Rules of Protection (Tangled in Texas) (Volume 1) (26 page)

I shook my arm loose from his grip. “Well, then I guess it makes me no better than you. I don’t appreciate you using them to get to me. If you have something to say, then say it.”

“Fine.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet on the floor. “Why’d you leave me?”

“
Leave you
?” I asked, confused. “Jake, you’re making it sound like we broke up. It was a fake relationship. We weren’t dating, remember?”

“Well, what the hell would you call what we were doing because we damn sure weren’t playing Scrabble in that bed.”

Dale snickered from the other room. Great. I’d never live that one down.

“You ran while I was in surgery, knowing I wouldn’t be able to chase you,” Jake accused. “Pretty chickenshit, if you ask me.”

“I didn’t run.”

“Oh, you ran all right,” Jake said, “Like a scared rabbit, running from the…what did you call me again, Gina?”

“The big, bad wolf,” she said, giggling on the other side of the door.

“Stay out of it!” I hollered. Then I shook my head. “This is stupid, Jake. Tell me what you want.”

“You,” he said, grabbing a handful of my shirt and pushing me against the wall. “I want you.”

My brain had to work extra hard with his body pressed into mine. The mixture of our emotions threatened to explode, and the result would be damaging to my heart. “Jake…please, don’t.”

He didn’t listen. Jake and I were from the same country, but we were speaking different languages, and his was definitely not verbal. He pulled me in for a kiss, clamping his mouth over mine, and my legs buckled under me. Jake held me limply in his arms, like a rag doll for him to play with. He slid his muscled thigh between mine and moved his mouth down to my neck. His hands caressed my hair, twirling it with his fingers.

“I want you to come home with me,” he breathed.

I gave him a quick, dismissive glance as I fought back the urge to pull off his clothes. “Why?”

“Because I want to protect you…”

He wasn’t glad he found me because he loved me. It was about the stupid case again. I pushed him away. “Damn it, Jake! I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“Good,” Jake said. “There are things I want to do to your body, but guarding it isn’t one of them.”

“But you said—”

“I do want to protect you. The way any husband wants to protect his wife.”

“Jake, I—” His words made my head spin. “Wait, what’d you say?”

“I want to marry you.”

“W-why?”

Jake chuckled. “That wasn’t quite the reaction I hoped for.”

I was annoyed he thought it was funny. “I’m serious. Why would you want to marry someone you don’t love?”

“I don’t,” Jake said. “I want to marry
you
.”

“But you don’t love me.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” His eyebrows squished together, giving him a disgusted look. “Of course I do.”

“Jake, you don’t have to pretend it was anything more than sex. I know that’s all—”

With the speed of a striking snake, Jake latched onto my arm and pulled me closer. “I told you before, I don’t do meaningless sex. I meant it then, and I mean it now. If you think I spent two months looking for you because I wanted to have sex with you, then you’re crazier than I thought. Why the hell would you think I’m not in love with you?”

“Because you never told me.”

“Yeah, I did. I remember telling you I care about you.”

“Exactly. You
care
about me. It isn’t the same thing. I care about Cowboy, but I wouldn’t want to sleep with him every night.”

Jake was irritated. “If you’re going to marry me, then you’d better not want to sleep with him
any
night.”

“I didn’t say I’d marry you,” I reminded.

“Damn it, Emily! Why not?”

“You still haven’t said it.”

Jake smiled, brushed the hair out of my eyes, and tilted my chin up toward his face. “Emily, I love you. I’ve been in love with you for months. I want to spend the rest of my life loving you, if you’ll let me. Now tell me you’ll marry me and you’ll sleep in my bed for the rest of yours, and I’ll be a happy man.”

“Probably won’t get much sleep,” I warned him.

He smirked. “I’m counting on it.”

I smiled at him. “Then, yes, I’ll marry you.” Then I narrowed my eyes. “But if you think for one second—”

Jake placed his finger over my lips. “Emily, when a man proposes to you, you’re supposed to kiss him, not bitch at him.”

“Says who?”

“It’s a rule.”

“You and your rules,” I said, shaking my head. “Still making them up as you go along, I see.”

“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured, leaning down to brush his lips against mine. “Keeps things interesting.”

“Hold on. One more thing, Jake.” He breathed out heavily, but paused, waiting for me to continue. “So when do we go home?”

