. I only wish Sassy and Jett could come with them.”
“With Sassy’s baby due any day now it wouldn’t be safe for her to travel. But she promises to come soon and bring the whole brood with her. I’ll have to erect bunk beds in the big bedroom to sleep them all,” he joked. “Or maybe I should forget the bunk beds and send them all out to the barn to sleep on the hay.”
They both laughed before Finn looked over to make sure Harry and Samson weren’t getting into trouble.
“Look at those two,” Finn said softly. “I think they’re going to be the best of buddies.”
Mariah glanced over to see Harry and the puppy curled up together, asleep on the rug in front of the fireplace. The precious sight put a smile in her heart. “I’ll get a blanket and cover them,” she said. “It’s warm there in front of the fire, but just in case there’s a draft on the floor.”
Before she could rise, Finn put a hand on her arm and rose to his feet. “I’ll do it. I’m going after the hot chocolate anyway.”
Minutes later he returned from the kitchen to find Mariah staring out the window at the frosty night.
“What are you thinking?” he asked softly as he knelt next to her chair and handed her the mug of hot chocolate.
A wistful smile touched the corners of her lips. “Actually, I was thinking of Aimee.”
“Oh. I hope you’re not about to get sad on me. Thanksgiving is supposed to be a joyful time. A time to appreciate all our blessings.”
“I’m not getting sad. I was remembering some of the nice times we had together as sisters growing up. Dad gave us a puppy once, too. She looked almost like Samson. We adored her.” She sipped the hot drink, then glanced gratefully at Finn. “Aimee was a troubled young woman. But I loved her in spite of everything.”
He gave her shoulder a loving squeeze. “I made a big mistake by getting involved with her. But on the other hand I can’t regret it. If not for Aimee, I wouldn’t have Harry. I would’ve never met you, my darling wife. And our new baby wouldn’t be on the way. Strange as it seems, we owe her for bringing us together.”
“That’s true,” Mariah said. “And tomorrow I think we should light a special candle for Aimee. She might just be able to see it. After all, it is a time for giving thanks.”
Finn leaned over and softly kissed her lips. “And I’m thankful every day that I have you and our son, my love.”
*
Keep reading for an excerpt from REDEMPTION BAY by RaeAnne Thayne.
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SPECIAL EXCERPT FROM
McKenzie Shaw works harder than anyone as the
mayor of her hometown, Haven Point. But all of her hard work might be for nothing when her long-ago crush, Ben Kilpatrick, shows up again, about to wreak havoc in Haven Point—and on McKenzie’s heart.
Read on for a sneak preview of
REDEMPTION BAY,
the latest book in New York Times bestselling author RaeAnne Thayne’s heartwarming series,
HAVEN POINT.
On sale now!
Redemption Bay
by RaeAnne Thayne
CHAPTER ONE
THIS WAS HER favorite kind of Haven Point evening. Mckenzie Shaw locked the front door of her shop, Point Made Flowers and Gifts. The day had been long and hectic, filled with customers and orders, which was wonderful, but also plenty of unavoidable mayoral business.
She was tired and wanted to stretch out on the terrace or her beloved swing, with her feet up and something cool at her elbow. The image beckoned but the sweetness of the view in front of her made her pause.
“Hold on,” she said to Paprika, her cinnamon standard poodle. The dog gave her a long-suffering look but settled next to the bench in front of the store.
McKenzie sat and reached a hand down to pet Rika’s curly hair. A few sailboats cut through the stunning blue waters of Lake Haven, silvery and bright in the fading light, with the rugged, snowcapped mountains as a backdrop.
She didn’t stop nearly often enough to soak in the beautiful view or enjoy the June evening air, tart and clean from the mighty fir and pines growing in abundance around the lake.
A tourist couple walked past holding hands and eating gelato cones from Carmela’s, their hair backlit into golden halos by the setting sun. From a short distance away, she could hear children laughing and shrieking as they played on the beach at the city park, and the alluring scent of grilling steak somewhere close by made her stomach grumble.
Daddy Wore Spurs (Mills & Boon Cherish) (Men of the West, Book 32) Page 18
