Surrender To Sultry (23 page)

One brown Laredo hit the gravel, then the other. A large tawny hand gripped the door
frame, and the man hoisted himself to standing. At once, she recognized the loose
black hair brushing his broad shoulders. Of course it was Colt. Because she hadn’t
suffered enough today.

He closed his door and ambled toward her, the brim of his Stetson concealing his face
in shadows. When he reached her, he knocked twice on the window, and she reluctantly
rolled it down.

“License and registration,” he said, keeping his head tipped down to inspect her tires.

If she and Colt had parted on friendly terms, she’d assume this was a joke. But there
was no humor in his smooth, deep voice. She didn’t know what he was up to, but she
didn’t want any part of it. She couldn’t take another one of his cold shots.

“Leave me be,” she said weakly. “You don’t even have jurisdiction here.”

He held out his hand, palm up, and repeated, “License and registration.”

She made a frustrated noise and reached for her purse. “Fine.” Maybe if she gave him
what he wanted, he’d go away. She dug Benny’s paper out of the glove box, then thrust
it out the window along with her license.

He took the documents from her and made a show of appraising them, even though he’d
seen them before. “Here,” he said, handing back Benny’s registration. “You can have
this.” But instead of returning her license, he tucked it in his back pocket.

She pointed to the vicinity of his backside. “I need that.”

He ignored her and ordered, “Step out of the car.”

“Why?” she asked. “There are only so many ways I can say I’m sorry. I tried to—”

“Because you’re not goin’ anywhere.” He tipped back his hat, revealing sea blue eyes
alight with fire. “Not till I have my say.”

She stayed put, trying to hold herself together while her chin trembled.

“Damn it, Leah.” Colt pointed to the ground. “Get out here so I can apologize.”

She slid a glance at him and lowered one brow, figuring he couldn’t mean that. “Is
this a trick?”

He answered by opening her door and offering a hand to help her down. When she unbuckled
her seatbelt and swung her legs around, he surprised her by wrapping his palms around
her waist and carefully lowering her to the gravel. Once there, he was slow to release
her, standing so close she felt the heat rolling off his chest.

“It’s not a trick,” he murmured into her hair. “I wanna tell you I’m sorry.” He tipped
her chin until their faces met, his gaze full of contrition when he whispered, “I’m
sorry.”

She believed him, and yet her feet took a step back in a warning to keep her shields
up. She was too raw inside, too vulnerable to risk her heart again if
sorry
was all he had to say.

He noted the distance between them but didn’t object. Instead, he shut her car door
and respected her space. Humbly, he pulled off his hat and told her, “I’m not trying
to excuse the way I behaved, but it was a shock—learning about Noah that way. I was
hurt and angry, and I think I wanted you to feel some of that pain.”

She leaned back against the Escalade and folded her arms protectively.

“If we’re being honest,” he said, “I’m still hurt. I have a son, but I don’t know
his favorite flavor of ice cream or if he still sleeps with a stuffed animal.”

Unable to hold his gaze, she stared at the ground. “Cotton candy is his favorite,
and he sleeps with a little blue bear, but he doesn’t want anyone to know because
he’s afraid his friends will make fun of him. I feel awful for shutting you out, Colt.
I hope you believe me. If I could go back and do it again, I’d—”

“I wouldn’t want you to change a thing,” he insisted. She glanced at him in disbelief
and found him raking a hand through his hair. “That’s the hard part—that’s the rub.
I hate that I missed Noah’s first nine years, but I know I couldn’t have been a decent
father to him back then. Hell, I even wonder if I’d make a decent dad now. And if
you’d asked me, I never would’ve agreed to give him up. You sacrificed your happiness
for our boy, and that’s the truest kind of love.” He shook his head as if he didn’t
understand his own words. “You did the right thing, even though it was terrible and
wrong. Does that make sense?”

Leah caught her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded. It made perfect sense.

“Staying mad at you is a lot of work, and I’m tired. I don’t want to let all that
bitterness and regret eat me up.” He reached for her hand, a silent message that the
next move was hers. “I love you too much for that.”

Her heart jumped. He still loved her? A cautious smile pressed her lips as she took
his hand.