His lips curved into a smile. “The moving van’s outside. Cowboy, Judd, and Ox are out there as well. They’re waiting for my signal to come in and start loading your stuff. Gina and Dale knew your stay here was temporary, and they said they’d keep you from unpacking.”

My mouth hinged open. “What if I’d said I didn’t want to marry you?”

“I wasn’t taking no for an answer. Besides, you didn’t.”

“But I could have. In fact, it’s still a possibility, you know. A girl has a right to change her mind.”

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he warned, narrowing his eyes.

It was a challenge if I’d ever seen one, and I never backed down from a challenge. “Good thing you aren’t me,” I said.

I tried to outrun him, but Jake lunged for me. He caught me around the waist and pinned my wrists behind my back with one hand. His mouth covered mine as his tongue dipped into my mouth, teasing and taunting. My boneless body melded to his like a pliable piece of warm putty.

Then the cold click of handcuffs bound my wrists. Jake threw me over his shoulder and carried me toward the door.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Hey, I warned you,” Jake said, laughing. “You never learn.”

“This is kidnapping! You’re already in trouble because of this—”

“Oh, you haven’t heard? I’ve been cleared of all charges, and I’m no longer suspended. I put in my transfer to Texas weeks ago. Guess you should’ve stayed in touch.”

“Okay, Jake, I’m sorry. Take the handcuffs off. Jake, come on…please?”

“Rule number one: no begging. At least not until I get you naked and into a bed, then you can beg all you want. Rule number two: no sneaking out on me, especially right before the wedding. Rule number three…”

“Jake, you know I’m not any good at following rules.”

“No shit,” he said, patting me on the rear. “That’s why I’m changing them. Rule number three: the only name you’re changing is your last one…”

Epilogue

It was a sunny afternoon, and almost all of the guests had arrived at Miller’s Bird Farm. They sat lazily under the shade trees, sipping iced tea as they waited for our wedding to begin.

Floss and Bobbie Jo helped me plan an intimate, non-traditional wedding, thrown together almost as fast as Jake and I’d been. It was the largest “small wedding” I’d ever seen, with over a hundred guests. But it was perfect.

Jake and I watched Cowboy, who was dressed in a new pair of Wranglers and a pressed western-style shirt, saunter over to us.

Cowboy eyeballed my body through the short, formfitting white eyelet lace dress. “Hey, beautiful! You look amazing!”

I blushed at his flattery. “Thanks. You do, too.”

He then glanced to Jake and scanned over his pressed slacks and white button-down shirt. “Nice outfit. Are you taking her to the prom?”

Jake glared at him. “Shut up.”

Grinning, Cowboy leaned over to me. “Wow, someone’s in a mood today. Cold feet?”

“Like he’s been walking barefoot through snow,” I said, giggling. I’d never seen Jake nervous before, but I couldn’t help enjoying it.

“How’s the swear jar coming along?” Cowboy asked with a smirk.

“It’s about half full already. I should probably have a five-gallon swear bucket instead.”

Cowboy chuckled. “Well, I wanted to be the first to kiss the new bride,” Cowboy said, hesitating and looking over to Jake, as if he were asking permission.

Jake became more annoyed. “You do know you’re supposed to do that after we’re married, right?”

“Well, yeah,” Cowboy said, “That only applies to traditional weddings. But it’s okay, Jake. If you’re afraid she might back out of marrying you after locking lips with me, then I can’t blame you.” Cowboy winked at me to let me know he was goading Jake.

I smiled, but it faded, along with the color in my cheeks, when Jake said, “Go ahead.”

Cowboy looked as shocked as I was. “What?”

“You heard me,” Jake said. “One kiss. That’s all you get, so you better make it good. Because after that, if you even think of putting another one of your body parts near her, I’m going to see if I can’t straighten out the bone in your nose by breaking it a second time.”

He had to be kidding, right? “Jake, this isn’t funn—”

Cowboy didn’t waste any time. His fingers dug into my waist as he cradled me against him, securing his mouth over mine. My lips froze and I tried to push my hands against his chest, but he held me tighter. He was taking this one kiss, whether I liked it or not.

Satisfied he had done the best job he could on an unwilling partner, he released me from his death grip. I swayed to the left, and Jake had to keep me from falling.

“Oh, give me a break. It wasn’t
that
good,” Jake insisted angrily.

