Stella Bagwell - White Dove s Promise p.03

“Thanks, brother. If you need us we’ll be at my place.”

“Your place?” Kerry repeated as he shuffled her along to the parking area. “I have to pick up Peggy.”

“She’s with Christa. She’s fine. We’ll get her later. It’s still early and right now we’re both wet and filthy. I’m sure you don’t want Peggy to see you in this condition.”

Kerry glanced down at her wet, soot-smeared shirt and shorts. He was right. Peggy wouldn’t understand seeing her mother looking as though she’d just come out of a war. It might even remind her of the traumatic hours she’d spent trapped in the dirty pipe.

“Okay,” she agreed. “I’ll follow you in my car.”

Thankfully, the firemen and a few city police who’d gathered at the site had their attention on the burning building and paid no notice to Jared and Kerry leaving the parking lot.

As they headed out of town and into the quiet darkness of the countryside, Kerry began to shake almost uncontrollably and was still shaking when she managed to park in front of Jared’s house.

He waited at the car door to help her out and expressed his concern the minute he noticed that she was trembling from head to toe.

“Here, honey, don’t try to walk. Let me carry you.”

“Jared, I’m okay. I just got a little chilled,” she said through chattering teeth.

Ignoring her protest, he bent and swept her up and into his arms, then cradling her tightly against his chest, he maneuvered the both of them through the front gate and on into the house.

In the living room, he placed her on the couch, then switched on a small lamp at one end.

Blinking against the light, she shivered all over again as he sank down close beside her, then carefully cradled her face with both hands.

“You brave little thing. It’s no wonder Peggy went into that dark pipe. She’s like you—walking into that burning room. I should have taken you out of there right then.”

The gentle concern in his voice broke down the last of her defenses. With a needy groan, she flung her arms around his neck and buried her face against his throat. “When I got back from making the call and you were nowhere in sight, I was terrified. I’ve read about fireballs consuming a room or building in a matter of seconds. You could have been killed!”

The fear in her voice amazed him, humbled him. He’d never had to go looking for women. They’d always come to him. But they’d done so for their own personal pleasure. Not because they cared for him with their heart, the kind of caring that Kerry was showing him now.

“Oh Kerry, were you really that worried about me?”

The warmth of his body was spreading through her, soothing her frazzled nerves and melting away her inhibitions. With her cheek pressed against his neck, she whispered, “I know you think I’m silly, Jared, but the thought of you—I couldn’t bear to think I might not ever see you or be with you again.”

He’d not expected to hear such an admission from her and his eyes widened with wondrous pleasure as he tilted her face up to his.

“Oh honey, you’re not going to have to imagine it. Not now. Not ever,” he murmured fervently.

“Jared—”

He didn’t allow her to finish. She’d already told him enough. And he’d wanted her for too long to go slowly now.

“Don’t talk, sweetheart,” he whispered against her lips. “Just let me kiss you. Make love to you. Always…always…”

His words trailed away as the seductive curve of her lips pulled him downward to the velvety warmth of her kiss.

He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her onto his lap. The slightest pressure of his tongue parted her lips and then her teeth. Sweet, mindless pleasure swamped his senses as he invaded the intimate cavern of her mouth.

The thorough search of his lips and tongue was creating havoc inside Kerry. Her heart was slamming against her ribs. Heat was filtering through every limb in her body and collecting like a banked fire at the juncture between her thighs.

When his hands closed over the fabric-covered mounds of her breasts, desire rocketed through her and she arched against him and moaned deep within her throat. To have his fingers touching her skin was what she wanted, needed. Desperately, she caught his hand and directed it under the hem of her wet blouse.

Her invitation sent blood pounding to his head, forcing him to lift his head and drag in several ragged breaths. “Kerry! Kerry! You feel so good in my arms,” he groaned with agonizing pleasure. “Let me look at you when I touch you.”

Her hands shaking, she helped him deal with the buttons on her blouse. Once it had parted, he pushed it off her shoulders while letting his eyes drink in the way her lacy bra framed her dusky brown breasts like two white hands cupping and fondling their softness.

His mind reeling with anticipation, he unsnapped the front clasp on the delicate garment and slowly pushed the lace aside. Her breasts were small, but pert and perfect, the nipples deep rose brown and turgid with excitement.

Gently, his fingers reached for the beauty before him and stroked the incredibly soft skin. “You’re so lovely, Kerry. Too lovely for a man like me.”

Her eyes opened to look at him with a mixture of doubt and amusement. “You’ve had many women, Jared. Don’t try to make me believe I’m more special than they were.”

But she was special, he thought. If he’d not known it before, he’d learned it tonight when she’d refused to leave his side as the flames roared around them. Her brave and giving heart heightened her physical beauty in a way that, just to look at her, made him ache with pleasure.

With a slight shake of his head, he said, “I’ve never had a woman like you, Kerry. Not one that looked like you or talked like you. That laughed or smiled or smelled like you. Or—felt like you,” he added as his hand moved beneath one breast and cupped its weight like a precious object. “And most of all I’ve never had a woman with Comanche blood. Like me.”

She closed her eyes as her heart hammered inside her chest and hot pleasure dashed along her veins like liquid fire. “You’re a smooth-tongued devil, Jared. And I shouldn’t be doing this. We shouldn’t be doing this. But I—want you,” she whispered brokenly, “and I can’t seem to stop.”

With one hand still on her breast, the other slid up her throat to cup her chin and tilt her lips toward his. “And I’m not going to let you stop,” he said, his voice going rough with passion. “The Great Spirit told Granddad George we’re supposed to be together. We can’t change our fate.”

She tried to turn her head back and forth but his hold on her chin prevented the negative gesture. “You don’t believe that,” she muttered.

“Let me show you how much I believe it,” he said before he closed the last bit of distance between her lips and his.

The hungry kiss left them both gulping for air and Jared aching to connect his body with hers. The unspoken surrender in her heavy-lidded eyes told Jared all he needed to know. She wanted him in the same desperate way and she wasn’t going to deny him or herself this chance to quench the desire between them.

Wordlessly, he lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom. There in the small, darkened space, he slowly removed her clothes, then with hurried frustration, he jerked off his boots and tossed his own clothing away.

Although there was no light in the room, the faint rays of moonlight filtering through a pair of windows was enough to illuminate the bed. It was covered with a patchwork quilt and, for a moment, the homey image sent a shaft of panic through Kerry.

Jared would never be her husband. He would never make a family with her, share a house, a home, a future with her. Yet he was the only man she wanted to lie with on a patchwork quilt.

Sensing her hesitation, he paused, his hands lingering on the tiny circle of her bare waist. “Kerry honey, is this okay with you? Do you want us to stop right here and now?”

Lifting her face to his, she searched his solemn gaze and as she did, something in his eyes, some long, lonely need spoke to her and settled the last vestige of her doubts.

“No,” she whispered fervently. “I don’t want us to stop. I want to be your woman, Jared.” Now and for always, she silently added.

With a grunt of satisfaction, he tossed her and himself backwards and onto the wide bed. The mattress bounced beneath their weight and he chuckled wickedly as the front of her collided softly with him.

“I know we don’t have much time,” he said as his hand slid possessively over the curve of her hip. “But don’t ask me to hurry, Kerry. I’ve wanted you for too long to rush this.”

Her hands came up to cradle his face. “How long?” she wanted to know.

His hands were slipping around to her back, drawing her tight against his hot naked skin. The contact sent shivers of pleasure pulsing through every inch of her body.

“I think I wanted you from the first time I saw you with a coffeepot in your hand, weaving your way through the tables at Woody’s Café.”

“You’re such a liar,” she said, but there was a smile on her face that brightened his heart.

Pressing his forehead against hers, he murmured, “I would never lie to you, Kerry. Believe that and remember it. Okay?”

At this moment she was drunk on desire for this man, she realized. She would believe anything he said. Except I love you. She wasn’t that far gone—yet.

“Yes,” she whispered. “I’ll remember.”

Her answer appeared to give him a great sense of relief. With a sudden chuckle, he rolled the both of them so that she was resting on top of him and his laughing eyes were looking into hers.

“Now I have you where I want you,” he said thickly.

Feeling wanton and oh so wanted, she brushed her breasts against his chest. “You might not be thinking that—in a few minutes.”

Sliding his hand into her hair, he cupped the back of her head and tugged her face down to his. “You talk way too much, my woman.”

He closed the last gap between their lips and in a matter of seconds the desire between them flared as he tasted her mouth, her throat and the budded nipples of her breasts. At the same time her small hands explored the corded muscles of his arms, chest and washboard belly.

Jared had told her he didn’t want to hurry this time between them and he’d meant it. But her soft lips and searching hands were quickly changing his plans, building a fire in his loins that threatened to consume him.

He’d never wanted a woman like this. So much, so swiftly that his mind was emptied of everything but her taste, her smell and the feel of her warm, pliant body draped over his.

“Kerry…I can’t wait,” he spoke through gritted teeth. “I’ve got to have you. Now!”

He started to roll her beneath him, but she pressed his shoulders back against the patchwork quilt. “Let me love you like this, Jared,” she whispered hoarsely.

Jared wasn’t sure if it was at this moment that he lost his heart or later, as the silky heat of her body slipped over his manhood. Either way, by the time her cries of release were joined by his own guttural groans of pleasure, he knew he had to have this woman until the very end of his days.

Chapter Ten

“Kerry, if last night didn’t convince you about Jared Colton, I don’t know what will.”

Enola’s remark had Kerry looking up from the squash vine she was searching to the opposite end of the garden where her mother was picking green beans.

Could her mother tell she’d spent part of the night making passionate love to Black Arrow’s newest hero? Kerry wondered. Maybe the pleasure he’d given her was still on her face. It wouldn’t surprise her, she’d felt as if she’d been glowing all day.

“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked, trying to sound totally at ease instead of dreading another one of her mother’s lectures.

Enola raised up from her bent position and jammed both fists against her back. “I shouldn’t have to explain, Kerry. The courthouse is on fire and he drags you inside to help him try to put it out. If the man cared one whit for you, he wouldn’t have allowed you to be anywhere near that burning building.”

Even though Kerry desperately wanted to jump to Jared’s defense, there wasn’t much she could say. She couldn’t explain what had really taken place last night. Not when Bram had asked them to keep the real story under wraps. And even if she could tell her mother, she wouldn’t. It would worry Enola sick to think someone had intentionally meant to harm her and Jared.

“Jared would never put my life in danger,” she said. “Have you forgotten that he risked his own life to save your granddaughter’s?”

Enola glanced over her shoulder to a spot in the lawn where Peggy was pushing Claws and a bewildered Fred in a doll buggy. In spite of the playful scene, the woman’s lips were set in a grim line. “I haven’t forgotten. But he’s used your daughter to get to you. Don’t try to deny it.”

Kerry reached for the yellow squash hidden beneath a wide spiky leaf resting on the ground. “I’m not going to deny anything, Mom. How Jared and I got together isn’t important. I’m only going to tell you that you might as well get used to him being in mine and Peggy’s life.”

Enola stared at her as though she’d just uttered a filthy word. Forgetting the bucket of beans at her feet, the woman marched toward Kerry. “Have you lost your mind, daughter? Have you forgotten what Damon did to you?”

How could I, you’ve been reminding me of it every day for the past four years. Out loud, she answered, “I’m trying to, Mom. I want to have a normal life again. Not waste it with bitterness and mistrust.”

Enola’s head swung back and forth in disbelief. “Don’t tell me you trust Jared Colton? I know you have more sense than that.”

I would never lie to you, Kerry.

Jared’s whispered words filtered through her mind and she realized she did trust him. She had to. Because she’d fallen in love with him.

That conclusion hadn’t come to her suddenly last night, but rather in gradual stages today as she’d worked at her desk. Slowly she’d come to realize that for the past four years she’d been going around with her heart and mind closed to any sort of love and happiness. Maybe she’d convinced herself that she didn’t deserve another chance after the horrible mistake she’d made with Damon. Or maybe she’d simply been too downright scared to even think about trying again. Either way, each minute, each hour she’d spent with Jared since Peggy’s mishap had changed her.

Now, just to think about the future without Jared in it, was like imagining a life without sunshine.

“So far Jared hasn’t given me any reason not to trust him, Mom.”

Enola snorted. “No. He’s too smart for that. He’ll dangle you along until it’s time for him to go. Then you’ll be left behind. Just like all the other women he’s had.” The shake of her head made the turquoise thunderbird earrings dangling from her ears appear to take off in flight. “What has he promised you?”

Her face devoid of emotion, Kerry turned away from her mother and gathered up what squash she’d picked so far. “That’s between Jared and I.”

