A Cowgirl's Secret(62)
Henry had been denied bail and was most likely behind bars for good. Kolt was back at school, unscarred by his ordeal. The psychiatrist she and Luke had taken him to reported that Kolt was actually lucky to have been drugged as it had saved him the trauma of realizing he’d been kidnapped, rather than enlisted to save his cousin. Best of all, she and Luke had decided to follow in Cash’s footsteps by having a Christmas wedding. To say Georgina was thrilled was the understatement of the year. From the moment she’d heard the news, the woman had started planning.
Dressing in her best black dress, then adding her favorite pearls, Daisy realized the only dim spot in her otherwise bright life was Peggy Montgomery. They hadn’t spoken since the afternoon Kolt had been taken. Daisy knew she couldn’t put off seeing the woman forever, but she figured a year or two wouldn’t be so bad.
“Where are we going?” Daisy asked in the Jeep once they were finally underway.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he teased.
“Yes.” She unbuckled her seat belt to string kisses round his neck. “I would.”
“Hey,” he complained. “Buckle up for safety.”
“You’re no fun.”
“Oh,” Luke laughed, “wait about five minutes and you’ll be eating those words.”
No kidding.
He pulled into the driveway of her new home, only, instead of being dark and dreary as it had been when she’d left, white Christmas lights had been strung from the turrets and cupolas and eaves.
“Luke, it’s amazing.” She bounded out of the car for a better view. “But when… I was here all afternoon.”
Standing next to her, his arm around her waist, he said, “You forget you have three brothers who have an awful lot of friends. Ever heard the expression, ‘Many hands make light work’? The second you drove off, they swooped in.”
Beaming, she shook her head. “This is incredible. I don’t know how to thank you.”
“How about by wearing this?” From his coat pocket, in night air cold enough that they could see their breath, he withdrew a robin’s-egg-blue box.
“You remembered?” When they’d been teens, she’d been obsessed with the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and had once told Luke if a man didn’t buy her a ring from there, she’d refuse to marry him.
He nodded. “In the movie, I know Audrey Hepburn really gets a Cracker Jack ring, but they don’t put rings in Cracker Jack anymore, so you’ll have to settle for the real thing.”
Tearing up, she stood on her tiptoes, kissing him for all she was worth. “It’s the most gorgeous ring in the whole world.”
“For what it cost, it’d better be,” he said with a wink.
She kissed him again.
“Let’s get inside before we freeze.”
“But the central heat won’t be done for two more weeks.”
Taking her hand, Luke explained, “That’s why the good Lord invented fireplaces.”
Inside, Daisy was greeted by a crackling fire and a living room so elegant she thought they might’ve stepped into the wrong home. Though the plaster walls were still cracked and the ceiling still riddled with holes, a sumptuous round area rug had been set in front of the hearth. On top of the rug was a burgundy velvet sofa with a Victorian flavor, but a hundred times more comfortable. Side tables held dancing candles and chocolates and cakes and pies and tarts.
Pressing her hands to her cheeks, Daisy confessed, “I—I don’t even know what to say. No one’s ever done anything like this for me. It’s off-the-charts romantic.” As was usually the case when her emotions got the better of her, Daisy began to cry, but this time, happiness was to blame.
“Hey…” Luke used the pads of his thumbs to brush her tears away. “There’s no crying when a guy’s trying to get lucky.”
“Oh—for creating this work of art, you’re guaranteed a home run.” She kissed him, then kissed him again and again.
“Would you be surprised if I admitted to having a little help from Josie and Wren?”
Nibbling a chocolate-covered strawberry, she said, “I’d be more shocked if you hadn’t.”
“Hey,” he complained, “was that a dig at my decorating skills?”
“Not at all, sweetheart.” She pressed a kiss to his lips. “Not at all.”
This time when they made love, it was a leisurely exploration, enhanced by the shared knowledge that they finally had all the time in the world to share.