His Dakota Bride (Book 5 - Dakota Hearts) (9 page)

“I can’t believe you’re sending me to the sofa.”

“Don’t pout.”

“I’m going to be thinking incredibly sinful thoughts of you all night. You do know that, right?”

“You can fill me in with the details in the morning.”

She kissed him goodnight and let her lips linger on his. And when she climbed into the bed she thought would always haunt her, she felt only one thing. Happiness.

* * *

“Alex?”

Wade opened his eyes and tried to focus on the room around him. The image of a little boy sitting on the coffee table started to come into view. Alex didn’t seem to be concerned with the stitches that had caused him so much trauma the day before. Instead, he just stared at Wade quizzically.

“Good morning,” Wade said.

Alex frowned. “Did you sleep over?”

“Alex? Come get breakfast,” Skylar called out from the kitchen.

“Seems so,” Wade said, slowly pulling himself up to a sitting position.

“You slept on the couch?”

Wade glanced at Skylar, who rolled her eyes as she stood in the doorway. “I’m making scrambled eggs, honey. Your favorite.”

Alex didn’t pay any attention to his mother. He just sat, swinging his legs back and forth under the coffee table as he waited for an answer.

“Ah, there wasn’t a bed for me to sleep in. So I slept on the sofa.” Wade glanced again at Skylar, whose face was growing more crimson by the moment.

“Yes, there was,” Alex countered.

“Really? Where?”

“Enough, Alex,” Skylar said. “The eggs are almost done.”

Alex didn’t even look at Skylar. “Next time you can sleep in my room. I have another bed under my bed. Keith sleeps on it all the time when we have sleepovers. But you can’t sleep there when Keith sleeps over cuz you’re too big and there won’t be room for both of you.”

Wade couldn’t help but smile at the simple purity of Alex’s offer.

“Thanks for the invitation. I’ll remember that next time.”

Alex nodded, then hopped off the coffee table and ran into the kitchen. Wade could hear the low chuckle Skylar tried to stifle as Alex climbed into a kitchen chair.

“Hurry up and eat your breakfast. Uncle Keith is going to be here to pick you up soon.”

* * *

Since the overnight fishing trip was cancelled due to Alex’s fall, Hawk had promised Alex an afternoon of fun riding the four-wheeler with his best buddy over at Uncle Logan’s house. Although it was the perfect activity for Wade, Alex didn’t ask him to go. Rather than push, Wade decided to stay back at the house and give Alex a break.

Once Hawk drove away with Alex, Wade walked barefooted into the house, and stopped short when he saw Skylar putting photo albums in a cardboard box she had set up on the coffee table.

He stared at the box and then her face. “What are you doing?”

She glanced at Wade, but continued putting the items she’d pulled off the bookcase into the box. “I told you. We’re moving.”

The disappointment that pulled at the handsome features of Wade’s face was almost heartbreaking.
Almost.

“I thought things were going good between us,” he said. “I thought they were changing.”

“They are changing. That’s why we’re moving across town.”

“What?”

Skylar looked around the house she’d lived in for the past four years. “I woke up this morning and decided that I’ve never really liked this house. It’s only big enough for a small family and I want to have a big family. McKinnons have big families. So that’s what I want.”

Wade looked into her eyes for a moment, searching. Abandoning the box, she reached for him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him firmly on the lips.

When they parted, she said, “It’s going to take some time, Wade. I don’t know how long. But I do know one thing. You make me happy and I don’t want to live another day without you. I think we’ve waited long enough to start the life we dreamed of having together when we were in Samoa.”

Relief washed over his face. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Her heartbeat quickened as she thought about her fears. “I can’t say that I’m not scared that everything that has happened over the last five years won’t somehow build a wedge between us. All I know is that I’m willing to fight for you. For our love.”

“It’s worth fighting for.”

“Yes, it is.”

He pulled her closer, crushing her against the length of his body and making her feel so complete.

“Oh, and I was thinking that maybe instead of calling you Uncle Wade, we could come up with something else. I think it might be too confusing for Alex to call you Dad. How do you feel about being called Papa?”

Moisture filled Wade’s eyes. “You were doing a lot of thinking last night after I left you. How’d you come up with that?”

“I had a friend who used to call her father Papa. I never really thought much about it until this morning when Alex was scrutinizing you as you slept on the sofa.” She chuckled. “I can’t believe he offered to let you sleep on the trundle bed in his room.”

Wade laughed softly, nuzzling her neck as he kissed it. Then, with his fingers buried in her hair, he whispered against her ear, “We’re going to have to work on the sleeping arrangements. But I’m willing to take it slow.”

“Good, because he’s going to need that.” She placed both of her hands on his face and kissed his lips. “We’ll get there Wade. I never thought we would. But we will.”

“You don’t hate me anymore?”

“No. I’m not happy about how things happened. I wish they hadn’t. But I can’t change any of it. All I know is that I have always loved you, Wade McKinnon. Always. Even when I was throwing my shoes at you.”

“You’re not going to do that again, are you?”

She touched Wade’s face and brushed her fingers across the light stubble of his morning beard as he smiled down at her. “No. As long as you promise to never leave me again.”

“That’s a promise that I will fight until the end of time to keep.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

Wade took Skylar by the hand. “You know, I just realized something.”

“What’s that?”

“We have the whole day to be naked together without anyone barging in on us.”

She smiled as she started to unbutton her shorts. “You’re just figuring that out? Why do you think I called Hawk to take Alex for the afternoon?”

Wade turned back slightly to look at her as he pulled his T-shirt off. “You wicked woman.”

She pulled his shirt off the rest of the way and tossed it to the floor. “You love it.”

“I love you. I always have.”

As they collapsed on the bed, naked and laughing, Skylar knew it would always be that way.

The End

Thank you so much for reading HIS DAKOTA BRIDE, book 5 of the Dakota Hearts series. I’ve had such wonderful response from readers about the series that I can’t end it here. Several readers have asked me if there will be a story about Ian McKinnon, the McKinnon’s Wounded Warrior cousin. The answer is yes. However, it won’t be right away. I’m scheduling Ian’s story, DAKOTA WEDDING, for a fall 2014 release and will be putting the book up on pre-order. Keep checking Amazon.

I have a lot in store for readers who like all my series. This year two more TEXAS HEARTS books will be published alone with DAKOTA WEDDING and another story for the FATE WITH A HELPING HAND series, called MY LUCKY CHARM. Make sure you sign up for my newsletter to get release dates, order information and for a chance to win a free EReader. I’m giving away an EReader every month to one lucky newsletter subscriber.

All my best,

Lisa Mondello

Texas Hearts Series (Contemporary Western Romance)

Her Heart for the Asking - book 1

His Heart for the Trusting - book 2

The More I See - book 3

Gypsy Hearts - book 4

Leaving Liberty – book 5 (To be released in 2014)

Texas Hearts Box Set (Books 1-3)

Fate with a Helping Hand Series (Contemporary Romance)

All I Want for Christmas is You - book 1

The Marriage Contract – book 2

The Knight and Maggie’s Baby – book 3

Dakota Hearts (Western Romance)

Her Dakota Man

Badland Bride

Dakota Heat

Wild Dakota Heart

His Dakota Bride

Material Witness - book 1 (**Named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2012)

Nothing But Trouble (Contemporary Western Romance)

UK Readers order Here