Nodding, he took her hand. "Yes."
Offering him a private smile, she grasped his fingers, and they turned to begin moving through the crowd. But Sheriff Ballard and his wife, clinging to his side, stepped into their path.
"Sheriff." Raith lifted a hand, ready to brush his boss aside so he could get Willow alone and naked, preferably within the next thirty seconds. "Excuse us."
But the older man wasn't about to let them by. Looking distressed, he reached out and clutched Raith's arm.
Surprised by the aggressive gesture, Raith paused and looked from the hard, desperate lines creasing the other man's face before he glanced toward Mrs. Ballard. When he realized she was crying, he frowned and spun back toward the sheriff. "What—"
"Malloy. I told you I was sorry. You know I didn't mean—"
"Ballard," Chase interrupted, appearing at Raith's side. He held out two coats toward the sheriff. "I took the liberty of getting your coats."
Mrs. Ballard's sobs strengthened, and the sheriff's face went sheet white. He nodded once as he slowly took his belongings from Willow's brother.
"Thank you for coming," Chase said, though his voice was glacial and not at all appreciative.
As tears coasted continuously down his wife's face, the sheriff turned entreatingly to his lieutenant. "Raith?"
Raith opened his mouth and turned to the assistant county attorney. "What's going on?"
Chase ignored him as he sent the Ballards a hard smile. "Would you like me to see you out?" he asked, sounding congenial though his eyes were hard and unforgiving.
The sheriff swallowed and shook his head. "No, thank you." His voice went hoarse. When he turned to help his wife into her coat, she blubbered the entire time. Pulling his arm comfortingly around her, he glanced one last time toward Raith and then Chase. With a silent bob of his head, he ushered Mrs. Ballard toward the exit.
Willow rounded on her brother, her jaw hard with disbelief. "Did you just kick them out?"
Flicking an uninterested look at his sister, Chase quietly answered, "Dad asked Ballard to go."
Raith felt the same impact of shock Willow did. Her mouth dropped open as she turned to gape at her father, who was smiling and shaking the hand of a county councilman on the other side of the room. "But... why?"
"Because..." She didn't catch the quick glance her brother shot Raith's way. But he felt it all the way to the tips of his toes. "He insulted a member of our family."
"What?" Willow yelped. "Who? What'd he say?"
Raith realized most of Willow's family had gathered nearby as if offering their support. Still reeling in shock, he found who he was looking for in moments. Pinning an accusing look at the blonde, he croaked, "Camille?"
She sank guiltily closer to her husband, who was holding their sleeping infant son on his shoulder. "I only told Dylan," she was quick to defend herself.
"And the only person I spoke to about it was Kit," Dylan cut in.
Kit, standing nearby as well, lifted his hands in surrender. "Yo, I only blabbed to my wife."
"Who told my wife," Chase cut in. "Who told me. And I, in return, relayed it directly to Dad."
"Why?" Raith asked, feeling a little short of breath. What in the hell was going on here? Willow's family couldn't be... defending him. Could they?
Willow's brother sent him a skeptical look. "Weren't you offended by his comments?"
Knowing he should lie, Raith merely gave a brief nod and honestly answered, "Well, yeah. But it wasn't that big a deal. I handled it."
"Oh, whatever," Camille piped up. "If I hadn't come along and stopped you from breaking the sheriff's nose, he probably would've fired you."
After thinking about it for a second, Raith shrugged. "Probably. But I don't care. He pissed me off. He made crude presumptions about Willow—"
"Thus the reason Dad asked him to go," Chase said. "But—"
"That's it!" Willow cut in, stepping in front of Raith and lifted her hands to stare at her family. "What in the world is going on?"
"The sheriff insulted your date," Dylan answered.
"So I've concluded," Willow answered, sliding a curious look Raith's way. "What exactly did he say to you?"
"Nothing," Raith answered just as Chase explained, "He insinuated Malloy was dating you because of your family connections in order to better himself in the sheriff's department."
Camille huffed, "Insinuated, my butt. He came right out and called Raith a social climber."
As more members of Willow's family added their piece of gossip to the conversation, she turned to study Raith. He could feel his face heat about twenty degrees. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, looking hurt.
He opened his mouth but Allison, Chase's wife, beat him to the answer. "We didn't want to upset you, sweetheart."
Willow glanced silently around at her interfering, yet supportive, relatives. Her face softened a brief moment before she glanced at Raith and sighed. "That might be why everyone else kept it from me," she told him. "But not you."
"Willow—" he started.
She took his arm and dragged him away. "Come on, Malloy." She escorted him through the house until they hit the back hallway where she'd found him before, hiding from her parents. When she whirled toward him, her eyes were flashing.
"We're going to have to work on your trust issues," she muttered and then pulled his head down for a long, hard kiss.
He was too bowled over to do much at first. Then his mouth sank against hers, and he was dragged under. His hands cupped her face while hers ran over his torso and down. When she started to tug his shirt from his slacks, he broke off and stepped back.
"Will," he rasped. "I didn't tell you because—"
"I know why you didn't tell me," she snapped, her eyes flaring with annoyance. "You thought I'd believe the sheriff and kick you out instead."
He shifted uncomfortably and glanced away. "He said I could probably knock him out as sheriff in the next election with a family as powerful as yours backing me."
Smiling in amusement, she lifted a brow. "Then I guess we'll have to do just that."
Raith snorted. "I don't want to be sheriff. And I certainly didn't want your entire freaking family flying off the handle like that just because someone insulted me. It didn't bother me that much. I was mostly just dumbfounded he actually thought I wanted you for some other reason than total adoration."
