by Robin Perini
He protested, "It's evidence."
"I might have more," Blake said. "Just give me a minute."
Blake didn't have to reboot. The machine had gone to sleep. The pop-up warning came up. Blake typed in J-O-E-Y.
The hard drive whirred.
The file opened.
"Vince, you son of a gun!"
Amanda leaned over Blake's shoulder.
* * *
Blake. Buddy, if you're reading this, I've screwed up and died on you. Man, I'm sorry I couldn't tell you I was undercover. I know you thought I'd turned. I hate that.
I was under orders, and I thought I was protecting you by not telling you and getting you out of town. I'm more sorry than I could ever express that I couldn't save Joey or Kathy. The bastards killed your dad, too. The head honcho is losing it. I knew it wouldn't be long before they went after your mom. Watch out for her.
I'm begging you. Please protect Ethan and Amanda, too. The kingpin is Lieutenant Irving, but until recently, everything was circumstantial. Not anymore. He's making mistakes. I've zipped up bank statements and a money trail. I've also included a list of all the officers involved. It'll make you sick. I have an informant inside his organization: Marquez. Contact him if you can. He will help. Make sure he gets a break.
Tell Amanda and Ethan I loved them. And I always will.
Your best friend. Always.
Vince
* * *
Amanda lowered her head. Her eyes burned at the truth. She'd doubted Vince, and she hated herself for that.
Blake cleared his throat and clicked on one of the files. He scanned the men being worked on by the emergency crews while under guard. "Marquez?" he called out.
The man who'd held the gun to Blake's back lifted his head. "What's it to you?"
"Take the cuffs off Marquez," Blake said.
Shaun O'Connor hurried over. "What are you doing?"
"We found the evidence."
Blake shifted back and let him take a look at the list of names. His eyes darkened in anger. With a nod, he whispered to one of the men near him.
Suddenly, two cops were handcuffed and led away. "I can't believe some of these guys. I trusted them," O'Connor said.
Blake turned to Amanda. "You're safe now." He twirled his finger through her hair. "You were right all along. Vince was a hero."
Amanda looked up at the golden fire in his eyes. "Blake, I--"
He touched his finger to her lips. "Don't. We've been through a lot in the past few days," he said softly. "I know you said some things to me in the motel room. The feelings might not be real."
"But--"
He pulled her to him, and his body trembled against hers. "I want to earn those words, Amanda. Even if you don't feel them now, I want you to stay. I want to earn your love. I want what my folks had."
The underlying sadness in his voice broke her heart. She hugged him tight. "You don't have to earn anything, Blake. I love you. I was attracted to you from the day I met you. I wanted you from that first Christmas kiss." She cupped his face. "But you've shown me a lifetime of love over the last few days. You know what's important in life. But I need to know how you feel. You've never told me."
Blake swooped down and took her mouth with his, the intensity in his kiss screaming his feelings. He raised his head. "I love you, Amanda. With all my heart. I'll protect you and our family with every ounce of strength I have. I'll cherish you for as long as we live. If you'll let me."
A round of applause sounded around them. Rafe tipped his hat and walked out of the warehouse as if he were never there.
Amanda's cheeks heated. Blake pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. "Let's make a family, Amanda. You and me and Ethan."
"I can't say yes," she said softly.
He pulled away from her slack-jawed, and his face turned cautious. "What are you saying?"
"We have to ask Ethan."
Blake knelt down in front of her son. "What do you think, buddy?"
"Are you going to be my daddy?" he asked.
"If you'll let me, I want you to come live with me."
Ethan tilted his head, as if considering a huge problem. "Can I ride the tractor?"
"No!" Amanda said.
"You bet," Blake said at the same time.
"Blake--"
"With supervision."
"Can Leo be my dog?"
"Sure thing," Blake said. "I think he picked you already."
"Then it's okay." He looked up at them. "Can we go home? I want to play with Leo."
Amanda smiled and folded her fingers into Blake's. "I thought fairy tales were for little girls, but you changed my mind, Blake Redmond. I've found my happily ever after."
Epilogue
"Blake Redmond!"
Amanda stood on the porch and stared at Ethan as he waved at her from atop the tractor, Leo running at his side. That dog was never two feet from her son.
"We agreed not until he's ten!" Amanda glared at her husband.
Blake grinned at her, that familiar mischievous glint of gold in his eyes. "He's a boy. He needs to stretch his wings."
She waddled out to him, her hand on her swollen belly. "You are not making your wife or our child happy."
Blake stroked her belly, and the baby kicked against her side. She winced a bit at their active child and sent a worried glance toward Ethan. He shouldn't be driving that thing.
Her husband slipped around her and wrapped her in his arms, pressing in close. She rested against the hard planes of his body and sighed as his lips nipped her ear. "Parris is walking right beside him," he said quietly. "They're hardly moving."
