Authors: Avery Gale
After what seemed like forever, but in reality had only been a few hours, Rissa was released and assured there wouldn’t be any charges filed against her or the deputy in what had clearly been a self-defense situation. Dylan promised to keep her apprised of Rachel’s physical as well as legal situation, he had also laughingly told her she would have been done much sooner if her friends back at ShadowDance, including his sweet wife, would have left him alone long enough to ask his questions without calling and texting him every five minutes checking on her. “I told them you were doing fine, but I assure you they are going to want to hear that from you personally, so please call them as soon as you get to Bryant’s and let them know I didn’t drive bamboo shoots under your fingernails or use the water torture or anything. Damn but my wife was wired for sound the last time she called. Hell she was with Jenna, who threatened me with the full weight of the Lamont legal team if I didn’t let you out of here within an hour.” Dylan chuckled as he stood up and helped her to her feet. Dylan stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a brotherly hug. “Go on now, get some rest.” When she started to pull away, he stopped her with gentle hands at her elbows. “You did great, Rissa, I’m so proud of you. And not just in how you handled things this evening, but in the way you have rebuilt your life, and I know it hasn’t been an easy road.” She considered the Sheriff one of her closest friends, and his admiration melted her heart.
Rissa felt tears fill her eyes, his kind words meant more than he could ever know. Her life had taken so many turns the last few years she sometimes felt she wasn’t driving the train, but was just trying to hold on to the runaway engine as it barreled around blind corners and through dark tunnels. Finally finding her voice, she said, “Thanks, Dylan…that means a lot to me.” Grabbing his hands, she added, “I am so glad you and Mia are back together. You deserve every bit of the happiness you’ve found.” She squeezed his hands before turning to Mitch and laid her face against his chest and sighed. “I’m so tired. Can we go now? I’m not sure I’m going to make it much longer.”
Mitch quickly tossed Bryant the keys he’d been holding and scooped Rissa up in to his arms. “Absolutely, baby. Let’s get you out of here and someplace warm and comfortable.” As they walked quickly out of the small sheriff’s office and settled her in the car, Mitch whispered words of praise against her ear. “Bry and I are so proud of you, baby, you are our little warrior pixie. Hell, you’re gonna give Jenna a run for her money at this rate.”
* * * *
Trace held Tori against his side, enjoying the feel of her snuggled up close, he let her rest until their food arrived. “Come on, sweetness, let’s get some food in you then talk about accommodations.” He gently shook her awake and made sure she was eating before turning to his own plate. Once she’d known there was a hot meal in front of her, she come full awake in a heartbeat. She made short work of both her meal and two different desserts before finally saying she was full. Damn but he loved a woman who wasn’t afraid to eat. “I’m proud of you for eating so well, sweetheart.”
For some reason his simple statement warmed her all the way through, something was odd about the way he’d said it, too, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it, and all that food was starting to settle in, and she could feel her eyelids getting heavier by the second. “Thanks. Boy, I’m getting really, really tired. Did you say something about knowing where I could get some accommodations for a few days? I obviously can’t stay in the house on the ranch I inherited, hell I don’t have any idea what I’m going to do about that. Did you know my uncle?”
Trace was uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going, he’d been trying to buy the land she’d just inherited for years and had been planning to meet her at the attorney’s office today to make an offer. It wasn’t a coincidence he’d been in town today, but the minute he’d laid eyes on Tori, his entire world had shifted. Now he just wanted to get her inside his home and take care of her, and any talk of land and sales could wait forever as far as he was concerned. “Yes, sweetness, this is a very small community, we know everybody. And just as a fair warning, the way we show people we care about them is to be all up in their business.” Laughing, he added, “I’m only partially kidding about that by the way.” He looked at her with a soft expression before continuing. “Now, I want to tell you that I have a very large ranch house with plenty of space for visitors.” Holding up his hand when her eyes went wide, he went on. “There are plenty of people in here who know me, and I’d be happy for you to check with them, they’ll tell you I’m not a mass murderer. I’m a local rancher who lost his sweet wife to a drunk driver a couple of years ago. I live alone in the main house, but there are ranch hands living on the property. There is a guest suite that is kept fully stocked and ready for company, and you’re welcome to use it for as long as you like.” He finally stopped and looked down at his hands, he couldn’t believe how nervous he was.
Fuck, I feel like a nerdy teenager asking out the homecoming queen.
Tori leaned back and watched Trace’s expression, something about him called to her. His lonely spirit seemed to speak directly to her own. “I have absolutely no idea why I’m agreeing to this—it’s crazy on so many different levels, but…” Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, she continued. “Okay, I’d very much appreciate having a nice warm place to sleep.” Smiling up at his relieved expression, she asked, “Should I just follow you in my car? It has everything I own in it, and I don’t want to leave it unattended.”
“Let’s go take a look at it. I’d rather you didn’t have to drive on the roads tonight. I doubt you are experienced in mountain driving, and the road conditions are really rough right now, and it’s dark, so that makes it even more dangerous. I think we should concentrate on getting the things you need most moved in to my truck, then I’ll have the guys from the local garage come move your car to their secure storage, so your belongings will be safe.” He slid out of the booth and helped her to her feet. She swayed once but seemed to recover quickly as he steadied her with his hand on her elbow. “You’re dead on your feet, let’s get this done.”
Trace made short work of moving everything in her small car in to his pickup.
Damn, this is everything the poor woman owns in the world? Christ, what kind of life has she led?
As soon as they’d passed the keys to one of the young guys working at the garage down the street, Trace helped Tori into his truck, and reaching over her to secure her seat belt, he spoke softly to her. “Let’s get you home, darlin’.” He didn’t even stop to think about the implications of what he’d said. He just brushed a soft kiss over her lips and then quickly moved around the truck. When he’d backed out and was heading down the highway, he glanced over to find her looking at him, her eyes wide with wonder. She seemed as stunned by his words as he’d been.