“In other words, he hasn’t promised you anything,” she said dryly. “Well, at least he’s being honest up to a point.”

No, Kerry thought. After the two of them had made love last night, he’d not promised her undying devotion or a beautiful home with a picket fence. She’d not expected him to. For him, their relationship was only beginning. And even though she already loved him, she would have to be patient, to wait and see if he wanted a future with her.

Dumping the squash into a five-gallon bucket, Kerry turned toward the house. “You must have a very low opinion of me.”

The pained look on Enola’s face said Kerry might as well have stabbed her. “Kerry,” she said, her tone suddenly placating, “I only want you to be happy.”

“Like you’ve been all these years, Mom?”

Enola’s mouth fell open and she stared at her for long moments, then wordlessly she walked back over to the row of beans and resumed her picking as though she’d never heard the question.

Her heart heavy, Kerry called to her daughter and headed into the house.



Dusk was falling when Jared parked behind the Arrow Feed and Grain store. Since it was past closing time, he expected to find his sister Willow inside tallying up the cash register, but instead he spotted her tall, strong figure rolling a spool of goucho wire through the double doors of a storage shed, which was built onto the side of the main building.

Hurrying over to help her, he took her by the shoulders and set her to one side out of the way. “Let a man do this, little sis.”

Willow wiped at the messy strands of hair that had escaped from her long black braid. “Where were you hours ago, when I had to load two hundred cedar fence posts for one of my customers?”

He gave the spool one last kick with his boot to shove it in a space next to a stack of metal fence posts. “Working, honey. I’m like you, I have to make a living.”

She chuckled as she tugged a pair of leather gloves from her hands. “I know how you work. You stand around and point while your crew does all the sweating. Then you get paid the big bucks.”

Jared slung his arm around his sister’s shoulder and squeezed. “That’s why I went to college. You know, it’s still not too late for you.”

Willow shook her head. “That’s just not me. The Arrow Feed and Grain has always been in the Colton family and I’m going to see that it stays that way. Besides, Gran needs me.”

Jared released his hold on her and Willow closed the double doors and locked them. As the two of them headed through a back entrance of the feed store, Jared asked, “Speaking of our grandmother, where is Gran?”

“I sent her upstairs about an hour ago to lie down, why?”

“I thought I might talk to her, but if she’s not feeling well I guess it’ll have to wait,” Jared told her.

Willow glanced at him as they continued to walk to the front of the store where the cash register was located. “I think her blood pressure is up. Her face was red and she hardly had the energy to walk across the floor. But she refuses to go to the doctor.”

“Does she still insist on helping you here in the store every day?”

Willow grimaced. “She wouldn’t have it any other way. And you know how stubborn she can be. What did you want to talk to her about?”

Jared watched his sister open the cash register and carefully pull out the take for the day. The stacks of bills were thick and he knew the store’s success was due to the long hard hours she put in to make sure her customers’ needs were met.

He leaned his hip against the counter while she began to count. “I guess you heard about the fire last night.”

Willow let out a short laugh. “I doubt there’s a person in Black Arrow who didn’t hear all those fire trucks last night. I thought the whole town must have been on fire. Bram called and told me a little about it.”

“Uh—did he happen to tell you about me and Kerry?”

“Very little. Only that you two saw it and tried to put it out before the fire crew got there. What’s that got to do with Gran?”

“Probably nothing. Except that a stranger was seen at the courthouse earlier this week asking to go through records pertaining to our family.”

“A crazy coyote is stalking our family. All of us must watch out for his tracks.”

The sound of his great-grandfather’s voice caused Jared to whirl around. “Hellfire, George! What are you doing sneaking up on us like that?”

The old man lifted his bony hands in a gesture that was both innocent and amusing. “What do you expect an Indian to do, make a lot of damn noise?”

Jared heaved out a breath and arched an accusing eye at his sister. “Why didn’t you warn me he was around?”

“He hitched a ride into town with his neighbor, Annie McCrary, because he had a feeling Gloria wasn’t feeling up to snuff. He’s supposed to be upstairs watching out for his daughter,” Willow said as she concentrated on her money count.

“She’s asleep,” George said. “And I want to know what we’re gonna have for supper.”

“Pizza. There’s two in the freezer. All you have to do is put them in the oven,” Willow told him.

“I know how to cook, missy,” George retorted.

Taking pity on his sister, Jared took his great-grandfather by the shoulder and headed him toward a back staircase that led up to Willow’s apartment. “Come on, Granddad, I’ll help you. And maybe while the pizza’s baking you can give me some answers.”

Upstairs in the compact kitchen, Jared found the frozen disks of pizza, ignored the part about preheating the oven, and tossed them straight on the rack. After that, he set George at the table with a long-necked beer.

Willow would frown on him for giving the old man the bit of alcohol, but Jared understood that his great-grandfather wanted to be treated like a man, not a child.

“You were at the courthouse last night with your woman,” George said as though he’d known even before anyone had told him. “And someone tried to burn the place down with you in it.”

That pretty much summed it up, Jared thought, as he twisted off the cap on his own beer. Aloud, he said, “We don’t know that for sure, Granddad.”

“Maybe you and Bram don’t. But I do.”

The beer in Jared’s hand paused halfway to his mouth as he cautiously eyed his great-grandfather. “If you know that much, then you must know what this person wants.”

George closed his eyes and scratched the top of his head. “No. Except that he means to hurt us in some way.”

“Us” meaning the Coltons, Jared silently translated his great-grandfather’s words. “Do you think Gran would know what any of this might be about?”

The old man narrowed his eyes shrewdly at Jared. “I wouldn’t ask her.”

Grimacing with frustration, Jared asked, “Why? If she can help solve this thing.”

“It would only worry her. To make her remember the past only hurts her. And she’s too fragile now.”

Old George was probably right, Jared thought. Unlike most people who’d reached their eighties, Gloria refused to talk about the bygone days. Especially the time she’d spent in Nevada. Even if she’d been up and about this evening she probably wouldn’t have told Jared anything.

“You make it sound like Gran has something to hide,” Jared said thoughtfully.

George’s wrinkled face creased into a cagey grin. “Everyone has something to hide. Even you, my son.”

Jared let out a good-natured chuckle. “I’ve never tried to hide the kind of man I am.”

The old Comanche didn’t reply. Instead he took a long drink of beer and stared across the room as though he were looking at the vast Oklahoma plains, back in a time when his ancestors drove mighty herds of horses over great grasslands and took their raids as far south as the Texas coast.

After a minute or two had passed Jared decided his great-grandfather’s mind had wandered completely off their conversation so he rose to his feet to check on the pizza.

“You are trying to hide what’s in here.”

George’s unexpected words had Jared turning away from the oven to see his great-grandfather thumping a fist against his chest.

Knowing he’d probably pay dearly for this, Jared asked it anyway. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You love the woman and her little dove, but you want to hide it away and keep it to yourself.”

For a moment Jared felt as though he’d had the wind knocked out of him. Sure, George had prophesied that the Great Spirit had meant for Jared and Kerry to be together and the foretelling remark had come true in a sense last night. But Jared had not expected George to be so perceptive about what was going on in his heart.

“And how do you know that I love Kerry?”

George grunted with amusement. “Because I can see that you’ve changed.”

Jared rolled his eyes. “You haven’t even seen me in several days. You don’t know what I’ve been doing.”

Another grunt sounded from the old man. “I don’t have to see you to know what’s been happening to you.”

Apparently not, Jared thought. Then wondered a bit sheepishly if his great-grandfather had somehow envisioned the passionate love he and Kerry had made last night. Just the thought of the totally selfless pleasure she’d given him still had the power to curl his toes.

Walking back over to the table, Jared sank down in the chair across from George. “Okay, Granddad. You’re right. I do love Kerry. I never thought I’d say that about any woman, but I’m saying it now.”

The old man’s wrinkled face took on a pleased look. “So why are you scared?”

Jared wasn’t going to bother asking him how he’d recognized his grandson’s fear. That part of it didn’t matter anymore. And for some reason it was reassuring to know that George understood him. Maybe even more than he understood himself.

Sighing, Jared ran a hand through his thick black hair. He hadn’t come to Willow’s this evening to get a lecture on women from his great-grandfather. In fact, he was still mostly in shock over his newfound love for Kerry. All day he’d been thinking, wondering how he was going to fit Kerry and Peggy into his life. He’d never planned to be a husband or a father. He’d never expected to want to be those things. But now he was suddenly seeing the world through different eyes.

“I’ve never had anyone of my own, Granddad. Not for keeps.”

“You haven’t wanted anybody for keeps,” George wisely pointed out.

Jared shrugged with resignation. “The minute a man gets hooked up with a woman, he has to start worrying about losing her.”

Clearly disappointed, George shook his head. “Losing a woman isn’t the worst thing that could ever happen to a man.”

Jared arched a brow at him. “I suppose now you’re going to tell me what the worst thing is,” he said wearily.

George directed his foretelling gaze straight at his grandson. “The worst thing for a man is not ever having a woman.”

The old man’s simple statement was so far from what Jared expected, he could only stare at him. Then slowly as the words settled deep inside him, it was as though George had suddenly pulled back a curtain and he could see how his life had been up until now and how it could be, had to be with Kerry.

“What’s going on? Are you two guys letting the pizza burn?”

Willow’s question snapped Jared out of his trance. “No, sis. But now that you’re here to take over I have to be going.”

His sister was clearly disappointed. “Oh, but aren’t you going to stay long enough to eat?”

Rising to his feet, Jared patted his great-grandfather on the shoulder. “Thanks sis, but I gotta run. Tell Gran I said hello.”

Outside, he climbed into his truck and pulled onto the street with intentions of heading straight to the WindWalker place. He had to talk to Kerry. Really talk to her. But he desperately needed a shower first. He didn’t want to give Enola one more excuse to dislike him.

Less than an hour later, he was shaved, showered and dressed in clean Levi’s and a blue cotton shirt. When he pulled to a stop in front of the WindWalker house, he noticed it was nearly nine-thirty. It was rather late to be calling, but lights filtering from the living room assured him the women were still up and about.

A few short moments after he knocked Kerry came to the door. When she saw that it was him, a look of surprise and joy crossed her face. “Jared! I didn’t expect to see you this evening.”

The sight of her sweet face and gentle smile filled him with a pleasure that was all new to Jared. She wasn’t just a beautiful woman he found attractive, she was the women he loved and that made everything different.

“You didn’t really expect me to stay away, did you?”

Kerry glanced back over her shoulder, then quietly stepped out to join him. The second she was standing beside him on the dark porch, Jared yanked her into his arms and covered her lips in a totally consuming kiss.

The connection was brief, but hot enough to leave them both dazed and gasping for breath. Kerry clung to the front of his shirt while his hands roamed her back and took pleasure in the soft, rounded curves of her body.

“Oh honey, I’ve missed you,” he said. “I had to see you tonight. I couldn’t wait.”

“Jared,” she said on a rush of breath. “We need—”

“To talk,” he explained. “Though God knows how I wish we could be together. Like we were last night.”

Heat suffused her cheeks as her eyes clung to his face. “I’ve been thinking constantly about that. About you and me—”

“You don’t regret it, do you?” he anxiously interrupted.

“No.”

He released a huge breath. “Thank God. Last night, after you went home, I was afraid you’d start having second thoughts.”

“No,” she repeated.

His hands gently framed her face. “We didn’t get to talk much last night before you left my house. That’s why I couldn’t let another day go past without seeing you.” He peered over her shoulder toward the door leading into the house. “What about now? Do you need to tend to Peggy?”

“She’s already in bed asleep. And my mother is lying down reading. Do you want to go into the house?”

He shook his head. “What I want to say to you—I want us to be entirely alone, okay?”

The urgency in his voice put her heartbeat in rapid motion. “Jared, is something wrong?”

He reached for her hand. “Let’s go sit in my truck,” he said.

Kerry allowed him to lead her out to his company vehicle, then help her climb into the cab. Once he was inside with her, he immediately pulled her into his arms and kissed her for long, dizzying moments.

When he finally broke the contact, Kerry drew in a ragged breath and rested her cheek against his shoulder. “I thought you said you wanted to talk.”

“I want to do everything with you, Kerry,” he murmured. “Funny how much I know that now.”

The weight of his hands, the scent of his skin and the hard warmth of his body soothed her, filled her with a quiet pleasure that worked itself all the way to her heart.

“I don’t understand, Jared.”

His husky chuckle slithered across her cheek. “I’m sure you don’t. I didn’t understand it myself until…we made love last night. And even then I didn’t quite want to admit it to myself.”

