Unending Devotion (Michigan Brides #1)(105)

“Oren, it’s just me. Connell.” He didn’t look the least bit frightened. Rather, a spark of merriment danced to life in his eyes.

“I know who you are, and it don’t matter one little lick.”

Connell’s lips twitched with a grin. “After all the times you’ve stuck your gun into my head, I’m surprised I’m still alive.”

Lily had to bite back a grin of her own.

“You’re just mighty lucky that I haven’t made you eat lead yet,” Oren mumbled, but his voice lacked conviction.

“Now, Oren.” Lily smiled at the man. “You won’t need to kill him. At least not today.”

She exchanged a glance with Connell, and the light in his eyes told her that he shared the memory of the night they’d met, when Oren had threatened him for the first time. They both knew it wouldn’t be the last. And they loved the old man for it.

“Look what he brought me.” She held up the kitten.

Oren glared down at the animal. “What in high heaven . . . ?”

Lily laughed and stroked it. “I was just thanking Connell for the gift.”

“You can thank him by getting off the floor and kicking his hind end right out the door.” Even though Oren sounded grumpy, his expression was as soft as the kitten’s.

Connell caught Lily’s gaze. “Would it help to know that I’m planning on asking Lily to be my wife?”

Lily sucked in a breath.

The rifle wavered. “It might help.”

Connell grinned.

And a thrill of wonder wafted through Lily. Did Connell really want to marry her?

Oren cleared his throat. “I suppose I can let you live this once.”

Connell reached for her hand. “What do you say, Lily? Will you marry me and let me spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you?”

She glanced at Oren. Beneath his overgrown mustache she could see the beginnings of a smile, the closest to a smile she’d ever seen from him. He nodded at her, and his eyes seemed to reassure her that no matter what, he’d always be there for her.

Lily reached for his hand and squeezed it.

Her heart whispered a prayer of gratefulness. She’d been a homeless orphan her whole life. And now God had brought her to a place where she had more love than she’d ever dreamed possible. Maybe it wasn’t the family she’d planned. But God was giving her a chance at a family of her own the way He’d planned.

She smiled at Connell.

“Is that a yes?” he asked.

“Yes.”

In the long dark winter of her soul, she’d never believed spring would come. But it had come at last.





Chapter

31



SIX MONTHS LATER

Lily rubbed the back of the young woman as she retched miserably into a basin at the side of her bed.

“It won’t be long,” Lily said, “and you’ll be feeling as good as new.”

She’d seen enough over the past six months to know that alcohol withdrawal took about a week. Then after that, with enough healthy food and loving care, the girls would eventually stop their trembling and regain their strength.

Lily smoothed the girl’s tangled hair away from her forehead and helped her lie back down against the plush pillows. She pulled the quilt up to the girl’s chin, leaving a pale, drawn face with a greenish-purple bruise, an outward testimony to all the pain the girl had once endured.

“Thank you,” the young woman whispered through cracked lips.

Lily smiled and rose from her perch on the edge of the bed. “I’ll be back in a little bit to check on you.”

A motion in the crack of the bedroom door caught Lily’s attention.

She crossed the spacious room, her footsteps silent upon the lush carpet. Even as her gaze touched upon the soft print of the wallpaper and the elegant but demure colors she’d picked for the room, her heart pattered with amazement.

The house was hers. And she could do anything she wanted with it.

And she had. She’d done everything she’d ever dreamed of doing. And more.

With a smile, she pushed open the door and stepped into the dimly lit hallway.

Strong arms slid around her waist, and she suddenly found herself tugged into a fierce embrace. “There you are” came Connell’s hoarse whisper against her ear.

Her belly quivered with a familiar warm tightness. “What are you doing here?” She feigned prudence, cocking her head away from him, making him chase after her ear.

He growled and found the hollow of her ear, placing a kiss there.

Her arms went around him, and her body melted against his.

She’d never expected, after several months of marriage, that every time he touched her she’d long for more of him. She was grateful for the purity they’d both brought to their marriage and the way it had enabled them to enjoy and appreciate each other even more.

His kiss moved to the long stretch of exposed neck above her lacy collar.

“Oh, Connell,” she whispered, closing her eyes, letting the sweet softness of his lips send trails of warmth throughout her body.

He pulled back so that she could see his mischievous grin, the one that said he knew the power he had over her and he delighted in making her melt in his arms.

She didn’t care, because she knew when she turned on the charm, she had the same sway over him.