She turned serious. “Okay, I used the horses as an excuse to see you.”
His chest tightened, as did his gut. “Hell, Mal, you don’t need an excuse…ever.”
“Are you sure? I didn’t think I’d be exactly welcome.”
He’d had enough. “Dammit, woman. Just tell me why you’ve come here.” He blew out a breath. “And don’t say it was because of the horses.”
She swallowed. “I came to ask you something.”
“Okay…” He folded his arms across his chest to keep from reaching for her. “What is it?”
She went to the truck and came back with the black velvet box. “When did you buy me this ring?”
“Where did you get that?”
“Ryan said you gave it to him for safekeeping.”
He closed his eyes momentarily. It seemed like another lifetime ago, the plans he’d made with his son. “What does it matter now? You told me there’s no future for us.”
“Please, Chase, tell me.”
“It was the first weekend I had free during my ranger training.”
“Nine years ago.” Her eyes widened. “You were going to ask me to marry you then?”
He nodded. “But I was too late. I came by the ranch and learned you’d gotten married a few weeks before.”
“You came back for me,” she whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shrugged. “Would it have made a difference?”
“Yes. You said you had no room in your life for anything except being a ranger. I thought I’d always be second in your life.”
“Never.” He reached for her and she didn’t resist. “I realized I was wrong. I came back because I didn’t want to live without you. When I learned about your marrying another guy, I tried to hate you. If you loved me…you would have waited.”
“And if you loved me you would have taken me with you,” she countered.
“I did love you, Mallory. That’s why I walked away in the first place. You were so young. Then I found I couldn’t concentrate, I wanted you with me…always.”
Mallory knew she owed it to him to take the next step. “I loved you, too, Chase. Then and now. Forever.” Her gaze met his. “Could you forgive me, and love me again?”
He blinked. “Oh, Mallory, you have no idea.” His arms wrapped around her, and drew her closer.
“Tell me…” she whispered. “I need the words, Chase.”
“I’ve always loved you, Mallory. For nine years, I’ve never stopped, and I don’t plan to anytime soon.” He kissed her, slowly, softly at first, but then it grew intense.
He finally released her. “Let me have the box.”
She handed it to him and watched as he took out the ring. Then to her amazement, he went down on one knee. “This isn’t exactly how I’d planned this, but I finally got you agreeable, and I’m not letting the chance slip by. I love you, Mallory Kendrick. I have since the day you went speeding by me. I want us to spend the rest of our lives together, raising our son, and having more babies. Will you marry me?”
Mallory was shaking as she managed to nod. “Yes, oh, yes, Chase, I’ll marry you.”
He slipped on the ring and kissed her hand. Standing, he pulled her into his arms and swung her around.
He finally set her down. “Dammit, woman. You made me work for this one.” He grinned. “But you’re worth it.”
“I’m sorry—”
“No, no more saying that. We both have made mistakes. We’ll probably make a lot more over the next fifty or sixty years, but just know I love you, Mal.” He kissed her again. “Come on, let’s go into the house so I can show you how much.”
Mallory resisted being pulled away. “I’m not sure Beau and Scarlet would be too happy about that.”
He frowned. “Oh, man. The horses.” He immediately went to the trailer and lowered the gate.
Mallory waited for his reaction to the roan stallion and brood mare. “What do you think of my wedding present to you?”
Chase already had the stallion out of the trailer, then the mare. He stood back and looked them over. “They’re beauties. Where did you find them?”
“I happen to have connections. And I thought this guy would sire some beautiful foals.”
He grinned. “So we’re going into the horse breeding business.”
Together, they led the horses toward the corral. “That’s one of the things I’d like to do.” She led Scarlet inside. Unfastening the lead rope, she let the mare run off. Chase did the same with the stallion. “I was hoping we’d start with our own family…and a baby,” she said.
Mallory knew she’d taken a lot away from Chase when she’d never told him about Ryan. She’d lost a lot, too. It had cost them both. No more. This was their time.
“Are you sure you want a baby right now?” he asked, looking hopeful. “We haven’t even decided where we’re going to live.”
She smiled. “I thought we’d live right here. You can continue your work as a Ranger. And I can handle my business anywhere I have a computer. Liz is close enough and can visit us, and so is Dad.” She stopped. “Unless you have something else in mind…I just thought since you proposed to me…you wanted—”
He leaned down and kissed her again. “I want you and Ryan any way I can get you. Here, in Levelland…or Timbuktu. And, yes, I want you to be pregnant with my child…again.”
She felt a thrill rush through her. “I feel the same way.” She leaned into him. “We have a second chance….” She thought about how she’d almost lost him again.
He reached for her. “Come up to the house with me. We’ll discuss our future…and how large our family is going to get.”
“So are you going to use your power of persuasion on me?”
He grinned at her. “As a Texas Ranger, I am trained as an expert negotiator. And I feel it’s my honored duty to work toward the best results for everyone.”