“I know you’re not perfect—I don’t expect that of you.” He eliminated the space between
them and lifted her chin again. “But you’ll always be my angel.”

The tears she’d suppressed all day leaked down her cheeks. Colt used a thumb to brush
them away. He whispered against her lips, “Tell me you still love me.”

It took a few moments to find her voice, but when she did, she promised, “There’s
only you.”

He dropped a soft kiss on her mouth, just a taste of his sweetness, then lowered to
one knee. “I’ve never loved anybody but you, and if you’ll let me, I swear I’ll love
you and no one else until I die.”

He pulled a gold ring from his shirt pocket and studied it for a moment. A faceted
burgundy stone glowed warm and shimmered in the light until it resembled a beating
heart. “I know it’s not a diamond,” Colt said, “but my grandmamma gave me this before
she passed. She used to say garnets symbolize pure sacrifice, and I can’t think of
anything more fitting for you to wear on your finger.”

Leah wanted to tell him it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, but emotion
had thickened her throat until she could barely breathe.

Colt presented the ring to her and squeezed her hand. “I never felt like I deserved
you, and today’s no different. But I promise no man will love you harder and no man
will give more of himself than I will. I swear I’ll never let you down. Please say
you’ll marry me. It hurts too much when we’re not together.”

Leah pressed her free hand over her mouth to stifle a sob of joy. Colt’s stunning
face, so filled with adoration, blurred through her tears, and she blotted her eyes
to bring him back into focus. “Yes.” It was more a husky whisper than anything, but
she didn’t care. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”

With a smile bright enough to shame the sun, he slid the ring on her finger and stood
to take her face between his palms. “Thank you,” he said.

“Oh, no.” She remembered something. “What about Benny’s car? I still have to drive
it to Minnesota.”

“It can wait a few weeks.” He pressed her body against the side of the Escalade. “I
just got you back, and we’ve got some catching up to do.” To prove it, he brushed
his mouth against hers and ran the tip of his tongue along her bottom lip. The kiss
deepened, growing hotter and wetter until she felt him hardening against her belly.
He moved his lips to her ear and whispered, “You really wanna take a road trip right
now?”

“No,” she breathed, tipping her head aside to welcome the slide of his mouth on her
neck. She wasn’t going anywhere today, except to the moon. “I wouldn’t mind climbing
into the back seat, though.”

“Why, Leah McMahon!” Colt drew back and tried to sound scandalized, but a wicked grin
betrayed him. “Are you leading me into temptation?”

She beamed up at him—her future husband—so exquisite that she wanted to cry again.
There was too much happiness inside her. She couldn’t make room for all of it. “You
bet I am. And what I have in mind is illegal in some states.”

He opened the door and tossed his Stetson inside. “In that case, I’m all in, honey.
They don’t call me Crazy Colt for nothing.”

No, they sure didn’t. Colt was the devil in cowboy boots, and Leah was no angel. But
together, she knew they’d make their own brand of heaven on earth.

***

After their back-seat adventure, they sped home to Sultry County, where they spent
the rest of the afternoon making up for lost time in Colt’s king-sized bed. Even when
they weren’t making love, Leah clung to him, locking her arms around his broad neck
in a compulsion to get closer, afraid the dream would evaporate like mist if she loosened
her embrace. He must have felt the same way, because he left her side only once—to
make a phone call to her daddy��before returning to bed and loving her again, stronger
than before.

Finally at suppertime, Colt insisted they venture out to the Main Street Diner, and
Leah’s grumbling stomach agreed. But instead of driving toward town, he made a left
onto the old country road, continued another mile, and pulled into the church parking
lot.

“Are we turning around?” she asked.

“Nope,” was all he said as he cut the ignition.

Leah glanced at the church and the adjoining fellowship hall, both equally dark and
showing no signs of life. She remembered his earlier phone call with Daddy and wondered
if he’d staged an impromptu wedding. “We can’t get married without a license, you
know.”

“I know.” He stepped out of the cruiser and jogged around the front end to open her
door, then extended a hand to help her to standing. “Besides, when I marry you, it
won’t be in the dark. I’m gonna throw you the biggest wedding this town’s ever seen.”

