Brody (29 page)

Ecstasy roared through him, wave after wave crashing over him. It was the beginning of a new life for him, for her, for them, perhaps even a new life within her.

Brody shook with the force of his orgasm, completely overcome. He managed to roll off her and lie on his back, breathing heavily as his entire body tingled and pulsed.

“Holy shit,” she whispered.

Joy bubbled up inside him and he pulled her closer, kissing her until neither one of them could see straight. Then they made love again.

Brody had finally found where he belonged.

Hot coffee in hand, Olivia walked out to the front porch to watch the sunrise. She sat on her favorite rocker and pulled her legs up beneath her. Eva would have admonished her for not sitting like a lady, but Olivia didn’t worry about that. Life as she knew it had changed so much, she needed to feel comfortable. She needed to remember sitting in that same chair with her mother, watching the horizon for her father, Matt and Caleb to return home.

The chair she sat in grounded her, gave her a solid place to be, physically and mentally. Olivia didn’t get much of a chance to be alone. None of them did. She’d heard Matt and Hannah leave for their early morning ride and snuck out to the porch to think.

As she sipped the coffee, she watched the sun paint the sky in vivid tones of pink, orange and red. Peace. That’s what she was feeling, a measure of peace, although it was tempered by other thoughts and emotions. So much had happened in the last two weeks, she’d barely had time to catch her breath. And things were going to change again.

She was getting married in a few hours. A week after her return from Mexico and she was about to become a missus. Life hadn’t turned out the way she’d dreamed it, that was for sure. Mama would have been pleased with her man, gruff and bossy as he was. Brody was the right choice, there was no question of that.

What weighed heavily on her mind was the loss of Benjy, the idea that he was somewhere in Texas, in her own country, yet she didn’t know where. There was a hole in her heart that could only be filled by finding him.

He’d been the baby, the youngest Graham, with a big smile and an inquisitive nature. From the time he could walk, he’d followed Olivia around, her shadow with chubby knees and a penchant for finding things he shouldn’t be getting into. He kept them all busy, that was for sure. She’d be content with chasing after him twenty-four hours a day if he were back here with his family.

“Good morning, Liv.” Brody’s soft voice didn’t surprise her. He’d been arriving early in the morning all week long and having breakfast with them. Although he told her it was because he missed her so much, she secretly suspected it was Eva’s cooking that drew him so early. He sat down in the chair next to her and tried to take her coffee. She held it away from him.

“Go get your own and come back out here.”

He stood up and saluted. “Yes, general.”

She smothered a laugh and waited for him to return. Benjy was the unspoken conversation between them, and they needed to have it before they went in front of the preacher.

“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” He sat back down with a steaming cup of black coffee, then sipped it noisily. She loved her ranger just the way he was.

“Yes. I need to know what we can do to find him. What you can do to find him.” She shook her head. “It’s hard to just do nothing when I know he’s somewhere in Texas.”

“I have been sending letters to other rangers, and back up to Austin. Nothing yet, but I did get a list of the largest hacienda owners in Texas.” He slurped the coffee again. “They’re spread out so it will take some time to visit all of them.”

Olivia turned to him. “We haven’t talked about what happens after the wedding.”

His lascivious grin made her laugh.

“Not that part, foolish man. I mean, what will you do? What will I do? Where will we live? I want so badly to find Benjy, but I don’t want to miss my chance to have a happy life with you.” Her heart pinched at the mixed emotions she felt. She didn’t want to give up her future with Brody. At the same time, she didn’t want to simply abandon the littlest Graham.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about that.”

“Me too.”

He nodded. “I figured that. After you pushed, shoved, bullied and plowed your way through our, ah, adventure together, I knew you wouldn’t forget about him when we got back.”

“Bullied?” She frowned at him.

He ignored her question, for which she would punish him later somehow. “If I keep on as a ranger, I can’t search for Benjy. If I quit being a ranger, I can search for him, but I can’t feed us without the meager pay I get for being a ranger.”

Olivia wasn’t about to tell him how pleased she was to hear his thoughts. He was thinking about her, about Benjy and about the future. She silently hugged herself, infinitely happy with the man she’d fallen in love with.

