Home For a Cowboy Christmas(38)

Dwight took in the moment. The atmosphere, the amazing woman by his side, the love he felt for her, and the contentment he’d found. His heart clutched because the longer she was with him, the deeper in love he fell. He feared he would never recover from Emmy.

His dad used to talk about people finding soul mates. Several of Dwight’s friends had divorced parents. His mom and dad were only one of a handful of couples that had not only stayed married but also remained deeply committed to each other. He’d known it was a rare thing, even as a child. As he got older, it became more and more apparent that finding that special someone who fit with you was like finding a needle in a haystack.

He had reconciled himself to living alone because he wasn’t going to settle for anything less than what his parents had. The problem with that was that he actually had to get out and meet women to find his soul mate, which he hadn’t done. He’d given himself all kinds of excuses for why he hadn’t dated over the years, but they were all lies. The truth was, he feared that he would never find his other half. He couldn’t be disappointed if he never looked.

Then Emmy came into his life.

He wrapped an arm around her, bringing her closer. She rested her head on his chest and hummed along with the music. He watched the firelight dancing on the fur rug, his thoughts lingering on Emmy and how he might keep her safe on the way to Denver and then to the trial.

“What are you thinking so hard about?” she asked.

Dwight’s thoughts halted. He kissed her head. “A lot of things. Mostly about how happy I am right now.”

She sat up to look at him. “I’m glad to be a part of today.”

“Me, too.”

“This ranch is incredible. I know it’s hard work, but this life suits you.”

He took a drink. “The really hard work is in the spring and summer. But this ranch is home. I can’t imagine doing anything else now. For better or worse, I’ll work it until I can pass it on or die.”

“Do you want children?”

“It’s a natural progression, I think. Graduate, get a job, find love, have kids.”

She quirked a brow. “That wasn’t an answer.”

“I’ve never been against them. I’ve just never stopped to really think about it.”

“What do you think about?”

He looked at the flames in the hearth. “My parents were deeply in love. The kind of love that people sing and write about, but few rarely find.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“It was even more so to watch them. They told Vic and me to never settle for less than the real thing. Vic would always ask how we would know.”

“What did your parents tell her?” Emmy asked.

Dwight glanced at her with a grin. “Mom said that Vic would know. We would both know without a doubt. And until then, we should wait.”

“Is that what you’ve been doing? Waiting?”

“Hiding,” he admitted as he turned his head to her.

Her eyebrows shot up on her forehead. “Hiding? Why?”

“I saw too many of my friends find love and then divorce. They wanted so badly to find The One that they mistook lust for love. Which is why the relationships fell apart. Both parties believed they were in love because they wanted it so desperately.”

Emmy’s face grew thoughtful. “It’s something within all of us—that need to find love. To have someone with you through your life that you can depend on and who depends on you.”

“We’re born with that need. It’s why there are so many songs and books written about love. We’re all searching.”

“Sometimes, we might be searching too hard.”

He set aside his drink and took her free hand in his. “Have you ever been in love?”

“What I thought was love,” she told him. “In both high school and college. I thought the guy I was with in college was the one. So many people seemed to get married in college because it was the thing to do.”

“What happened to him?”

She shrugged and looked away. “He found someone else. I was heartbroken. It took a long time before I could step back and realize that he had done us both a favor. We weren’t compatible. We wanted different things. One of us would’ve had to compromise, and that isn’t fair.”

“And now, here you are.”

Her pale brown eyes met his. “And now, here I am.”





Chapter 19


Emmy had never felt so twisted in all her life. She wished she could call the Denver district attorney and tell her that she had changed her mind about testifying. Emmy didn’t want to leave the ranch—or Dwight—ever.

But that was out of her hands.

Worse, she knew that if she managed to stay hidden until the first of the year, then getting to the courthouse in Denver and testifying was where Joe and his people would come for her. She had such a short time left with Dwight.

That wasn’t to say she didn’t have faith in Dalton’s and Dwight’s attempts to keep her safe. But she knew the extremes Joe would go to in order to stay out of prison. He had the money and resources to ensure that his will was done. Emmy would end up in a grave, while Joe walked free to commit more crimes.

It was the reason she’d decided to testify against him. However, that was before she met Dwight, and her heart got mixed up in things.