Mountain Country Cowboy Page 19

  “Smitten.” She kept a playful gaze on Cash as she closed the distance between them. “Head over heels. Overcome by romantic feelings. Crazy in love.”

  At which point she stopped directly in front of him and tipped her face up for a kiss—that he obediently delivered.

  Joey made a face. “Oh. Mushy stuff.”

  Still thoroughly amazed that Rio wanted him to be a part of her life, Cash slipped his arm around her waist. “Yeah, mushy stuff, buddy. Better get used to it.”

  Joey waved them away with his free hand. “I’m outta here.”

  No doubt back to the food tables.

  Cash chuckled. “Twitterpated. I guess that’s what we are, huh?”

  “There’s no guess about it,” Delaney stated. “And people thought Luke and I had it bad.”

  Rio poked her older brother in the arm. “I can remember when this guy first took notice of you, Delaney. Grady and I teased him mercilessly.”

  Luke grinned. “You did. Relentless.”

  “He was such a chicken. Didn’t want to admit to anyone that a cute little artist who was in town for the summer might be more than a passing fancy.”

  “Good reminder, Rio.” Delaney peeped around her husband to call out Cash. “You and Rio weren’t the only ones who almost blew it. And come to think of it, Grady and Sunshine were a near miss, too. What is it with you Hunters, anyway?”

  “Twitterpated,” Rio and Cash said together. Then laughed.

  The new Hunter infant chose that moment to let out a squall. Delaney looked anxiously at their son, then up at Luke. “Diaper time again?”

  “I imagine so.”

  “Then here you go.” She passed the tiny bundle off to her husband before confiding in Rio and Cash. “This is my first. His fourth. So isn’t it customary to let those with the most experience do the honors?”

  Both nodded agreement, then laughed as the other couple and their now-wailing son moved away to take care of business.

  “Cute kid,” Cash remarked.

  “But ours will be cuter.”

  “You think so?” He raised a brow. “The first one? Or the second, too?”

  “All five.”

  “Five?” He almost choked. This was the first he was hearing of this.

  “Yep, five. Like me and my siblings. Which makes it even more important that I obtain my undergraduate degree ASAP and get myself established in a counseling career. Maybe get my master’s going. Then we can get started.”

  He chuckled, then nudged her. “But if that’s a priority, you might also want to work getting married somewhere into your overbooked schedule.”

  “That, too.” Even in the dim light he perceived a blush that accompanied a suddenly shy smile.

  He pulled her into his arms. “So, what are you thinking? Next weekend?”

  She drew back, her oh-so-kissable mouth open in surprise. “You’re kidding, right?”

  He shrugged. “I’m good with it.”

  “Nope. No way. I was actually thinking—”

  Please, Lord, don’t let her make us wait until she finishes school a year and a half or two years down the road.

  It was going to be rough enough this first semester. He’d be burning up the cell phone minutes for sure. Probably tire tread, too.

  But if that’s what she wanted...

  “How about...” From the dancing lights in her eyes, he knew she was enjoying keeping him in suspense. “Christmas Eve?”

  His heart soared. While that was a long way off, it sure beat out a year or two. But what if—? He squinted one eye. “You mean, this Christmas, right?”

  “No. I mean Christmas when you’re forty years old.” She gave him a playful rap on the arm. “Of course I mean this Christmas. No way while I’m at school and coming home as many weekends as I can am I going to let you run loose, free and single, for some other woman to get her hands on.”

  He tugged her closer. “There’s no danger of that. I only have eyes for you, Princess.”

  Her expression softened. “And I for you, cowboy.”

  “I want this marriage to work, Rio. But I know good marriages like your folks have don’t come by accident. We’ve got to put God first in our lives, even over each other. We need to accept and appreciate each other for who God made us to be.”

  “Extending forgiveness when needed and looking for ways to bless each other every day.”

  “I love you, Rio.”

  “And I love you.”

  He cut a covert glance around the patio, teeming with guests, but nobody seemed to be paying them any attention at the moment. Tightening his grip on her waist, he gazed down into the eyes of the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. “Looks like the coast is clear. Wanna seal those declarations with a kiss?”

  Eyes filled with tenderness, the corners of her lips curved upward. “I insist on it.”

  She slipped her arms around his neck. And with a grin he dipped her dramatically and settled his mouth on hers—to the resounding hoots, cheers and applause of family and friends who loved them.

  * * * * *

  Don’t miss these other

  HEARTS OF HUNTER RIDGE stories

  from Glynna Kaye:

  REKINDLING THE WIDOWER’S HEART

  CLAIMING THE SINGLE MOM’S HEART

  THE PASTOR’S CHRISTMAS COURTSHIP

  THE NANNY BARGAIN

  Find more great reads at www.LoveInspired.com

  Keep reading for an excerpt from MENDING THE WIDOW’S HEART by Mia Ross.