That was the closest he'd ever come to outright telling her he loved her. Willow's eyes lit as if he'd said the actual words, so he opened his mouth to confess all. But she surprised him by grasping the lapels of his jacket and tugging him close. "Well, no one messes with a DeVane." On a slow smile, she added, "Or fathers of future DeVanes. My family was only doing their rightful duty."
Though her words warmed him considerably, he arched a brow. "Future DeVane? I don't think so. This kid's going to be one hundred percent Malloy. Not a DeVane."
Willow paused. She glanced at her stomach and then back up at him and suddenly everything was okay. He and the woman he was crazy about were about to delve into one of their little matches that could turn him on like nothing else.
"Look, buddy," Willow said, right on schedule, with that argumentative tone in her voice and a sexy flash of anger in her brown eyes. She patted her flat belly. "This right here is Bubble DeVane. My baby is going to have my last name, thank you very much."
"Well, then I guess you're going to be a Malloy too," he retorted, his body pulling taut and desire zipping through him. "Because it is not going to be a DeVane."
Willow froze in her tracks. She looked up at Raith. "Did you just..." She took a breath. "Did you just propose to me?"
Raith's mouth fell open.
Holy shit.
No, he hadn't meant it that way. But suddenly the idea sounded like the best plan he'd heard all night. He studied Willow hard. "Why? Do you want to marry me?"
Willow snorted as if her answer was an obvious no. But for some reason her breathing turned choppy. She gazed up at Raith, looking a little light-headed. "I've never wanted to get married before," she whispered.
Raith moved dangerously close, hovering over her. "But do you want to now? Do you want to marry me?"
Willow's eyes were large and frightened. "You
are
proposing."
It was his turn to make a scoffing sound as if he was going to deny doing any such thing. But then his brow lowered moodily and he mumbled, "Yeah, I guess I am."
~ * ~
For a second, Willow couldn't breathe. She couldn't talk... couldn't even blink. Then she cleared her throat. "I could probably live with the idea of marrying you," she said and then suddenly felt very unstable, as if her skin was going to shake off her bones.
Had she just said yes?
"Fine," Raith told her as if he didn't care one way or the other. "Then we'll get married."
Willow rasped back, "Fine."
But as soon as she spoke, Raith blew out a breath. She felt as stunned as he looked. "Whoa. I didn't see that coming."
"Me neither."
"What?" he asked sharply, blue eyes intense and probing. "Do you want out already?"
Willow stared up at him. "Do you?"
This was it, she told herself. He had to be honest now. He had to tell her how he felt about her.
Clearing his throat, he chickened out at the last second. "I think I could live with being married to you."
"Okay, then," she answered. "We'll get married."
And it was set. They were engaged.
She was going to marry Deputy Raith Malloy and bear his child. Three months ago, she probably would've punched anyone who dared suggest such a wild, absurd notion, but now that it was happening, she was so giddy she was scared to death.
She was going to marry Raith, the man she loved.
"What happened?" Camille hurried to her not five seconds after she and Malloy rejoined the celebration, tugging her away from Raith's side so they could talk more privately. "God, you look like you're going to be sick. And Malloy's as white as a sheet." Her best friend clutched her arm and rushed her to a chair. "Did you two have a fight?" Concern marred her brow.
"Ohmigod, you broke up, didn't you?"
"No," Willow murmured, sounding as dazed as she felt. "I mean, yeah, we had a fight. But that's just how we communicate."
"Then what happened? You look like you could faint any second."
"I… We..." Willow swallowed and finally spoke the words aloud. "We decided to get married."
Her cousin blinked. Then her mouth fell open. After that, she shrieked and threw her arms around Willow. "Oh, wow. That's wonderful. I'm so happy for you. Congratulations."
Willow hugged her back, feeling numb and yet hyper-sensitive at the same time. She scanned the room over Camille's shoulder, looking for her fiancé. She spotted him surrounded by Chase, Dylan, and Kit. Kit slapped him on the back and said something that made all four men chuckle. Willow blinked, still too dazed to process much of anything.
As if sensing her stare, Raith lifted his eyes, and his gaze pinned her from across the room.
"I can't believe it," she murmured aloud.
"Well, believe it, honey." Camille patted her back. "That man is crazy about you." She squeezed Willow's fingers and let go. "Actually, I'm a little shocked you two are still here. After Dylan proposed to me, we spent the rest of the night in..." Realizing she was being a little too open, Camille snapped her mouth shut and blushed.
Willow threw back her head and laughed. Then, realizing her cousin had a point, she pushed to her feet. "I love you, Camy," she said and kissed her friend's cheek. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
"Have fun," Camille trilled after her.
Oh, she planned on it. Willow worked her way through the crowd, forced to pause every few feet and speak to a dozen different people, mostly members of her family, congratulating her. She'd almost reached him when her father stepped in her path.
She pulled to a stop and lifted her face. Walter DeVane's face was hard and his eyes unreadable. But she smiled anyway and threw her arms around him.
"Thank you," she whispered in his ear.
Even though she knew he was disgruntled with Malloy and would cheerfully send the deputy to the electric chair right about then, he had still stood up for Raith, because of her.
Her father softened and pulled away. Kissing her cheek, he said, "This is the best birthday present a father can get. Nothing is as precious to me as seeing you and your mother and brother as happy as you are right now."
Tears glittered in her eyes even as her mouth tipped in a smile. A hand touched her arm and familiar fingers wrapped supportively around her elbow. "Willow?" Raith asked. She lifted her gaze. He frowned slightly and
reached out to touch the moisture on her cheek.
Before he could ask if she was okay, her father held out his hand. "Raith. I hear congratulations are in order."
Willow could almost feel the confusion oozing off him. An hour ago, her father had openly declared his hatred for Malloy, and now he wanted to shake his hand and congratulate him. Someday, Willow would explain nothing was as important to Walter DeVane as his family.