Marnie inhaled, not bothering to stop the tears in her eyes. “I am in love with you.”

  “Well, despite how it’s probably seemed over the last couple of weeks, I love you, too,” he admitted and she heard the girls squealing excitedly beside her and she heard Abby and Patience sniffling a little. “And I want to give you the rest of those things on your bucket list. I want to share the aurora borealis,” he said and grinned. “And I want to stroll down Champs-Élysées with you, I want to take you on that gondola ride in Venice, and I want you to have that wedding you’ve always dreamed about and the babies you want to have. I’ll watch soppy chick flicks with you. I’ll even listen to old disco music with you, because I know it’s your favorite. And despite being a little afraid of heights, if you want to go skydiving, then we’ll go.”

  “You’d do all that for me?”

  “I’d do anything for you. And just for the record, I got this costume from a fried chicken outlet in Rapid City. It cost me four hundred dollars and it smells like grease and is really itchy.”

  She laughed, she laughed so hard she had more tears in her eyes and then she raced down the stairs and straight into his feathery arms. Which tickled her skin and did smell like grease—but she didn’t care. She was his, he was hers. And he kissed her, in front of everyone, he kissed her as though they were the only two people in the world. She heard cheers and knew his family—her family now, too—wholeheartedly approved.

  “I love you,” he said against her lips. “I’m sorry I said I didn’t. I’m sorry I said I didn’t want you to love me. I do...and more than that... I need you and your love, like I need air to breathe and the earth beneath my feet.”

  “You’re quite poetic when you want to be,” she said and grasped his hand from under the feathers. “And if we’re clearing the air, I have a couple of things I’d like to say.”

  He smiled. “Can I shake off this chicken costume first?”

  “Sure,” she replied. “Let me help.”

  She wondered, for a second, what everyone was thinking as they watched from the balcony. But when she turned, she noticed that the balcony was empty and the family had gone inside.

  “We must have looked like we needed some alone time,” she said and helped him out of the costume.

  “That, or they couldn’t bear seeing me humiliate myself any further,” he said and made a face.

  She giggled. “This is all kind of romantic, you know.”

  “It will be something to tell our kids,” he said and laughed.

  She touched his face and then removed a few stray feathers from his hair. “Joss, what made you—”

  “Come to my senses?”

  She nodded a little. “Yeah.”

  “You. Clare. Sissy. The fact that I’ve been miserable for the last couple of weeks and have missed you like crazy. But I couldn’t deny you were right—I was scared of loving again. Scared of losing, I suppose. Scared of hurting.”

  “I can’t promise not to die,” she said and touched his face again. “But being with you is where I want to be for the rest of my life.”

  “And you were right about Billie-Jack, too,” he admitted, linking their hands together. “I’ve spent so long hating him and blaming him, I think I lost sight of why. And then thinking I was somewhat responsible for the accident... It all kind of got twisted up and I couldn’t articulate to myself why I acted like I didn’t care, but inside was still so angry after all these years. The fact is, he’s old and dying, but even when I was young, I was never that invested in him, you know. I was closer to Mom and when she died I was angry because he didn’t step up and fill that gap. I didn’t have the relationship with him that Grant did, or even Jake—who fought him the most, but still wanted to have a relationship, I suppose. Because of that, it makes him easier to let go. All I want is to be a better father than he was, and I think I am.”

  “You are,” she assured him. “You’re a wonderful dad.”

  “Thank you. And I promise I will try to be a good husband.”

  She nodded. “I know that. And, Joss, you do believe that I didn’t ever deliberately manipulate you. I know it might have looked that way, but I promise, that was never my intention.”

  “Of course, I know that. I was angry because I was feeling a whole lot of stuff I couldn’t control. I don’t blame you for wanting to find your grandmother and I certainly don’t blame you for wanting to keep the information private.”

  “I’m so glad I found her.”

  “I’m glad you found her,” he said. “Because of that, we found each other.”

  She kissed him gently, softly, and with all the love that was in her heart. They had a wonderful future ahead, which made her the luckiest woman she knew.

  And she intended on letting him know that every day for the rest of their lives.

  Epilogue

  Three days after Joss’s dramatic chicken proposal extravaganza, Marnie was still reeling from the fact she had a man who loved her, two kids who were simply wonderful and a whole extended family who had welcomed her with open arms.

  She got home from work on Wednesday and there was a note pinned to her door.

  My backyard. Six o’clock. Don’t be late.

  She showered and changed and walked the fifty yards to his house. Her house, too, soon enough, she figured, although they hadn’t talked about the specifics of their new life much. When she rounded the driveway she spotted candles dotting the path and she followed them around the back. The gazebo was shimmering with candles and lights and there was a small round table set up with champagne and canapés. And Joss stood by the step, a rose in his hand, wearing a suit and tie and looking so incredibly handsome she turned weak at the knees and knew she’d never tire of admiring him.

  The girls were there, too, standing by the steps, their faces beaming with smiles.

