Harlequin American Romance November 2014 Box Set: The SEAL's Holiday Babies\The Texan's Christmas\Cowboy for Hire\The Cowboy's Christmas Gift (31 page)

She nodded, appeased. “If you keep up with the kind of determination you've been showing, you'll be your old self again in no time.”

Much as he wanted to believe her assurance, he couldn't. Losing Nicole hurt a hell of a lot more than being thrown from a bull. Even with the miles he planned to put between them and the conventional wisdom that time healed all wounds, Daniel doubted he'd ever be the same again.

* * *

A
N
AUTOMATED
VOICE
through overhead speakers repeated the message about liquids in carry-on luggage. It was the third time Daniel had heard it since getting into the security line. Ahead of him, a group of teenagers were enthusiastically discussing skiing. Behind him, a couple was arguing about which one of them was supposed to have booked the rental car they were going to need when they reached Denver.

How pathetic was it that Daniel envied their bickering? He and Nicole would never have any of those silly, day-to-day disagreements. They also wouldn't have the opportunity to make up afterward. They wouldn't share nicknames or closet space or inside jokes. And he suddenly realized he wanted all of those things.

Saying goodbye to his siblings this morning had been more emotional than he could have guessed a month ago. Carly hadn't been there, but she'd sent him a text wishing him luck from her honeymoon hotel. Much as he might miss his brothers and sisters, he thought it was better for his self-preservation not to be surrounded by a quintet of happily married couples. Hopefully, by the time he returned for Jacob and Mariana's wedding in the spring, he—

“Daniel!”

Weird. There were probably a dozen Daniels in the airport—it wasn't an uncommon name—but the person shouting actually
sounded
like Jacob. Probably because Daniel had just been thinking about him.

“Daniel, get out of line. We need to talk to you!”

Wait, that actually was Jacob. Daniel cast a startled glance behind him. What the hell? Jacob, Jet, Lizzie and Savannah were all motioning toward him.

Jet grinned. “We can use Dad's credit card to buy tickets to Denver and talk to you there, but it would be a lot easier if you just heard us out now.”

Whatever they had to say, they'd driven all this way. He might as well spare them a few minutes. Apologizing to the people he passed, he backtracked his way through line and exited the security area.

“Guys, we already said goodbye,” he reminded them. “This morning.”

“This isn't goodbye,” Lizzie said. “This is an intervention. Individually, we weren't going to interfere. But then we started talking after you left and—”

“And we think you're being an idiot,” Jet said cheerfully. “None of us have ever seen you as happy as you were with Nicole.”

Daniel ground his teeth. “In case it's escaped your collective memory,
she
dumped
me.
”

“Are you sure?” Jacob asked. “Because—”

“Of course I'm sure!” Every word of the awful conversation was carved into his memory. She'd likened him to her mother, the addict who'd made promises but never came back to collect her daughter.

“All I meant,” Jacob clarified, “is that sometimes you have to try again, be willing not to give up even when the other person is. You remember how I screwed up with Mariana, right? It took some serious effort to fix things.”

Lizzie nodded. “I love Chris with my heart and soul, but finding our path wasn't easy. There are lots of opportunities for detours. Maybe you and Nicole just took a wrong turn. It might not be too late. But if you get on that plane...”

Were his siblings right, or were they all just so in love that it was giving them a false sense of optimism? He thought again about what Nicole had said, about the mother who'd let her down and hadn't been willing to give her something permanent. How could he expect Nicole to trust his commitment to her when he'd booked a flight out of the state at the first real obstacle? Just because other people had been willing to write her off didn't mean he was.

“What am I doing here?” he wondered aloud. “I should be on my way to San Antonio.”

“Hot damn!” Jet grinned at Savannah. “You owe me ten bucks.”

“No, I don't. You said, ‘Bet you ten bucks he goes after her.' I didn't actually take the bet.”

“Here.” Daniel pulled out his wallet and handed Jet a ten. “It's the least I owe you for stopping me from making the biggest mistake of my life.” Overcome by a rush of gratitude, he smiled. “I owe you all.”

Lizzie threw her arms around him, and the next thing he knew, he was being mobbed in a group hug.

Jacob met his eyes over their sister's head. “Don't mention it. That's what family is for.”

* * *

T
HE
KNOCK
AT
the door made Nicole want to sing the hallelujah chorus. Thank God for restaurants that delivered. She hadn't realized when she'd crawled beneath her sheets last night how bare the cupboards were. Obviously she hadn't left produce or other perishables in her house, but shouldn't she at least have a can of soup rolling around somewhere? Mental note:
get better at stocking up supplies before the babies come.

With purse in hand and plans to tip extravagantly, she swung open the door. Which she then had to cling to in order to keep herself upright. “D-Daniel.”

“May I come in?”

No. If she let him in, she might throw herself at him, and that could send mixed messages. “How do you even know where I live?”

“Christopher.”

“Traitor,” she muttered, averting her gaze. He looked good, dammit, his dark hair rumpled, his jeans fitting way too well for her peace of mind. Trying to sound resolved, and not like someone who had all the willpower of pudding, she said, “You shouldn't have come here.”

“I disagree. I had something very important to tell you, and you wouldn't return my calls.” He held up a hand when she started to speak. “I'm actually glad you didn't. Because what I need to say should really be shared in person, anyway. Nicole, I love you.”