She waited for him to go on and when he didn’t, she tilted her head back far enough to see his face. “Admit what?”

A smile settled over his features. “That I love you.”

She stared at him in stunned fascination. He’d said the words so easily and with such confidence that it was difficult not to believe him. Yet it couldn’t be true, she thought. Jared Colton couldn’t love her.

A long, pent-up breath rushed past her lips. “Jared—last night—if you’re saying this just because—”

Her words halted as he gently grasped her face between his hands. “Last night was—I’ve never shared anything so special with anyone, Kerry. But that’s not why I told you that I love you. I told you because I mean it. Because I want you to know how I feel about you.”

Her ears had to believe what she was hearing, yet her heart wasn’t so easily convinced. It was still cowering behind its scarred past.

“I’m—I don’t know what to think,” she told him. “I’m not even sure I believe you.”

He groaned. “Kerry, remember when I told you I would never lie to you?”

She nodded, which immediately brought a smile to his face.

“Then believe me now.”

“A few moments ago you said you didn’t want to admit something to yourself. Were you talking about—loving me?”

He moved his hands to her shoulders. “Like I said before, Kerry, I’m not going to lie to you. So yeah, it was tough for me to admit to myself that I’d finally run into a woman I couldn’t take lightly.”

She was suddenly overwhelmed with the idea that maybe what he was saying was true. He really did love her. “Oh Jared. You could have anyone you wanted. Why me?”

With a hand at the back of her head, he pressed his cheek against hers. “My little sweetheart. I don’t want just anybody. You’ve ruined me. Now the only woman I’ll ever want is you.”

Tears suddenly clogged her throat, making it impossible to speak. With a tiny sob, she flung her arms around his neck and buried her face against his chest.

“Kerry? Are you crying?” he asked in disbelief.

When she didn’t answer, he tipped up her chin, then groaned as he spotted the tears on her face.

Using his forefinger, he gently wiped at the salty tracks on her cheeks. “Tell me, sweetheart. What’s wrong? Are you trying to let me down easy?”

That caught her attention and she stared at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Are you trying to tell me that you don’t love me back? That I’m wasting my time here?”

Her gaze dropped to where his shirt veed against his throat. “We haven’t known each other very long,” she murmured.

“We’ve known each other for years,” he argued.

“Only from a distance.”

His hand stroked her hair. “And that was enough for me.”

The simple statement went straight to her heart. “Oh Jared, this is all wrong. I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with a man like you.”

His hands were suddenly gripping her shoulder. “Say that again.”

Kerry dared to lift her eyes to his. “I wasn’t supposed to fall in love with a man like you.”

A slow, euphoric smile spread across his face. “Then you do love me.”

“I’m afraid I do.”

He appeared to miss the misery in her voice. Instead he showered kisses over her cheeks, down her neck, then back up to her lips, where he whispered, “Kerry, Kerry. Why would you be afraid?”

Sighing, she turned away from the temptation of his lips. “Jared, don’t you understand? I’ve spent the past four years trying to put my life back together. I didn’t think I’d ever want to be near another man. Now you’ve come along—”

With a hand at the side of her face, he urged her to look at him. “You’re going to be next to me for the rest of your life, Kerry. You might as well get ready for that.”

Torment filled her eyes. “Maybe you think that way right now—at this moment. But you’re a wanderer, Jared. You’ve already said you’ll be leaving Black Arrow once your job is finished. You haven’t changed your mind about that, have you?”

He eased her back so that he could look her fully in the face. “No,” he said after a moment. “But what does that have to do with you loving me and me loving you?”

Closing her eyes, she stifled down another groan of torment. “My home is here, Jared. Or were you just planning on us having a long-distance relationship?”

“Like hell,” he cursed. “Wherever I go, you go. You and Peggy.”

Her heart sank like a dead weight. “No, Jared. That’s not the kind of life I want or need. It’s not the kind of life I want for my daughter. I want us to have a real home, a rooted home.”

Jared released a heavy sigh, then slowly eased back in the seat. “What do you expect from me, Kerry? To give up my job? I worked like hell to get my engineering degree. It’s not something I want to just toss away. And let’s face it, we can’t live on love alone. I want to be able to give you financial security.”

Kerry didn’t know it was possible to feel so deliriously happy one minute and deflated the next. Jared loved her! Just knowing that thrilled her, filled her heart with wondrous joy. Yet her eyes were open enough to see that he had no intentions of giving her the kind of home she needed for herself and for Peggy. Why hadn’t she reminded herself of that fact last night before she’d made love with him, she asked herself bitterly.

Because once he’d touched you, that was it. You were like a little lamb lost and fool enough to think you’d find a home in the arms of the big bad wolf.

She sighed. “Surely you don’t think I’d be selfish enough to want you to give up your job?”

“Then what do you want me to do?”

Regret plunged deep inside her as she realized there was nothing he could do or say to break down the wall of differences between them. “Forget about me. About us and last night.”

He didn’t say anything and after a while, when the silence became too much for her to bear, she forced herself to look at him.

“I can’t. I won’t,” he said with grim resolution. “I don’t know about you, Kerry, but I’ve never felt like this about anyone before. You can’t ask me to give you up.”

She covered her face with both hands. “Oh Jared, this just isn’t going to work,” she mumbled. “We’ll only make each other miserable if we try.”

His brows inched upward as though he couldn’t believe what she was telling him. “If that’s the way you feel, then why did you sleep with me last night?” he asked angrily. “Why didn’t you make it clear you just wanted a one-night stand?”

Dropping her hands, she stared at him in stunned disbelief. “Is that what you think about me? Is that the sort of woman you think I am? I just told you that I loved you!”

His lips twisted. “Sure,” he said cynically. “You love me so much you’ll follow me to the ends of the earth.”

“And you love me so much you’ll forget about traveling the globe to work for some rich gas or oil company,” she shot back at him. As soon as the last word died on her lips, she regretted losing her temper. She didn’t want to hurt Jared. She loved him. But she couldn’t see what good that was going to do either of them now.

She reached for his hand and felt a sense of relief when his fingers clasped tightly around hers. “Oh Jared,” she pleaded, “I don’t want us to be angry at each other. We’ve just now found each other.”

He couldn’t stay angry with her, Jared realized. Not with her hand clinging to his and her eyes begging for him to understand.

He stroked a hand through her silky hair. “Then don’t ask me to forget you, Kerry. We’ll work this out somehow. Trust me.”

“I—told my mother this evening that she had to get used to you being in my life now.”

Surprised by her admission, he asked, “What did she think about that? Not much I’m sure.”

“She thinks I’m crazy to trust you. Am I?”

Jared drew her back into the circle of his arms. “I’m the one who’s crazy. I’d marry you tomorrow if you’d say the word.”

Instead of being thrilled at his mention of marriage, she was terrified to think of herself as Mrs. Jared Colton. She’d trustingly handed her heart to a man before and he’d eventually stomped it. A marriage license was no guarantee that Jared would be any different.

“Jared, this is too soon. I have Peggy to think about—”

“I adore Peggy. I want to be her father. I want to be your husband. What more do I need to say?”

At this moment Kerry wasn’t sure what she needed from him. Even if he said he’d forget his job and stay right here in Black Arrow, she wouldn’t be convinced they could make it as a family.

“There’s nothing you can say, Jared,” she said in a raw, husky voice. “It’s not your fault. It’s mine. I’m just not ready to jump in with both feet.”

“Then I’ll have to do everything I can to make you ready,” he said gently.

She pressed a kiss on his cheek, then pushed herself away from him. “It’s getting late. I’ve got to go in.”

“All right,” he reluctantly agreed, “but we’ll take this up tomorrow night at my house. I’ll cook supper for you and Peggy.”

“You’re not playing fair, Jared.”

Grinning sexily, he leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her lips. “I have no intention of playing fair, Kerry. So get ready.”

“Jared—”

The rest of her protest was cut off by a hungry kiss that left Kerry’s senses reeling, crumbling beneath a hot weight of desire.

“All right, I’ll see you tomorrow night,” she promised once he lifted his head. But as she quickly climbed out of the truck and headed into the house, she wondered if she’d lost her mind, along with her heart.

Chapter Eleven

The next evening Jared was frying T-bone steaks when Bram entered the kitchen by way of the back door. One glance at his tired face told Jared something other than a brotherly chat was on his mind.

“Hey, an unexpected visit from my brother,” Jared greeted him. “What’s up?”

Bram pulled out a chair from the kitchen table and straddled it. “I’m on my way home to the ranch. I thought I’d stop by and clue you in on the fire.”

Jared turned away from the sizzling skillet to face his brother. “Has the fire inspector come to any conclusions?”

“He wound up the investigation this afternoon and although it will be a while before he makes any public statement, he’s told me it was a clear case of arson. In fact, he said there wasn’t even an attempt to hide the origin of the fire. Someone splashed gasoline everywhere then tossed on a few burning candles.”

Even though Jared had pretty much suspected the fire had been set, hearing the facts from Bram sent a cold chill to the pit of his stomach.

“Hell, Bram, what’s going on here? Who would want to hurt me and Kerry?”

“We don’t know if the arson was meant to harm you two. The perpetrator might not have been aware that you two were in the courthouse.”

Jared cursed. “You don’t believe that any more than I do. The bastard knew we were there. He couldn’t have missed the light or our voices. He was only a room away from us!”

Bram swiped a hand across his face. “Yeah. You’re right. I think there was real criminal intent here,” he admitted in a weary tone. “I’m just not sure if the fire was directed toward you and Kerry or if it was only set to destroy county records. Or both.”

Suddenly remembering the steaks, Jared turned back to the cookstove and flipped the contents of the skillet.

“I don’t get it, Bram. Kerry and I went through most of the birth and marriage certificates in the Colton family and we didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Why would anyone want to destroy our family records?”

“Why does anyone want to destroy information,” he said grimly. “To cover up something.”

“Yeah. But what?” Jared countered. “I went by the feed store last night to talk to Gran about it. I was hoping she could shed some light on this whole thing. But she wasn’t feeling well and had gone to bed.”

“I doubt she would have told you anything.” Bram replied. “She’s always been tight-lipped. Especially about her younger years.”

“I can’t understand why,” Jared said as he forked one of the seared T-bones onto a warmed platter. “She’s been a widow for what, sixty years or more now? You’d think she could talk about the man without breaking apart.”

Bram rose from the chair to join Jared at the stove. “You think this has something to do with our grandfather?”

Jared shrugged. “Hell Bram, I’m just guessing. I really can’t see how it could be connected to him. Gran is eighty years old and as far as we know she’s never heard anything from his family. We don’t even know if he had any family.”

Bram took a few moments to mull over Jared’s suggestion before he spoke. “That’s true enough. And I’m not so sure I want to be the one to question Gran about this,” he admitted. “Are you going to try again?”

Jared reached up to a cabinet to his left and pulled down three plates. “George says I shouldn’t. He says it won’t gain anything and will only upset her.”

Bram cast a curious look at his younger brother. “George? What does Granddad know about any of this?”

Jared snorted. “Are you kidding? That old man knows everything.” He glanced at Bram. “Did you tell him about the fire—that someone tried to fry me and Kerry?”

“Lord, no! I haven’t even spoken to him in several days. When did you?”

Jared pulled out a drawer of silverware and picked out three of everything. “Last night at the feed store. He says a crazy coyote is stalking the Colton family. And that we all need to watch out for his tracks.”

Bram chuckled. “Jared, the man is ninety-seven years old. He believes he’s some damn Comanche medicine man or prophet, or something.”

“Try chief,” Jared said dryly.

“Well, whatever, he couldn’t have known about you and Kerry. The only people who know you were in the building are the firefighters and the fire inspector.”

Maybe Bram didn’t believe in George’s spouts of wisdom, but Jared wasn’t about to dismiss their great-grandfather’s words. Especially after George’s uncanny perception about him and Kerry.

Carrying the plates and silverware to the table, he began to place the settings on three placemats. “Did you have any trouble convincing the fire inspector that Kerry and I were innocent victims?”

“No. You were there legally. You had my permission. It would have been idiotic for you two to set a fire, then call the fire department and remain there to try to put it out. Besides, the inspector knows I’d tell him the truth. Even if it meant incriminating my own brother.”

“Thanks,” Jared said with a wry chuckle as he headed back to the cookstove and the sizzling skillet of steak. “I always knew if I got in a pinch you’d step up to bat for me.”

“You’re not in a pinch, so you’d better thank God, and me, for that,” he told him, then glanced pointedly at the table set for three. “Are you having guests for supper, or did you put out two extra plates for me?” Bram asked.