Leah smiled at his enthusiasm, figuring she’d rein in his plans later. She didn’t
need a flashy extravaganza—just her family, her friends, and Colt. It was the marriage
that mattered, not the wedding.

“Then what’re we doing here?” she asked him.

He didn’t answer, only linked their fingers and towed her toward the fellowship hall.
When they reached the door, he knocked twice and let himself in, then ushered her
into the darkness.

Leah had just opened her mouth to object when the lights flashed on and a chorus of
whoops and hollers broke out, followed closely by thunderous applause.

She drew back, hand flying over her heart, as half the church congregation stood in
front of their folding chairs, clapping wildly for her. At once, her eyes focused
on the church’s well-used “Welcome Home” banner that hung from the ceiling—the same
one she’d seen at the Lewis homecoming. But below the faded lettering, someone had
added the word
FOREVER
in bright-red paint. From there, she noticed a few old photos of herself affixed
to the walls, and in the center of the room, platters of cold cuts and appetizers
were arranged near the punch bowl on a long, cloth-draped table. Through the clamor,
someone whistled loudly, and Leah glanced to her right to find Rachel, who bounced
on her toes and waved beside Daddy.

It took a moment for Leah to absorb what was happening. She turned to Colt with an
unspoken question in her gaze.
Is
all
this
for
me?

“Pru and your daddy put this together,” Colt said. “They couldn’t use all the fancy
decorations on such short notice, but I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

“Mind?” Leah’s vision flooded with tears while she warmed all over with gratitude.
This was what she’d wanted since coming back to town—a true welcome. Who cared if
a few streamers were missing? “It’s amazing.”

Everyone she loved was here, even June and Luke, who sat in a quiet corner with their
new baby. With a little nudge from Colt, Leah stepped inside and let the congregation
embrace her, one set of arms at a time. When she’d finished circulating through the
hall, her cheeks ached from smiling but she’d never felt more cherished.

She was finally home.

The call came two years later when Leah was fast asleep, wrapped in Colt’s arms. She
awoke with a start and glanced at the bedside alarm clock, instantly worried, because
the only news that traveled at three in the morning was the devastating kind. She
shot out an arm to answer the phone. But instead of bad news, Leah heard the two most
glorious words in the English language.

“It’s time.”

A surge of adrenalin shot through her, more energizing than ten pots of coffee. She
giggled loudly and shook Colt’s shoulder. “It’s time!”

He yawned and stretched, blinking at her in confusion until understanding dawned in
his eyes. “
Time
time?” She nodded and he bolted upright in bed with an instant smile, his teeth bright
in the darkness.

They jumped out of bed and scurried around their bedroom, clumsily hopping into pant
legs and yanking shirts over their heads. Five minutes later, they dashed down the
front walk to Colt’s cruiser, looking disheveled and mismatched, but giddy as kids
on Christmas Eve. Colt flipped on the siren, and they barreled to the hospital, linking
their fingers and holding tight to one another.

Once they arrived, Colt parked at an awkward angle, taking up two spaces, but he didn’t
seem to care. They jumped out of the car and jogged to the afterhours entrance.

Leah flashed her employee badge to the security officer stationed at the front desk,
and he waved her through. When they reached the elevator, the excitement that had
propelled her into a frenzy began to morph into the sick weight of anxiety. Colt noticed
at once, which didn’t surprise her. He knew her better than anyone.

“You okay?” he asked, punching the
up
button.

She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “What if she changes her mind?”

Leah had refused to allow a single baby item inside their home for that reason. Not
one pacifier. She’d even made Rachel promise not to throw her a baby shower. If the
adoption fell through, she didn’t want to come home to a painted nursery or heaps
of presents to remind her of their loss.

The elevator doors parted, and Colt wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her
inside. He pushed the button to take them to the fifth floor, then cupped her face.
“If she changes her mind, we’ll try again. As many times as it takes.” He pulled her
into a tight hug that promised he’d never falter. When they parted, he made sure to
add, “And whatever happens, you’ve always got me.”

She warmed all over with loving him. “We’ve got each other.”

