12 Borrowing Trouble (30 page)

He fought the urge to jump to his feet and run across that pasture.  It was a good thing he did
n’t, because a man in a suit suddenly appeared out of the back door with his arm across Carrie’s throat and a pistol to her head.  The man’s eyes darted frantically across the pasture and stopped at the tree line, very near where Dave had parked the Hummer.  Very near where the kids were in that Hummer.  Dylan’s heart took a plunge to his toes, when the man dragged Carrie down the steps with him then turned his back and started crawfishing across the pasture with her in front of him.

A triple click sounded on the radio.  “Aim high
.  Head shot,” Slade said, and Dylan looked at him.  “Take the shot if you get it.  Don’t let them get to that vehicle.”

Flashes of the day he killed that man at the back door of the van to save Terri clicked through his mind, as he brought the rifle back to his shoulder and looked through the si
ght. Dylan’s blood ran cold in his veins, but he knew he had to do this, or Carrie would die anyway.  The kids would die.  The man got to the edge of the light in the pasture, and Dylan’s vision cleared. 

He could see him perfectly, but he saw Carrie too.  Her frightened face, her fingers clawing at the man’s arm to break the hold he had on her throat.  If he missed, he might hit her.
  Aim high.  Dylan eased the mark in the sight up to the man’s ear.  One shot.  If he didn’t take it, didn’t nail it, this might be his only chance. Their only chance to save her. 

“Take the fucking shot,” Slade growled. 

Dylan’s hand shook, but somehow he found the trigger, steadied the rifle, then spotted the target again.  Before he could think, he squeezed the trigger and the rifle bucked.  Fire belched out the end, and his heart stopped as he waited for impact.  He didn’t think he hit him for a second, but then the man’s arm dropped from Carrie’s throat, and he staggered before he fell.  Carrie took off running across the pasture.

“Clear in the house,” someone growled into the radio.

“Clear in the field,” Slade said when the man didn’t get up. 

Dylan dropped the rifle and got up.  He had to catch Carrie, hold her. Know that she was okay.  She sure didn’t look okay when she kept running into the darkness
, and right into the woods at the opposite side of the pasture. 

“Nice shot, man.  Go get her,”
Slade said.

Dylan didn’t need to be told twice
.  He shot out of the trees and ran across the pasture.  He didn’t care about the sirens he heard in the distance, or the men milling around on the back porch, Dylan focused on the spot where he’d seen Carrie enter the woods. 

“Carrie!” he yelled when he got closer. 
He heaved for breath, as he ran into the woods and yelled again, “Stop running, baby!  You’re safe now!”  His voice echoed through the trees and in his skull, but he barely heard it over his pounding heart.  “Carrie, wait!”

He finally heard a breathless whimper, then a deep sigh, before she stepped out of the brambles.  Tears ran down her face as she stumbled toward him.  He opened his arms, and she ran to him.  Never in his life had anything felt better than when she crashed into him and his arms closed around her.
  He was never going to let her go.  Ever.  Even if she said she was still pissed at him and didn’t want to have anything to do with him. 

He had another chance, and like that one bullet, that’s all he needed. 

“I love you, Carrie,” he said in a raw whisper, dropping a kiss on her hair.  Until his last breath, he was going to keep saying those words to this woman.  The words he never thought he’d utter to any woman.  Until she believed he meant them.  He hugged her tighter as unbelievable relief almost made his bones liquid.

She mumbled something into his shirt, and he pushed her away.  “What did you say?”

“I said, I think it’s going to rain,” she replied, her lips wobbling uncontrollably, her whole body shaking.

Dylan looked up, but couldn’t see the sky through the trees.  “I tell you I love you, and you are worried about the weather?
” It hadn’t looked like rain earlier.  He shook his head, thinking she must be in shock to be thinking about that right at this moment.  He held her shoulders, trying to see her face in the darkness. “Are you in shock, baby?”

“Either that or hell has frozen over, Mr. One-Night-Stand-Man.”