Jared chuckled again. “Not hardly. Kerry and her daughter are coming out tonight.” With a broad grin, he glanced at his wristwatch. “In fact, they’ll be here in just a few minutes.”

Folding his arms across his chest, Bram leaned against the cabinet counter as he studied his brother. “Hmm. Cooking supper for a woman. And her child. This is a new one for you.”

“Get used to it, Bram. I’m going to make Kerry my wife.”

Totally stunned, Bram stared at him. “I knew you were attracted to the woman, but marriage—hell, I never thought I’d see this day. You a husband!”

Jared grimaced. “What do you mean by that? You’re older than me and you still haven’t hitched yourself up with a woman.”

Ignoring the personal jab, Bram said, “If you ask me, this is all rather sudden. What does Kerry think about this? Has she agreed to marry you?”

Jared opened the oven door and tested the baking potatoes for doneness. “No. But she will.”

“What’s the matter?” Bram asked wryly. “Losing your touch?”

Jared shut the oven door, then raised up to glare at his brother. “The woman has been hurt. She’s a little leery.”

“Of you? Or marriage in general?”

Jared sighed. “Both, I expect. She thinks I’ll drag her and Peggy from state to state and she doesn’t want that. She wants a permanent home.”

“Most women want to stay put, Jared. Surely you can understand that.”

Jared nodded glumly. “Yeah, I can understand it. But what am I supposed to do? I can’t just toss my job away and settle for a menial job that would do well to cover the monthly cost of living, much less savings or luxuries. I don’t want that kind of life for Kerry and Peggy. I want to be able to give them everything they want and deserve.”

Bram studied him for long moments. “I may be crazy, but I actually believe you’re in love.”

A wide, charmed smile spread over Jared’s face. “Bram, I never thought I’d ever meet a woman like Kerry. I wasn’t even hunting one like her, because I didn’t think they existed. But everything about her is wonderful. Her smile, her walk and talk and the way her little hand hangs on to mine like I’m some brave Comanche warrior that will always keep her safe.” He stopped and shook his head in amazement. “Do you know she wouldn’t leave me alone that night in the burning room? The ceiling could have fallen at any moment, but she was more concerned about my safety. And I don’t have to tell you what a dedicated mother she is to Peggy.”

Bram grinned. “Yeah. And I can also see that you’re pretty hooked on the woman.” His expression sobered. “So you need to make this work, Jared. No matter what you have to do.”

Jared closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “That’s what worries me, Bram. I don’t know what to do. And it scares me to death to think I might lose Kerry.”

Bram patted his brother’s shoulder. “You’ll know the right thing to do when the time comes. And who knows,” he added with a teasing grin, “maybe Granddad can give you some of his sage wisdom.”

Jared dropped his hand and shot him an annoyed look. “Don’t make fun of George. I’m telling you, Bram, he knows things. He may sound kooky at times, but he sees this stuff before it happens. It wouldn’t hurt any of us to listen more closely to what he has to say.”

Bram started to laugh, but the serious look on Jared’s face stopped him. “Jared, what’s happened to you? You were always the first one to poke fun at Granddad’s visions and predictions.”

Jared let out a long breath. “I don’t know, Bram. I guess love changes a man. It opens his eyes. Or at least, it has mine. Everything seems different to me now. I never knew the sky was so blue or the grass so green. Maybe you ought to try it.”

The suggestion was enough to get Bram headed toward the door. “I’m a happy man just like I am. So I’m gonna get out of here before your little honey arrives.”

“Hey Bram,” Jared called to him as he stepped out the door. “Let me know if you get any leads on the arsonist. I’d like to see him behind bars.”

“You and me both, brother.” He lifted his hand in farewell and shut the door behind him.

Jared turned back to finishing the last of the meal and while he worked, his mind kept turning over the news Bram had given him. Someone had blatantly set fire to the courthouse. Not only that, he’d set it in the very room next to where he and Kerry had been working. Why hadn’t they heard him moving about? he wondered. And how had the person gotten in without being noticed? He hoped to heck Bram could figure it out. The idea that someone was out for him or anyone that he loved chilled him.

Ten minutes later, he was taking a loaf of buttered Italian bread out of the oven, when he heard Kerry’s knock on the front door.

He hurried out to greet her and was totally bowled over the moment he opened the door and spotted her on the threshold. She was wearing a filmy dress printed in small pink and burgundy flowers. The neck was scooped low and the bodice clung to her body, outlining the pert curves of her breasts. Her hair was pulled back on the sides and fastened with silver barrettes. The extra touch of makeup on her eyes and lips gave her an exotic, tempting look and the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss the cherry color from her mouth hit him like a hammer. But with little Peggy standing at her side, he had to control himself.

“Hello,” he greeted her, while pushing open the door to allow them entry. “You’re right on time. I just took the bread out of the oven.”

As they stepped past him, he leaned forward and planted a swift kiss on Kerry’s cheek. Color immediately bloomed in her face and she cast him a shy smile.

“I’m glad we haven’t kept you waiting,” she murmured.

“It was worth it,” he said softly as his eyes devoured the sight of her. “You look gorgeous tonight.”

“Thank you.”

His gaze lingered on her lips for one last moment, then he turned his attention to Peggy. The little girl was dressed in a blue short set and her wavy black hair was pulled into a bouncy ponytail atop her head.

As Jared squatted on his heels, and drew the child into the circle of his arm, emotions swelled in his chest. He’d never thought much about being a father or how it might feel to have a child of his own, but Peggy had changed all that.

“How’s my best girl? Have you missed me?” he asked.

She nodded fiercely. “I’ve been telling Mama to call you, ’cause I wanted to see you. But she says you have lots of things to do and that we can’t be bothering you.”

He shot a frown up at Kerry, then turned an apologetic smile on Peggy. “I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to see you in a few days, Chenoa. But I haven’t forgotten you. Next to your mother, you’re my very best girl.”

A wide grin spread across her pretty little face and she curled her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

Above her head, Jared glanced at Kerry, who was smiling indulgently at the two of them. “Think I’m forgiven?” he asked Kerry.

She laughed softly. “I think she’d forgive you anything.”

Chuckling, Jared rose to his feet with Peggy perched carefully on his arm. “Come on, little dove,” he said, “let’s eat and then we’ll go outside and I’ll push you in the swing.”

In the kitchen, the table was already laid out with tossed salad, baked potatoes, steak and hot bread. Jared found a big cooking pot and turned it upside down in a chair for Peggy to use as a booster seat. After he carefully seated her and then Kerry, he went to the cabinet and poured iced tea for the adults and a glass of milk for Peggy.

“If you cooked this yourself, I’m very impressed,” Kerry told him when he’d taken his own seat at the end of the table. “Are you sure Willow didn’t do this?”

He laughed at her suggestion. “Willow’s a tomboy, always has been. I can cook anything she can. Besides, there’s nothing to it. Anybody can throw a piece of meat in a skillet.”

“It takes a little more work than that to make all this,” she said gesturing toward the food on the table.

“Mama makes spaghetti,” Peggy spoke up, “and it’s good. She knows how to cook everything.”

Jared’s brows lifted suggestively as he looked at Kerry. “Sounds like I’m in for all kinds of treats.”

His double-edged remark had her clearing her throat. “I’m not so sure about that,” she murmured, amazed at how easily he could turn her cheeks beet red.

“Well,” he said to Peggy, “I doubt this food is as good as your mama’s, but maybe you’ll like it.”

He passed a bowl to Kerry who immediately began to fill Peggy’s plate.

“Fred likes spaghetti, but Claws don’t like it too much,” Peggy continued. “He likes tuna.”

“I’ll bet he likes tuna,” Jared said with a chuckle, then asked the child, “You haven’t been following Fred out of the yard anymore have you?”

Peggy shook her head back and forth. “Uh-uh. I don’t want to get lost again. And Claws is too little to go out of the yard. He might get hurt. So I stay there with him.”

Jared reached over and patted her cheek. “That’s my good girl.”

For the next half hour the three of them enjoyed the meal while Peggy took charge of the conversation. Jared had to admit he was entranced with the child. He’d not known someone so young could be so bright and talkative. And as he watched her animated expressions it was so easy to imagine her growing into a beautiful young woman. His daughter. He wanted to give her the best of everything. He wanted her to have every chance to follow her dreams, to become a doctor, lawyer, or whatever her heart desired. And most of all he wanted to be there to love her, guide her and hold her hand in case she stumbled.

Once they left the table and started outside to the backyard, Peggy ran on ahead to the swing dangling from the huge sycamore.

Kerry strolled alongside Jared, who had looped his arm through hers.

“You’re probably regretting that you invited Peggy tonight,” Kerry commented. “She chattered the whole meal.”

“I love Peggy. I never get tired of hearing her talk. She’s such an intelligent little thing. I really think she ought to go into law. She already has a command of her words.”

Kerry looked at him with surprise. “You say that like you mean it.”

He glanced down at her. “I do mean it. Peggy is going to be my daughter. She’s going to have my name. Legally. And I want her to have the best education. The best of everything. Just like I want it for you.”

She swallowed as a ball of emotions thickened her throat. “Jared, you’re going so fast.”

“I’m not a guy to sit back on my heels, Kerry. Once I make up my mind I like to go full steam ahead.”

“But marriage is serious. And I’d wager a month ago the idea of becoming a husband and father never entered your mind.”

He grinned at her. “Of course it didn’t,” he admitted. “But that was before I saw you.”

She groaned. “Oh Jared, I don’t know what to think about you.”

“All you need to think about is how much you love me.”

That wouldn’t be hard to do, Kerry thought. Jared was on her mind from morning until night. When she wasn’t with him, she felt lost. All she could do was count off the hours until she had the chance to be with him again. She never dreamed she’d allow another man to get this deep a hold on her again. But Jared had a grip on her heart and she didn’t see any way of breaking it.

“Jared, come push me, please,” Peggy called out.

“I’m coming, honey.”

At the swing, Jared gave Peggy several pushes until she was flying high in the air.

“More,” she called when he quit.

“No. You don’t need to go any higher. You might fall out. Your mother and I are going to sit down on that bench over there and watch you. So you can show us how you can swing yourself. Okay?”

“Okay. And you’d better watch, ’cause I might go really high.”

“I’ll be keeping my eye on you,” he promised, then whispered next to Kerry’s ear as the two of them headed toward the park bench positioned near the trunk of the tree. “I think you raised a little daredevil in the disguise of an angel.”

Kerry laughed softly. “You don’t know the half of it. Before she got lost in the pipe she was into everything. You couldn’t turn your back on her for five minutes. But, as bad as it was, the trauma of not being able to get out of that hole taught her a lesson. She understands that things can hurt her.”

The two of them sank onto the bench and Jared quickly slid his arm around Kerry’s shoulders and drew her close to his side.

“You look too beautiful tonight, Kerry. Are you trying to torment me?”

Her heart thudded with pleasure as her eyes lifted to his. “I wanted to look nice for you.”

“You do, honey. Way too nice. Especially when I can’t make love to you.”

“Jared,” she scolded softly.

He bent his head toward hers. “You know you want to make love to me, too,” he murmured.

She breathed deeply as hot memories of their lovemaking flashed through her mind. “Yes.”

“Oh Kerry, we’ve got to get married. Soon. Next week.”

Her eyes flew wide. “Jared, I can’t marry you now. Like this. We don’t have anything settled!”

“What do we need to settle? We love each other. Isn’t that all that matters?”

Perhaps it should be, Kerry thought. If she was brave enough maybe she could simply tell him yes. She would marry him in a minute, tomorrow, whenever he wanted. But she wasn’t brave. She’d loved and trusted once before and had her world crumble right before her eyes. She’d watched her mother live the bigger part of her married life alone and miserable while her husband hopped from town to town doing odd jobs.

“Of course it matters. I wouldn’t marry any man unless I loved him. But I want security, Jared. I want a settled home life.”

“And I’ll give you that, honey. It just might not be here in Black Arrow,” he said.

Sighing, she turned her eyes on Peggy, who was doing her best to pump the swing higher. For the past four years she’d worked hard to make a home for her daughter, to sink roots and keep their lives on a steady course. It terrified her to think of ripping all of that up for the unknown.

“Jared, you don’t know where you’ll be going or when.”

“No. But what does that hurt?”

She looked at him in disbelief. “In other words when your job calls, you expect me to pack up and leave my job and everything behind to go with you.”

He frowned. “You make it sound like I’m selfish and uncaring.”

She slipped her hands around his and squeezed his fingers. “No. I don’t think you’re selfish. I just don’t think you’re ready to be a husband.”

