A Family Kind of Guy (28 page)
Read A Family Kind of Guy Online
Authors: Lisa Jackson
“Hi-ya!”
Fire Cracker took off in a thunder of hooves and over the noise Bliss thought she heard Mason call after her.
Damn it, woman, I love you.
The words toyed with her mind, but she shoved them aside and told herself she hadn't heard anything but the voice of the wind.
Mason experienced a sense of déjà vu as he watched her race away. The mare galloped through the twilight-dark fields and he felt every muscle in his body grow tense. Though it was a hot, sticky night, with only a few clouds drifting over the glittering stars, he was reminded of another time, in this very spot, when heavy raindrops had veiled his vision and Bliss had ridden, hell-bent for leather, into the heart of a lightning storm.
This time was different.
Or was it?
A deep, frightening dread inched up his spine and though he told himself he was every kind of fool, that he didn't believe in fate or premonitions or anything remotely touching predestination, he couldn't shake the feeling.
He'd come here to give the old man his deed back, and that accomplished, he should just leave, but instead of his footsteps taking him to his truck, he half ran to the tack room, snagged a saddle, blanket and bridle and found Lucifer grazing in a nearby field. With a sharp whistle, he gained the stallion's attention and within minutes he was astride the blue-eyed pinto, chasing after Bliss and feeling his fear mount with each of the animal's swift strides.
“Come on, come on,” he urged Lucifer as he silently cursed himself for not watching which of the old cattle trails that webbed over the base of the hills she'd taken. He rode by instinct, sweating beneath his shirt, his eyes narrowed on the terrain ahead.
At the base of the hills, he guided Lucifer upward, heading along one of the dusty paths, hoping to catch a glimpse of Bliss or her dogged little horse. He stopped twice, listening for the sound of hoofbeats and hearing nothing but a train rumbling on distant tracks.
“She'll be all right,” he told himself. “She's got to be. Come on, you miserable piece of horseflesh. Run!”
Beneath branches, through swarms of insects, around stumps and boulders, the game horse ran. Across patches of moonlight and past a creek with a tumbling waterfall that sprayed a soft mist, he rode until at last the trees gave way to the ridge.
His heart stopped. He saw her silhouette, darker than the surrounding hills, astride Fire Cracker and riding wildly past the very tree struck by lightning ten years before. The old trunk was leafless and dead, the core burned black by the decade-old bolt from the sky.
“Slow down!” Mason yelled. “Bliss!”
She twisted in the saddle, her hair fanning around her.
“I love you!”
She froze, but the horse kept moving.
“Blissâ”
She gathered the reins back, slowing the mare while rocking.
“Move,” he yelled at his mount. “Come on!” He remembered the last time, how she'd nearly died. Because of him. Again! “Oh, sweet Jesus!” He kicked his horse forward. Bliss toppled. She screamed. Thud! She hit the ground with bone-cracking certainty.
Mason vaulted off his horse. “No, oh, God, no!” He reached her in an instant, dragged her crumpled body to his. “Bliss, Bliss, oh, love,” he whispered, holding her and praying to a God he'd had no words with in years that she was all right. He couldn't have hurt her again, couldn't have been the cause of any more pain. But a bruise and scrape marred the perfect skin near her temple and she sagged limply, as if there was no life left in her.
“I love you,” he said and felt tears clog his throat. “Please, sweetheart, don't⦔ He couldn't lose her. Wouldn't! She was breathing shallowly, but her eyes fluttered open for an instant and a faint smile touched her lips.
“Mason,” she mouthed.
“Hang in there, baby, I'll take care of you.”
“Iâ¦I know⦔ Then she drifted off again and he felt the cold mind-numbing fear that she might be lost to him forever. He whistled to his horse, rose to his feet and carried her gently. She wasn't going to die on him, nor was she going to leave him.
It had been ten years and he wasn't going to wait any longer. This woman was the only woman he'd ever loved, the only one who could touch his heart. Somehow, someway, he was going to save her.
* * *
Bliss felt as if she were drowning. The water was warm and calm, a blackness dragging her under.
“Can you hear me? Bliss?”
A voice. Mason's voice. Oh, Lord, how she loved him.
“Blissie. Wake up now.”
Her father. And he sounded worried. So worried. About her.
“Don't leave me.” Mason again. She would never leave him. Why would he thinkâ¦? She struggled to open her eyes, only to allow a blinding flash of light to pierce her brain. Pain exploded at her temples.
“Did you see that?”
“She's comin' around.”
“Mason?” she said, but no sound escaped her and her throat felt as dry as sandpaper.
“I'm here, darlin',” he replied and she felt his hand, big and callused, rubbing the back of hers. Again she tried to force her eyes open and this time, despite the painful brilliance, she managed to blink and stay awake.
“Whereâwhere am I?”
“At the hospital in Medford,” Mason said. His face, all harsh planes and angles, was hovering over hers, and she watched as relief washed over his features.