The doors opened, and they walked hand-in-hand to the labor and delivery waiting room.
Shannon, their adoption facilitator, was already expecting them. With a wave, she
stood from her chair, and Leah immediately scanned her face for signs of trouble,
finding none.

“Congratulations,” Shannon said with a sleepy smile. “It’s a girl.”

Salty tears rushed Leah’s vision, forcing her to blot her eyes with her shirt sleeve.
“And Rosaria?” she asked. “Is she okay?”

Leah knew firsthand the agony the young woman was facing. They’d never met the birth
mother in person, because Rosaria had insisted on a closed adoption with no contact
whatsoever. But they knew she was a young second-generation citizen without much family
support, and the baby’s father had been deported to Ecuador. Leah’s heart broke for
the girl, and she finally understood how Diane had felt all those years ago—overjoyed
to add a child to her family, but bereaved for the woman making the sacrifice.

Shannon nodded, but dropped eye contact. “I keep offering to have the baby brought
to her room, but she insists she doesn’t want to see her. It’s easier that way for
some women.”

Leah couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. At first they leaked silently down her
cheeks, but then memories of Noah’s birth resurfaced, and a series of wet sobs wracked
her chest. Colt snatched a tissue from the nearby coffee table and handed it to her
before surrounding her in his embrace. She clung to him and cried violently for what
seemed like forever—first for herself and then for the woman who’d given her a second
chance at motherhood. When the pain finally dulled, she apologized to Shannon.

“You have nothing to feel sorry about,” Shannon said. “This is an emotional process
for everyone involved.” Then she said the only thing that could possibly make Leah
smile. “Are you ready to hold your daughter?”

She and Colt shared a bittersweet glance, sorrow from their past mingling with hope
for the future. “Absolutely,” Leah said.

They followed Shannon to an empty recovery room and washed their hands, then sat beside
each other on the bed while Shannon called for the baby. Minutes later, a nurse wheeled
in a plastic bassinet with a pink tag affixed to the top, labeled
Girl, Sanchez, 6.2 oz. 19 in
.

Leah’s pulse quickened, and she couldn’t sit still any longer. She stood and peered
down at the baby girl, barely visible beneath white swaddling blankets and a pink-striped
newborn cap. Leah had already been invited to do so, but she felt like she needed
permission to touch the child. She gave the nurse a questioning glance.

“Go ahead,” the woman prompted with a smile.

With careful fingers, Leah worked one hand beneath the baby’s delicate neck and the
other beneath her diapered bottom. Supporting her head, she lifted the tiny sleeping
bundle from her bassinet and cradled her against her chest. She was so light, and
yet she pulled at Leah’s heartstrings with ten tons of force. With her puffy eyes,
smooshed nose, and light bruising along her forehead, she was the most beautiful baby
Leah had ever seen. Tufts of jet black hair peeked out from beneath her cap, just
like her daddy’s, even though they weren’t genetically linked.

Leah took a step back and rejoined Colt on the edge of the bed so they could share
this moment. He scooted closer and wrapped an arm around Leah’s waist, admiring their
baby in silence for a while. With one light fingertip, he stroked the baby’s cheek
and said, “Hello, Grace. We’ve waited a long time to meet you.”

“Grace,” Leah repeated. Until now she’d barely allowed herself to speak the name for
fear of jinxing herself. But she wasn’t afraid anymore. “We love you, Grace Rosaria
Bea.”

Leah lifted Grace high enough to take in her sweet newborn scent. She bonded to her
baby at once, her body recognizing this child as her own and overwhelming her with
a maternal urge she’d only felt once before—when the timing wasn’t right.

Gazing into her baby girl’s cherubic face, Leah wondered how she’d ever believed God
had forsaken her. How shortsighted she’d been. He hadn’t left her side for a moment—instead,
He’d guided her to the perfect family for Noah, and when she was ready, He reconnected
her with the only man she’d ever truly loved. Now He’d blessed them with a child of
their own.

A warm feeling of peace stirred inside Leah’s breast, faith that she’d found her purpose
on this earth, and realization that she deserved the gift of happiness.

Leah rested her head on Colt’s solid chest, and they cherished their baby girl together.
As a family.