  “What’s this?” she asked when she greeted them.

  “Well,” he said, reaching for her hand. He drew her into the gazebo and gave her the rose. “A couple of things have occurred to me.”

  “And what are they?”

  “The first thing is that although we’ve talked about marriage and babies, I never actually got around to proposing.”

  “Oh, well, I just assumed—”

  He dropped to one knee, still grasping her hand, and holding out a small black box. “Marnie—I love you with all my heart and soul. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

  He flicked open the box and she saw a bright solitaire diamond flanked by pink stones.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  “The girls helped me pick it.”

  She smiled and looked at both Sissy and Clare. “It’s exactly the ring I would have picked out.”

  Sissy nodded and grinned. “So...you haven’t answered Dad’s question.”

  Marnie looked at him and then his daughters in turn and experienced a great surge of love that swelled her heart. “Yes, Joss, I will marry you.”

  The girls squealed delightedly and both hugged her before he slipped the ring on her finger and got to his feet, kissing her soundly.

  “Okay, girls, time for you both to go back to the house,” Joss said quietly.

  His daughters moaned and then begrudgingly headed up the path, turning every few steps to giggle and nod approvingly.

  Then he poured champagne and passed her a glass. “You’ve made their day,” he said. “Mine, too.”

  Marnie smiled. “And mine.”

  “When are you going to marry me?” he asked.

  “We should probably have a reasonably long engagement,” she suggested. “Since we’ve really only known one another for a short time. I was thinking twelve months?”

  “Six,” he replied and smiled.

  She nodded. “Done.”

  “I guess you’d like a big wedding, huh?”

  She tried to look coy. “Very much. I’d like the girls to be bridesmaids and Shay to be my maid of honor. I’d even like my dad here, to give me away.”

  He nodded. “How does a wedding at the ranch sound? We can have it outside, under a tent.”

  “Wonderful. You said a couple of things?” she reminded him.

  He cleared his throat. “Well, yeah...so, besides the proposal thing, we haven’t talked about what you’re going to do when your job contract is up.”

  She looked at him and laughed. “Darling, I just said yes to your marriage proposal. I’m pretty sure that means I’m staying put in Cedar River.”

  He sighed with actual relief. “Whew...that’s good to hear. Okay, and our living arrangements. I may have made us an appointment to view the house by the river tomorrow...if that’s okay with you? I mean, I like this house and I’ve been happy here, but I think a new place would be good for us. I know the girls would agree. And if we have a couple more kids, we’ll need more room.”

  She almost swooned. A new house. A wedding. Babies. Her life had certainly turned out different than she’d imagined. “I’m okay to look for a new house, as long as I can help pay for it. I have a bit of money saved. More than a bit, really. A lot. But we can split things down the middle. I want us to share everything. You could rent this house instead of selling it...or maybe have it in trust for the girls when they’re older. And you’re right, a new home, with lots of rooms for the girls and all the babies we’re going to have is a great idea. I’d like two, by the way.”

  He flicked on some music and drew her close. “I’m sure I can manage that.”

  She shivered, knowing the promise of what was to come. “Dancing, too?”

  “You bet, my love.”

  Marnie smiled. She had everything she’d ever wanted. And more.

  * * *

  Catch up with the previous books in The Culhanes of Cedar River, Helen Lacey’s miniseries for Harlequin Special Edition

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  The Most Eligible Cowboy

  by Melissa Senate

  Chapter One

  All Brandon Taylor wanted was to finish his small plate of delicious shrimp pot stickers, grab a bottle of champagne and sneak out of his brother’s wedding reception for a little while. Half hour tops.

  He stood in the parklike backyard of the Taylor family ranch on this warm, breezy early September evening, behind a pillar wrapped in twinkling white lights and festooned with tiny red roses, eyeing the best route to escape. The wedding had started at six and though it was now only seven thirty, it felt like two in the morning. The ceremony had been a lot. Or maybe just a lot for him. The look on his brother’s face when his bride had started down the aisle had slammed Brandon in his chest. Had he ever seen Jordan look like that? Not just happy, not just proud, but as if he finally understood the meaning of life.

  Then there were the vows. Goose bumps had unexpectedly trailed up Brandon’s arms when Jordan repeated his vows and then said some of his own, the reverence in his brother’s voice holding Brandon completely still.

  “Dang,” their brother Dirk had whispered from where they’d stood to the side of their oldest brother. “Double dang,” Dirk’s twin, Dustin, had agreed, wonder in his voice. Their sister, Daphne, was on the other side, in the bridesmaid lineup, tears misting her eyes, but Daphne had always been a softie. Plus, she had an engagement ring on her finger and would be next to get married so, of course, she was a little emotional at a wedding. What Brandon’s excuse was for choking up, he had no idea.

  Likely he was just happy for his big brother, a guy who’d always been a hero to Brandon. That was all.