A doctor appeared, nudged Mason aside and shone yet another light into her eyes as she lay on the starched white sheets. “You're going to be all right,” he assured her, though she hadn't been worried. “You'll be able to go to your father's wedding.”
“Good.”
“Just as long as she goes to hers,” Mason said.
She blinked again. “Wh-what?”
The doctor moved aside and Mason took her hand, linking his fingers through hers. “Marry me, Bliss.”
“Now, wait a minuteâ” her father protested from somewhere behind Mason.
“Forgive me and marry me.” Mason swallowed hard. “I love you. I want you to be my wife, to be Dee Dee's stepmother. To be the mother of my children, our children.”
Tears filled her eyes. Her heart melted.
Children. Mason's children.
Mason kissed her on the temple. “I've always loved you, Bliss Cawthorne, and I swear, I'll love you for the rest of my life.”
“And I'll love you for the rest of mine.” Her voice was weak and cracked, but her conviction was strong. Managing a smile through her tears of joy, she stared into the golden gaze of the man she'd loved for as long as she could remember. “There's nothing to forgive, Mason, nothing. And of course I'll marry you.”
“Oh, hell,” her father said.
“No, Dad, it's heaven,” she assured him.
“Whatever makes you happy, Blissie,” her father said, his voice filled with emotion.
“Maybe we should plan a double ceremony,” Mason teased.
“I don't think so,” she said. “I don't want to share our wedding day with anyone but you.”
Her father cleared his throat. “Whatever you want. Brynnie will be thrilled and your sistersâHell, I forgot. Katie's been worried sick about you.”
“And Tiffany?”
There was a pause. “She's still not talkin' to me, but she called Katie once and this hospital twice. She's concemed about you, kiddo. Looks like you might have finally won her over.”
Bliss wasn't sure but she smiled inwardly. Sistersâ¦and childrenâ¦and, of course, a husband. Mason.
“I'll go give Brynnie a call. She'll tell your sisters. Love ya, kid,” her father said, touching her lightly on the shoulder. “Try and forgive a foolish old man for trying to protect his daughter, would you?”
“Sure, Dad,” she said, just thankful to be alive. She wasn't happy with what he'd done and there were still some issues they had to resolve, but she'd give him another chance because she truly believed that both of her parents had thought they had her best interests at heart. She heard her father leave the room and vowed to work things out. With him. With her half sisters. With Mason's daughter. Somehow she would make things work.
“So as soon as I get the doctor to spring you from here,” Mason said, interrupting her thoughts and staring down at her with his incredible gold eyes, “I'll expect you to start making wedding plans.”
“Will you?”
“Unless you want to elope.” His smile was positively and deliciously wicked.
“It doesn't matter,” she said. “Just as long as you promise to be with me forever.”
“No longer?”
She laughed, and he winked at her.
“It's a deal, Bliss Cawthorne. You and me. But only until forever.”
“Should we shake on it?” she asked, grinning, her heart so filled with happiness she thought it might burst.
“Shake on it? Hmm.” His eyes twinkled. “We could, but you know, I had something else in mind. Something moreâ¦intimate.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “You're trouble, Lafferty. Big trouble.”
“I am,” he agreed. “But only with you, love. Only with you.”
* * * * *
Dear Reader,
Welcome to Bittersweet, Oregon. It's a fictitious town set in the southern part of the state and a beautiful place to visit.
When I first started this project, I envisioned three women, all very independent, all living their lives on their own until they discover they are half sisters, related because a man whose various affairs and marriages brought them into the world. I wanted these women to not only find the love of their lives in the heroes of the books but to come to terms with the fact that they have women siblings with whom they can share both joy and pain. I hoped that my heroines would learn to deal with their father, a selfish, perhaps single-sighted man whom none of them can really trust but a man who loves them all.
In
A Family Kind of Guy
you met Mason Lafferty and Bliss Cawthorne. The next book is
A Family Kind of Gal.
Widowed Tiffany Santini is not only struggling to raise two children alone, she must also deal with her sexy, disapproving brother-in-law, J.D. Santini, a man whom she finds attractive but doesn't believe.
In
A Family Kind of Wedding
Katie Kinkaid, the third of John Cawthorne's daughters, has to cope with her often-wed mother finally marrying her father, as well as deal with her sisters. On top of that, she's determined to set her career in motion, raise her young son and take the world by storm. Unfortunately, a mysterious cowboy named Luke Gates has other plans. Luke is trouble with a capital
T
but Katie's not one to back down, not even when her heart and maybe even her life are at risk.
I hope you enjoyed your visit to Bittersweet. Come back again.
Best,
Lisa Jackson
NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY
bestselling author
SUSAN MALLERY
brings you these great titles from her charming
Fool's Gold
series!
Love. Laughter. Happily Ever After.
Available wherever ebooks are sold.
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