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  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for joining me in Arizona mountain country as Cash and Rio journey on a rocky road to a happily ever after!

  Cash had struggled through the betrayal of someone he’d loved. Rio, likewise, learned things about herself and the one she’d given her heart to that left her empty. Both are wounded souls. People who, because of past experiences, question their self-worth and are suspicious of the motives of others. They are people who doubt they deserve love and who desperately need to recognize that the love God offers is not “deserved,” not “bargained for,” but a free gift because He loves them unconditionally. Don’t we all need the kind of love only God can give us through his son Jesus Christ?

  If, like Rio, you are in a destructive relationship—or know someone who is—seek help or encourage them to seek it. While I don’t have the background, training or connections to personally help you, there are those who do. Churches, campus counselors, law enforcement, community and faith-based shelters. And never forget God loves you!

  You can contact me at Love Inspired Books, 195 Broadway, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10007. Or via email at glynna@glynnakaye.com. Please stop by loveinspiredauthors.com and Seekerville.blogspot.com—designated as one of Writer’s Digest magazine’s 101 Best Websites for Writers. We love readers, too!

  Glynna Kaye

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  Mending The Widow’s Heart

  by Mia Ross

  Chapter One

  Holly Andrews was lost.

  In the relatively tame wilds of New Hampshire, no less, and with a perfectly functioning navigation system. How it had happened, she had no clue, but as she swept a glance through the drizzly, empty landscape surrounding her, she couldn’t come to any other conclusion.

  It was early June, and the trip from Boston north to Portsmouth had been easy enough. From there, the drive had gone so well, on wide highways bordered by enormous trees and mile after mile of wildflowers. For the past hour, though, she’d been hugging her side of a narrow two-lane road that could barely be classified as paved. So far, she’d narrowly avoided four humongous tractors, three runaway cows and a flock of white geese that had taken their sweet time crossing to a pond on the other side.

  “Mom?”

  Forcing sweetness into her voice to cover her irritation, she smiled into the rearview mirror at her eight-year-old son. “Yes, Chase?”

  “Are we lost?”

  “Of course not,” she insisted in the most upbeat voice she could manage. As a former military wife, she’d had plenty of practice with that. Tapping the navigation screen, she added, “The computer knows right where we are.”

  “But do you?”

  Sometimes she thought he was way too smart for his own good. Like his father, she added sadly. It had been two years since she’d buried him in a hero’s grave to honor his devotion to the country he’d loved. But every once in a while, when she least expected it, the darkness that had dominated the end of Brady’s life still reached out and ambushed her.

  Calling up every ounce of determination she had, she pushed the grimness aside and focused on getting them to her aunt’s new home in the quaintly named village of Liberty Creek. After fighting the past for so long, Holly believed it would be refreshing to put that behind her and look to the future. With their savings nearly gone, her part-time retail work wouldn’t be enough to support them, and she recognized that a new career for her was an absolute must. The trouble was that while she’d been caring full-time for her family, she’d sunk to the bottom of her own priority list. Somewhere along the line she’d lost sight of the things she’d once enjoyed so much.

  Time away from Boston was exactly what she needed to help her focus on what should come next. If she couldn’t figure out a way to be content there, she’d have no choice but to uproot them and start over somewhere else. She hated to take Chase from the only home he’d known, but she knew it would be better to move him soon so he could make new friends more easily than he would in high school.

  But right now, she needed to find this seemingly invisible town. She was just about to pull over and put out an SOS when she noticed a crisp white sign up ahead.

  Welcome to Liberty Creek.

  She followed the gentle curve, craning her neck to make sure no surprises popped up out of the mist. At least now she could be sure she was in the right place. Her thought was promptly confirmed by the system chirping, “You have reached your destination.”

  “Yeah, thanks for nothing,” Holly muttered, reaching over to mute the annoying computer voice. Now that the car was silent, she could make out the smack of large raindrops as they began pelting the windshield. When she switched on the wipers she’d forgotten to replace before leaving, they left unhelpful streaks across the bug-spattered glass. Perfect. For Chase’s sake, she summoned a chipper tone. “Almost there.”

  “Good job, Mom. I knew you could do it.”

  Her ray of sunshine, she mused with a smile. Ever since the moment when the delivery room nurse settled him in Holly’s arms, Chase had been the single bright spot in more of her days than she cared to recall. She honestly had no idea where she’d be without him.

  “I forgot to mention that I got an email from your teacher this morning. You aced the assessment they had you take to let you leave school a couple weeks early.”