Anger spurted through him and he turned his head away from her and drew in a deep breath. “I’m beginning to think you don’t want to be a wife. To me or anyone.” He looked at her, his blue eyes filled with pain and frustration. “I think if everything was perfect—if my job, my home would always keep us here—you’d still be afraid to commit to me. You’ve got it in your head that I’m still a playboy. That in the end, I’ll let you down like Damon and your father.”

She swallowed as tears burned her throat. “I can’t argue with you, Jared. I am afraid. I’m sorry, but I am. Please try to understand.”

He heaved out a heavy breath. “And what am I supposed to do while I’m trying to understand? I love you, Kerry. I want you. Can’t you understand that?”

She nodded glumly. “Yes. I do. And I— Oh, I think the best thing for me and Peggy to do right now is go home.”

He tightened his hold on her hands. “I don’t want you to leave. Running away isn’t going to fix anything.”

“Staying doesn’t seem to be fixing anything either,” she pointed out miserably. “And I don’t want us to argue and spoil the rest of our evening.”

His lips suddenly twisted to a crooked grin. “I don’t want us to argue either. So I won’t mention marriage for at least another thirty minutes.”

How could she stay vexed with him, she thought, when just a little grin was enough to melt her heart. “You’re crazy. You’re awful,” she said softly.

He brought his forehead against hers. “Yeah. But you love me anyway.”

“Yeah. I guess I do.”

He moved closer and touched his lips to hers. “I’ll settle for that much right now,” he said, then easing back, he stroked his fingers down the side of her face. “And anyway, I have something else to talk to you about.”

Her brows arched upward. “Really? I thought you had a one-track mind.”

He chuckled, but she noticed the amused look on his face didn’t last for long.

“Bram came by this evening. Shortly before you and Peggy arrived. He had news about the fire investigation.”

She looked at him with dread. “Oh. Is the inspector wanting to question us?”

Jared shook his head. “No. Thankfully, Bram handled that part of things. From what he says the inspector realizes we were totally innocent bystanders.”

Kerry breathed a sigh of relief. “That’s wonderful. Then the whole thing was just an accident that happened to occur while we were there?”

His features tight, Jared shook his head again. “Nothing about it was an accident, Kerry. Someone sloshed the place with gasoline, then tossed on lighted candles.”

She stared at him with shock. “Oh no, Jared. That’s—it’s too evil to even think about. I can’t believe someone would do that—not while we were in there!”

“But they did, Kerry. I told Bram there was no way the person couldn’t have known we were in the next room. The light was on. We’d been talking. You even walked down the hall to the rest room and back.”

She shivered as her mind retraced that last night they’d been in the courthouse. “That scares me, Jared. Whoever it was—he could have grabbed me. You might have never known where I was. Or smelled the fire before it was too late!”

“Don’t think about that part of it now, Kerry. But I do want you to be extra careful. Like tonight. I’m going to follow you back home. Just to make sure someone isn’t on your tail.”

Her brown eyes grew dark with fear before they darted out to where Peggy had left the swing to pick clover blooms from the thick blanket of grass beneath the tree. “But Jared, why would someone want to harm me?”

“We don’t know that you are a target. But it’s obvious the Coltons are. And since you’re connected to me you could be caught up in this thing.”

She did her best to swallow down the lump of fear in her throat. “What does Bram think about all this? Does he have any leads on who might have set the fire?”

A grimace flattened his lips to a thin line. “Not yet. But I can assure you that he and his department will be working to catch this maniac. Until then, I want you to be very careful. Especially if you go out alone.”

“I will,” she promised. “But what about you, Jared. I don’t want anything to happen to you!”

The corners of his lips lifted in a brief smile. “I think you actually mean that.”

Her fingers reached up to touch his cheek. “I might be afraid to marry you, Jared, but that doesn’t stop me from loving you.”

He caught her hand and was pressing a kiss in the center of her palm when Peggy came skipping up to them. She had a fistful of clover blooms, but rather than offer them to her mother as she usually did, she thrust them at Jared.

“Thank you, little dove,” he told her as he carefully accepted the short white blossoms. “These are the first flowers I’ve ever had given to me.”

Peggy swelled with pride then twirled on her toes before she wedged her way between Jared’s knees. “Do you have any ice cream I can eat?”

Jared threw back his head and laughed while Kerry scolded, “Peggy! You’re Jared’s company. You’re not supposed to be asking him for things to eat.”

“She can ask me for anything she wants,” Jared said, then rising from the bench, he picked up Peggy and set her on his shoulders. “Come on, Mama,” he said to Kerry, “I think I have a half gallon of strawberry ice cream just waiting for my little girl to eat.”

His little girl. The simple words darted right through to Kerry’s heart and as she walked next to Jared and listened to Peggy’s shrieks of pleasure, she felt as if her life was snowballing out of control. Peggy had picked the father she wanted and Jared appeared to be champing at the bit to make the three of them a family. So why wasn’t she thrilled about it all? she asked herself. What was it going to take to give her the courage to become Jared’s wife?

She didn’t know the answer. But there was one thing she was certain about. Jared was not a patient man. He wouldn’t wait around on her forever.

Chapter Twelve

“Are you getting ill, Kerry? You’ve been playing with that French fry for the past ten minutes.”

Kerry glanced across the small table at her friend, Christa. The two women had decided to go out to a fast-food restaurant for lunch today, rather than eat a sandwich in the bank’s employee lounge.

Kerry shrugged. “No. I’m not ill. I just have a lot on my mind, Christa.”

“Peggy’s okay, isn’t she?”

A rueful smile twisted Kerry’s lips. “Oh my daughter couldn’t be better. She has Jared wrapped around her little finger. Or maybe he has her wrapped around his. Either way, it’s a total love affair.”

Christa smiled. “I think that’s great. Don’t you?”

Another shrug lifted Kerry’s shoulders as her expression turned pensive. “You know, after Damon dumped me, I’ve prayed that a man would come along to love my daughter, to be a good father to her. And I want to think Jared is that man. But I’m—just not sure.”

Christa’s brows arched with surprise. “I don’t understand. You just told me they were crazy about each other. It sounds like Jared is very good with Peggy.”

Kerry made a helpless gesture with her hand. “He’s great with Peggy. I can’t imagine a man being any better with her. But—”

“All right, what’s the matter here?” Christa prodded. “You’ve been acting like you’ve lost your best friend for the past couple of days. Has something happened with you and Jared?”

Kerry tossed the French fry and wiped her hands on a napkin. “Jared wants to get married. Soon.”

Christa let out a gasp of surprise, then a bright smile lit her face. “Boy, he’s a quick worker. But I think it’s wonderful! Don’t you?”

Shaking her head, Kerry thrust a hand through her black hair and pushed the heavy swath away from her cheek. “I don’t know what to think, Christa. I love Jared. But I’m—just not sure he’s ready for marriage.”

Christa frowned. “But why? The man is in his thirties. He ought to know by now if he wants to be a husband.”

“He’s thirty-four. And he says his playboy days are over. I believe him when he says that. But I’m not sure he’s ready to settle down in the sense of building a home.”

“He has a place here in Black Arrow. Wouldn’t you live there?”

Kerry grimaced. “Not permanently. As soon as Jared’s job is finished he’ll be moving on to another. And there’s no telling where that might be.”

“Oh. So how much longer will he be here in Black Arrow?” Christa asked.

“I’m not sure. I think his job here is winding down. So we might not have much time left to be together.”

Christa looked shocked. “But Kerry! Surely you’re not going to let Jared’s job stand in the way of your marriage? That’s crazy! Do you know how many women would kill to be in your position?”

Pain filled Kerry’s features. “Look, Christa, I have nothing against Jared’s job. He’s very good at what he does and he gets top money for doing it. But I have a daughter to think about. I don’t want to drag her all over the country from one town, one state to the next. I want a home for us. One that I know will always be there.”

Christa reached across the small table and touched Kerry’s hand. “But Kerry, home isn’t necessarily a place or a house. It’s the three of you being together. Haven’t you ever thought about it like that?”

“Believe me, I’ve tried, Christa,” she said miserably. “And maybe in the end, I just keep remembering all those promises Damon made that never came through. And my own father rarely ever showing his face in his own home.”

“Jared isn’t like either one of those men. You shouldn’t be comparing.”

Kerry shot her a tired look. “Don’t tell me you haven’t forgotten all the misery your ex put you through. And believe me, Christa, when another man comes into your life you’ll see that you can’t readily toss all those painful lessons aside. No matter if he is Mr. Wonderful.”

Christa made a disapproving click of her tongue. “You sound bitter, Kerry. Just like your mother. And you always swore you’d never be that way.”

For a moment Christa’s words brought her up short. Had she turned as bitter and mistrusting as her mother? Dear Lord, she hoped not. Otherwise, she was going to have a miserable life ahead of her.

Glancing at her wristwatch, she said, “It’s getting late. We’d better get back to the bank.”

Christa looked as though she wanted to say something else but at the last moment decided against it. “Okay, just give me a minute to put on some lipstick. That way my boss might not notice if we’re five minutes late,” she added with a giggle.

A few moments later, the two women were traveling down a busy street not far from the bank when they spotted a commotion on the next block ahead of them.

“What in the world is going on up there?” Christa mouthed the question before Kerry had the chance. “Looks like a bunch of police cars are gathered at the newspaper office.”

Kerry leaned up in the seat. “Slow down,” she said to Christa, who was driving. “Maybe we can see what’s going on.”

As their car crept through the congested area of traffic, Christa said, “Look, there’s yellow crime tape all around the front door.”

Kerry peered carefully at the group of lawmen standing on the sidewalk in front of the building’s entrance. “There’s Bram. If the sheriff has been called in on this, it must be something serious.”

“Must be,” Christa agreed. “Maybe we’ll find out something when we get back to the bank.” She shook her blond head with dismay. “First the courthouse is set on fire and now the newspaper office has trouble. What in the world is happening to our town?”

“I don’t know,” Kerry replied, but inwardly she was praying this new incident had no connection to the last one. It was already spooky enough thinking someone might be looking over her or Jared’s shoulder.



Lunchtime had come and gone when Jared spotted Bram pulling onto the work site. His brother’s unexpected appearance surprised Jared. Especially when he knew how Bram had been swamped with work these past few days.

“Looks like you’re about to wind things up here,” Bram said as he joined Jared in an out-of-the-way spot.

Jared gazed proudly out at the ground that had once been strewn and gouged with broken pipes. Now the earth was smooth again and the only thing left was the massive valve which controlled the flow of the gas well.

“Two or three more days,” Jared told him. “We’ve been blessed with dry weather. So that’s speeded things up quite a bit.”

Bram sighed. “I’m glad one of us has had a good break.”

Jared glanced at him sharply. “Don’t tell me something else has happened.”

“The newspaper office was broken into some time during the night.”

Jared’s forehead wrinkled with confusion. “The newspaper office?” he repeated. “I wouldn’t think they’d have much cash lying around.”

“The perpetrator wasn’t looking for money,” Bram said grimly. “There was some cash in a small safe in the business office, but it wasn’t disturbed. No, it seems this thief was only interested in old papers and microfilm. Any old news that had articles about the Coltons.”

Jared’s jaw dropped as he stared at his brother. “Oh hell, no. How can you be sure of that?”

“Because the things were strewn around. The piece on when our parents were killed—when you and I and our siblings were born. When Uncle Thomas and Aunt Alice were married and our cousins were born. Do I need to say more?”

Jared’s mind was whirling. “That’s the same stuff—”

“The maniac destroyed in the courthouse.”

Shaking his head with dismay, Jared pulled off his hard hat and sank down on the edge of a front bumper on a nearby work truck. “Bram, this is getting downright eerie. Not to mention crazy. Have you talked to the rest of the family about this?”

Bram drew in a long breath, then let it out slowly. “No. But I’m going to have to make some sort of decision. Especially if you say George is already spouting off.”

“Well, Aunt Alice and Uncle Thomas have a right to know. And our cousins. George isn’t going to say anything to Gloria, he’s already made that clear. But Willow knows a little about what’s going on. We can’t keep it hidden from the rest for very long.”

Bram let out another weary breath. “You’re right. But I would like to have something more concrete to tell them than what we have right now. Which is very damn little.” He glanced at Jared. “Look, I have another investigation going on right now and I have to go up to Kiowa County to extradite a prisoner this afternoon. I was wondering if you and Kerry might be willing to drive out to George’s place this evening and go through his old papers, photographs or anything that might shed some light on this mess.”

The only thing Jared wanted or needed to do tonight was be with Kerry. And make love to her until she understood she was going to be his woman. Now and always.

