One Wild Cowboy (18 page)

A few days ago, Emily would have happily succumbed. She would have thrust herself into his arms and kissed him wildly and let him kiss her back, and then let that lead where they both knew it would—to a hot session in bed.

Not anymore.

Not with all there was at stake.

She glared at him, waiting to see just how deep and real his commitment to her truly was. Because without that…

“Emily.” His smile broadened all the more. “Will you marry me?”

She tugged on his hands and pulled him upright so they were squaring off—cowgirl to cowboy—once again.

“Why?” she demanded, aware the wrong rationale would not only break her heart, it would destroy them forever.

But this once, Dylan let down his guard and didn't disappoint. He wrapped his arms about her waist and regarded her with all the tenderness and affection she had always wished for.

“Because I love you, Emily,” he said softly, looking deep into her eyes, with a tenderness that took her breath away.

“I love you the way I never thought I could love anyone. The way I'll never love anyone again.” His voice caught. He forged on, the words coming from deep in his soul. “And because you're a part of my heart now, and I'll never be happy without you.”

Emily's lower lip trembled. “I'll never be happy without you, either. And I love you, too, Dylan, so very much.”

Relieved to finally be able to admit what was in her heart, Emily went up on tiptoe and kissed Dylan with every bit of the passion and love she felt. She kissed him until the moment became real, the romantic aura around them stunning in its power and intensity. And then she kissed him some more and let him kiss her back. Knowing what had started out as a temporary liaison wasn't temporary at all.

Finally, Dylan unlocked their lips and drew back just far enough to ask, “So…about my proposal?”

Emily cuddled close, still free-thinking and independent enough to insist, “It's yes to the roommate, no to the marriage.”

He arched his eyebrow.

Practically, she explained, “I want us to live together first.”

It was Dylan's turn to be wary. “That's not very traditional.”

“So?”

“Your family isn't going to like that,” he warned.

“It's not my family's decision—it's ours. And I want us to work things out in our own time and our own way, without anyone in my family pushing us to the altar.” She met his eyes. “So what do you say? You…me…and the freedom to pursue everything and anything we've ever wanted?”

Emily felt a whisper of breath behind her. A very hot, gusty breath.

She turned, came face-to-face with a stealthily moving Ginger. Salt and Pepper were coming up right beside the mare.

Joy flowed through her as Ginger hooked her face over Emily's shoulder, in the equine version of a horse-to-human
hug, then reached over and affectionately nosed Dylan's face and shoulder, too.

Emily laughed. “Well, what do you know, cowboy. I think our family's back.”

Dylan chuckled, too. “And just in time,” he stated, his eyes twinkling with happiness. “Because my answer to
your
proposal is yes!”

One year later…

“I can't believe we're doing this.” Emily told Dylan as she took her place in Maisy's saddle, the voluminous folds of her white lace-and-satin wedding gown floating out about her.

Her groom-to-be grinned and climbed onto the magnificent Hercules. Resplendent in his tux, Dylan mugged at her seductively. “Yeah, you can.”

Emily reached across and clasped his hand. She smiled, too. “Yeah. I can.”

“It has been quite a year, though,” he murmured.

Yes, Emily thought, it had.

They had secured proof linking Xavier Shillingsworth to the scandal in the cafe. An out-of-court settlement had been reached, both with her and the county health department, compensating them for their losses.

After that, her café had been remodeled in record time.

Emily'd had to scale back on the daily specials a bit in order to keep the books nicely balanced in the future, but thanks to an expanded, updated menu and additional seating, customer satisfaction was at an all-time high nevertheless.

Dylan had accepted her family into his heart as readily as they had taken him into theirs.

Andrew had plenty of friends and was now a ranch hand on
the Last Chance, working at Dylan's side whenever he wasn't in school or out socializing.

The only difficulty, if there was one, was the fact they'd had to take all three of the mustangs on to the Libertyville Boys Ranch, as promised.

Saying goodbye to the three beloved mustangs had been hard—until Emily saw how much the boys there loved horses, and how much Salt, Pepper and Ginger loved them back. She'd had to admit that the once-wild mustangs would have great lives as therapy horses.

And so now, it was on with the future.
Their
future, Emily thought, as Dylan stopped, atop a ridge. In the valley below, their family and friends waited.

He turned to her. “Before I give the signal for the musicians to start, I want to talk about the wedding gift.”

He reached into his pocket and withdrew an envelope. Inside were photos of two beautiful mustangs.

Emily knew immediately what he had done. Entranced by the love of her life's generosity and acknowledging the unique challenges ahead—she asked, “When are they arriving?”

“The day after we get back from our honeymoon in Wyoming,” Dylan reported proudly.

Emily chuckled. “And now my gift for you.” She reached down and removed the envelope she had taped to the inside of her white satin cowgirl wedding boot.

She handed them over with a comical wrinkle of her nose. Dylan studied the photos—of two more mustangs—and began to laugh.

“Four mustangs,” he said in awe.

Emily grinned, thinking how exciting it was going to be to start all over again. “Apparently.”

Dylan slipped out of his saddle and pulled her out of hers. He wrapped his arms around her. “Think we can handle it?”

Emily wreathed her arms about his neck, rose on tiptoe and kissed him soundly. She looked deeply into his eyes. “Cowboy, I think we can handle anything as long as we're together.”

Dylan murmured his agreement. He kissed her back leisurely. “So what do you say we ride on down there and get married?”

Emily hugged him with all the love in her heart. “I think that's the best idea ever,” she beamed.