  “That’s cool,” he said in a matter-of-fact tone that told her he’d expected the result. “The tests were easy, and Mrs. Graves said I finished in record time.”

  “So we should be looking at colleges, then?” Though she was teasing, she was immensely proud of Chase’s accomplishments, both in and out of the classroom. Considering all they’d been through as a family, it was a blessing to know that her boy had managed to keep his head on straight.

  “Maybe next year. I’m hoping to get Miss Farmer for third grade.”

  His comment gave her a twinge of guilt for her earlier thoughts about moving, but she shoved the negative emotion aside. “Why is that?”

  “She likes the Red Sox,” he said, as if it should have been obvious.

  But Holly knew him better than that, and she couldn’t help smiling. “What else?”

  “Well...” He stalled, then laughed. “She’s pretty, and she adopted a dog from a shelter and named him Fenway.”

  That sounded more like it, Holly thought as she navigated yet another turn. The weak afternoon light did little to cut through the descending fog, and she had to really concentrate to keep her car on the proper side of the unmarked road. Because she was focusing so intently on that, her next glance into the distance made her squeak with surprise and hit the brakes.

  There, not twenty feet away, stood a one-lane covered bridge. Sporting faded white paint and a walkway along one side, it conjured up all the Currier and Ives Christmas cards she’d gotten over the years. As she drove across the wooden planking and out the other end, the mist parted around a scene straight out of an artist’s dream: a village that looked like it had been built centuries ago and had somehow managed to stay there.

  Buildings made of brick and classic New England clapboards lined Main Street, their green-and-white-striped awnings dripping water onto people scurrying to get out of the rain. The street was paved, but well-worn cobblestones ran along both sides in a charming nod to the past. In the square, a white gazebo was nestled under massive trees that looked old enough to predate the town, if that was even possible. The business district covered less than three blocks, so it took her about two seconds to find the place she was looking for: Ellie’s Bakery and Bike Rentals.

  After parking in an open spot across the street, she swiveled to look back at Chase. “It’s pouring, and I should only be a sec. Do you want to wait here where it’s dry?”

  “I kind of have to use the bathroom.”

  Grinning, she tilted her head. “Kind of?” He nodded, and she said, “Let’s go, then.”

  As he unbuckled his seat belt, she caught herself remembering all the years of dealing with car seats and toddler boosters. Had it really been just a year ago that he’d outgrown the last of them? Mom was right—your own childhood dragged by, but when you were a mom, your kids grew up at warp speed.

  Since the rain seemed to have settled in for the duration, Holly pulled up the hood on Chase’s sweatshirt, and they made a run for the antique front door. From what she could see through the glass, the place looked deserted. There was no Closed sign posted, so she yanked on the brass handle and was relieved when the door opened. She could hear muted big band music playing in the kitchen, but out front the scattered tables and long lunch counter stood completely empty.

  “Hello?” She waited for a moment, then called out again.

  She was
just about to give up when something ominous rumbled underneath a set of old-fashioned ice-cream soda dispensers. It sounded like a displeased grizzly bear, and she instinctively drew Chase back a step when a pair of enormous hands appeared on the countertop. They were connected to a set of muscular forearms clad in denim, and as their owner appeared, it was all she could do to keep from turning and bolting back the way they’d come.

  Six and a half feet, easy, he brought to mind the massive trees in the square. Tall, unyielding, built to withstand a storm and keep on going. His light brown hair was a little too long for her taste, and his icy blue eyes held a laser sharpness that would make anyone think twice about approaching him. “Can I help you?”

  His less-than-friendly demeanor was off-putting, but she forced herself to smile. “I’m so sorry to intrude like this, but I’m Holly Andrews. Daphne Mills’s niece,” she added, hoping that dropping her famous aunt’s name would gain her some points. It didn’t seem to work, but he didn’t ask her to leave, so she boldly forged ahead. “When she hurt her back, she asked us to come help out until she feels better. We drove up from Boston today, and she said she was going to leave an envelope for me here.”

  The man’s eyes darkened to a stony gray, and Holly replayed her introduction in her head, wondering what she might have said to warrant such a cool reaction. But the gloomy look vanished as quickly as it had appeared, and she chalked her impression up to a long drive and the cloudy weather.

  “Daphne mentioned something about that to me the other day,” he finally answered. “I think Gran put it behind here somewhere.”

  As he began to disappear under the counter again, she moved forward to get his attention. “I hate to bother you, but my son needs to use the restroom. Could you point it out for us?”

  He obliged her, and Chase zoomed off in the direction the man had nodded. That left Holly more or less alone with a stranger, and since he was obviously a friend of her favorite aunt, she decided that just wouldn’t do. “I’m sorry, but I didn’t catch your name.”