“Sure. We can do that,” he said, hoping she’d be willing. “But what about George? Is he home or still with Gran at the feed store?”

“I went by there a few minutes ago. Seems Gran still doesn’t feel good, so George doesn’t want to leave. I took him aside and talked to him about the papers and things. He doesn’t care what you look at. He said anything that had any value at all was stored in boxes in his bedroom closet.”

“Good. I’ll go through everything. Although I doubt I’ll know what I’m looking for, even if I see it,” Jared told him, then asked, “What did George have to say about all this to you?”

“Hell,” Bram cursed. “I thought you said the old man knew something. I couldn’t get anything out of him that made sense. When I mentioned you and Kerry, he started uttering this stuff about me. That I shouldn’t hide behind my Comanche heritage and that one day when I least expect it, I’ll hear the coyote’s cry and my life will be changed forever.”

Chuckling, Jared lifted both palms in helpless defense. “Sorry brother, I didn’t promise he’d make sense all the time.”

“Just part of the time would be a help,” Bram said wryly, then gestured toward his waiting truck. “I’ve got to be going.”

Jared slapped his hard hat back on and walked alongside Bram as headed toward his vehicle. “Bram, what does your gut tell you about this—and this stranger looking into our family?”

“As for the stranger,” Bram answered grimly, “no one has seen him except Hazel Watkins at the courthouse. And she can’t remember much. Brown hair and eyes. Medium build. Nothing noticeable like scars or tattoos. She described him as skulking, but I’m not sure if she means suspicious or rude. In any case, my gut tells me this isn’t fun and games.”

Jared glanced over at him. “This is one time I wish I didn’t agree with you, brother.”



When Kerry arrived home that evening from work, the telephone was ringing and no one seemed to be answering.

Tossing down her handbag at the kitchen table, she snatched the receiver from the wall phone.

“Hello. WindWalker residence,” she answered breathlessly.

“Kerry, it’s me.”

Her heart jerked into overdrive. Even though Jared had consumed her thoughts today, she’d not expected him to be calling so early this evening.

“Jared, I’m surprised to hear your voice.”

A sensual chuckle came back at her. “I don’t know why. You ought to know by now that I’m not going to let much time pass without seeing or talking to you.”

Without her even knowing it, a wide smile spread across her face. “I’m not sure I know that, but I’ll take your word for it. Why are you calling?”

“I was wondering if you could drive out with me to Granddad’s this evening?”

The idea of spending that much time with Jared, especially out in the quiet countryside was enormously appealing, but she couldn’t have Peggy out late two nights in a row. Since he already knew her rules about that, he must be expecting her to go on this trip alone with him, she thought quickly.

“I realize you don’t want to keep Peggy out late,” he went on as though reading her mind. “But actually I—was hoping we could be alone.”

A soft rush of breath caught in her throat as heat suffused her body like a warm ocean wave. “Jared—I can’t—”

“Don’t say can’t,” he interrupted.

She laughed in spite of herself. “You just used a double negative.”

“I have to use double negatives to cancel your single negatives,” he reasoned. “And before your mind gets to reading too many naughty thoughts into this invitation, let me tell you I have another reason for you to go. Besides making love to you,” he added seductively.

The easy way he talked to her about making love was something new for Kerry. But then everything about having a man like Jared in her life was all new and totally overwhelming. Especially for a Comanche girl who’d lived a somewhat sheltered life.

“Oh,” she said guardedly. “What is it?”

“Have you heard about the newspaper office being broken into?”

A sinking feeling hit the pit of her stomach. “Christa and I passed it today on our lunch hour. We saw lots of police around the place, but we weren’t able to find out what happened.”

“Good. Maybe the general public won’t hear the whole account. They’ll just hear that it was a case of simple vandalism.”

Kerry gripped the phone and turned to face the door which led out to the backyard. Through the window, she could see Peggy and Enola in the vegetable garden picking tomatoes. This morning at the breakfast table, her daughter had still been chattering away about Jared and their visit to his house. Kerry had half expected her mother to try to shush the child, but instead Enola had remained painfully silent.

“What do you mean? Was this—something to do with your family?” Kerry asked.

Jared sighed. “The perpetrator was looking for certain things,” he answered bleakly. “The same things he was after in the courthouse.”

Kerry felt as if someone plunged a fist into her midsection. “Jared, I’ve been trying to tell myself that no one was really out to harm us. That the fire was just a coincidence, but now—after this I guess I’d be deluding myself, wouldn’t I?”

“I’m sorry, honey, but you would. I understand it’s hard for someone like you, who wouldn’t hurt a fly, to think of anyone being so malicious, but we’ve got to face facts. That’s why I need your help tonight.”

“Help?”

“Yeah. Bram has asked us to go through Granddad’s old papers and photos. He’s hoping we’ll find some sort of lead.”

“What about George?” Kerry wanted to know. “What will he think about us looking at his private papers?”

“He’s already told Bram for us to have at it. Besides,” he added with husky pleasure, “George isn’t going to be there.”



She should have told him a big fat no, Kerry thought, as moments later she dug through the closet for something to wear. The minute she’d heard George WhiteBear wasn’t going to be home, she should have put on the brakes. Spending the evening alone with Jared would do nothing to help her clear her mind of the man. And she had to clear it, she told herself firmly. Because she could see a heartache coming.

He said he loved her. But did he really? she asked herself as she stepped into a gauzy white skirt printed with green leaves. He was a man who’d had many women down through the years. It might be that all he really wanted was her body and once he got his fill of that he’d be finished with her. Just as Damon had been finished with her.

Kerry stared at herself in the mirror as she tied the drawstring at her waist. She wasn’t a glamour queen by any means. She was a simple Indian girl. She’d always considered her looks forgettable. She couldn’t see why Jared would be so taken with her. Especially for a lifetime.

But he says he loves you. He says he wants to marry you.

Groaning at the little voice in her head, she walked over to a chest of drawers and picked up the tiny framed photo of her mother and father when they were young. It was the only photo she had of the two of them and if Enola had her way it would be thrust out of sight.

Wistfully, she touched a finger to her father’s grainy image. She’d loved him and wanted his attention so badly, but she’d never really gotten it. After a while he’d become disinterested in his family and drifted away.

If she married Jared, would he do the same thing? she wondered.

Don’t think about it now, Kerry. Just think about tonight. Because tomorrow would come soon enough.



“Kerry, I didn’t think you could look any more beautiful than you did last night. But you do.”

The two of them were sitting side by side on the bedroom floor. In front of them were piles of old photos, letters and an odd jumble of yellowed receipts. For the past two hours she and Jared had pored over every snapshot and every word, each sales slip and other correspondence George had made in the past. Which were precious few considering some of the papers dated back seventy or eighty years.

Still, they’d not seen anything to make them pause and wonder. And they’d especially not seen anything that would make someone set fire to the courthouse or ransack the newspaper office.

“Jared, your attention is wandering,” she warned as he leaned even closer and trailed a finger down her bare arm.

“It’s been wandering for the past two hours,” he whispered. “Wearing that green, you look like a blossom in a field of grass. Do you think I want to look at these dusty old papers, or you?”

Her lips tilted to an impish smile. “I’m not sure.”

“Then I’d better make you sure,” he said before he dipped his head and covered her lips with his.

In order to keep from toppling over, Kerry was forced to sling her arm around his neck and hang on. When he finally tore his mouth away, his eyes were sparked with fire and his breathing was heavy.

“Do you have any idea how good you taste to me?” he asked.

The desire on his face and in his voice set her heart to a fast drumbeat against her breasts. “You’re a wicked charmer, Jared Colton.”

With one hand supporting her back, the fingers of the other traced a gentle, seductive path over her forehead, cheeks, nose, then back to her lips.

“No, I’m a man in love,” he disagreed. “And I am in love with you, Kerry. Madly. Completely.”

Being in his arms, feeling the warmth of his skin and seeing his eyes smiling down at hers made it impossible for her not to believe him.

“Jared,” she breathed his name, “I love you, too. But—”

He interrupted, “There are no buts, Kerry. I’m not going to let anything come between us. Not anything. Understand?”

She didn’t. But she wasn’t up to arguing with him tonight. It felt too good to just feel, to simply be Jared’s woman.

For an answer, she lifted her mouth to his. He clutched her close and kissed her for several moments until the need to have more of her drove his tongue between her teeth and a moan deep in his throat signaled the desire boiling up inside him.

The room began to spin around Kerry’s head and her hands clung in helpless surrender to his shoulders. By the time he lifted his mouth from hers and spoke, she was trembling from head to foot.

“I think—we need to forget—about these papers,” Jared said between snatches of breath.

Not waiting for her response, he pulled her to her feet along with himself, then guided her backwards until they were standing beside an old bed with a scrolled iron head and footboard. A white knobby chenille bedspread covered the mattress.

As his hands worked at the buttons on her green blouse, Kerry glanced over her shoulder at the ancient bed. “Jared, is this your great-grandfather’s bed?”

“Yes.”

“Uh—” she looked back at him as he began to untie the drawstring at her waist “—we can’t make love here.”

The chuckle that slipped past his lips was as sensual as the hand cupping her breast. “Why not?”

She couldn’t stop the blush seeping into her cheeks. “Because—if we use the bed—he’ll know.”

He smiled gently down at her as he pushed the thin blouse off her shoulders. “Yes, he’ll know. And he’ll be very happy.”

Happy. It was a word she couldn’t help feeling as he switched off the lamp then lay her gently back on the bed.



Much, much later, Kerry was cuddled in the crook of Jared’s arm, her head resting on his bronze chest as he stroked her damp hair and smiled into the darkness.

“You know,” he said with lazy contentment, “I’ve been wasting years of my life.”

She tilted her head in a way so that she could study his face. “Wasting your life? You seem like you’ve had a pretty successful one to me.”

“Well yes, if you’re talking about my career. But I’m talking about all the other things that go on inside a man.”

Curious now, she raised up and rested her head on a bent elbow. “I thought women were the ones who got philosophical after they made love.”

He grinned wryly. “I think you just made my point when you said made love. I didn’t know what this was all about. In fact, I thought I was the one with the good life. Unattached sex and free to do as I please. But all I was doing was nibbling at the icing. I didn’t know how good it was to actually eat the cake, too.”

Smiling, she slid her hand across his chest. “Oh. So now I’m just a piece of cake.”

For punishment he twisted her onto her back, then with his face hovered over hers, he said, “You’re the whole cake, my beauty. You’re all the things I never realized I wanted or needed, until I came back to Black Arrow this time and saw your face.”

Her heart thudded with both love and dread as she voiced her next question. “But you’re going to be leaving Black Arrow. You haven’t changed your mind about that, have you?”

A rueful expression filled his face. “No. But we don’t need Black Arrow to be happy, Kerry. We just need each other.”

She wanted to tell him that it wasn’t Black Arrow they needed, but just a spot of their own, a place to call home, not just for today or a month from now, but for always.

“How—much longer do you have on this job?”

“It’ll be wrapped up in a day or two. But that’s nothing to worry your pretty little head about.”

“Jared, you don’t understand. I—”

“Kerry,” he interrupted, “this time tonight is too precious for us to waste it arguing. Don’t you agree?”

It was precious all right, Kerry thought desperately. Because it might be the last time they were together. Like this or any other way.

“All right,” she conceded. “I won’t say another cross word.”

Chuckling, he brought his lips down to hers. “And I’m going to make sure of it.”

Chapter Thirteen

The next evening Jared was sitting in his truck, waiting in the Liberty National parking lot for Kerry to get off work, when his cell phone rang.

Expecting it to be one of his crew, he was surprised to hear Bram’s voice. “Hey brother,” he said, “what’s going on now?”

“Nothing at the moment, thank God. I was just wondering if you and Kerry found out anything at Granddad’s last night.”

He’d found out he loved Kerry more than he thought humanly possible, Jared thought. Aloud, he said, “We went through stacks of papers and photos, but we didn’t see anything that looked odd or suspicious or that might have involved some strange person we didn’t know. It was all just simple receipts where he’d bought things at stores here in Black Arrow. Some old photos of our parents and the rest of the family.”

“What about Gran? Did you find any of her taken with anyone you didn’t know?”

“No. In fact, there were very few photos of her. Which Kerry considered odd since she’s George’s only child. But I told her that I expect Gran has most of them in her apartment over the feed store.”

“That’s probably true,” he said, then sighed. “I wish we could see them, but I hate like hell to ask her.”

Jared paused thoughtfully, then asked, “So you still haven’t said anything to her about all of this?”

