Picnic in Someday Valley (Honey Creek #2)(60)

He took a deep breath, trying to learn the smell of her. He never wanted to forget the way her lips felt when he kissed her. He could feel her smile turn to need. He loved the way her fingers threaded into the back of his hair and held on tight.

“I’ll see you in my dreams,” he said as he stepped away and put on his hat.

“I’ll be there.”

Jesse walked out of the bakery. He was definitely out of the “just friends” category.





Chapter 37


Colby


The clock on the office wall finally moved to eleven o’clock. One more hour and Colby could leave Austin and head for Honey Creek. He already had a change of clothes packed. It had been less than a week since he’d seen Piper, but he could barely wait to be with her.

First, he had to meet Brand Rodgers and let him know someone might be coming for him, then somehow he had to solve the problem of Leon Newton bothering Piper’s friend Marcie. Maybe he could talk to the man, change his way of thinking. By seven o’clock tonight he wanted to have dinner with Piper and tell her all was settled.

This time he was keeping her updated about what time he planned to be driving into Honey Creek. He’d even told her he’d text when he left Austin.

Colby had a feeling if Brand got to the thin, bald guy first, the man who’d made the threats against Marcie and him would be moving a few states away or be six feet under.

Then, tonight, when all was calm, Colby planned to hold Piper close to him and tell her how much she meant to him. She wasn’t just a girlfriend or a sometimes lover. He wanted her to know that he’d be there for her. He liked the idea that he was the one she ran to when she was in trouble. She was someone very special and he liked being her friend, not just her lover.

She had to still care for him. He’d been the one she called, not her brothers or the sheriff. He wanted to tell her she could always run to him.

Colby looked at the clock again. Long before dark he’d be in Honey Creek. Tonight he planned to hold Piper in his arms all night. Even if he had to fight his way through a mob of white-haired widows to get to her bedroom.

Colby ignored the racket in the office as he thought about how the old ladies would probably help him. They wanted to see Piper happy, and his goal tonight was to make her just that.

“McBride!” Dave yelled from four feet away. “Grab your hat and get ready to ride. We got a huge drug bust out on Interstate 35.”

Colby headed out with four other rangers. As he passed the clock, he thought that with luck this might only take an hour or two. He could still make it to Honey Creek in time for dinner.

Long after dark, with his body aching from wrestling half a dozen outlaws into patrol cars and tagging evidence, one of the prisoners got free and elbowed Colby in the eye. As he hit the concrete floor of the holding cell, he focused his one good eye on the jail clock. Midnight.

He wasn’t going to make it to Piper tonight.





Chapter 38


Pecos


The walls of the hospital were closing in around Pecos. Everything had been fine with the birth. It was just as gross and beautiful as the books described it. But pictures, even in color, could not compare to seeing it firsthand. The head crowning. A tiny little hand stretching out to the world. A baby covered in sticky blood, fighting to breathe as the doctor cleaned her nose and mouth.

Pecos had held his breath until she cried. Then, just like that, he knew he’d love this little girl for the rest of his life.

Kerrie was great. Strong. Excited. Sometimes terrified. Watching her step into being a mother was almost as exciting as seeing the baby. When the nurse put the tiny infant in Kerrie’s arms, she looked up at Pecos, and thanked him. “I’m not sure I would have made it without you, but it’s all over now. She’s ours.”

“She’s ours.” He beamed. “We’re her parents from now on.”

Kerrie just smiled that sweet smile he’d never stop loving.

A few hours later they called her parents, who of course rushed to the clinic. Kerrie questioned them before she’d let them hold the baby. Did they have colds? Had they washed their hands? Were their clothes clean?

All the while Pecos sat in a chair beside her, looking like a homeless person. He’d been wearing the same clothes for two days. His spotty beard wasn’t pretty and his hair had gone completely wild.

In contrast, Kerrie had on makeup and a clean gown. Even her hair was perfect. The beauty queen and the frog, he thought. He feared it would always be that way.

Kerrie turned toward him about then and winked. Pecos figured she had a blind spot when it came to him, and for that he’d always be thankful.

All morning she’d been smiling at him. Of course, he was holding the baby.

Her folks did the strangest thing. When they first came in, all they did was fuss over Kerrie, but after they both got a turn at holding the baby, they seemed to forget there was anyone else in the room. Any worry he’d had of them not accepting their first grandchild was forgotten.

Pecos moved over close to Kerrie as they watched her parents. At one point the Lanes were giggling while playing this little piggy with the baby’s tiny toes. Mr. Lane swore she looked just like Kerrie did as a baby. Mrs. Lane agreed.

Kerrie kissed Pecos’s cheek. “Thanks for being there with me, husband. You held my hand through it all.”