Hold On (Delos Series Book 5) (41 page)

“Y-yes,” she said eagerly, “of course I do!”

The ring slid on, a perfect fit. The gemstone was a square cut. As Beau saw the beauty of the purple flashing through it from the light in the living room, he said, “This reminds me of the night you danced at Bagram, all light, shimmering beauty. I don’t think I took one breath while you danced,” and he smiled down at her, unable to fully believe that she was going to be his wife.

Her fingers wrapped around his. “This is such an incredible gift, Beau. I love it, and I love you, so very much.”

*

Beau lay in
bed with Callie after they had loved one another. It was Christmas night, and they’d had a final dinner with the family midafternoon and then come home to their cabin. She lay naked in his arms, their hearts still beating hard as he nuzzled his face into that cloud of her silky red strands. He breathed in her womanly scent and growled, holding her tightly against him.

“I’m so weak,” Callie laughed softly, smiling and closing her eyes, her head on his damp shoulder.

“Makes two of us,” Beau agreed, never happier.

The bedroom was warm because the door was open and the fire was roaring in the living room. Beau had opened the curtains, and from where he lay on the bed, he could see the snowflakes twirling outside the partly frosted window.

A new blizzard was blowing in tonight and that meant that everyone would get up early to feed the livestock and horses. But it was going to be a quiet day of rest for the most part.

“I love my rings,” Callie whispered against his neck.

“I’m glad you do,” he said, easing back and placing a pillow by his shoulder so she could lie on it. “That ring has purple fire in its depths. Reminds me of the fire in you, Callie.”

“Tell me how you got the rings, Beau.”

“Oh,” he sighed, “it’s quite the story. I told Matt that I wanted to get a purple engagement ring for you. Of course, we were stuck at Bagram, out in the middle of nowhere. He knew a Turkish jeweler that his family uses in Kuşadasi, Turkey. We sat down at the computer and he Skyped with him. The jeweler is a very old gentleman, silver haired and very kind. I explained that I wanted a purple gemstone for you. He asked me about you.” Beau leaned down, kissing her nose. “I thought it was very nice of him to ask. So I told him all about you, about that wild purple and silver belly-dancing outfit you danced in. I could see his eyes light up, and he said he had just the stone for you. He came back with it and showed it to us. Matt suggested I go with a platinum ring. I agreed. So the jeweler made the set for you. Matt has his resources and the rings were sent to me by courier to Bagram.”

“When was this?”

“Right before we got ambushed,” Beau admitted unhappily. “I had plans that when we got back from that village that evening, I was going to take you to that special restaurant you liked so much. I was going to propose to you after dinner, but it didn’t happen.”

Callie slowly sat up, pushing some of her hair off her shoulder. The glow from the fireplace danced shadows and light up and down the hall, some of it reflecting into their bedroom. Looking deeply into Beau’s amused, shadowed eyes, she said, “You were probably wondering if you’d ever give them to me, weren’t you?”

Beau reached out, moving his hand down her arm, feeling the velvet strength of it. “I wasn’t even sure we’d survive the attack, gal. The rings were the last thing on my mind. When we finally got out of that hot mess, I brought the rings with me when I came to see you. I wasn’t sure I’d even show them to you. I wasn’t sure where we were at with one another.” He searched her face, now quietly reflective. Her lips were slightly swollen from the kisses he’d given her, lower lip almost pouty, making her look even more fetching to him.

“What a story,” Callie said, shaking her head, amazed. “Well, you sure surprised me this morning. I never expected you to ask me to marry you, or to have that gorgeous set of rings. I’m just stunned by the beauty of the tanzanite.” She held the ring up, watching the firelight catch shards of the fire within the purple gemstone. “I want to share with you about my plans, Beau.”

He became serious. Callie had spent her young life in the service of the Hope Charity. Beau knew she had quit, but he wasn’t sure which direction she wanted to go.

“Tell me,” he coaxed, holding her gaze.

