She closed her eyes, gently stroking the soft leather. Opening her eyes, her gaze met his. “You should be very happy with how the night turns out,” she said with an excited grin. Then she plucked the ten-dollar bill from Dalton’s hand and raced off.
Dalton glanced at Hank, then looked at his brother. “Ten says he wins it.”
“Oh, come on, that’s not fair,” Wyatt said. He paused. “Then again, it could just mean he’s going to get lucky.” Wyatt looked at Rein. “You in on this?”
Hank sighed. “Again. Right here,” he reminded them.
“I’ll put in twenty that he wins.” Michael leafed through his wallet.
Soon every male within twenty yards of where they stood was placing bets on whether he’d survive the ride or not. It was a humbling experience. Then he had a wonderful idea. “Okay, guys, if I survive and win this, all the money collected goes to the Montana Smokejumpers Training Camp for new equipment. Deal?” he asked.
“And if you don’t survive,” Wyatt said with a smile, “we can use it to pay for your funeral expenses.”
Hank slapped the broad chest of the man who’d become like a big brother to him over the years—the bossy big brother. “Prepare to pay up, big guy,” he said with a grin.
Hank walked up to the gate with a confident swagger. Eight seconds on the back of a horse. How hard could that be?
***
“That was the longest damn eight seconds of my life.” Hank winced as Julie continued to wrap the bandage around his bruised ribs. “On or off a horse.”
Julie had divided her week between attending a bridal shower, confirming menu plans and flowers, and attending an impromptu bachelorette party at Dusty’s, all while helping Hank recover from his stint on a horse called Devil’s Thunder.
“You’re lucky to have walked away with a few bruises,” she said, smoothing the bandage over his muscled torso. “That horse had a mean temper.” She looked up at him, her palms resting on his muscular chest. “I don’t know which is worse—seeing you tossed around like a rag doll or thinking of you fighting a wildfire.” She tucked the edge of the bandage in and secured it with a clip.
He kissed her forehead and pulled her close, resting his chin on the top of her head. “A few bruises are worth it. Pete is very grateful for the money. It’s going to help them update the equipment at the camp.”
Julie looked up at him. “Are you going to be able to walk without your cane?” He’d managed to hurt his hip when the horse finally bucked him off eight-point-seven-five seconds after the buzzer sounded.
Hank gave her a lopsided grin. “Easier than landing a plane in a lake.” He searched her eyes. “But I have to tell you, I’d much rather close the blinds and spend the day in bed with you.”
“I’m sure that the people we invited to the ceremony and the reception would understand,” she said.
Aimee had offered to house Hank, and Clay had offered to take the boys, but today—this time—she wanted her family together. She’d risen, showered, and as they all sat down to the large breakfast she’d prepared, they’d held hands and asked a blessing on the day together.
Prayer had never before been a large part of Julie’s life, but after all they’d been through, it had taught her to be more aware, to be thankful of her many blessings—even the obscure daily things. She was grateful for finding Hank, a man so giving and loving to her and to her boys. If she had one fear, it was that she didn’t know how Louis would handle the news of her remarrying. She’d decided not to tell him until it was absolutely necessary.
“Fair enough. Honey, did you see where I put that bolero tie?” Hank asked, rifling through the top dresser drawer. “Clay gave it to me and I want to wear it.”
Clay was Hank’s best man. Chris and Kyle would serve as ushers for the handful of guests, which included Pete, Rosita, and the guys on his team. The ceremony would be held under the gazebo in the backyard of the Kinnison main house. After ushering, the boys would then walk their mom down the aisle.
Most everyone in End of the Line had been invited to the reception. After breakfast, she and Hank had snuck up to the barn to take a peek inside. Vintage lighted chandeliers hung from the rafters above. Twinkle lights and grapevine curled around the posts. Giant, bright yellow sunflowers and bronze and purple mums dotted the tables and flat surfaces. Hay bales with quilts covering them were used as seating off the swept-clear dance floor. Julie couldn’t contain her emotions at all of the love that had been poured out to them by the people she’d come to know as family here in End of the Line.
It was perfect.
Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket, pulling her from her reverie. Seeing it was a California number but not one she recognized, she frowned. “Hello?” she answered cautiously, wishing she’d just let the call go.
“Hello, sweetheart. I was just wondering when you were going to bring the boys out to see their father.”
Her blood grew cold at the pompous tone in his voice. “I can’t discuss this right now. I need to talk with my lawyer and see what works best.”
“Clearly,” he said. “Oh, and I understand congratulations are in order?”
Her heart stilled. How could he have known? “I owe you no explanation,” she said.
“Oh, of course not, sweetheart. I really do understand, given that we didn’t part amiably. But it doesn’t mean I carry any ill-will toward you whatsoever…or the man, what’s his name, Hank? That guy you’re marrying.”
She met Hank’s gaze. He walked over and gently took the phone from her. It was only then that she realized she was shaking.
“Listen you ass wipe,” Hank said. “Don’t call this number again. Our lawyer will be in touch with you about the boys visiting you out there.”
