A Real Cowboy Knows How to Kiss (24 page)

Thomas rolled his eyes. "Don't call me 'sir.' Just Thomas."

Steen nodded. Thomas was a man who had always been so far above him in life, and now he was just Thomas. It felt good, really good. "Can I offer you a drink?"

"Hell, no. I need to get going." Thomas's blue gaze settled on Steen's. "I've been working all my contacts to try to get Pointer's conviction overturned. He's a good kid, and he got caught up in the aftermath of my work. He made a mistake, but it wasn't his fault, and I was willing to do whatever it took to get him out of there."

Hope leapt through Steen. "Is that why you're here? Is Pointer free?"

"He sure is." A broad grin broke over Thomas's face. "I'm on my way now to pick him up."

Steen grinned. "That's fantastic."

"Yes, it is." Thomas's smile faded. "But if you hadn't saved his life, it would have been too late. I owe you."

Steen put his arm around Erin and pulled her against him. "No, you don't. We're even. I got the girl. We both got the one we loved. We're more than even."

"Not yet." Thomas held out a folded paper. "When I had my team researching your mother, we uncovered a lot more about you. The truth."

Steen frowned as he took the paper. "What are you talking about?"

"You didn't try to murder anyone. You know it, the lying bastard knows it, and now the governor knows it."

"What?" Steen stared at the older man. "What are you talking about?"

Thomas just nodded at the paper. "Open it."

Steen slowly, disbelievingly, unfolded the paper. Erin leaned over his arm, reading with him. He saw the letterhead. He saw his name. He saw the word
pardoned.
And the word
innocent
. Erin made a small noise of disbelief, and Steen felt his whole body begin to shake. He stared at Thomas. "What is this?"

"You're a free man, Steen. You've been pardoned. It's over." He met his gaze. "I could have asked for a retrial, but those take time and anything can happen. I wanted it over. The governor pardoned you based on several private, off-the-record, confessions to the governor at his home that I…facilitated." He winked, leaving no doubt that those private confessions had not been obtained easily. "The other parties involved are now being investigated for perjury, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Her father has considerable influence." Thomas grinned. "Not as much as I have, though."

Steen felt like his head was spinning, and his hand was shaking. He'd been pardoned. His record expunged. No parole. No conviction. Nothing. Just a new life of complete freedom. "I don't know what to say—"

"There's nothing to say," Thomas said. "It still doesn't repay my debt to you." He nodded at the others. "I have to go get my kid," he said. He held out his hand. "It would be my honor to consider you a friend, Steen."

Steen didn't hesitate. He shook Thomas's hand. "The honor is mine, sir... Thomas."

Thomas said his farewells to the rest of the crew, and then jogged down the stairs to a black Mercedes idling in the driveway.

Steen didn't even bother to close the front door. He simply turned to Erin, took her hand, and went down on one knee. "Will you marry me?" He wanted to say a million things, to tell her how much he loved her, to shout to the world the gift that Thomas had just given him, but in that moment, he wanted only one thing, for Erin to be his wife, so he could hold onto her forever.

Her eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "Of course I will. You didn't need to be pardoned for me to marry you."

"I know I didn't, but I needed to be the man you deserve." He dug into his front pocket and held up the diamond ring he'd bought on his way to Virginia. He'd had it in his pocket since that day, always prepared to show it to her if she began to doubt his intentions. Never in a million years had he thought he'd have the chance to give it to her so soon. "I know it's not as big as the one Louis gave you—"

"It's perfect." Her whisper was so full of emotion and love, that he knew it was. She held out her hand, and he slipped the ring onto her finger. The diamond glittered like the stars on a summer night, and he pressed a kiss to the sparkling stone.

She held out her arms to him, and he rose to his feet, pulling her into the fold of his body. He kissed her, their first kiss as an engaged couple, and it was a thousand times more perfect than all the other perfect ones they'd shared. Her body felt amazing, incredible, and perfect against his. He broke the kiss, whispering in her ear. "Let me take you back home. I need to make love to my fiancée," he whispered.

She beamed up at him, her face glowing with happiness. "Yes, please do."

He looked over her shoulder at Chase and Mira, who were beaming at them. "I think we're going to head out. Thanks for dinner."

"Not yet." Chase held up his hand, exchanging glances with Mira, who nodded. Then both of them looked at Steen and Erin. "We'd be honored if you guys wanted to do a double wedding with us. I know it's soon, but not really. It's been a long time for you guys. No pressure, but the invite's open."

Rightness roared through Steen, and he knew that he wanted nothing more than to marry Erin as soon as possible. He looked down at her, and his heart softened when he saw the expression on her face.

He took her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. "I've been waiting for you for years," he said softly. He'd been willing to wait for as long as it took to make himself worthy of her, but now that Thomas has purged his past, now that he had the opportunity, his entire soul was burning for her, to make her his, forever. "I'd marry you tonight, if I could. I know that you probably want your own wedding, and that's cool. I'll wait as long as it takes, but—"

"Yes."

He broke into a grin. "Yes? Yes, to the double wedding?"

She grinned. "Of course, yes. I think we've waited enough years, don't you?"