Her knees trembled. “You said that before. It doesn't—”

“When I told you that I loved you before, you said that my change of heart happened too fast for you to believe it. But here's the thing, you didn't so much
change
my heart as reach it. Maybe the only thing that's changed is that I've decided not to let fear stop me from going after what I want. It's like bull riding. They talk about how it's not a matter of ‘if' someone gets hurt, it's a matter of ‘when.' I did rodeo for years, knowing there was a strong likelihood of landing on my ass and getting busted up. But I still went for it.”

He paused, then gave her a heart-melting smile. “You have more power to hurt me than any animal I was ever in the ring with, Nicole, but you're worth the risk.”

Did she even want that power? She hadn't asked for responsibility over his heart; she had enough trouble managing her own. She bit her lip in a vain attempt to keep from crying. “Daniel, my situation is complicated. I appreciate what you're saying, but—”

He took her hands in his. “I know you're worried about what happens when the babies come. Truthfully, that makes me a little nervous, too. But I know I want to be here. I know I want to go through it with you and get to hold them and see how much they look like their mama. You should have seen the kids at the wedding. They really got to me, and it wasn't how cute they were in their lacy dresses or miniature tuxes. It was how much they love their parents and vice versa. Jacob didn't ask for Cody to come into his life, but I can honestly say my brother's never been happier. I want that chance for happiness, too.”

“You're making it really hard to say no,” she told him. Could she and Daniel find lasting happiness together?

When he stroked her hair away from her face and glanced down, his intention of kissing her evident in his gaze, she didn't turn him away. She rose on tiptoe to meet him. His lips brushed hers in an almost reverent caress, but when she opened her mouth beneath his, he groaned and deepened their kiss, taking everything she had to offer and making her body sizzle with need.

Behind them, a throat cleared. “Ahem. Is this a, uh, bad time?”

Nicole glanced behind Daniel and found a perplexed delivery boy on the sidewalk staring at them. She laughed. “Bad? No.” To Daniel, she said, “This is very, very good.”

“Does this mean I can come in now?” he whispered. “If we stay on your front porch, we may end up breaking some public-decency laws.”

She paid the delivery boy, then dragged Daniel inside. “You meant what you said out there?” she asked breathlessly.

“Every word of it.”

She let him pull her into his strong arms, then snuggled against him, loving his heat and the familiar male scent of him. As a girl, she'd dreamed of one day having a home with someone who loved her enough to stay forever. Could she have been lucky enough to have found that with Daniel Baron? “I love you.”

“I love you, too. But I know words aren't guarantees. Which is why I will spend every day proving it to you.” He lowered his head, claiming her mouth in a fervent kiss. “Starting right now.”

Epilogue

Compared with giving birth, holding on to a bucking bull for dear life was a stroll through the park. Daniel was amazed at his wife's strength as she brought their twins into the world. It had been difficult for the OB to get clear enough sonograms of each baby to determine the gender, so they hadn't known what to expect. Now Daniel found himself holding a beautiful newborn girl in his arms while her brother was being bundled into a blanket to hand to Nicole.

“You did it,” he whispered to Nicole. “You are a miracle.”

“Not a miracle. Just a very tired, very happy woman.”

He kissed her on the forehead, careful not to smush their infant daughter between them.
I'm a father.
His heart expanded with pride and love and terror and joy. So much joy. The fear was there sometimes, the thought that he couldn't possibly be this lucky, that something might happen, but the love he felt for Nicole was stronger than anything else. Every day he loved her more and tried to find ways to keep his pledge about proving it to her.

The first feeding was a little tricky, but he held one baby, then swapped with Nicole. He had a suspicion that, for the next few months, their lives would feel a little like a juggling act. But he'd already arranged time off at the farm outside San Antonio where they raised show horses. He planned to be by his wife's side so that they could get the hang of parenting together. And Lord knew they had plenty of people to call for advice.

On the day he'd married Nicole in a small outdoor ceremony, surrounded by bluebonnets, she'd teased that she'd always envied large families. “I never dreamed that I'd be in one
this
big.” Ten brothers-and sisters-in-law.

“You'll get used to it,” he'd promised her. Truthfully, she'd adapted much better than he had. He'd spent too many years feeling like an outsider instead of doing anything to rectify the situation. Luckily for him, Barons were a stubborn lot. His siblings never gave up on him.

Several members of the family had made the trip to San Antonio. Others had promised to visit once Nicole had been released from the hospital so that they could help at home. “When are visitors allowed to come say hello?” Daniel asked the nurse.

“You can bring some in now, but only a couple at a time.”

They sent the nurse out to get Jacob and Adele. The older woman was grinning from ear to ear even as tears spilled down her cheeks.

“Make room for the honorary grandmama,” she said.

“And one very proud uncle,” Jacob added. “Cody already asked when he could play with his new cousins. Mariana's explaining that it will take a while.”

Jacob hugged his brother while a nurse handed Adele the baby girl. “She's beautiful,” Adele said. “So tiny and perfect.”

Daniel stood by his wife, who held their son. “They both are.” His eyes burned. It was surreal that one man could be so blessed. The family members crowded into the hall in a show of love and support, meeting his two children for the first time, and, at the center of it all, the amazing woman who'd agreed to spend her life with him. Who'd have thought the happiest day of his life would take place in a hospital?

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from COWBOY FOR HIRE by Marie Ferrarella

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