“Oh, your lawyer apparently hasn’t given you my bit of good news. I’ve been released early for good behavior. Though I haven’t quite decided where I’ll be living yet, since the firm had to let me go. But I’ll be sure to let your lawyer know. You’re a lucky man, Hank. Have a nice day.”
Hank tossed the phone on the bed and drew Julie into his embrace.
“How could he have known?” She pressed close, wanting the shaking to stop.
“We’ll change your number, first thing. I don’t know, maybe one of the boys mentioned it when you called him about Chris.” He stroked the nape of her neck where she’d twisted her hair into a soft chignon for the wedding. He held her at arm’s length. “We’re not going to let this ruin our day, Jules. He’s a million miles away.” He tipped up her chin to look at him. “And you know what would happen if he ever dared to show up here, right?”
Julie nodded. “I’ll try. It’s just that I hate having to take the boys to see him.”
Hank held her gaze. “Only until they are fourteen. Then it’ll be their decision. It was the only way we could get him to sign the divorce papers.”
“I know,” she said, pulling him close. “It’s a chapter of my life I wish I could forget.”
“It doesn’t matter. You have primary custody of Chris and Kyle. And you have me.” He looked at her. “Honey, there are a lot of things in my life I’d like to forget, but it’s like our wedding song says, God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you.”
Julie smiled, tears trickling down her cheeks. She searched his eyes and saw her future. “Hank Richardson, you are my hero, my best friend, my love. I never dreamed I’d find a man like you, but it was definitely worth the wait.”
Dear Reader
I hope you enjoyed following Hank’s and Julie’s journey to their happily ever after. (Hopefully, Louis won’t give them any more trouble, but I’m not betting on that!) Theirs is a second-chance story to be sure, but it’s more than that. It’s also about not being afraid to believe you deserve a second chance. And it’s about taking a step of faith, that things are going to be better than your previous broken experiences. I’m sure there will be new “potholes” on their journey, but with family, faith, and friends, they will
face them together. As Betty often says, “Folks who are searching for a new beginning quite often come to End of the Line.”
A sneak peek at more books to come in the End of the Line series!
THEN~
Hurricane Season (End of the Line novella)
Dr. Gavin Beauregard lost the only love he’d ever known to Katrina. Now, more than a decade later, he’s drawn by his past to Evermore plantation and the blistering desire of an ancient legend freed by the melding of a perfect storm.
Caroline Richardson plans to spend a girl’s weekend with a friend, but fate, fueled by a passionate legend has other plans as she and a handsome stranger get caught in a whirlwind of desire!
NOW~
Just What the Doctor Ordered (End of the Line novel)
Dr. Gavin Beauregard thought when he dove back into his work and dealing with his twin girl’s lives that he’d forget about the mysterious woman he’d met on holiday, forget the steamy New Orleans affair and the night that rocked his world. But the more he tried to push the woman from his mind, the more relentless his desire became to find her, and the more driven his hope that she’d felt the connection between them as he had.
Caroline Richardson keeps her nose in her work. With barely time to date, she surrenders to the plea of a friend to join her for a girl’s weekend in New Orleans. Fate steps in and she finds herself embroiled in a torrid one-night stand with a smart, handsome stranger that throws her iron-clad plans into a tailspin. Though they agreed not to exchange names, forgetting it happened isn’t working. And what Caroline wants, Caroline gets.
***
Excerpt from Just What the Doctor Ordered
It had been an exquisitely small-town affair. Gavin scanned the lavishly decorated barn. The Kinnisons’ Last Hope Ranch was spectacular, to be sure. One of the finest equine rescue operations in the state, but how they’d managed to turn the old barn into a wedding from the pages of Town and Country was beyond him. He’d seen many a reception in his day. Down home in New Orleans, he’d experienced the best of luxurious southern hospitality through the ties his father had as head surgeon and the social connections of his philanthropic mother. This, however gave new meaning to down-home hospitality. It wasn’t that he was a snob. Not by any means. He’d traded out a cushy offer as head pediatric surgeon under his father’s watchful eyes back home for a remote cabin outside of Billings, Montana. Finally, he was able to breathe from the stifling pressure of his father’s constant scrutiny. He was on his own, building a clientele and enjoying the solitude—mostly. Though he was having a hard time dismissing the memories of a recent trip back home where he’d met a beautiful woman at a fundraising event for the National Pediatric Foundation.
His body tensed at the memories. What was to have been a tropical storm turned ominous and took out the power at the old plantation. Hunkered down, the entire reception of about fifty people, including the plantation owners and staff, waited out the storm in true Louisiana fashion—the champagne flowed and the food was plentiful. God, she was beautiful.
Gavin swirled the ice in his bourbon, swallowing hard against the image of her dark eyes, and sultry charm. Traditionally, he was not prone to one-night stands. But between the wine, the storm, and the seductive ambience of the old plantation home, he found himself in the arms of a stranger, doing things that even now caused his blood to heat.
He’d chosen a table in the corner shadows, observing the crowded dance floor, lost on his thoughts
“Hey, glad you could make it.” Clay Saunders raised his beer bottle to Gavin as he walked over and pulled up a chair to sit next to him.
“Wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” Gavin said. “Looks like pretty much everyone in town is here.”