She reached up and kissed him. “Just so you know that you’re my Texas Ranger.”
EPILOGUE
CHASE STOOD by his uncle’s grave. Lieutenant Wade Landon, Texas Ranger. He served Texas and his family with loyalty and honor.
Months had passed since they’d caught and arrested Sancho Vasquez. Although the man refused to confess to murdering Wade, there were other witnesses eager to make a deal with the D.A. for a lighter prison sentence.
It didn’t matter to Chase. He knew the man had killed his uncle, and with the drug and attempted murder charges against him, Vasquez wouldn’t see the light of day ever again.
Chase rubbed his fingers over the silver star badge in his hand. The name Wade Landon was engraved across the front. It was over. He could close this part of his life.
“He was proud of you, Chase.”
Chase turned and saw Mallory, his bride of three months. They’d had a small wedding at the Lazy K Ranch with friends and family.
“I hope so. I sure was proud of him.”
“I’m proud of you, too,” she said as she slipped her arm around his waist. “You’re a special man, Chase Landon. Father, husband…lover.”
Mallory couldn’t be happier if she tried. She touched her slightly rounded stomach. She was ten weeks pregnant.
“How are you feeling?” he asked. “Shouldn’t you be sitting down?”
“No. I should be doing everything that I’m doing.” She wouldn’t take any chances with their baby, but she wasn’t going to go to bed for the duration of her pregnancy, either.
“I think you should slow down a little.”
“I have a business, Chase. I’m not overdoing it. And when the time comes, I’ll stop.” She smiled. “Gladly. There is nothing more important than my family.” She glanced at her watch. “I think we’d better get home. Ryan is anxiously waiting for us.”
They climbed in the truck and drove back to the ranch they’d renamed the Landon Ranch, Mallory K Landon Horse Broker.
They drove through the new gate and saw the freshly painted house. Flowers bordered the rebuil
t porch and the trimmed lawn was lush and green.
After painting the inside rooms, Mallory had brought over a lot of furniture, filling the house with warmth and hominess.
Friends and family were coming from all around for today’s festivities, Ryan’s ninth birthday. The first Chase got to share with his son. And it was going to be the best…for everyone.
Chase reached over and took Mallory’s hand. “I love you.” He squeezed it. “Even more for giving me this second baby.”
“I love you, too. And I was thinking about names for the baby. If it’s a boy how about the name Wade? And if it’s a girl we could name her after your mother and mine, Sarah Pilar.”
His throat worked to swallow. “I like that idea.”
He pulled up at the house and Ryan came running outside. “Mom, Dad, where have you been? Did you get the cake and ice cream?”
“Son, chill,” Chase said as he tugged the boy’s hat down. “What do you think this is, your birthday?”
They carried the party items into the kitchen where Liz, Rosalie and Buck were busy organizing things.
Chase wanted just a few minutes with Ryan before things got crazy with the party. He took his son and walked him into the living room that had become the family meeting room. It was painted an olive-green. A brown area rug took away the echo and drapes added privacy.
“What do you want, Dad?”
He still got a thrill wherever Ryan called him that. “This is a special day for you…and for me, too.”
“I know. It’s my first birthday with you.”
Chase nodded. “It’s also an ending to something in my life. Your mother and I went to collect the things Vasquez had of my uncle’s.” He took the ranger badge out of his pocket. “This was his star he wore as a ranger.” He handed it to his son.
The boy examined it with interest. “Wow.”
“I want you to have it, Ryan. I want you to have something of the man I loved and respected.”
“Really?” the boy asked.
Chase nodded. “He was part of your family, too. You should be proud of him, he was a great ranger.”
Ryan looked at him with those dark eyes. “Thanks, Dad.” He hugged him, then walked away, but stopped in the doorway. “You’re a great ranger, too. And I’m proud you’re my dad.”
Chase felt his chest tighten. “Thanks, son. I’m proud of you, too.” He released a long breath. “Now, let’s get this party started.”
Ryan grinned and ran off. Chase was following as he spotted Mallory standing in the dining room.
“A little father-son talk?”
“I just had a gift for him.”
“Another one? The new saddle isn’t enough?”
“It was Wade’s badge.”
She smiled. “Later, we might want to confiscate it for a few years to keep it safe.”
He nodded and pulled her close to his side. His emotions were so raw. “Oh, God, it’s so good to have you with me.”
She hugged him back. “I love it, too.” She looked at him. “One of the good things about us finding each other—even though it took a bad situation to get us back together—is we know what we’ve lost. And we appreciate what we’ve found again.”
“All I know is that I never want to lose you or Ryan again,” he told her. “You both mean too much to me.”
“Don’t worry, we’re here for keeps.”
Chase kissed her. Today, he wasn’t thinking about how many years he’d longed for this. There was no room in their lives for regrets any more, there was only a future of promise and love.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2183-7
TEXAS RANGER TAKES A BRIDE
First North American Publication 2008.
Copyright © 2008 by Patricia Wright.
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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.
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