Home For a Cowboy Christmas(63)

His head turned toward her, and his eyes slowly opened. His chapped lips turned up at the corners when he saw her. “Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” she replied, blinking rapidly to stop more tears.

“Why are you crying?”

She licked her lips, her face crumpling as she cried harder. “Because I thought I’d lost you.”

“I know the feeling.”

They shared a long look. Emmy sniffed and wiped at her face with her free hand. “I realized when Orso shot you that I regretted something terribly.”

“What’s that?”

“Never telling you that I loved you.”

Elation filled Dwight’s face. He squeezed her hand tighter. “You stole my heart within days. I would’ve waited an eternity for you to say those words.”

“I was such a fool. I thought I would soon be dead, so I tried to stop myself from loving you.”

“None of that matters now.”

She shook her head. “No, it doesn’t. It looks like I’ll be done with all this trial stuff soon. They moved the date up to two days from now.”

“You won’t be entering that courtroom alone,” he stated.

Emmy smiled and leaned forward to place a kiss on his hand. “That’s because you’ll be beside me.”

“You’re damn right, I will,” he said with a wink.

She looked around, just realizing that Dalton wasn’t in the room. “Dalton has all the specifics. He brought me here, but I don’t know where he is now.”

“I don’t care about Dalton. I’d rather have you. Come, climb in bed with me.”

“Your wound—” she began.

He cut her off. “Is on the other side. I need to hold you.”

Since she needed to hold him, as well, she didn’t argue the point. Emmy moved slowly until she was beside him, curled against him. He wrapped an arm around her and sighed contentedly.

“I love you,” he whispered as he closed his eyes.

She smiled, hers closing, as well. “I love you, too.”





Epilogue


Later …

“How does it feel?” Dwight asked as he finished tending to the fire in the hearth and turned to face Emmy.

She hadn’t stopped smiling since they returned home earlier in the day. “Fantastic.”

Multiple armed guards from various agencies had escorted Emmy and surrounded the courthouse, inside and out. Dwight had sat in the courtroom and watched proudly as Emmy gave her testimony in front of the jury. Her voice never wavered, even when the DA asked her to point to Joe Roma.

Joe had hatred in his eyes, but Dwight knew he would spend the rest of his days behind bars. The FBI had arrested most of those in the Roma mob, and they awaited trial, as well. Dwight knew that just because Joe had been arrested and would no doubt be convicted, he still might seek revenge against Emmy. But she wouldn’t be the only one he went after. Following her testimony, six other witnesses had come forward to give accounts of other crimes that Joe and his mob had committed.

Emmy patted the sofa with a smile. “Come sit.”

Sam looked up at Emmy adoringly as she scratched his belly after climbing up on her other side. Dwight couldn’t blame him. He couldn’t stop staring adoringly at Emmy, either.

“How are you feeling?” she asked once he sat.

He shrugged. “The painkillers are working great.”

“I don’t want you overdoing it.”

Dwight slowly put his feet up on the coffee table and stared into the fire. “I know Christmas isn’t for a little bit, but I’d like you to open a present early.”

“Really? I’d rather wait.”

“I don’t think I can.”

Emmy laughed. “Well, if I’m opening, then you have to, as well.”

He frowned. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“It isn’t much,” she said as she got to her feet and walked to the tree. She lifted a few presents, then returned with one in her hand. “But I wanted to give you something.”

He accepted it with a smile and an eagerness to know what was inside. He raised his brows. “Now?”

“Now,” she said with another laugh.

Dwight removed the bow and tore off the paper to find a plain white box. He set it on his lap and took off the lid. After he pulled back the tissue paper, he saw a frame cushioned within, featuring two pictures of him and Vic. One when they were kids, and a more recent photo.

Emotion choked him as he lifted the frame from the box. “I’ve told myself many times that I’d get an updated picture of us, but I kept forgetting. This is perfect,” he said as he met her gaze. “Thank you.”

She beamed and leaned forward to kiss him. “I had a lot of fun looking through the old photos that Vic sent me.”

“Oh, I can imagine,” he replied with a chuckle. He set the picture on the table beside him before tossing aside the box. “Ready for yours?”

“Maybe,” Emmy said with a wrinkle of her nose, her apprehension showing.

He had barely been able to wait this long to give it to her. Dwight shifted and pulled out the small box he’d stuffed between the cushion and the arm of the sofa.

“Oh,” Emmy said in a soft voice, reaching for it.