He got it then, she was joking, so she was okay.  He laughed and hugged her to his chest again.  “I’m a one-woman man now, sweet cheeks.  You worked a miracle, baby.”

She laughed, and it was the most amazing sound he’d heard in his life.  She was the most amazing woman he’d ever met. 
Kidnapped, almost killed and she still had the ability to laugh.  To call him on his stupidity.  “I love you,” he said again, the words feeling good as they slipped past his lips.  “Get used to hearing it.”

“I definitely could get used to it,” she said, with emotion choking her voice.  She
stepped back to put her hand to her throat and rub it.  “Where are my kids?” she asked in a shaky whisper.

Dylan swallowed down the knot of disappointment in his throat.  She hadn’t said it back yet.  But she was upset,
had been through hell tonight and wanted to see her children.  Understandable. 
Or maybe she doesn’t feel the same way.
  Sickness churned in his gut at the thought. 

“They
’re in that Hummer that asshole was dragging you toward.”

A whimper fell out of her lips, and her eyes filled.   “I need to see them,” she said hoarsely. 

Dylan took her hand and led her out of the woods.  They walked across the field in silence, and it got thicker with every step they got closer to the Hummer.  His heart dropped a notch with every step too.  By the time they got to the other side of the pasture, he had to know.  Had to ask her.  He stopped and turned her to face him. 

“Carrie, I have to know how you feel about me.  I know I didn’t do some things right by you, but I tried. 
I’m just a stupid man who was used to doing things alone.  Being alone.  I’m sorry if I hurt you, baby.”

“You did hurt me,” she said, and tears filled her eyes again.  “But you saved me too.  I needed to meet you, Dylan.  Needed to get my life back.  I’d been dead in here so long,” her voice trailed off and she rubbed her chest.  “Thank you.”

No, I love you.  He wasn’t giving up.  “I love you, dammit!” he growled, pulling her to him to slam his mouth over hers, to remind her how it was between them.  Maybe to spark that memory that she loved him too.  He knew she had once, or thought she was well on her way to getting there.  Hell, she’d all but said the words at his trailer when they made love.  

Carrie
moaned and tapped on his chest.  Dylan let her go, and she stepped back, breathing hard.  She put her hand to her chest again.  “I love you too, but I’m not going to pressure you into anything you aren’t ready for.  Don’t want.  Just because you love me and I love you doesn’t mean forever,” she said in an emotion-choked voice.  “I have too much going on right now to talk about it.  I need to see my kids, make sure they’re safe, and I’m sure you need to get back….”

He growled, and grabbed her arm to jerk her against him.  His arms closed around her.  “It does mean forever for me.  I’ve never said those words to another woman, and I never will
again.  You’re it for me baby.  No pressure, I’m here because I want to be.  And I’m not going back to the rodeo.  I’m done.”  Dylan swallowed hard, because this was another string of words he never thought he’d utter.  “Carrie, I came back to ask you to marry me, baby.  I want forever with you and your kids.  I want them to be mine too.” His nostrils flared and he sucked in a sharp breath, rolling his burning eyes, before he looked back at her.  “I might suck as a father, I have no idea what I’m doing, but I can promise I will try to be a good dad.  Make better decisions than the one I made with Chris, because I love Chris and Izzy as much as I love you.”

Her body wilted in his arms, and she rested her head against his
chest. Dylan didn’t know if that was a good sign or not.  A full minute went by while he waited.  A full minute he held his breath.  She finally pushed off on his chest, then grabbed his hands in hers. 

She met his eyes, and he thought she was about to crush his world, but she said,
“Yes, I’ll marry you.  I told you, I’m a one-man kind of woman, and you’re it for me too.  If I said no, I’d be alone for the rest of my life.”  Her lower lip wobbled.  “I don’t want to be alone anymore, Dylan.”

Relief swamped him, and his chin dropped to his chest. 
He hugged her to him, then dropped his arm over her shoulders.  “Let’s go see about our kids,” he said, looking up at the night sky to wink a thank you to the man upstairs.