Well good, I’d hate to be the only one here feeling completely blindsided.
Chapter Twenty-One
By the time Bryant had driven to his condo, all three of them were laughing about the chorus of their growling stomachs, vowing to eat a quick snack before hitting the shower then crashing. When it had become apparent that the food they’d had delivered to the Sheriff’s office was going to be cold long before they’d be able to get to it, the men had put it out for the staff who had been called into work despite the fact they all had families home for the upcoming holiday. Both men knew that Rissa was beyond exhausted and that her body needed fuel in the worst possible way. While they’d been at the cabin, she’d told them that she had to eat small meals regularly or she tended to “hit the wall” and drop like a stone.
Mitch had been listening attentively as she’d been debating between her need for food and her desire to just drop onto the first cushioned horizontal surface and fall into a dead sleep. He’d already rounded the back of the truck and scooped her up in to his arms the minute she opened the back door of the SUV. “Come on, baby, we’ll get some food in you quickly. Some crackers and peanut butter for you while we’re making something more substantial, what do you say? We’ll get you some carbs and protein right away and then work from there.”
His sweet smile warmed her heart, and she reached up and cupped his jaw with her hand. “You are the sweetest man, Mitch Grayson. You take wonderful care of me, even when I don’t really deserve it…and I want you to know I really do appreciate everything you do…both of you.” He stopped walking and simply looked down into the pools of grass green that were her eyes and wondered what he’d ever done to deserve her. He’d been a kick-ass soldier and had done things he shuddered to think about her ever finding out about, but despite all of that, he held her in his arms, and he thanked God above for the precious gift that was Rissa. As he started walking again, he barely heard her whispered “I love you—I love you both so very much…”
Mitch though his heart would burst from the joy. As they crossed the threshold, he looked to Bryant to be sure he’d heard her soft confession, and one look at his expression confirmed he was as overwhelmed as Mitch. Setting her gently on his lap at the kitchen table, he pulled her into his arms and buried his face against her neck, inhaling the sweet smell of her shampoo. When he pulled back, he could see that Bryant had knelt in front of them, and he was the first to speak. “Clarissa, I want you to know that I love you with every beat of my heart, and hearing that you love me, too, makes this just about the most humbling moment of my life.” Bryant smoothed his palm down the side of her face before leaning over and kissing her sweetly on the lips. Standing up and moving into the kitchen, he set about getting snacks in order while Mitch spent a couple of minutes with Rissa.
Mitch turned her face toward his and smiled at her indulgently. “Baby, nothing and I do mean
nothing
in the whole world could make me any happier than knowing you love me. I have been in love with you since the first moment I saw you, and it became my life’s mission to show you how great the three of us would be together. But now that mission has changed.” When her eyes went wide, he smiled and continued. “No, it’s not what you’re thinking. My new mission is to spend each and every day for the rest of my life reminding you that you made the right decision. I want you to be convinced at the end of every day that you are the most loved woman you know.”
Rissa was overwhelmed by their words. She’d always dreamed of having the kind of love that survived the tough times life could send your way, and she’d often envied Kat’s relationship with Alex and Zach. To think that she was going to have one just as wonderful was almost too much to comprehend. After her Granny had died, Rissa had gone into an emotional free fall that led to her being alone downtown in Denver late at night two years ago. Rissa had wondered a million times what had possessed her to think visiting the sleazy sex club was a good idea, but in truth it was just the last in a long series of bad decisions that had nearly cost her everything. Had it not been for a couple of DEA agents willing to chance their careers to check out a rumor, she’d have been shipped to the Middle East the very next morning and would have disappeared without a trace.
Mitch continued to hold his sweet love, but his attention was fully on her memories and musings about all the things that had brought her to this point in her life. He was pleased beyond belief that she was comparing their relationship to that of the Lamonts. Everyone he knew had nothing but admiration for Alex and Zach Lamont, and their love and respect for their dynamo wife was fast becoming a modern-day legend. Knowing he needed to get up and help Bry get food together, he pulled her in to a rib-crushing hug, just holding her for long moments before finding his voice. “Baby, you humble me, I’m honored by your love and knowing you compare what Bry and I want with you to the love shared by the Lamonts makes me prouder than you’ll ever know. And I promise you, my love, we’ll do everything in our power to live up to your expectations.”
* * * *
They enjoyed each other’s company during the rest of the evening. Their conversation was laced with lighthearted teasing and lots of laughter. Rissa found herself relaxing and falling even further under their spells, and more than once she marveled at how easy it was to love them.
Bryant was so humbled by her love that for the first time in a decade he cared more about his relationship with a woman than he did about being a Dom, and that was told him everything he needed to know about the “rightness” of the relationship they were building. Mitch had ordered her ring a few months earlier, he’d been so sure of how it would turn out. Smiling to himself, he sometimes envied Mitch Grayson’s gifts, and the boyish enthusiasm that had survived years of Special Forces missions was something to behold. The ring was a matching pair of geometric cut diamonds set in platinum, and when they’d shown it to both Jenna and Kat and received squeals of delight, they’d assumed that meant it had passed muster.
They had intended to wait until just the right moment to propose to her, they’d planned on having a romantic candlelit dinner at the cabin, but after their conversation this evening while Rissa was answering a thousand and one questions, they’d decided the sooner they asked her to be their wife, the sooner they could start building the family they all wanted. Each of them were only children with no close family members still living, so family was particularly significant to them. Mitch and Bryant had always longed for a woman to share and had vowed years ago to treat each and every child born to their wife as their own. It would never matter to either of them who the biological father was, they would both be fathers to each child they were blessed with.