Chapter 22 #2
The ground drops out from under me, and I feel weightless, like I’m floating. A handsome cowboy in—ohmigosh—a white dress shirt and black jeans charges toward the pavilion on horseback.
The murmurs grow louder as he approaches.
“What the fuck?” Stanford hollers.
Hailstorm thunders closer, and I push away from the corner post. I stand on the very edge of the slab the pavilion sits on and hope lurches high in my chest.
Why is he here? Why on horseback?
Is he really . . .
When Hailstorm’s twenty feet away, Durban switches the reins to his left hand, leans over, and holds his right arm out.
Without thinking, I reach for him.
Durban doesn’t have to steer Hailstorm close to me. The big horse knows the drill, and this time he knows he’s got a competent rider.
My adrenaline surges seconds before I grab Durban’s arm and jump. He swings me in front of him so my legs spill over the side. I tuck them close to me, to him, and to Hailstorm and hug Durban. He’s got me snugged to him so tight that the saddle horn isn’t even prodding my ass.
Whoops rise up behind us—Avery and Thea.
“What are you doing?” I ask with my face tucked into his chest. I really don’t care what’s going on. I’m in his arms again, but Natalie’s pretty face flashes in my head. This can’t be real.
“I’m sweeping you off your feet.” His deep voice rumbles through my cheek. “So you know there’s no one else for me but you.”
His seat is solid, and he’s slowed Hailstorm to make the ride smoother for all of us.
What about the wedding?
I really don’t care. Because this day finally got exciting.
Durban
She’s in my arms. I rode in like a madman, sure to ruin the event, and she reached for me like it was a reflex, like there was nothing else she could have done.
She knows—she has to—that I’m all hers. I’ll show her soon enough, and every other day she’ll let me.
Hailstorm heads for the barn. Clyde whinnies, and William pumps his fist in the air. He’s surrounded by Haven, Iverson, and Jamison. Kacey’s on Iverson’s shoulders, and Jamison is swaying side to side with Tavis. All of them are grinning.
I stop Hailstorm by William and hand the reins off, but I don’t set my damsel in distress down. She clutches me, and I vault off. She yelps and buries her face in my chest. My feet hit the ground, and I’m holding her like a groom looking for a threshold to cross. We’ve definitely crossed something.
She lifts her face, her expression filled with wonder and confusion. She’s so goddamn beautiful in her prudish pink shirt and a gray skirt that gives me all sorts of ideas, and a lot of them start with me putting her panties in my pocket again.
“Why?” she asks softly.
Hailstorm is between us and our family, but I don’t care who hears. My why was obvious to everyone around us. I had to get my ass kicked into gear.
“Seems I’ve fallen in love with you, Belle.
I found everything I’ve wanted in you, and if you don’t feel that way, it’s fine.
I won’t pressure you.” Though I’ll experience a real broken heart.
“But the least I could do was take the blame for tanking the wedding, so you don’t have to waste one more minute on that couple. ”
Her eyes shimmer. “You love me?”
“So damn much. I don’t care if Natalie moves to Bozeman or Huckleberry Springs, I’m not interested.” My gaze dances over her face. “She’s kind of a dick.” I lift her silver chain out of her top and rub the horseshoe charm with my thumb. “I was stupid enough to let your text stop me.”
“It was all a lie,” she whispers. “I was so certain you finally had your chance with your dream woman, and I tried to save face.”
“Campbell Joanna Hawthorne, I’m holding my dream woman in my arms. I don’t want to put you down until you’re in my house, where you belong.” I swallow, hoping this is a slam dunk. “If you want to.”
“I’m a messy person.”
“I like seeing signs that you’re in my house, that it’s not a big, empty tomb I’m going to grow old alone in.”
“I have a lot of timers.”
“I ordered a pack to keep around the house.”
Her red lips part. “You did?”
I nod.
“I’m a nepotism baby.” She says it mostly without shame.
“No reason not to use the connections you have.”
“I like to drink whiskey straight from the guy who makes it.” She licks her bottom lip. “Because I love him.”
My mouth stretches wide. “You love a guy who wrangles cattle and turns grain into alcohol?”
“I also love a guy who rides off with me into the sunset.”
“You’re it for me, Belle. Look at my face. Have I ever looked like this when I’ve talked about anyone else?”
Her eyes are liquid when she shakes her head.
“I’m setting you down only so I can kiss you.”
As soon as her feet hit the ground, I lift her into a kiss. Her mouth lands on mine, and there’s cheering around us. Hailstorm’s hooves stamp, and he huffs.
She smiles against my lips, her arms twined around my neck. “I think we have an audience.”
I set her back down, but keep her tucked close to me. “Haven said he’ll do the reception tonight. Your dad’s going to deal with your uncle, and I’m going to make sure no one bothers you about any of it.”
“Durban,” she whispers and rises to her toes to kiss me.
“Don’t worry about a thing, kiddo,” William says. “I’m going to tell my brother what I should’ve said in the beginning—shit or get off the pot. I’m not playing around.”
“Hey, Daddy,” Kacey says, tapping Iverson on the head, “Grandpa said—”
“I heard.” Iverson smirks. “Grandpa’s allowed to say it. Not you.”
A “woohoo” rings up from the pavilion. Avery and Thea are sprinting toward us. Avery’s holding her shoes in one hand.
“I’m going to take that as a good sign,” Jamison says.
William leads Hailstorm to the holding pen that Clyde is in, and returns just as Avery and Thea skid to a stop.
“It’s pandemonium up there.” Avery doubles over, laughing so hard.
Thea grins, a short lock of her dark hair falling on her forehead. “Stanford demanded someone stop you and bring you back, and the bride lost her ever-loving mind.”
“Lost it!” Avery wheezes while frantically nodding.
“Mama Hawthorne and Sydney are coordinating the chaos,” Thea continues, grinning like she’s won the lottery, “but last I heard, Stanford was screaming that he deserves better than a hillbilly bride, and Rayburn was shouting that Stanford’s a two-timing cocksucker who should be castrated.”
Avery recovers enough to get out, “You missed January telling him that she deserves someone who can find the clit and doesn’t obsess about his ex.”
I rub my thumb up and down Campbell’s shoulder. “Couldn’t have happened to a better couple.”
She puts her hand on my abdomen.
“Oh my God!” Avery pushes both hands through her hair. “Jamison, I recorded it. You have to watch Campbell get swooped up by her man.”
Jamison grins. “Can’t Stanford practiced for hours, and he couldn’t nail it.”
“Durban didn’t need a second to master it,” Campbell says and pats my chest.
Damn, I’m going to blush, and my brothers will never let me hear the end of it. “A good horse helps.”
“A good cowboy,” she murmurs.
I tip her face up to capture another kiss. My brothers groan.
“Get a room,” Haven calls.
“I happen to have a place.” I pick Campbell up again. She giggles and throws her arms around me. I’m parked by the barn, where I sped to in order to take Hailstorm from William.
I didn’t do it just to be flashy. I did it to steal something back that had been taken from her. I’ll give every piece of her dream back to her, even if it’s bit by bit.
Carefully, I deposit her in the passenger seat.
I brace my hands on the frame as she buckles in.
“I’m going to take you home, and we’re not getting out of bed until every guest for this wedding is gone.
You’re mine. And long after they’re gone—you’re mine.
” I lean in, the muscles in my arms stretching. “You’re who I want.”
A playful glint enters her eye. “I feel like you need to prove it.”
“I will, Belle. Every damn day.”