“No. And I doubt I will. Willow finally managed to persuade her to go to the doctor. Her blood pressure was sky high and he doesn’t want her under any sort of added stress. We can’t worry her with some maniac digging into the private lives of our family.”

“You’re right. Making Gran ill wouldn’t be worth any sort of clues she might give us. We’ll have to get them some other way,” Jared said as he quickly reached for the door handle. “Uh—I gotta go, Bram. I’m here in the bank parking lot and Kerry’s just come out of the building. I’ll talk to you about this later.”

He clicked off the phone and quickly slid out of the truck. As he trotted across the parking lot toward Kerry, she spotted him and waved. Even though Jared’s heart was thumping with dread, he gave her his best grin.

“What are you doing here?” she asked with an eager smile. Although he was dressed in work clothes and boots, she could see he was clean. Apparently the pipes and trenches no longer required his hands-on scrutiny, she thought.

“Taking you out for a cup of coffee,” he said while scooping his arm around the back of her waist.

“Coffee! Jared, it’s five in the evening. It’s nearly suppertime. And Mom and Peggy will be expecting me home in about ten minutes.”

“Okay. We’ll eat with the coffee,” he said. “And you can call your mother on my cell phone and tell her you’ll be late.”

“I was late last night,” she countered with an impish smile. “We can’t have a repeat.”

“As much as I’d like a repeat, honey, I have something to talk to you about. I won’t keep you out long,” he promised.

“Talk? About what?” she asked as he guided her toward his truck.

“Not now. Call your mother first.”

Kerry did as he asked, then the two of them walked across the street to a little café that was reminiscent of Woody’s, where she’d worked and tried to avoid Jared’s flirty advances eight years ago.

In a back booth, they both ordered hamburgers and onion rings then sat back to sip fresh coffee while they waited for their food to be prepared.

“When are you going to tell me what this is all about? Did Bram find the arsonist?”

He reached across the table for her hand. “No. This has nothing to do with any of that.”

She watched a frown pull his dark brows together and felt her heart sink. Jared was always happy and upbeat. Even the night of the fire he hadn’t looked this somber. Something had happened and she wasn’t altogether sure she wanted to hear it.

“Then—what does it have to do with? It must be important for you to cart me away from work before I have a chance to drive home.”

“That’s because I wanted to talk to you in private.”

The last time he’d told her that, he’d confessed that he was in love with her. She couldn’t imagine anything more shocking than that.

“Okay. Go on,” she urged.

He drew in a deep breath and let it out. “First of all, let me say the site is finished. The boys are smoothing out the last excavation as we speak.”

“That’s good. I’m sure you’re proud to have it finished. And thank God no other innocent child will be endangered by that mess again.”

He squeezed her hand. “No. Peggy or any other innocent child can’t find trouble there anymore.”

Her brown eyes continued to scan his face. “If that’s your first news, what’s the second?”

He took a sip from his coffee then set the cup back on its saucer. “I’ve gotten a job offer. A good one.”

The heavy weight of dread that had been lounging around in her stomach fell all the way to her feet. “Oh.”

His brows arched. “That’s all you have to say? Oh?”

She shrugged and found she had to look away from him, otherwise, he might see the tears already burning at the back of her eyes. “I don’t know what you expect me to say. Except congratulations.”

He glanced around the small café at the diners sitting a few feet away, then leaned forward so that his words were only for her ears.

“Aren’t you even interested in where and what it is?”

She blinked and continued to stare at her coffee cup. “Maybe I’m afraid to hear what you have to say,” she said in a low voice.

“Afraid?” he repeated in disbelief, then with a frustrated sound he reached for her other hand and pressed them both tightly between his. “Kerry, there’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s just a job.”

That brought her eyes up to his face. “Is it close?”

He shook his head. “West Texas.”

A rush of breath passed her lips. “Well,” she said in a tight voice, “I knew I’d have to tell you goodbye sooner or later. I guess this just means it will be sooner.”

His eyes widened. “Goodbye! There isn’t going to be any goodbye, Kerry. You’re coming with me. You and Peggy.”

She might have known where this was headed, but she had to make it clear here and now where she stood. Otherwise, he’d be forever leading her around from place to place.

“How long will this job last?”

Seeing her question as a sign that she was relenting, his face brightened with excitement. “Six to eight months. A major gas company is going to reroute more than a hundred miles of old pipeline and they want me to head up the engineering on the thing.”

Her eyes misted over as she tried her best to smile at him. “I’m impressed, Jared. I truly am. And I’m very proud of you. I just wish—”

“I understand that you want a permanent home, Kerry. But that isn’t possible now. And as far as I’m concerned, the most important thing is that we have a home. Together.”

Kerry wished she could agree. She wished she could shout with joy and tell him she’d follow him anywhere, but something was holding her back, some fear that she couldn’t explain or reason, even to herself.

“I’ve told you before, Jared, I’m not leaving Black Arrow. Not to become a nomad.”

“Kerry—”

“What do you expect of me?” she interrupted. “I have a job, too. I’ve been working hard these past three years, putting in far more time than is expected of me, so that I can eventually step up the ladder. Do you want me to just throw all that away?”

His head shook helplessly back and forth. “Kerry, I can take care of your financial security. You won’t even have to work.”

“Look, Jared, I went through years of schooling, just like you did. If I go with you to west Texas, I might as well kiss any sort of high-level job goodbye. As far as that goes, who would hire me when I’m only going to be in town for six or eight months? No one, that’s who. I’d do well to get a job as a fry cook!”

He frowned at her. “You’re being a little bit over-dramatic here, aren’t you?”

“No!” she shot back at him. “I’m being realistic. Something you’re—incapable of!”

He started to make a reply, but the waitress appeared with their burgers and he was forced to release Kerry’s hand and lean back in his seat. But once she’d served them and went on her way, he said, “You might look at it as an opportunity to spend more time with Peggy. And with me,” he said gently.

She suddenly felt so awful it was all she could do to keep from bursting into tears. Instead she had a plate of food sitting in front of her with a throat so choked she’d never be able to swallow a bite.

“Now you’re making me sound selfish.”

He sighed. “I’m not trying to,” he said. He reached for the salt and pepper shaker and Kerry watched him go through the motions of adding the spices to his food. Apparently he wasn’t going to let a little thing like their breakup interfere with his eating.

In an effort to appear just as unaffected, she reached for an onion ring and forced herself to take a bite. “Well, the way I see it the only choice left for us is to have a long-distance relationship.”

“Like hell,” Jared retorted. “I’m not going to settle for seeing you only on weekends now and then. That just won’t do. It won’t do at all.”

She made herself bite into her burger. Eating had to be better than crying, she told herself. “Then I guess we won’t have any sort of relationship,” she said huskily.

He stared at her, his gray eyes wounded and accusing. “Did last night mean nothing to you?” he asked.

His question was like a whack to her midsection. Beneath the table, she pressed a hand to her stomach. In a strained voice, she answered, “That you even ask such a thing is insulting to me, Jared. You know how I feel about you. I—I’m not like the women you’ve known in the past. And maybe that’s why—you don’t understand where I’m coming from!”

His nostrils flared as he turned his gaze back to the food on his plate. “Oh, I think I know where you’re coming from. Your problem isn’t with me or my job. It’s with yourself. You’re too busy worrying about the past, to take a chance on being happy with me.”

Kerry reached for her purse. “Enjoy your meal and your life,” she muttered, then rose from the booth and walked quickly out of the café.



The next five days were the most miserable Kerry had spent in her entire life. Each morning she woke thinking about Jared, missing him and grieving for all they had lost. Her work at the bank was suffering, too. It was almost impossible to keep her mind on percentages and interest rates when all she could think about was never seeing Jared again. Of course it didn’t help matters to have Clarence asking about her new beau, or Peggy begging her to go see Jared.

So far, Jared had not come by the bank or her house. The fact deflated her even more, but then she didn’t know what she expected. He called every evening, and every evening she’d had her mother tell him she was out. Which he very well knew she wasn’t. Kerry hadn’t gone out until he’d come into her life.

“Kerry, is that you?”

Kerry tossed her handbag onto the couch and walked back toward her mother’s voice in the kitchen. “It’s me,” she called. “I’ll be there as soon as I change clothes.”

Moments later, she changed from her tailored dress to a pair of jean shorts and pink T-shirt, then went out to the kitchen to help her mother finish preparing the evening meal.

“I was beginning to wonder what had happened,” Enola said. “You’re a little late from work this evening. Supper’s been ready for a half hour.”

“I was finishing up some work I’d promised for Clarence,” she explained. Seeing that her mother already had the food on the table, she went to the sink and washed her hands. “If everything is ready I’ll get the glasses. You go ahead and sit down.”

Enola nodded, then stuck her head out the back door and called to Peggy. The realization that they could let Peggy play in the backyard unattended now was a reminder of how much Jared had changed their lives. Now her daughter couldn’t be coaxed away from the house by wild horses.

Moments later, Peggy came crashing through the door to make a beeline toward her mother.

Kerry stopped what she was doing to kneel down and give her daughter a big hug.

“Hi, Mama,” Peggy greeted her, smacking a wet kiss on Kerry’s cheek.

“Hi yourself, kiddo.”

With her arms still circling her mother’s neck, Peggy asked hopefully, “Can we go see Jared tonight, Mama?”

Pain lanced through Kerry’s chest. “No, honey. I told you, Jared is busy now. He’s going to a new job and he has lots of things to do.”

“But when are we going to see him?” she persisted. “I want to tell him about Fred. That he’s so smart he can roll over and sit up when I tell him to. Jared will want to know that, Mama.”

Hopefully her breaking heart wasn’t evident on her face as she tried to give her daughter an encouraging smile. “I’m sure he would want to hear about Fred, but right now it’s time for us to eat.”

Thankfully, Peggy let the subject of Jared drop and the three of them ate the meal of fried catfish, field peas and corn bread with only simple small talk to break the silence.

Afterwards, Kerry washed the dishes for her mother, then quietly retired to her bedroom.



A few miles away Jared stared at the packed boxes piled in the middle of his living room. Normally he was always excited about packing up and heading out for a new job. He’d always liked the adventure of seeing new places and faces. But this time his heart wasn’t in it. He was dreading the moment when he would finally have to drive away from Black Arrow and leave Kerry and his heart behind.

With a weary sigh, he glanced at the telephone on the end table to the right of him. He could try one more call, he thought. But what good would it do? She obviously wasn’t answering the phone and her mother was filtering his calls.

The idea that she refused to talk to him stabbed him like a knife blade. He could have sworn that she loved him. Each time she’d touched him, kissed him, made love to him, he’d felt her heart giving to him in a way he’d never felt from any woman. Had he misjudged her so completely?

The agony of his thoughts pushed him restlessly to his feet. He walked out to the backyard and sat down on the bench that he and Kerry had shared only a few evenings ago. The yard was quiet without Peggy’s shrieks and giggles and the bench was very, very empty without Kerry beside him.

Any place you go will be empty without Kerry and Peggy.

The taunting little voice in his head had him dropping his head in his hands. What was he going to do, he wondered miserably. What could he do to make her see they were meant to be together.

As the question roiled around in his head he was suddenly struck by a memory so vivid he gasped and squeezed his eyes tightly shut.

Suddenly he was eleven years old again and he was out at his great-grandfather’s farm. He’d been helping the old man feed the chickens and as they’d scattered the chopped corn over the bare ground, a white dove had flown down to perch on a nearby fence.

Jared had never seen a white dove before and he’d stared at the bird in total fascination. Then to his total amazement, George had walked over to the fence and held up a palm full of grain to the dove.

Instead of flying away, as Jared fully expected, the bird had hopped onto George’s outstretched arm and pecked at the morsels of corn until they were all gone, then it had flown into a nearby tree and cooed forlornly.

“The dove is a lonesome bird without its mate,” he’d said to Jared. “One day you will learn that, my boy. One day you will find a white dove of your own and she will bring you great happiness.”

As the memory lingered in his vision, Jared’s head jerked up and he stared at the empty swing where Peggy had giggled so happily. Chenoa—his little dove. He’d found her and she’d led him to the greatest love of his life! Dear God, his great-grandfather had been right—he didn’t know how or why, but somehow he’d known all those years ago.

Not waiting another second, Jared jumped to his feet and headed around the house to where his pickup truck was parked. He might have one hell of a fight on his hands, but now he was more than certain he had the Great Spirit on his side. Kerry was meant to be his wife and some way he had to convince her!



More than an hour later, she was trying to focus on a paperback novel when her mother lightly knocked on the door facing.

“Yes,” she called from where she sat propped against the headboard and a couple of pillows.

