Protecting You (A McCord Family Novel Book 1) (23 page)

Flowers and balloons lined the windowsill with
get well soon
written all over them. Who would send all that? He didn't know anybody in New York.

A deep breath filtered out as it all came rushing back. Seeing a gun centered on Ava's chest, the crazed woman screaming at her, threatening her. The impossible way time slowed to a stop as he ran as fast as he could to reach her in time. There had been one brief moment where Jimmy flickered in his mind, wondering if this is how he felt when he ran toward Ava.

Thinking about it now, he didn't think so. Jimmy did it because Ava was his best friend, his fellow co-worker who was fighting a suspect.

Zane did it because the amount of love he felt for her overshadowed anything else. Her well-being, her safety, her happiness was more important to him than life itself. He knew Jimmy loved her, but he imagined it couldn’t compare to the love he had for her.

He squeezed her hand softly and tried to sit up. The pain near his shoulder was too much. He moaned.

Ava opened her eyes at the sound and pressure in her hand, smiling instantly when she saw his eyes shine back.

"Are you alright, Ava?" Zane croaked. He coughed a little and tried to clear his voice.

"I'm fine now that I know you're okay." She reached over to his bed tray and grabbed the cup of water. She handed him the cup. He maintained his grip on her hand as he held the cup in his other hand. He downed the whole cup in a gulp, handing the empty cup back to her.

She set it back on the tray and focused her eyes on him as she frowned. "You're an idiot, you know that."

Zane grinned. "I guess I must be if you and Austin always insist on calling me that. Why am I an idiot?"

Ava bit her lip as a tear fell down. "You shouldn't have done this to yourself. You know I was mad at Jimmy for it. What makes you think I'm not mad at you?"

"Are you mad at me?" he asked with a grin.

"Yes, I am." Another tear escaped. "You hate New York. You shouldn't be here or lying in this bed."

Zane scowled. "So I should be getting a phone call that you died and then flying to New York anyway to attend your funeral. Is that what you're saying?"

"Maybe if I died the first time instead of Jimmy, things would be better. You would've never had to travel here two more times as you did. Once for Jimmy's funeral and once for…well, whatever you came for this time. You would still have Jimmy and you wouldn't have almost died yourself. You lost so much blood. You almost didn't make it," Ava whispered, as two more tears filtered down.

"Come here, Ava," Zane demanded softly as he pulled her hand to his chest making her stand up. She gently sat on the bed. "Lay down with me, please. Let me hold you like I used to when we talked about Jimmy."

"I could hurt—"

"Please, Ava."

Ava let go of his hand and wiped her cheeks quickly. Zane raised his arm, waiting for her to lay down with him. She gently stretched out next to him, laying her head barely on his chest as he lowered his arm around her, then pulled her closer.

Zane sighed in contentment. "This is much better. Don't worry about hurting my chest. The bandage is on the other side, so rest your head firmly." He kissed the top of her head, breathing in her wondrous flowery scent. "Now tell me again the asinine thinking going through your head that you should be dead."

She moved her head to look into his eyes. "Are you calling me dumb now?"

"Yes." Zane grabbed her hand. "Ava, I can't begin to explain how I feel. Where to even start. How Jimmy felt, what went through his mind. Some events are out of our control. He made his choice just as I made mine. I can't fault him for that anymore. My brother died and I would wish for anything to have him back. But the one thing I wouldn't wish is for you to die instead. That makes it so much harder to deal with. Without losing him, I would've never gained you."

Zane inhaled softly. "Or maybe I would have. He told me a few times I should meet you. That we'd make a perfect couple. If I had listened…come to New York that first time to sweep you off your feet as he put it, instead of fighting with you, things would've all turned out differently. But I didn't, and now I have to live with those decisions."

He squeezed her hand and looked deep into her eyes. "Listen to me. I hate New York. You know this. I came here for one reason, and that reason was you. I was a mess when you left and Austin made me see how dumb—yes, dumb—I was for even letting you leave. I was scared. I've never felt this way. I didn't know how to deal with it. I just wanted to find you and tell you how I felt and beg you to come home. Ask you to come home—our home—which doesn't feel the same without you there. When I saw that gun, I didn’t think about anything but making sure you were safe. I wouldn't change a damn thing even if the consequences went the other way. To think if I didn't make this trip and you died, well, I can't even fathom it. I just can't."

"How do you think I would feel if you had died? How would I survive?" Ava whispered.

"You would've had Austin to lean on just as he would've leaned on you. He would've done the same damn thing if I hadn't been there," Zane replied with conviction.

"I know, he already said that and I wanted to deck him for it just like I want to do to you. I want you all to stop taking the blows for me. Let me—"

"No. I will keep you from harm at all costs until the day I die, even if you don't want me in your life. I came to New York to tell you I love you. I love you so much it hurts sometimes. I just want to make you happy and spend the rest of my life with you. I was hoping you felt the same way. That you would come home with me and—" Zane cleared his throat a bit, suddenly extremely nervous. "Will you marry me, Ava? Will you holler at me when I'm acting like an idiot and I need to see reason? Will you help make the farm a home and fill it with some little scoundrels just like me and you? Will you please make me the happiest man on earth? I swear I'll do everything in my power to make you happy, to protect you."

Ava sucked in a breath as tears started lightly running down her face.

Zane let go of her hand, wiping the tears gently away, whispering, "Please don't cry, Ava. I can't stand your tears. It hurts inside to see them. I didn't want to make you cry."

Ava sniffed. "I can't help it. I just never had anyone say anything like that to me." She slowly raised her lips into a grin.

"Why are you grinning at me like that? You haven't answered me either. Are you trying to torture me?" Zane groaned.

"It bothers you so much when I don't answer you right away, you know that."