EPILOGUE

Two months later, Carrie could not believe how her life had turned on a dime.  Her hand shook as she tried to balance the top tier of the cake on the pillars.  All that was left was to add the topper.  A very cute
, dark-haired cowboy with his bride, flanked by two blonde kids.  She hadn’t been able to find the perfect topper, so she’d found individual pieces, and melded them together with sugar paste.  She thought the end result was perfect.

“Hey you, aren’t you supposed to be getting your hair done?  Sadie said two
o’clock and it’s already two-fifteen!” Terri chastised, as she walked up behind Carrie.  “I just left the salon and she’s waiting for you.”

“I’m almost done,”
Carrie replied stepping back to admire her work.  If Dylan hadn’t insisted on keeping her in bed this morning for what he called a practice run for the honeymoon, she wouldn’t be running late.  But she would never complain about that.  That man could delay her that way any time he wanted.  Except her wedding day.  And except for tomorrow morning, when they had to take Chris to court to face the hanging judge.  Her good mood deflated a little, and she huffed out a breath. 
You are not going to worry about that today.  One day at a time
, she reminded herself.

Terri shoved a box in front of her.  “What’s this?” she asked
, taking it from her to inspect the silver paper, and neat white ribbon bow.  There was a card slipped under the ribbon.

“Wedding present from Dylan,” Terri replied with a shrug.
 

Carrie shook the box, but she didn’t open it.  With her husband-to-be there was no telling what was in that box.  Those toys she threw away?  He had replaced them and then some. 
Her kinky cowboy especially loved those panties.  They were his favorite, and he had insisted she wear them when she left the bedroom this morning. 

A delicious shiver of anticipation worked its way down her spine to tingle at the top of her thighs.
  He and that damned remote control hadn’t been around, but she knew he was sneaky and would find her when it suited him.  Probably when she didn’t want to see him. 

He loved to distract her, thought it was funny to mess with her in front of other people.

Carrie had a wedding present of her own for him.  One that would blow him out of the water.  It would be there at five o’clock, right before they walked down the aisle, Dave Logan promised her.  Nervousness fluttered in her stomach.  Carrie had no idea if Dylan would like it, or how he would react, but she knew it was exactly what he needed to make his life complete again. 

She just hoped he felt the same way, and it didn’t ruin the wedding.  It could go either way, but it was a chance she had to take.  For him.

The rich, buttery smell of the icing hit her, her stomach rolled violently and Carrie gagged.  The same thing happened when she iced the cakes yesterday, then again this morning when she boxed them up to carry over to the pavilion. 

“Oh, Lord…” she groaned, slapping a hand over her mouth as she ran for the bathroom at the back of the pavilion.  There was no doubt about it.  Carrie could no longer deny it.  Her period was a month late as of today.  She didn’t have an ulcer from stress, she was pregnant.  That last period she’d had after she and Dylan had sex without a condom had been a joke.  It lasted one day, and was barely there.
  She’d probably gotten pregnant then.  So much for her faith in biorhythms.  From now on, it was suit up or the kitchen was closed. 

This was all she needed with everything else going on in her life.
  Her youngest was ten years old.  At nearly thirty-three, Carrie thought she was done having kids.  But fate had other ideas, it looked like.  And she would love this baby just like she loved Izzy and Chris.  She would never regret having her kids, they were gifts, including this unexpected one. 

But
Dylan was going to kill her.  He’d been using a condom faithfully since that last slip up.  Carrie ran into the bathroom, flew into a stall and promptly lost her lunch.  Terri walked in behind her and leaned against the stall. 

“So, when’s it due?” she asked solemnly.

Carrie got her breath back and jerked toilet paper from the roll to wipe her mouth.  She swallowed hard.  “I’d say in about six months.”

“You told Dylan yet?” Terri asked with a laugh.

“No, I guess that will be his wedding present too.” 

Terri blew out a breath, then shook her head.  “Looks like he’s in for a lot of surprises today.  He’s one lucky cowboy.”

