Authors: Tina Leonard
Burned by a Kiss (20 page)
No. Every damn thing—starting with this hot, beautiful woman who seemed to want to be with him, no matter how ugly his scars—had to be his.
He couldn’t survive without her.
• • •
Santana thought about taking his brothers with him to the monstrous shell of a burned-out building that stood far from town, a scar against the vast land surrounding it, but he decided against it. This was his journey. They’d come out here when they were ready.
He was ready, as much as he ever could be. He’d visited the grave, of course, but this was where Sonny’s spirit had departed its earthly existence. Parking his truck, Santana got out, surprised that he could still smell an acrid tang on the air. This had once been the lifeblood of Star Canyon, a giant warehouse where local cotton, corn, and other goods were stored for market. Cattle were also brought to market here. The hub of Star Canyon had been used by Lightning Canyon and several other small towns, an adjunct vein for farm and ranch commerce.
Sonny would have considered it his duty, no matter what structure or situation was in need, to serve.
Santana felt deep in his soul that so much of what he and his siblings had learned about Sonny after his death was somehow a lie, or at least a harsh variation of the truth. The Sonny Dark he knew as a father and later as a friend, had not been a gambler, a loser hooked on life’s temptations. It just didn’t square.
And once he realized that, he was free. He still grieved, but his father wouldn’t want them to live in the past. He’d been well aware what the path of a firefighter meant.
He walked into what had been the warehouse’s four walls, now simply a shell sprawling under a cold dark sky. It was just a few days until Christmas, and without Sierra around, there wasn’t a decoration at their rental house. They hadn’t decorated the Dark family home, either, and Nick probably didn’t care if there even was so much as a Christmas tree at his ranch.
It was time for Nick to pull his head out of his ass. He rang him up.
“Nick Marshall.”
“How long are you planning to cower?” Santana demanded.
“What makes you think I am?” Nick shot back.
“You’re not here, are you? I knew you were a lightweight, but I never imagined you could get done in a week.”
“Ten days. I was there ten days.”
Santana looked at the earth beneath his feet. There was still a burnt tinge to the dirt, but stray shoots of green poked through the earth. “You hide out in Dallas for as long as you need.”
“Thanks.”
Santana snorted at the curtness in his tone. “So, if my brothers are working out here with me, you should be, too.”
“I’m not a farmer.”
Santana decided not to explain that they weren’t farmers, either. The important thing was making Nick understand that he was copping out, and find out why. “Decided that, did you? My sister too much for you?”
Nick cleared his throat. “Did you just call to harass me?”
“That, and to offer you a business proposition you might be interested in.” He looked at the burned-out structure yawing to the sky, somehow undefeated by the fire. “You’re a hot shit investor, aren’t you?”
Nick was silent.
“Or was it your father who was the hot shit investor? The one who bilked my father out of his home and possessions?” He eyed the empty land that stretched as far as the eye could see. “You’re not intending to solely live off the inheritance of your father’s misdeeds, are you?”
“What do you want, Santana?” Nick growled.
“Come spend Christmas dinner with us,” Santana said.
Nick didn’t reply.
“That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it? Holiday dinner with family? So I’m asking.”
“None of you are my family. I tried to make you that, but then I realized it was a bad proposition, a business deal that wouldn’t work.”
“So what? You’re going to sell the ranch?”
“Not yet,” Nick said with a sigh.
“So you still have a place to park your privileged ass. Come out. We’ll break into the family home before you get here and set everything up.”
“No need to go smashing windows. I left the key with Emma.”
Santana was stunned. “She didn’t tell me.”
“Because she’s a good woman, Santana. She knows you better than you know yourself. She said you’d ask when you were ready. And it sounds like you’re coming to terms with the past.”
“And you? When do you do that?”
“Oh, that won’t be for a long goddamn time,” Nick said. “I’ll see you on Christmas Eve. I’ll bring the booze and cigars. We’ll probably need them.”
“Nothing too fancy. We can’t afford to get soft around here.”
“Bite me, cousin,” Nick said politely. “Thank you for the phone call.” He hung up.
“Always a pleasure,” Santana said cheerfully, not offended at all.
He shoved his phone in his pocket and walked to his truck. It wasn’t over, the past wasn’t put to rest. But he was looking forward to the future, and he hadn’t for so long.
Most of all, he looked forward to a future with Emma.