A proud smile smeared across Cowboy’s face.

“Oh God! I think I’m going to be sick,” I replied, placing my hand over my mouth.

Cowboy’s grin faded and transformed into a smirk on Jake’s mouth. “Do you want to sit for a minute?” Jake asked.

“No, I think I got overheated.”

The frustration and confusion showed on both of their faces. “Okay, it isn’t funny anymore,” Cowboy said, irritated. “Did I make you sick or hot?”

“I’d like to know myself,” Jake muttered.

I groaned, annoyed with both of them. “I’m pregnant, you morons!”

Cowboy’s eyes widened. “Damn. I’m better than I thought.”

Jake’s face paled, and I realized I’d ruined my own surprise. I planned to tell him once we were alone and in bed on our wedding night, not after I had made out with his best friend.

“Hey, ho!” Gina called out. She and Dale walked over with huge smiles, obviously having seen the kiss. “How’s the big, bad wolf treating you?”

“I’m pregnant.”

“Man, that was fast,” Dale said, giving Cowboy a fist bump. “Immaculate conception?”

I sighed with frustration. “It’s Jake’s, dork.”

Momma Bell was within earshot and must’ve had her hearing aid turned up. “Did I hear you say you’re with child, girl?” I nodded, though I should’ve known better. “Well, what a blessing. Congratulations!”

“Thanks.”

“Now, I forgot what I came over to tell you. Oh, I know. My dog, Missy, well, she’s a bit of a hussy…” Momma Bell paused, and I wondered if she was going to add the word “too.” But she didn’t. “Anyway, she got herself in a bind with Dog and had herself a litter of pups. Floss said you took a liking to the lazy hound and thought you might like one.”

“Oh, how sweet. I’d love to have one of Dog’s puppies.”

“She’s the spitting image of her daddy, but I think she’s got some health issues, seizures or something. I left her over there in the shade.”

I followed her finger with my eyes. A small white puppy with speckled ears slept peacefully on her side on the cottage porch where Dog normally lay. As usual, he was nowhere to be found, but the thought of him exchanging places with his narcoleptic daughter come nightfall made me smile.

“Thanks, Momma Bell. She’s perfect.”

“Well, I guess I need to find me a seat for the wedding. It won’t be long now.” She leaned over and whispered into my ear, “My Earl used to rub milk on my boobies for me every night. He said it kept ’em nice and perky. You be sure to have Jakey help you with that.”

I glanced at her deflated breasts with nipples pointed to the ground and realized something. Earl was a con man.

“Uh…yeah, I’ll do that,” I told her.

Jake hadn’t said a word since I blurted out I was pregnant and I started to get a little worried. “Hey, guys, I need to talk to Jake alone for a minute.” Once they all cleared out, I locked eyes with him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“You’re pregnant?” Jake asked, as if he hadn’t heard anything since the first time I announced it. His reaction had been unpredictably scary.

“Jake, are you okay? I’m sorry. I thought you’d be happy about the pregnancy—”

“Sweetheart, of course, I’m happy about it.” He framed my face with his hands and gave me a quick kiss. “Don’t ever think otherwise.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“I…well…” He paused, searching for the right words. “Our child won’t have any grandparents,” he said, lowering his head.

I understood his pain, but hoped he’d look at it the same way I did. “This kid isn’t going to miss out on anything. Look around, Jake. Everyone will love this baby. Our child won’t grow up feeling the way I did.”

“I want my child to have everything.”

“It will,” I promised. “It has us…and all of them.”

Something over my shoulder caught Jake’s attention and he grinned. “Since you gave me an early wedding present, then I think it’s only fair I give you one. I want you to meet someone.” He turned me around.

I recognized the man immediately. “Officer Stevens! I didn’t know you were coming. It’s great to see you again. How’s your shoulder?”

“As good as new,” he said, kissing me on the cheek. “I sure am glad everything turned out all right for you, hon. I worried about you after you left the police station that night.”

“That’s sweet. Thank you.” I looked back to Jake. “What, you thought I wouldn’t remember one of the men who took a bullet for me?”

He smiled slyly. “I wasn’t talking about Stevens. I wanted to introduce you to someone he brought with him. Detective Eric Mercer.”

“Who?”

“Turn around and see for yourself.”