“You already know I quit Hope Charity. My mother and grandma sat down with me a few days ago, to discuss my life plans. Mom said that I’d served the world since I was eighteen. She asked me if now that I’d met you, maybe it was time to start looking differently at my dreams and goals.”

“You’re lucky to have such a tight-knit family, Callie, that can help you with big life changes that come everyone’s way.”

Somber, she nodded, seeing the concern in Beau’s gaze. “I am and I know it. I told them that I was in the midst of a huge change within myself because of the ambush. But right now, I wanted to stay at the ranch and work. I need this kind of work because it’s helping me to heal, Beau.”

“I know it is. I see it daily in you, Callie.”

“There’s a small charity in town. I’d like to devote some time locally because I love to help others who have so much less than I do.” She caressed his jaw. “But my life is changing before my very eyes. I’m marrying you. I want children. A family. And I know what it takes to be a full-time parent.” She chewed on her lower lip for a moment, in deep thought. Finally, she whispered, “You and I come first. Our dreams we dream together come first. I’ve always had a good head for numbers. Grandma Maisy said she’d teach me how to do the accounting for the ranch. I could have a job, be a help to the ranch in general, and still be home to raise our children, Beau. What do you think?” She searched his eyes.

“I think it’s a great plan, Callie.” He picked up her fingers, tangling his between hers. “You’ll probably always do some kind of service work, and that’s fine with me. I like that you’re making us and our family-to-be as first. And learning accounting would be helpful. I’m not that great at that kind of thing.” He gave her a grin. “I’d much rather work with Graham and learn the ins and outs of becoming foreman of this ranch someday down the road apiece.”

“I like how everything is falling into place,” Callie agreed quietly, holding his warm gaze. “We’ll both work at our new jobs, learn them, and someday, maybe a decade from now, be good enough to take over the reins of running this ranch. Then Grandma and Grandpa can retire and live with us.”

“Sounds like a workable plan,” Beau agreed. He took a deep breath and released it. “I’ve only got a few more weeks with you, Callie,” he offered quietly, looking at her stricken expression. His fingers moved gently down her arm and he slipped her hand into his, holding it. “I’ve got five months to go on my enlistment. Our team is leaving Bagram in March of next year. There will be very few missions between now and then because of the snow in the passes. Everything will be very quiet at Bagram. I’ll probably go out of my skull with boredom.” He grinned boyishly.

“What happens after March, Beau?”

“My team returns stateside. We always have a lot of training to do, but first I’ll get a week to come home to you here, at the ranch.”

“A week,” she sighed. “I’ll miss you so much until then . . . ”

Beau could already feel her moving into worry over his being overseas. “Look, Matt will be with me through March. That’s when his enlistment is up and he leaves the Army and goes home to work for his parents’ charity, Delos. I’ll have three months here stateside, and then the Army will cut me loose.”

“That would be June?”

“June 1, to be exact.”

“That would be a wonderful time to get married, wouldn’t it?” she suggested coyly.

“Yes, I’d like that. And that’s far enough away that it would give my folks time to drive up here to be part of our wedding. They wouldn’t miss that for the world.” His grin widened.

She absorbed his joy as he spoke about his family. “I was thinking that after we get married, we might spend part of our honeymoon with your folks so I can spend some quality time with them and see where you grew up. I’d love to meet all your family. They had you, so I know they’re special people.” She laid her hand on his chest, her palm over his heart. “Anyone as special as you has to have a very, very wonderful set of parents, Beau.”

He placed his hand over hers. “They’re great people, Callie. Salt of the earth. Kind. Hardworking. I know they’d cherish a visit from us. As a matter of fact, my pa and a number of men on Black Mountain built a second cabin on my parents’ property years ago. They built it hoping at least one of the three boys might come home with his bride and they could stay in it.”

“Oh, that sounds wonderful. Could we do that? Stay there?”

He shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”

“And maybe,” Callie said, thinking out loud, “next Christmas, we could travel down there and spend the holiday with your folks. I know they miss you, too.”

“Sure, we could trade off years having Christmas up here and then down there. I know my folks would appreciate that.”

“When you come home, Beau, you’ll start to work as wrangler with Grandpa guiding you.”

“Well”—he gave her a wicked look—“I need to learn to ride a horse first, and then be a wrangler and learn the ways of cattle ranching. I told him I might fall off a time or two before I got the hang of riding, but I’ll do it.”

“That sounds absolutely perfect,” Callie sighed. “Grandpa wants to retire someday, and my dad has no interest in running the ranch.”

“Yeah, I kinda figured that.”

“But you have the earth in your soul, Beau. You’re so much like Grandpa.”

“We get along right well with one another,” he agreed quietly. “He’s a real hero and a mentor to me. I enjoy being around him.”

“I think that Grandpa always wished Mom had had a son instead of two girls.” She smiled a little. “And I see the warm relationship you two have with one another. You’re kind of like the son he never had, Beau. You two get along so well, it’s amazing. He’s not like that with most people.”

“Well, we’re cut from the same military cloth, gal. That breeds a bond right there. I might be Army and he’s a Marine, but we have that unspoken brotherhood between us.”

She sighed and lay down at his side, nuzzling him and kissing his neck. “When I talked to Dara earlier . . .”

“Yes?”

“She told me she got engaged to Matt. I think that’s so wild that we both got engaged on the same day!”

“‘Kismet’ is what my ma would call it,” he laughed, seeking her lips, which parted to accept his, filled with promise. Filled with love. As he eased away, he said, “Your sister has a fine man who will make her a wonderful husband, so don’t worry about her, Callie.”

“Oh, I always liked Matt.” She laughed a little. “I mean, it was pretty obvious he’d fallen for Dara. The way he looked at her when he met us in back of the chow hall after we’d finished our dance told me everything.”

“They’ll be a beautiful couple together, but so will we. Dara will be happy working down there at her hospital in Alexandria, and Matt’s happy working with his parents for their charity nearby. It will work out.”

“Yes, and you’ll be up here riding the fence line, herding cattle and getting a sore butt,” she laughed.

Beau eased her onto her back, watching the shadows and light caress the valleys, hills, and curves of her luscious, warm, and loving body. “I’ll gladly suffer a sore butt to live my life with you, Ms. Callie McKinley.”

She sighed and framed his face with her hands, looking deep in his eyes. “Beau, how do you feel about getting me pregnant right after we marry? I don’t want to wait to have children. I want at least three. Maybe four.”

“Heck,” he teased her, “we can have our own family of new ranch hands over time.”

Callie laughed and hugged him to her, feeling the warm weight of his body moving over hers. She was aware that he wanted her again and she could feel herself wanting him just as much. “Four little buckaroos. Think you can handle them?”

His smile deepened. “I’ve got your grandpa and grandma, who I’m sure will be tickled pink, and so will your parents. But Graham and Maisy will spoil them all rotten.”

“They sure will,” she whispered, searching his gleaming eyes. “And you’re so good at diapering.”

He chuckled indulgently, kissing her brow, nose, and cheek. “I’m fine with the idea, Callie. I’ve always dreamed of having a big family. I come from one myself.”

“This is like a dream coming true,” Callie said, suddenly serious, “after almost dying.”

“Well, Christmas is a special time, gal. Always has been. Always will be.”

She felt his lips begin to worship her once more. “You are the ultimate gift, Beau. Without you, I wouldn’t be here. And for what you are, and what you have given me,” she whispered fervently, “I will love you forever.”

THE BEGINNING . . .

Don’t miss Lindsay McKenna’s next DELOS series novella,

Hold Me

Available from Lindsay McKenna and Blue Turtle Publishing and wherever you buy eBooks!

Turn the page for a sneak peek of
Hold Me!