Enola stepped into the room and Kerry watched with surprise as she shut the door behind her. They never shut doors in this house. One room simply flowed into the next.

“I wanted to talk to you for a few minutes,” Enola explained, “and I don’t want Peggy to overhear what I have to say.”

Kerry sighed. “Mom, I’m not really in the mood for a serious conversation. Has Peggy been giving you problems? If she has—”

“Peggy has been an angel. It’s my daughter that’s giving me problems.”

Kerry immediately scooted to an upright position and looked at her mother. “I haven’t done anything—”

“That’s right,” Enola interrupted again. “You haven’t done anything for days now and I’m wondering why.”

Kerry’s gaze dropped to her crossed legs. After her argument with Jared in the café, she’d told her mother what had happened and that their relationship was over. At the time Enola hadn’t made any comment, other than to say she was sorry. So it surprised Kerry that Enola wanted to speak of it now.

“If you’re talking about Jared, I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say. I thought—” She lifted a doubtful look at her mother. “Aren’t you happy that I’m not seeing him anymore? After all, you tried to warn me that he was going to break my heart. Aren’t you glad you can now say I told you so?”

Enola walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her daughter. “I never thought my daughter would be a quitter.”

Kerry’s mouth fell open. “A quitter! What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about you and Jared. I thought you loved the man.”

Still amazed by the direction of their conversation, Kerry stared at her. “I did. I do!”

“Then why aren’t you doing something about it? Instead of moping around here like there’s been a death in the family.”

There had been a death, Kerry thought, the death of her future happiness. “Because there’s nothing I can do about it,” she answered. “Jared’s leaving for a new job. He doesn’t want to have a long-distance relationship and I don’t want to live a nomadic life.”

Enola had never been a physically demonstrative person so it surprised Kerry when she reached over and stroked a hand over her hair.

“Kerry, since you’ve been a small girl, I’ve never seen you so miserable and unhappy. Even when you went through that nightmare with Damon. That can only mean one thing—that you must love Jared very much.”

The pain in Kerry’s heart was so great she bent her head and closed her eyes. “I love him so much, Mom. I don’t know how I’m going to live without him.”

“Why would you have to? Jared wants to marry you, doesn’t he?”

“Yes. But what sort of life would we have? Moving from one job to the next. Never knowing where our next house or apartment will be. That’s not what I want for Peggy. Or myself.”

Enola reached for her daughter’s hand. “Kerry, I admit that I said some bad things to you about Jared. And maybe I would still be saying them now if you hadn’t said what you did to me.”

Kerry was totally blank. “What I said to you?”

Enola nodded. “Yes. When you asked me if I wanted you to be happy, like me. At first I didn’t understand how you could have said such a horrible thing to me. But then I stopped and realized that you were right. All these years I’ve felt angry and cheated. I blamed your father for ruining my life and eventually I began to see something bad in all men. I was wrong.”

Never in a million years would Kerry have expected to hear those words from her mother’s lips.

“Mom, we both know Marvin wouldn’t have won any husband or father awards. You have a right to feel like you do.”

Enola shook her head. “No. I should be feeling guilty and I do.”

“Guilty!”

“Listen Kerry, I’ve always blamed your father for our miserable marriage. But after what you said…well, it opened my eyes and I could see my part in it, too. No, your father wouldn’t have won any family awards, but I wasn’t the perfect wife either. Oh, I thought I was…at the time. Just like you think you’re doing the right thing now with Jared. But you’re not, Kerry. Just like I wasn’t right when I refused to follow your father to a job he wanted right after we were married.”

The implication of Enola’s words were slowly pulling back a black curtain and she was desperate to see everything about her father’s life that had been cloaked behind it.

“What happened?” she asked.

Enola sighed. “I thought it was more important to stay here in Black Arrow, to buy a house, to stay put, to build a home. I couldn’t see that we needed more things than that to make us happy. I needed to see that we both had dreams.”

Kerry’s heart was suddenly filled with tears for everything her mother had lost and her father, too. “Oh Mom, you’ve never said anything about this before.”

Sadly shaking her head, Enola said, “That’s because I didn’t think it was important. I didn’t know it was important until I realized you were making the same mistake I made. And I don’t want that to happen to you, Kerry. If Jared is the man you love you need to go to him and tell him you’re willing to follow his dreams.”

“But Mom,” Kerry practically wailed, “do you hear what you’re saying? You’re telling me to follow his dreams. What about mine? Do I have to give them up?”

Enola surprised her by laughing softly. “No, my daughter. I think that you will both have to make compromises along the way to fulfill both of your dreams. Neither of you can have everything be perfect.”

It took several long moments for Kerry to understand what her mother was trying to tell her and when she finally did, she flung her arms around Enola’s neck and quietly wept.

“Oh Mom, I love you. Thank you for opening my eyes. I only hope Jared will forgive me for being so stubborn, that he hasn’t left without me.”

“Mama! Mama!”

The sound of her daughter’s shrill call had Kerry going over to open the door. Peggy was dancing on her toes, her little face completely serious.

“Mama! Jared is on the porch and he says if you don’t come out to see him he’s gonna come in and get you!”

Instant joy surged through Kerry, then just as quickly she was cold with fear. Jared might not be here to tell her he still wanted to marry her, he could be here to tell her a final goodbye, she thought sickly.

She glanced hesitantly back at her mother. Enola smiled and motioned for her to go and go quickly.

With Peggy’s hand in hers, Kerry walked to the front of the house and pushed through the screen door. Jared was standing at one end of the porch with his back to them, but the moment he heard their footsteps he whirled around to greet her.

Kerry swallowed and moved tentatively toward him. “Hello, Jared,” she said. “Peggy said you wanted to see me.”

He wanted to do more than see her, Jared thought. He wanted to jerk her into his arms and kiss her until the only words she could breathe were, I love you. But Peggy was glued to her mother’s side and after a week of cold silence from Kerry, he was no longer sure how she felt about him.

“I’ve been trying to tell you that all week,” he said grimly. “Why wouldn’t you take my calls?”

She looked hesitantly down at Peggy, then back to him. “Why don’t we go around to the back of the house? There’s a porch swing there that we can sit in and have some privacy,” she suggested to him, then to Peggy she said, “Honey, I want you to go in and tell your grandmother where Jared and I will be.”

“Okay, Mama!”

Kerry watched her scoot into the house before she turned her attention back to him. Jared was instantly struck at how beautiful she was to him. Even in a pair of shorts and a T-shirt there was a regal grace about her that came from deep within.

“Let’s go on back before I explain anything,” she said to him.

Trying to hide his impatience, he nodded and motioned for her to lead the way. A small porch, much like the front, was fastened to the entire back of the house. On one end was a porch swing made of varnished cedar and padded with flower-covered cushions.

Once they were seated, he looked at her and waited until she’d drawn in a deep breath and let it out before he spoke.

“Kerry, I—”

“Before you—”

Their tangled words made them both pause before Kerry was the first to try again.

“Jared, I—why are you here?”

His brows inched upward as though he couldn’t believe she was asking such a question. “Why do you think?”

Her troubled eyes searched his face. “To say goodbye?”

Jared couldn’t stand it any longer, he had to feel her hand in his, the warmth of her fingers curling trustingly around his. When he reached for her, he felt a sense of relief when she didn’t try to pull away.

“Is that what you want, Kerry?”

She was suddenly so overcome with guilt, she couldn’t say anything. She’d put him through hell. And in doing so she’d made her own self miserable. Bending her head, she blinked at the tears burning her eyes.

“I feel so awful, Jared. You can’t know how awful.”

He let out a heavy breath. “This past week has been a nightmare for me, Kerry. I didn’t know a human being could be so heartbroken and still be alive. I’ve been such a bear that my family and work crew wants to disown me. I can’t let us part this way, Kerry. I don’t care what you say, I—”

Her head jerked up. “Jared, please. Just stop. Let me talk,” she pleaded.

“Kerry, I don’t want to hear any more of your arguments. If I have to compromise this job—if your job is more important, then—”

“No!” she blasted out. “Just hush and let me speak, okay?”

Stunned by her outburst, he stared at her and nodded.

Kerry nervously moistened her lips and tried again. “First of all, I want you to know I was about to drive over to your house to see you.”

He continued to stare at her as if he couldn’t quite believe he was hearing her right. “You were? Why?”

“To apologize to you. To ask you to forgive me.”

He let out a huge groan and then she suddenly found herself crushed against his chest. While his lips pressed kisses all over her face, he whispered, “Oh Kerry! Kerry! I love you so much, darling. Surely you know I could never tell you goodbye.”

By now tears were streaming down her cheeks. Jared kissed them away while he waited for her to explain this sudden switch in her attitude.

“I wasn’t sure,” Kerry said tearfully. “I’ve been so stubborn and blind. I was afraid you might have already given up and turned your back on me.”

He shook his head. “If that’s the way you feel, why wouldn’t you talk to me. I’ve called every evening this week!”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “So sorry, Jared. But I was so hurt. And I kept thinking if I gave in to you, I’d be giving up everything I ever wanted. But now I understand that giving you up would be losing everything I ever wanted.”

He buried his face in her hair and held her tight for long moments before he lifted his head and looked into her soft brown eyes. “And what made you change your mind?” he asked. “You seemed so adamant in the café the other evening. Especially when you spoke of your job. And all this week I’ve been asking myself if I was being selfish and that maybe I didn’t have a right to ask you to go with me anywhere.”

“Oh Jared, forget all I said about my job,” she pleaded. “Maybe at the time I thought I meant all that. But I didn’t. I can find a job anywhere. I was just holding on to that excuse because I was afraid…afraid to give in to you.”

“I still don’t understand what’s made you change your mind,” he said with a perplexed shake of his head.

Kerry smiled because she knew how much her next words were going to shock him. “My mother. Only a few minutes before you came we had a long talk and she made me see I wasn’t looking at things from all sides. She urged me to go to you.”

His low chuckle was full of disbelief. “I came over here this evening thinking I was going to have one hell of a fight on my hands. Instead, I find you telling me you still love me. You do, don’t you?”

“Yes! Oh yes! I’ve been sick this past week without you, Jared. I didn’t know how I was going to keep on living once you were gone.”

His head shook back and forth in wonder. “You said your mother changed your mind. How? I thought she thoroughly disliked me.”

She reached up to frame his face with her hands. “It wasn’t you personally. Mom had been so hurt for so long that she looked at every man in a bad light. But…something about you…about us falling in love has opened her eyes, too. You know what she said to me, Jared? She said she couldn’t let me make the same mistake that she made with my father. And for the first time in my life I understand that he wasn’t always the pitiful man he was when he died.”

He took her hands from his face and kissed both her palms. “Kerry, I promise with all my heart that I’ll never roam or wander away from you for a job or any other reason. And when Peggy reaches school age, I promise we’ll come back here to Black Arrow and make a permanent home.”

She looked at him, her heart shining in her eyes. “Do you really mean that?”

Grinning, he nodded. “Every word. And in the meantime, I want us to have more children to go with Peggy. I want us to be a real family.” He smiled delightedly. “A month ago those words would have never passed my mouth. But you’ve changed me, Kerry.”

Her soft laughter filled his heart with joy. He wanted to make this woman happy, keep her happy for the rest of her life.

“Jared Colton, once playboy of Black Arrow wants to be a family man. I can’t believe I’m hearing you say it.”

Still smiling, he stroked her hair and then her cheek. “Falling in love with you has made me see things differently, too, Kerry. And this nutcase lurking in the shadows and threatening the Coltons has made me realize how special my family is to me.”

“Me, too,” she agreed. “The night of the fire…just the thought of you being hurt or killed made me see I was falling in love with you.”

He groaned with pure happiness, then brought his lips next to hers in a kiss that promised passion and a lifetime of love.

After they’d both caught their breath, Jared let out a husky laugh. “Maybe I’d better tell you where we’re going to be headed next week.”

“Next week? We’re getting married and leaving that soon?”

The smile on her face told him tomorrow wouldn’t be soon enough and thrill in his heart swelled his chest.

“That’s right. And we’re going to the Texas hill country, Kerry. Down near Kerrville. It’s so beautiful there, honey. It’s just like heaven.”

With all her love, she pressed her cheek against his and whispered, “As long as I’m with you, my darling, any place is heaven.”

Suddenly he jumped to his feet and pulled her from the swing. “Come on, let’s go tell Enola and our daughter the good news.”

Nodding, Kerry clasped his hand and Jared took his first step into the WindWalker home.

Special thanks and acknowledgment are given to Stella Bagwell for her contribution to THE COLTONS series.