Clay chuckled. “If there is one thing End of the Line folk know, it’s how to throw a great party.”
“Hey, I haven’t had a chance to ask. How’s Aubrey doing?”
Clay grinned, his face expressing the immense pride and joy in his twin girls and their beautiful mother, who was currently out with both on the dance floor. “Starting to climb on everything. She and Ava are starting to get around. But Aubrey, she’s my holy terror—a climber, that one. Ava is noisy—we almost always know where she is and what she’s doing. Aubrey, on the other hand…she’s fast and quiet. Who’d have thought given the rough start she had at birth that she’d have no fear?” Clay smiled in his thoughts. “The little dickens found a way to push open the screen from their second-story room and toss their toys to the ground. Sally had me install wrought-iron kick plates to the lower half of the windows so the little turd couldn’t crawl out.”
Gavin laughed out loud at the image. It never got boring, hearing what kids managed to achieve. It’d been one of the reasons he’d chosen the pediatric field. His gaze caught the bride and groom welcoming their guests to the reception. They were radiant. “Your sister looks lovely, by the way,” he told Clay. “Sorry, I wasn’t able to get to the ceremony. Had to run into work for a bit.”
“That’s okay, man. Glad you’re here. Hope you can relax and enjoy tonight.”
Gavin glanced again at the happy couple. Julie’s new husband had spared no expense in the countrified party—from the chandeliers hanging from the rafter beams to the silk bows tied on every chair.
Gavin hand stopped midway to his mouth as a woman entered, pulling in both bride and groom in a warm embrace.
“Dr. Beauregard,” came Clay’s voice from inside the hurricane wind swirling in his brain. “You okay, man?”
Gavin blinked, forcing the tongue from the roof of his mouth. What were the odds it could be the same woman he’d…well, let’s just say they hadn’t bothered with names—it’d been her choice, not his. “That woman who just came in. Do you know her?”
Clay glanced over his shoulder. “Sure, that’s Hank’s sister. She lives in Chicago. City girl through and through.”
Gavin couldn’t pull his gaze away, observing her animated conversation with the bride, the way her soft pink dress followed her every curve. Tonight, she had her hair swept up, tendrils teasing her neck. He remembered the soft, scent of her skin, the spicy, floral perfume she wore.
She paused then, and as though in slow motion turned her head and met his gaze across the room.
It was hurricane season all over again.
Here is where it all began…
The Kinnison Legacy Trilogy
When tragedy strikes the lives of three young boys, they are placed under the care of wealthy cattle baron, Jed Kinnison. He raises the three as his own, leaving everything to them, including a special dream he had for the ranch.
Rugged Hearts
Rustler’s Heart
Renegade Hearts
All I Want for Christmas
Last Hope Ranch (series)
A string of cabins built next to the ranch built by Rein, Dalton, and Wyatt to fulfill Jed Kinnison's dream. Renamed Last Hope Ranch in Jed's memory, it is a sanctuary set in the beautiful ranch country of End of the Line, Montana to those in need of healing, and second chances.
No Strings Attached
Worth the Wait
End of the Line (small town series)
Heartfelt stories of the secondary characters, some familiar, others new visitors to End of the Line. As always served up with hefty slice of small-town drama, romance, and more in the once historic mining town. As Betty says,” Folks who are looking for a new beginning find themselves at End of the Line.”
Lost and Found
Georgia On My Mind
Hurricane Season
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Published internationally in print, eBook, and Audio, bestselling author Amanda McIntyre finds inspiration from the American Heartland that she calls home. Best known for her Kinnison Legacy cowboys and Last Hope Ranch series, her passion is writing emotional, character-driven contemporary western and historical romance. Amanda truly believes that no matter what, love will always find a way.
Connect
with me here:
Website: http://www.amandamcintyresbooks.com
Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/AmandasAuthorPage
Book Bub: http://bit.ly/AmandasBookbubPage
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/AmandasGoodreadspage
Books by Amanda McIntyre:
CONTEMPORARY WESTERN ROMANCE:
KINNISON LEGACY:
Rugged Hearts, Book I Wyatt & Aimee
Rustler’s Heart, Book II Rein & Liberty
Renegade Hearts, Book III Dalton & Angelique
All I Want for Christmas (Kinnison holiday novella)
LAST HOPE RANCH:
No Strings Attached, Book I
Worth the Wait, Book II
END OF THE LINE, MONTANA:
Lost and Found
Georgia on My Mind
Hurricane Season
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE:
Thunderstruck
Stranger in Paradise
Tides of Autumn
Unfinished Dreams
Wish You Were Here
HISTORICAL:
A Warrior’s Heart
The Promise
Closer to You (formerly Wild & Unruly)
Christmas Angel (formerly Fallen Angel)
TirNan ‘Oge
The Dark Seduction of Miss Jane
HARLEQUIN SPICE/HISTORICAL:
The Master & the Muses *(audio/international)
The Diary of Cozette *(audio/international)
Tortured *(audio/international)
The Pleasure Garden *(audio/international)
Winter’s Desire *(audio/international)
Dark Pleasures *(audio/international)
~*~
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