"Hell, yeah." He let out a whoop and swung her in his arms, unable to wipe the grin off his face. He grinned stupidly at his brother and Mira. "You guys sure? I mean—"

"Family, man." Chase walked over. "It's all about family." Then his big brother dragged Steen into a bear hug. For a split second, Steen hesitated, then he felt Mira's arms go around him and Chase, locking them together. Steen wrapped one arm around his soon-to-be sister-in-law, and then held out his other arm to Erin.

She came willingly, sliding into his embrace and into the circle of the family that he was no longer willing to run away from. He couldn't turn them away. It just felt too damn good to be a part of it, and he knew that it was Erin who had given him the strength to reach out and be willing to try.

"I love you," he whispered to her.

She smiled up at him. "I love you, too, cowboy. Always and forever."

The best damn words he'd ever heard.

He was tired.

He was cranky.

He was wet.

Zane Stockton idled his motorcycle outside his brother's ranch house, narrowing his eyes at the darkened windows. Gone was the time when he'd let himself in and crash. There was a woman in there now, and that changed all the rules, especially when it was two in the morning.

He probably shouldn't have come tonight, but he was here, and he was done being on the road for now. Rain had been thundering down on him for hours, and he was drenched all the way to his bones. He just wanted to sleep and forget about all the crap that had gone down today.

Trying not to rev the engine too much, he eased his bike down the driveway past the barn and turned right into the lean-to beside the bunkhouse. He settled his bike and whipped out a couple towels to clean it off, making sure it was mud-free before calling it a night.

He grabbed his bag from the back of the bike, scowling when he realized it had gotten wet, then sloshed across the puddles toward the front door of the bunkhouse. He retrieved the key from the doorframe, and pried the thing open.

It was pitch dark inside, but he knew his way around and didn't bother with a light. He dropped the bag, kicked off his boots and his drenched clothes, then headed for the only bed that was still set up in the place, ever since Steen and Erin had rearranged it for their own use during their temporary stay there. At least they'd upgraded their lodging so the bunkhouse was now available again for use by the family vagrant.

Zane jerked back the covers and collapsed onto the bed. The minute he landed, he felt the soft, very real feel of a body beneath him, including the swell of a woman's breast beneath his forearm. Shit! "What the hell?" He leapt to his feet just as a woman shrieked and slammed a pillow into the side of his head.

"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you! I'm Chase's brother!" He grabbed the pillow as it clocked him in the side of the head again. "Stop!"

There was a moment of silence, and all he could hear was heavy breathing. Then she spoke. "You're Chase's brother?" Her voice was breathless, and throaty, as if he'd awakened her out of a deep sleep, which he probably had. It sounded sexy as hell, and he was shocked to feel a rush of desire catapult through him.

Shit. He hadn't responded physically to a woman in a long time, and now he'd run into a woman who could turn him on simply by
speaking
to him? Who the hell was she? "Yeah," he said, sounding crankier than he intended. "Who are you?"

"You're Steen?" He heard her fumbling for something, and he wondered if she was searching for a baseball bat, pepper spray, or something that indicated she hadn't been nearly as turned on by his voice as he'd been by hers.

"No, a different brother," he replied, his head spinning as he tried to figure what was going on, and why he was reacting to her so intensely. "I'm Zane. Harmless. Good guy. No need to decapitate me."

There was a pause in her movements. "I wasn't going to decapitate you. I was looking for my shirt."

"Your shirt?" he echoed blankly. "You're not wearing a shirt?" He hadn't noticed much bare skin for that brief moment he'd been on top of her. How had he missed it?

"I'm wearing a camisole, but it's not exactly decent. Give me a sec." A small laugh drifted through the darkness. "You're such a guy. Of course you'd fixate on the possibility of me being naked. Do all men think only of sex?"

He grinned, relaxing. He'd startled her, but she'd regrouped quickly, and he liked that. She wasn't a wimp who was running to the door screaming. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Taylor Shaw. I'm Mira's best friend from home. I surprised her for a visit, but it turns out, there's no space in the house."

"Nope. Not anymore. I'm displaced too." He suddenly wanted to see her. "You decent yet?"

"Yes, but barely—"

He reached over and flicked on the small light by the bed. The soft yellow glow was less harsh than the overhead light, but it still took his eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness. When they did, he saw Taylor sitting on the bed, curly blond hair tumbling around her shoulders in a disheveled mess that made her look completely adorable. Her eyes were green, fixed on him as she squinted against the sudden light. He could see the curve of her shoulders beneath the light pink, long-sleeved shirt she was wearing. The faint outline of a white camisole was evident beneath her shirt, not quite obscuring the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra. Her gray yoga pants were frayed at the knee and cuff, but they fit her hips with perfection. She looked like she'd just tumbled right out of a bed, and she was sexy as hell.

But it was her face that caught his attention. Her gaze was wary, but there was a vulnerability in it that made him want to protect her. He had zero protective instincts when it came to women…until now, until he'd met this woman who'd tried to defend herself with a pillow.

Then her gaze slid down his body, and his entire body went into heated overdrive. It wasn't until her eyes widened in horror when her gaze was at hip level that he remembered something very important.

He was naked.