He had a stop to make before he found his way home.
• • •
“Oh, she’s beautiful!” Emma gazed into the cage at the very delicate, sweet-throated lovebird inside. “Where did you find her?”
“In Lightning Canyon.” He grinned, pleased with himself. “That house where Sierra bought the wedding dress had a woman who was in charge of the estate sale, remember?”
“Yes.”
He nodded. “I told her I was looking for a lovebird. I knew you’d said your father had bought yours there. Apparently, somebody in Lightning Canyon breeds them, and they had this one for sale. Her name is Beauty.”
“She
is
a beauty!” Emma was delighted. She took the cage from him. “Thank you so much. My other bird has been mourning.”
She gently put the cage on a table, reaching in to take Beauty carefully out. “There you go,” she said, placing the bird next to the lonely lovebird. The two birds studied each other for a moment, their heads tilting, their eyes bright.
Suddenly, Emma’s original lovebird hopped close to its new friend. Santana stood behind her, watching, casually moving his hand onto her shoulder. Emma’s heart expanded at his touch, and the unexpected gift. Her eyes misted. “That was easy. I wasn’t sure how they would take to each other.” She looked up at Santana, closing the cage door. “I’m truly touched. Thank you.”
He drew her into his arms. “Anything to see you smile.” Her smile—damn, the bad days were easier just knowing he had Emma’s smile to look forward to. It was the one thing in life he knew he never wanted to live without: Her and that damn sexy smile of hers.
He held her tight, and she tucked her chin underneath his. Santana closed his eyes as Emma’s arms slid up his back, drawing them together.
“Emma.”
She looked up at him. “Yes?”
He cleared his throat, suddenly nervous. “The night you were at Sierra’s shop, and you were holding that dress—”
“You thought I was picking out the dress for my big day,” she said, her eyes crinkling with laughter. “I was pretty embarrassed that you caught me holding it up to me.”
“I don’t know about that. But I knew it would look good on you.” Right then, he’d known what he hadn’t dared to hope before.
She smiled. “Don’t worry. You’re safe.”
Safe? He didn’t want to be safe anymore. He wanted to experience life, all the heat, all the cold, the light, the dark. With her.
“I don’t suppose you’d care to put up with me for the long term.”
“The long term?”
“Yeah.” Santana ran a thumb along her lower lip. “Like maybe forever. I don’t have much to offer, but—”
She stopped his words with a kiss. “You’re offering what I want, and that’s you. The answer’s yes.”
“Yes?” For some reason he was astonished, gratitude swamping him.
“Yeah. I’ll move you and Joe in here.”
“I don’t know when Joe’s coming back. Sierra hijacked my damn dog.”
“She’ll be back, and he’ll be back. In the meantime, I have something to give you, for the long term.”
“Yeah?” He allowed her to draw him down the hall. “I hope it’s a naked beauty named Emma.”
She laughed. Sat him on her bed. Turned to her dresser, and took something from a box. Handed him a key.
“Nick told me to give this to you when you were ready to go home.”
“Home?”
“To your family home.”
“It’s his place now.”
“Yes.” She nodded. “But he said there was only one person who would stick around through thick and thin to help him. And that you deserved to be able to use your family house when you wanted to.”
His throat choked up. He pocketed the key. “He’s not altogether an asshole.”
She smiled. “He’s right, you know. You’re the one that sticks around through thick or thin.” She kissed him. “I love that about you, Santana Dark. I’ve loved you all my life, from the first time you sneaked a kiss from me. Notice it was the last kiss you ever had to sneak. All the other kisses we’ve shared were meant to be. You and I are two parts of the same. Honey convinced me it’s a little bit of magic, and maybe that’s true.” She took a deep breath. “But I know in my heart that I’m in love with you, no matter what happens next.”
“God, I love you,” he said, his voice rough with emotion. “Thank you for healing a broken man.” It was true. He’d come home a shell, but he was whole now.
He kissed her, pulling her down to the bed with him, hungrier for her than ever. Gus and Bean had followed them in and were lying beside the bed. The Persian cat stared down from a bookshelf, and the lovebirds made sweet musical sounds in the other room. Santana smiled as he held Emma close, filled with heat and love when she touched her lips to his, joining them.
Nothing had ever been so right than at this moment.
And this moment was forever.
It was so good to be home.
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