Last's Temptation (14 page)

Esme stared at the handsome cowboy, her heart beginning a crazy beat. “What kind of adventure are we talking about?”

Everyone had left the sanctuary to throw birdseed on the happy couple, so he was alone with Esme except for Curtis and Amelia. “I’ve had too much time to think. What that translates into is too much time without you.”

She looked at him, realizing that the countless hours—minutes—of missing him had not been in vain. “We missed you,” she said softly. “I missed you dreadfully.”

Taking her hand, he kissed it. “I’m sorry. I let all the small things confuse me.”

Hope bloomed inside her. Could he mean that he loved her? That he wanted that big family of his
dreams with her? “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again except at the occasional rodeo.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I called the ringmaster before I came over here, and you’ll be seeing me at the circus frequently.”

“Oh?”

He nodded. “Yes. He wants to train me as a ringmaster. I’ve decided not to run for sheriff so that I can devote my full time to you, teaching and being a ringmaster trainee.”

Curtis and Amelia clapped their hands and began hopping up and down. Last grinned at them. “Ol’ Ringmeister caught me off guard with that one, but he said he needed the security of a substitute every once in a while. He said he knew the rodeo circus was going to be a huge success, but to completely grow into his vision, he needed a partner.”

Esme put a hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t giggle at the thought of Last in a too-tall hat and formal tails. “Well, I can see you have many attributes that would be just right—”

Last held up a hand. “I know. The ringmaster said a certain amount of blarney was necessary and a great flair for showmanship. Immediately he’d thought of me.”

The children grinned, as did Last. “Hey,” he
said, “I consider it a compliment if the ringmaster sees potential in me. So I accepted the job.” Kissing Esme’s hand, he said, “It gave me every excuse to be around you.”

She looked at him. “I don’t know what to say. What you’re saying is more than I ever thought, but—”

“Even a Jefferson man eventually meets his match,” Last said with a grin. “And I met mine with you guys.”

Curtis and Amelia snuggled up on either side of him, their little arms wrapping around his waist. “So are you going to marry Aunt Esme?” Amelia asked.

“Amelia!” Esme said, laughing.

“I am,” Last said, “if she’ll have me.”

He got down on one knee, ignoring the fact that they suddenly had an audience gathering silently in the back of the church. “Esme Hastings, I love you. I did from the moment I made an unwieldy hang-glider landing at your feet. I could have given up my pride and my stubborn resistance right then and there, but I’ll be the most fortunate man around if you’ll agree to have me now that I’m a changed man.”

Esme began to tremble, and a smile unlike any other she’d ever experienced lit her face.

“Will you marry me, Esme?” he asked. “I promise to take very good care of you and these kids and your parents and Chester and your friends. I need to live in your world and I need to be with you. And about those children you want,” he said with a smile, “I can’t wait to give you everything you ever dreamed of.”

Esme felt tears of happiness pool in her eyes, but she blinked them back and took Last’s hand. “Yes,” she said. “Yes. Let’s live every adventure life has to offer together.”

Then she sweetly kissed him, and the moment she did, Last knew he was home for good.

It was the moment he knew he had waited for all his life, and it came complete with a family and a too-tall hat.

Which was, he knew, as the four of them shared a family group hug, a perfect fit.

Esme swallowed a squeal as the harness tightened around her foot, making her bounce back up from the surface of the water. To do this honeymoon bungee jump with Last, she’d had to overcome a lot of fear. But she’d wanted to do it.

It was important for both of them to get over their fears, and he wasn’t the only one who’d had a few since they’d met. Almost the second he’d splashed down in the California ocean, she had known this cowboy would change her life.

And he had. For the better.

Bouncing upside down beside her and grabbing her hand was her groom. She looked into his eyes, laughing. “That was incredible!”

“Hearing you say ‘I do’ before we jumped was
incredible,” Last said. “I love you, Esme Hastings Jefferson!”

He was a nut. He was always going to be a nut, Esme knew, but she loved him that way. “I love you, too,” she said. “Last, you’re going to make an awesome father—a fourth time.”

Despite the fact that they were both upside down, she read the joy on his face. “We’re pregnant?”

She laughed. “Yes. Just pregnant, so don’t freak out. I just skipped, so it’s a good thing you didn’t want to wait to get married or this honeymoon wouldn’t have been possible.”

He scowled. “Still. You should be sitting down! You should be—”

“Last,” Esme said, laughing, “I love you. But you’re going to have to relax. You’re way too uptight.”

He looked stunned. “Well, that’s a first. Everyone always said I needed to be more serious.”

Attendants undid their harnesses, trying to guide them to the boat, but Esme began swimming toward the bank, enjoying the feel of freedom. Last followed, grabbing her foot and pulling her toward him. “Hey, bride,” he said, “you’re proving to be a bigger adventure than I expected.”

Wrapping her legs around him, Esme kissed him so that he would completely understand her feelings.

“Wow,” Last said.

Esme smiled, completely and joyously in love. It was always going to be “wow” whether under the big top, at a Texas ranch called Malfunction Junction or under this glorious African sky.

She had all the statistics on belief that she needed to know that theirs was a truly happy ending.