Today was going to be a very emotional day for him.  She hoped it wasn’t too much, but she had to tell him before the ceremony.  It was fair.  “I’m going to find him.  Can you tell Sadie I’ll be a few more minutes?”

“Sure…don’t forget your present on the table,” Terri said as she walked away.

Carrie walked back to the cake table in the pavilion and picked up the box.  She slid her nail under the ribbon, and pulled it off, then tore off the paper.  Inside the box were two more boxes.  Typical Dylan, she thought setting the big box down, and taking out the smaller of the two inside.  She took off the lid and on a bed of cotton was a shiny silver key.  Dangling in the center was a tiny heart shaped ruby.  Tears were never far from the surface for her these days, and now she knew why.  They rolled over her lower lids as she pulled the thin silver chain and held it up.  It was beautiful.  Undoing the clasp she laid it around her neck and hooked it, then situated it between her breasts.  Patting it she decided to read the note before she opened the second box.  She picked up the envelope and slid out the card.

Carrie –
after today, you’ll have this forever, so I shined it up for you.  I love you and can’t wait to be your husband, and Izzy and Chris’s father.  Be sure to pack the second gift, and that spoon in your suitcase when we leave for Austin.  I want to try out a different flavor on you tonight.

Always - Dylan

The tears came harder, as she took out the second larger box and popped off the lid.  She could barely see the label on the jar.  She swiped her eyes with her wrist then looked closer.  Chocolate Body Frosting was scrawled on the lacy label.  Carrie sucked in a breath, and shivered as her imagination went wild with the things he would do to her body with that.  As for the spoon, she still had it in the envelope, but they hadn’t pulled it out yet.  She wondered what he had in mind for that. 

One thing was for sure, with Dylan, her sex life would never be boring again.  That man took creative to a whole different universe than she’d ever known before.  One she definitely didn’t mind exploring with him.
  But that is what got her in the fix she was in right now.  Pregnant.  Some of his plans would probably have to wait a while. 

She put the boxes and jar back in the bigger box and replaced the lid.  Tucking it under her arm she headed to the
house to stash it in her room, and brush her teeth, before going to the barn to find him.  She knew that’s where he would be, teaching another set of city slickers to ride bulls.  For now anyway.

Zane was splitting his time between helping Dylan with the bull riding adventure and helping
Sheedy teach roping, and bronc riding.  According to Dylan, the man was a master with a rope.  As competitive as the two men were, if her husband-to-be said that, Zane must be a magician at it.

She found
Dylan at the controls of the mechanical bull, shouting corrections and instructions to a tall lanky man in a lime green polo shirt who was hanging onto the mechanical bull with both hands as he was spun in circles.  The bull suddenly stopped, and the man slid off.  Dylan frowned at him, and Carrie thought he looked cute, but the man obviously thought otherwise.  He turned toward Dylan and put his hands on his waist.  “You did that on purpose!”

“Of course I did
.  I’m the one controlling the damned bull,” Dylan said with a short laugh.

C
arrie rested her chin on her forearms on the top rail to wait for Dylan to finish.  He hadn’t even noticed her yet, he was too focused on the man he was arguing with.  Dylan rocked back on his heels and shoved his hands in his pockets. 

Carrie knew that was never a good sign.  She put her foot on the bottom rung, intending to go inside the ring and distract
Dylan, before he came to blows with the man, but a sharp jolt of electricity zapped her right between the legs, and she froze.  It continued to pulse and she gritted her teeth.  Finally, her chin dropped as she fought the orgasm trying to claim her body right in front of the four men standing beside her, waiting for their turn to ride.

As expected, the vibrations stopped just short of getting her there.  Carrie raised her head to melt Dylan with her eyes.  He was grinning from ear to ear, and one hand was still in his pocket.  He lifted a brow, as if daring her to try to scale the fence again.  To interfere.

Instead of punching the man, who was still standing there berating him, Dylan slapped him on the back and turned to him with a smile.  “You’re probably right.  I was a little rough with you.  Tomorrow you can work with Zane, because…”  He grinned at the man, then pointed at her.  “I’ll be on my honeymoon with that beautiful little lady over there.”