“We could live here. During the week we could work on the ranch and spend weekends looking for Benjy.” To her it was a practical choice.

He grimaced. “No, I can’t do that, Liv. There’s barely enough room in that house as it is. To add another man would make things downright uncomfortable.”

“Then where will we live?” She’d never considered moving away from her family, or worse, living full time on the trail. Not that she couldn’t do it, but it would be hard.

“My family had a cotton farm not too far from here and—”

“Wait, you were a cotton farmer?” Olivia couldn’t help grinning at him. The big, strong ranger had picked cotton?

He made a face at her. “My pa taught my brothers what to do and they taught me.” He shrugged. “We scraped by. It’s an honest living.”

She held up her hand. “I know, it’s just, well funny to picture you farming. In farmer’s clothes.”

“Shut up, Liv.”

That made her laugh. “I’m sorry, go on about the farm. Where is it?”

“Half a day’s ride east. It’s not much, but it’s mine now that my brothers are gone. Pa owned it free and clear. It’s dusty and needs work, but it’s a home.”

He sounded unsure of himself and she smothered the smile that threatened. Brody was bossy and decisive; this side of him was unexpected and completely endearing.

“I’m sure I’ll love it. I’m not afraid of getting my hands dirty either.” She rocked, the only sound the gentle squeak of the porch beneath the rockers.

“Or muddy.” He smirked.

A laugh burst from her throat. “It was clay! Not mud.” She shook her finger at him. “Behave yourself, Ranger Armstrong.”

He looked away, his gaze somewhere she couldn’t reach. “I’m going to quit being a ranger.”

She gasped. “Brody. I don’t want you to give up what you love for me. We can still look for Benjy in between your assignments.”

It broke her heart not to get on Mariposa and start searching for her brother as soon as she could. Yet Brody had taken his place in her heart and he was even more important than her burning need to find Benjy.

He shook his head. “I joined the army because my brothers did. After they died, I kept on fighting and killing because I had to. After the war, being a ranger made sense. All I knew was how to carry a gun and put my life at risk. But I wasn’t living. I didn’t have a home.” He turned to look at her, his blue eyes full of old pain. “I didn’t belong anywhere until I met you.”

Her heart thumped at the love and honesty in his voice. She leaned over and kissed him, blinking back the sudden tears in her eyes.

“That doesn’t mean you need to quit being a ranger.”

He looked away again. “Yep, it does. I was a ranger because I had to do something. I can do more good looking for Benjy with you. If we can find him, maybe we can find others.”

Olivia was humbled by his idea. She had been so focused on finding Benjy, she’d never thought of other children. So many had disappeared, not just the smallest Graham.

“I think that’s a good idea. I would love to be a rescuer of stolen children. It feels like the right thing to do.” The more she thought about it, the more she wanted to do it. Brody and she made a good team; together they could do anything.

“We can start looking for Benjy as soon as you want.”

Brody took another noisy slurp of his coffee. Her love for Brody grew deeper by the second. He was such a good man, a man of honor and integrity. She was so lucky to have found him.

“Maybe we should go to your home and—”

“Our home.”

She smiled. “To our home and get things squared away so we have a place to come back to.”

“I will go anywhere with you, honey. Even better, now I can make a home with you, plant cotton, raise horses, find lost brothers.” He grinned. “Make babies.”

The thought of holding Brody’s child made her knees weak. She managed to swallow the lump in her throat. “I can’t wait to do all those things with you.”

It was his turn to kiss her, a soft flutter of lips. “We can start now.”

A burst of excitement raced through her, sending tingles over her body. She leaned forward to invite him to a secret spot behind the barn but a heavy footfall behind her made her jump.

Matt stood there, arms crossed, scowling. “Don’t let me interrupt.”

Olivia jumped to her feet. “We were just watching the sunrise.”

“Uh-huh, sure.” He rocked back on his heels, directing his scowl at Brody. “Isn’t the groom not supposed to see the bride on the wedding day?”

“I didn’t know she’d be out here so early.” Brody plastered an innocent look on his face. “I came for the coffee and
huevos
.”