She turned in his arms and glared at him, her belly poking at him. "You did that just to get a rise out of me."
He kissed her nose. "Maybe."
"Now, none of that. That's how you two got in this predicament." Nancy Redmond's voice filtered out from the screen door, a wide smile on her face, and a brand-new gold band shining on her left hand.
Amanda sighed as Blake hugged his mother, his eyes closed tight. She knew every time he saw her he flashed back to those few days he'd believed he'd lost her.
To try to avoid the Austin police, Nancy and Parris had ended up stranded in his fishing cabin for several days, with no cell service and no way to communicate. When they'd finally made contact, it was the first time Amanda had seen her husband cry. The second was when she'd told him she was pregnant.
They'd been through so much. Everyone had. The blows kept coming. It hadn't taken long to realize Donna, the department dispatcher, had been killed in Nancy's house. Irving's greed had destroyed too many lives. But life did go on. And now, almost a year later, life was very, very good. She'd found the best man and best father a woman could ask for--if a bit bossy at times. Still, she had complete confidence he would fight for her and cherish her and their children. And if she occasionally had to take him down a peg or two...she touched her abdomen. Makeup sessions could be more than wonderful.
Blake hugged Amanda to him. She nestled close and gazed at the blue and pink clouds billowing on the horizon. Sugar stood in his pen, calm and serene, as if he, too, knew the murderers had paid and that healing had taken root for his family.
Blake kissed her temple. "Are we still happily ever after?"
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "More than ever."
* * * * *
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Chapter One
The knock at the door surprised Zane Chisholm. He'd just spent the warm summer day in the saddle rounding up cattle. All he wanted to do was kick off his boots and hit the hay early. The last thing he wanted was company.
But whoever was knocking didn't sound as if they were planning to go away anytime soon. Living at the end of a dirt road, he didn't get uninvited company--other than one of his five brothers. So that narrows it down, he thought as he went to the window and peered out through the curtains.
The car parked outside was a compact, lime-green with Montana State University plates. Definitely not one of his brothers, he thought with a grin. Chisholm men wouldn't be caught dead driving such a "girlie" car. Especially a lime-green one.
Even more odd was the young, willowy blonde pounding on his door. She must be lost and needing directions. Or she was selling something.
His curiosity piqued, he went to answer her persistent knock. As the door swung open, he saw that her eyes were blue and set wide in a classically gorgeous face. She wore a slinky red dress that fell over her body like water. The woman was a stunner.
She smiled warmly. "Hi."
"Hi." He waited, wondering what she wanted, and enjoying the view in the meantime.
Her smile slipped a little as she took in his worn jeans, his even more worn cowboy boots and the dirty Western shirt with a torn sleeve and a missing button.
"I wasn't expecting company," he said when he saw her apparent disappointment in his attire.
"Oh?" She looked confused now. "Did I get the night wrong? You're Zane Chisholm and this is Friday, right?"
"Right." He frowned. "Did we have a date or something?" He knew he'd never seen this woman before. No red-blooded American male would forget a woman like this.
She reached into her sparkly shoulder bag and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "Your last email," she said, handing it to him.
He took the paper, unfolded it and saw his email address. It appeared he had been corresponding with this woman for the past two days.
"If you forgot--"
"No," he said quickly. "Please, come in and let's see if we can sort this out."
She stepped in but looked tentative, as if not so sure about him.
"Why don't you start with how we met," he said as he offered her a seat.
She sat on the edge of the couch. "The Evans rural internet dating service."
"Arlene's matchmaking business?" he asked in surprise. Arlene Evans, who was now Arlene Monroe, had started the business a few years ago to bring rural couples together.
"We've been visiting by email until you..."
"Asked you out," he finished for her.
"Are you saying someone else has been using your email?"
"It sure looks that way, since I never signed up with Arlene's matchmaking service. But," he added quickly when he saw how upset she was, "I wouldn't be surprised if Arlene is behind this. It wouldn't be the first time she took it upon herself to play matchmaker." Either that or his brothers were behind it as a joke, though that seemed unlikely. This beautiful woman was no joke.
She looked down at her hands in her lap. "I'm so embarrassed." She quickly rose to her feet. "I should go."
"No, wait," he said, unable to shake the feeling that maybe this had been fate and that he would be making the biggest mistake of his life if he let this woman walk out now.
"You know, it wouldn't take me long to jump in the shower and change if you're still up for a date," he said with a grin.
She hesitated. "Really? I mean, you don't have to--"
"I want to. But you have the advantage over me. I don't know your name."
She smiled shyly. "Courtney Baxter." She held out her hand. As he shook it, Zane thought, This night could change my life.
He had no idea how true that was going to be.
ISBN: 9781459233805
Copyright (c) 2012 by Robin L. Perini
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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