Yes he would.  If he survived today, and tomorrow morning, they would definitely be on their honeymoon, and more than deserve
d the vacation.  They had some mountains to climb before then though.  “Dylan, can you take a break?  I need to talk to you,” she said hoarsely, because her inner muscles were still flexing, screaming for the orgasm he obviously wasn’t going to let her have.

“Sure, baby.  Let me get Zane to finish up,” he said with a wide smile.  He looked so damned happy he was about to burst wide open with it, as he hopped the fence and went into the barn.  Carrie
hoped he looked the same in a few minutes when she dropped the bombshell she needed to drop on him.  But she was scared she was dreaming there.  Dylan loved her kids, was great with them, but they had never talked about having one of their own.

The talking was coming after the fact.

She jumped when he walked up beside her and put his hand on her back.  She turned and he pulled her hips against his, and growled, before he bent to kiss her silly.  He pulled back to smile down at her, “What’s up, buttercup?” he asked with a light-hearted laugh.

She looked around at the six sets of eyes paying rapt attention to them.  She put her hand on his chest, and met his eyes.  “Um, let’s go somewhere private.”

His smile faded.  “Sounds serious.  We don’t need that today, sweet cheeks.  It’s our wedding day.  Whatever you have can wait until we’re on our way to Austin.”

Her fear inched a notch or two when his jaw tightened, as he hooked his arm through hers to lead her toward the pavilion.  He turned left and took her to the tree swing instead of going under the canopy, then quickly sat and pulled her onto his lap.  “Is everything okay with the kids?” he asked anxiously, before she could say a word.

“They’re with Joel at Terri’s house getting ready.  They’re fine.  Excited.”

He huffed out a breath, then asked, “Then the question is why aren’t you excited?
  He hesitated a moment, then swallowed hard.  “Did you change your mind?” 

The dread in his voice made her heart squeeze.  She put her hand on his cheek.  “No, baby, I have not changed my mind.” 

A short-lived tremor moved through him, and his face relaxed.  “Then what’s wrong?”

“I’m pregnant, Dylan.  That second time…” she said
, dragging her eyes down to his throat so she didn’t have to see his reaction.

He tipped her chin with his finger.  “I hope he has your sweet soul,” he said, and the sincerity behind his words melted her insides.
  His mouth lowered toward hers and he kissed her deeply, sweetly.  Carrie whimpered and fought the tears that shot to her eyes.  She was not going to cry on her wedding day.  She buried her face in his neck and hugged him, until he laughed and pushed her back.  “That actually explains a few things I’ve been worried about…”

“What?”

“Why you’ve been crying so much, and throwing up.  I thought you were having second thoughts about marrying me, and it’s been driving me crazy,” he said and dropped a kiss on her cheek.  “Thank God, it’s not that.” 

“I’m not changing my mind.  I love you so much it hurts,” she said and waited until the wobble in her voice stopped.  “More than I’ve ever loved anyone in my life.”

“Kiss me, Carrie,” he said nipping her lower lip.  “A real kiss,” he whispered as he kissed the corner of her mouth.  Carrie turned her head and shoved her hand in his hair.  His hat fell over the back of the swing, and she kissed him for all she was worth.

Someone cleared their throat, and they jumped apart.  Terri stood there shaking her head. 
“You two need to save that for the honeymoon.  Sadie is pissed, so if you want your hair done, Missy, you better get your butt to the salon.”

“Oh, crap,” Carrie said and shot to her feet.

Dylan stood lazily, and pulled her to him for a quick kiss.  “Keep
those lips warm, and I’ll see you later, baby,” he said, as he shoved his hands in his pockets, and walked off whistling. 

Carrie
grunted and her knees almost buckled when a slow rhythmic pulsation started in her panties.  “Bad ass, bad boy,” she grumbled under her breath, tightening her fists and gritting her teeth until he was out of distance and the vibrations stopped.  She heard him chuckle, then he waved at her over his shoulder.