“Uh-huh, sure.” Matt jerked his head toward the house. “You go to your room and get ready for your wedding, Liv. I’ll keep your groom occupied.”

Olivia kissed Brody. Matt growled and she laughed, darting into the house. Eva stood at the stove, shaking her head but with a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

“You love your man very much,
hija
. You risk your brother’s anger for him.”

Olivia thought about all they’d been through together. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t risk for Brody, even her life.

“I love him.”

Eva smiled broadly. “
Sí, hija,
and I am so happy for you.” She pulled Olivia into a hug. “Your mama, she is smiling at you from heaven.”

Olivia hadn’t intended on crying once on her wedding day and now for the second time that morning, she felt tears threaten. “
Gracias,
Eva. I think she would have liked him.”

Eva held her at arm’s length, her brown eyes suspiciously wet. “Both your parents would have liked him.”

Olivia nodded, emotions crowding her throat. She missed her parents so much in that moment, it took her breath away.

“Come,
hija,
let’s get you ready for your wedding. I will be your mama’s hands.” Eva took her elbow and led her to her room.

Today Olivia would marry the man she loved.

Caleb stared at the ranger, or rather the man who was marrying his sister Olivia. He was big and dark, always wore black except for today. Someone must have made him a blue shirt, likely Hannah, who was a genius with a sewing needle.

Aside from the fact that he was an intimidating man, Brody Armstrong was a Texas Ranger. As soon as Caleb had heard that bit of news, he’d taken every opportunity to study the other man. Being a ranger in the Republic of Texas was an honor, but to Caleb’s disgust, Brody was throwing it away for a woman.

A woman!

After the war, all Caleb had wanted to do was go home, be with his family. The blood, the smells, the killing, had all shaken him to his eighteen-year-old core. He wasn’t hiding at the ranch, but finding a place he could be safe and think.

Over the last six months, he’d been thinking about volunteering to be a Texas Ranger. Armstrong had been the one to take Jeb Stinson down, and the speed with which he’d killed the outlaw Rodrigo was astonishing. Caleb had never seen anyone draw that fast.

Now the man was giving up the life of a ranger. Granted, it wasn’t a glamorous life with lots of money and women, but it was a good life. Rangers were the law Texas needed to survive as a country. Without them, Mexico might try to sneak back in or Texans might get the idea it was okay to do what they pleased with no consequences.

Being a man of the law, being a Texas Ranger, had been on Caleb’s mind since he’d met Armstrong. In fact, he’d been fixing to ask the ranger how to sign up when Caleb found out about the wedding.

It left a sour taste in his mouth that the man he wanted to be like had fallen under the charms of a female. Caleb liked the opposite sex, but not that much.

Unable to keep his peace any longer, Caleb approached the ranger.

“You sure about this, Armstrong?”

Brody nodded. “Yep, I’m sure, Caleb. It’s the right thing.”

Caleb glanced around at the flowers the girls had arranged for the wedding. “Seems like an awful lot to give up, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

“It might look that way, but I’m getting a helluva lot more than I’m giving up.” Armstrong met Caleb’s gaze, his blue eyes as intense as a summer sky. “I love your sister. I know you don’t understand what a man would do for the woman he loves, but one day you will.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.” Caleb did not intend on being a fool and letting a woman lead him around by his dick.

A smile spread across Armstrong’s face, the first Caleb had ever seen from the man. The transformation was a bit spooky.

“I do and when it happens, don’t fight it.”

Caleb nodded, unwilling to argue the point. He wasn’t going to ever be in that situation so there was no need to plan for it.

“I was thinking of joining the rangers.”

Armstrong’s brows went up. “Does Matt know about that?”

“No, not yet. I don’t need his permission. I’m nineteen, a man old enough to make his own choices.” Caleb hadn’t told his older brother because he knew Matt would fight his decision. It would be better if Caleb simply left one night and didn’t come back. He’d leave a note, of course, but it would save some arguing.

“I can appreciate that. Rangering is hard work, Caleb. Lonely too. You don’t get much in the way of home cooking or soft beds.” He gestured to the house. “This is a good place to be, an honest place. You don’t want to leave it behind just to scratch an itch.”