I caught a glimpse of him from a distance and gasped. Fifteen years later, I still recognized the policeman who held me in his arms as a child and heroically comforted me in my time of need. No passage of time would allow me to forget his face. My breath caught in my throat, choking me, as I ran to him. He spread his arms to catch me.

The memory of curling into his lap, as he stroked my hair and soothed my broken soul, overwhelmed me. I had carried it with me all these years locked deep within. Now, the trauma I had endured came pouring out, flooding my eyes with droplets of sadness and mourning. I wept inconsolably.

Eric stroked my hair as he had before and whispered into my ear. “I’m sorry. They wouldn’t tell me what happened to you or what foster home you were in. I searched for you over the years, but you kept getting moved around. I never stopped thinking about the little girl who needed me.”

His emotions flowed from him in soft words and gentle gestures. He was still the same mild-mannered, compassionate man who had captured my heart all those years before.

“I’ve wanted to say something to you all these years and never thought I’d get the chance,” I told him. “You couldn’t save my parents, but you’ve always been my hero.”

After a few minutes, my reservoirs dried up, and Eric wiped the smudges of makeup from beneath my eyes with his handkerchief. “So I hear you’re going by Emily these days.”

I nodded. “The FBI suggested I keep the name as part of my new life. The mobsters are dead, but Jake didn’t want to take any chances that someone else from Frankie Felts’s organization would come after me. Besides, I wanted a fresh start. A new name for a new beginning…with Jake.”

We spent a few more moments together, but knew there’d be plenty of time to talk after the wedding. He went to mingle with the other guests, promising to save me a dance. Feeling more at peace than I had in years, I stood alone, looking out at all the guests in attendance.

I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face.

Dale and Ox sat together, grinning and laughing with their gaydar meters fully in sync. Judd showed Gina his size fifteens, and I had no doubt she’d be showing him her double Ds later. Cowboy stroked his own ego by hitting on every girl within a twenty-yard radius, offering them what he called “southern hospitality.” Bobbie Jo kept the children entertained. Hank and Floss seated guests, welcoming them, as they had done with me.

“Emily!” Jake shouted. “Don’t move!”

“What’s wrong?” I asked, though I knew the moment I caught the scent. “Oh God. Where is it?”

“Right beside you,” he said, getting ready to lunge at me.

“Jake, if you tackle me in this wedding dress, you’re going to marry yourself today. Besides, you could hurt the baby.”

“Shit. What do you want me to do, then?”

“It’s a watermelon snake! Get your gun and shoot the damn thing like a normal person.”

Jake grinned. “God, I love you,” he said, as he reached down into his boot, pulled out a .22 caliber handgun, and shot the snake in the head. Its body thrashed and twitched. Because Jake wasn’t about to let me chop it into pieces and set it on fire, I settled for moving away from it.

Junior walked over, grinning. “You two going to stand around shooting things, or do you want to get married?”

Jake winked at me. “Emily, you’ve got two minutes to get your ass down the aisle before I come looking for you.”

“Three would be better.”

“Two…or else,” Jake threatened as he made his way to the preacher.

I reached for Junior’s hand. “Thanks for doing this. I appreciate it.”

“Emily, it’s an honor,” he replied, lacing my arm through his as his eyes glossed over. “I didn’t get to walk my little girl down the aisle.”

Glossy-eyed, I smiled up at him. “Neither did my dad.”

Moments later, I stood with Jake, our hands linked under the open sky as the preacher united us as a couple. He spoke of love, and everyone smiled. He spoke of honor, and everyone swelled with pride. He spoke of forsaking all others, and everyone glared suspiciously at Cowboy.

When a gust of wind whipped across the pasture, it began snowing dandelion seeds, as if God had blown them just for us. Floss and I exchanged knowing glances, and I caught Jake watching me with adoring eyes.

He didn’t wait for his prompt. Jake kissed me, his mouth sweetly caressing mine. The kiss made me dizzy, but Jake steadied me with his firm hands and placed a protective hand over my stomach. He lingered at my lips, making my heart skip a beat.

“Jake, you’re supposed to wait until the preacher says
‘you may now kiss the bride.’
”

“Why?” Jake whispered. “What does it matter?”

“I don’t know. I guess it’s against the rules.”

“So what,” he said shrugging and smiling lightly. “Rules are made to be broken.”

I laughed and threw my arms around his neck. “Then you’re in for a shitload of trouble!”