"Yes, I know. I can't stand it. I just poured my heart out and you refuse to answer me, grinning at me like I'm a complete idiot. I am one. This was dumb. I should've known when I spoke to your dad. He said you quit your job, that you had a job offer somewhere else."

"Did he tell you where? Why did you go see my dad?"

"He said he forgot. We were trying to find you. You weren't at home or answering your phone. I asked him for permission to marry you, then I proceeded to say it didn't matter because I would anyway. I wasn't that nice. I can't help myself. The man probably hates me even more."

Ava smiled wider.

"Quit smiling like that," he yelled with agony.

Ava brought her hand to his cheek, caressing it lightly, then holding it firmly. "I love you, Zane. My dad loves you. Not only did your brother save my life, so did you. He found it endearing the way you spoke to him because he could tell how much you cared. He was pulling your chain when he claimed to forget where that job offer was because I had already told him how much I loved you. Chief Tanner seemed to think I would never leave that farm and said there would be a spot for me if I wanted one."

"Really? That's the job offer?" Zane asked, surprised, his heart swelling with happiness.

"Yeah, it was. I was making plans on…on moving to Minnesota before you got here. I was miserable, too. I should've never left. But I think we need to do some negotiations before I fully commit here," Ava said with a serious expression.

Zane frowned, suddenly worried again. "What kind of negotiations?

"Well, Gerta needs a decent size pen. That old one was kinda small for her and since you're building a new barn, it's doable. Second, Georgy is a nice name for our pet pig you have adopted and I just can't bear to think of him meeting the end of a knife." Ava sighed.

Zane raised his brows in disbelief. "How in the hell do you know about Georgy?"

Ava beamed at him. "Austin heard you talking to him a few times over the past week I was gone. Seems you made a pet for yourself, even named him," she said singsong like.

"Pigs are not pets. I will lose money if we make every damn animal a pet. I run a farm here," Zane said, as his cheeks got red with embarrassment. Ava wouldn't remove the smile from her face. "You can have a bigger pen for Gerta."

She giggled after he called the goat by name. She raised her eyebrow in anticipation, waiting patiently.

Zane muttered under his breath. "Fine. Georgy can stay, but no other pigs. That's the main bread maker on the farm, damn it."

"Whew! I was worried about Georgy's last days there," Austin said, creeping up toward them with a smile on his face.

Zane glared at him.

"What? We had to make some sort of conversation while we waited." Austin shrugged. "Ava needed some cheering up and I thought she'd enjoy hearing you made a pet while she was gone." He walked up to the bed and grinned. "I'm glad you're okay. It's not easy keeping Ava happy. I don't know how you do it."

Ava laughed. "Stop it. I wasn't that bad."

"Thanks for taking the job while I was out of commission. I'm good now," Zane said, seeing the relief in Austin's eyes that he was okay. "I'm sorry for the scare. It couldn't be helped."

Ava opened her mouth to dispute that, but Austin beat her to it. "I know that. You run faster than me. I guess I have to start working out a little more. Women might start noticing that and then where would I be."

Zane laughed, but Ava didn't look amused. "Not funny, Austin," Ava said.

"About those negotiations. Was that it?" Zane asked, grateful for the woman in his arms and the brother by his side.

"For now. I could think of more on the plane ride home or while we're sitting on the porch swing," Ava said with a devious grin.

"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to struggle with the farm with you on it?" Zane groaned happily.

"I have no idea why you would think that. I love the farm. Just as I love you," Ava replied, kissing him lightly on the lips.

Zane pulled her closer, holding her tightly, demanding the kiss deepen into delight.

Austin coughed loudly when they didn't immediately stop. Zane pulled away from her and winked. He turned to Austin. "You okay, brother? Something caught in your throat?"

"Just a frog—hopping around," Austin said chuckling.

Ava laughed. "Oooo, Zane, tell him the cow joke."

Austin groaned. "I don't wanna hear the cow joke."

Zane grinned wide, pulled Ava closer to him, even as it hurt a little. He could handle any pain as long as she was in his arms. He looked at Austin smiling with happiness. "So, why does a cow have four legs?"

***

Thanks for reading my book and I hope you enjoyed it. I would love to hear your feedback. Please leave a review at your favorite retailer.

Thanks!

Amanda Siegrist

For Austin's story check out

Trust in Love

A McCord Family Novel

Austin's enjoying life and women to the fullest. Relationships aren't for him, only fun. But it's hard to do that when his sister-in-law Ava keeps meddling in his love life. Or lack thereof. Moving off the farm where he lived with his brother seems like the best escape. Until he finds himself in another dilemma. His new neighbor Sophie is hard to resist with her infrequent sweet angelic smiles. He refuses to fall under her spell because she's the marrying kind of woman. He doesn't do the love thing. Ever!

Her pull is magnetic as he finds himself trying to get past her barriers despite his misgivings. She puzzles him with her skittish behavior and her refusal to accept any of his offering's of help. The more he's around her, the more he realizes he just might want to try the love business for once. When he learns the truth about her past, one that has her running for her life, he vows to her that nothing bad will ever happen to her again. Together, they just might find out what real love is.

For an exciting adventure check out

Escaping Memories

A Lucky Town Novel

Sheriff Logan Caldwell just wants to keep his beloved county safe, yet feels like he fails when a father kills his own daughter. Open and close case. Nothing more for him to do but start his vacation like he originally planned before that tragedy swallowed him whole. He never imagined the day would get worse when he finds a woman in his cabin. She's dirty and bruised with blood all over her body.

She has no memory—of anything.

He failed the little girl, but he won't fail this woman. He swears he'll find out who hurt her, keep her safe, and help her gain her memory back. Only problem is, he just might fall in love with her at the same time.