  Given the Taylor track record at marriage, Brandon hadn’t thought any of his four siblings would make lifetime commitments. But there had stood Jordan, vowing to love, honor and cherish Camilla Sanchez till death did them part. There had stood Daphne, whose problems with their thrice-married, controlling father were legendary in Bronco, also believing in forever with that diamond ring twinkling on her finger.

  Brandon was truly happy for both siblings, but he knew one thing about love: it didn’t last. It just didn’t have a chance.

  So, add all that to the hundredth time a wedding guest had said, “I bet you’re next, Brandon,” and he was ready for a breather. A cousin had even added, “Good golly, Brandon, aren’t you thirty-four? And still single? It’s high time you settled down.”

  Brandon had politely smiled through it all until he just couldn’t take it and had snapped at another cousin, a know-it-all lawyer from Butte with a gold wedding band on his hand, “Statistics speak for themselves. No thanks.”

  He’d gotten the stink eye from the cousin and a shaking tsk-tsk of the head from an aunt, and he’d been about to apologize for being the cynical smart-ass he could sometimes be when someone clanked a spoon against a champagne glass and everyone started chanting, “Kiss, kiss, kiss!” Jordan and Camilla stood in the center of the dance area, and his brother laid one on his new bride that even had Brandon kind of blushing. Cheers, wolf whistles and clapping followed.

  Brandon glanced toward a stand of Rocky Mountain maple trees, his favorite grouping in the yard, the leaves already shimmering their yellow in the white lights hung around the perimeter of the reception area. Surely no one would miss him for a half hour. He’d already dutifully made small talk with at least a hundred of the countless guests. He’d complimented his dad’s wife—number three—on the great job she’d done turning the yard of their family ranch into an outdoor ballroom, complete with all the strung lights and huge pink-and-red flower displays, penguin-suited waitstaff mingling with trays of appetizers and cocktails. He had managed to get into an argument with his father about his sister—something he’d promised himself to avoid—but any time Cornelius Taylor, who had a king complex, complained about Daphne, Brandon was going to defend her.

  Their dad, whose beef cattle operation made him one of the wealthiest men in Bronco Heights, Montana, had a “my way or the highway” mentality, and when Daphne had chosen the highway, Cornelius had blown his stack. She’d moved out to start her own ranch, and a very different one, at that.

  Daphne, a vegetarian of all things in a family of cattle ranchers, owned the Happy Hearts Animal Sanctuary, and Cornelius was always muttering that all the place was missing was shuffleboard for the old bulls and recuperating horses, plus the many dogs, cats and small furry creatures available for adoption. Between Daphne getting engaged and Jordan marrying Camilla tonight, poor Cornelius was out two of his five offspring to boss around, and that was his favorite pastime. Brandon loved his dad, but the man was a control freak.

  And Brandon Taylor would never let anyone tell him what to do, when, or how. He was his own man and always had been.

  He glanced around. Lots of smooching. Dancing cheek to cheek. Brandon had arrived solo at the wedding, but he’d been paired with a very attractive single bridesmaid in the wedding party. When she’d asked how many kids he wanted someday and he said he hadn’t even thought ahead to whether he wanted beef or chicken for his dinner, she’d rolled her eyes at him and walked off. Now, as he spied a determined-looking middle-aged woman coming toward him with what looked like a calling card in her hand, he gave a fast smile and hightailed it from his hiding spot. He had at least twenty-five cards and slips of papers with the cell phone numbers and social media handles of single daughters, nieces, granddaughters, neighbors he’d be “a sure match with.”

  Doubtful. Love and Brandon had never mixed. Love and Taylors had never mixed, either, not that Brandon didn’t wish his two siblings well. Daphne seemed to have found the real thing with Evan Cruise, and his brother Jordan looked so sickeningly happy right now, staring into his new wife’s eyes while slow dancing to Frank Sinatra, that Brandon really did have to hand it to him. The guy formerly known as He Who Would Not Be Tamed among the single women of Bronco had found his Ms. Right.

  Brandon had spent the last few years making crystal clear to the women he dated that he would not commit. With his family history and not a single relationship working out for himself, Brandon put zero stock in romance and happily-ever-after, even when it was all around him—like at this wedding, a celebration of all things love and forever. Life had a way of not working out.

  Cynical, sure. But true.

  He popped the final pot sticker in his mouth, reminding himself to compliment his new sister-in-law on the catering her restaurant did for the wedding, then set the empty plate on a table. About to make off for the trees, he almost collided with a tiny elderly lady in her nineties.

  Uh-oh.

  There was no getting away from Winona Cobbs. No fast-talk, no evading. She had him pinned with her sharp gaze. Rumored to be mystic, Winona had a psychic shop at her great-grandson Evan’s ghost tour business in town. Now that Evan was engaged to Brandon’s sister, Winona was pretty much family. A psychic in the family sounded kind of scary. Not that he put much stock in mysticism, either, but with her long white hair, pale skin and mark-my-words look in her eyes, Winona Cobbs wasn’t to be dismissed too easily. Plus, she deserved his respect. The lady had quite a family history of her own and had been through it all and then some.