The Marine's E-Mail Order Bride (Heroes of Chance Creek Book 3) (20 page)

“Make her love you back. For real. Get this disaster back on rails.”

Zane watched him leave, his mind trying to make sense of what Mason had said. Make Storm love him? How? And how would he know if her love was real?

It was a stupid idea.

But a compelling one nonetheless. Mason was right; he did love Storm despite everything. Maybe he was a fool, but he was a fool who knew exactly what he wanted.

And what Gunnery Sergeant Zane Hall wants, Gunnery Sergeant Zane Hall gets.

Damn straight. Zane squared his shoulders. Why shouldn’t he walk out of this disaster with the wife he wanted, kids on the way and the deed to Crescent Hall in his hand? He wasn’t a quitter. He’d faced tougher challenges than this and succeeded.

And he knew just where to start.

Storm was folding
shirts the following afternoon when a knock came at the door of Mandy’s. Her first response was dismay. What new nightmare was fate serving up? When Zane gathered his things and moved to a bedroom down the hall the night Cheyenne had arrived, it had broken her heart. It wasn’t until he walked out her door that she’d fully realized their relationship was over. There was no fixing this—not now that he knew how deeply her lies had run. No trace of tenderness toward her was left in him.

They’d spent the intervening days avoiding each other, or pretending nothing was wrong at all when the girls were present. Storm was still avoiding Mia’s phone calls. There was no way she could face the wedding planner now. Cheyenne was a changed woman, silently moving through the Hall, helping where she could, staying out of the way otherwise. Storm knew she had listed the cottage with a real estate agent and was trying to drum up the courage to return to California to begin packing. She hadn’t made a reservation for a return flight, however, and Storm knew she was having a hard time facing the future.

Often Cheyenne and the girls accompanied her to the store, but today her mother had begged off with a headache and Regan had said she’d watch the girls. They’d been cooped up too long indoors and could use a day outside exploring the ranch. Storm was grateful for the time alone.

When she opened the door, Zane stood outside, Belinda beside him. Storm was so surprised she couldn’t speak for a moment, but then she ushered them in. What did it mean that Zane would make this gesture? He’d been so sure she was in league with Darren, and that Belinda was in on a trick meant to do him harm. Storm had told him how wrong he was about that. Was he trying to issue an apology?

“I’m so glad to see you,” she said to Belinda.

“I’m glad to be here.” She scanned the store. “What should I do first?”

“I’ll leave you two to your work,” Zane said, turning away.

“Thank you,” Storm said, following him outside before he could disappear. “It means a lot to me that you would speak to Belinda.” She didn’t want to let him go. She was afraid if she did, they’d go back to avoiding each other and she’d missed him bitterly these last few days.

“I was wrong about her.” He settled his hat on his head. “She and Darren had nothing to do with your trick.”

Sorrow rippled through her at the way he phrased that. He was obviously still angry. She didn’t think that would ever change. Still, she needed to try to make him understand.

“Zane.”

He waited, expressionless, for her to go on.

“It’s true; I did what I did at first to get the bonus Kenna promised me. I did need the money. But the minute I met you I wanted you.” She took a deep breath, searching for the courage to go on. “I knew right away I’d been given an incredible chance. I’d never met someone like you before. I really did fall in love.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. “I wish to God I could believe that.”

She took in his rigid stance. “You can believe me. Zane, you’re motivated by the same things I am—love for your family and a desire for a better future. I didn’t pretend to be Kenna to hurt you. I did it to help my mother and sisters. Now they’re here and Mom’s decided to sell our house. There’s no reason for me to lie anymore.”

“Prove it.”

“How? What can I possibly do except stay right here and keep telling you?” she asked in exasperation.

“You could show me.”

His words were so quiet at first she thought she’d heard him wrong. “Show you?”

He nodded.

Did he mean—?

She didn’t stop to analyze it. She stepped closer, went up on tiptoes and planted a kiss at the corner of his mouth. “Like that?”

“Something like that.”

His tone was still stern, still uncompromising, but Storm felt a ray of hope.

She kissed him again, splaying her fingers over his chest to brace herself as she reached up to brush her lips over his cheek.

“You’re getting colder,” he said wryly.

“Sorry.” She tried again, this time kissing him square on the mouth. At first he held still and it was like kissing a statue, his lips hard and unyielding. Then his arms wrapped around her and he kissed her back, pulling her closer and deepening the kiss with a groan.

Tears pricked Storm’s eyes as she clung to him, so hungry for his touch she couldn’t get enough.

“Get a room!” some wag in a beat-up Ford called out as he drove by. Zane broke off the embrace, looking around him as if he’d forgotten where he was.

“That’s not the worst idea,” he said finally.

Storm nearly laughed with relief. He could joke about it. “You’re insatiable.” She was so grateful for that.

“Like you aren’t,” Zane said, his hands tracing her hips.

“Zane—what does this mean?” She had to know, as much as she didn’t want to break the spell of this moment.

“I guess it means I’m too dumb to quit.” He kissed her again.

“You mean it—you’ll give me another chance?”

He looked at her. “What choice do I have? I know any sane man would walk away, but I can’t seem to do that. Maybe that means I’m crazy.”

“A good kind of crazy.”

“What about you?” He framed her face with his hands. “Are you willing to give us another chance? A real chance?”

She nodded. “Of course. I love you, Zane.”

He crushed her to him. “Thank God. I love you, too.”

‡

“W
hat kind of
a mission keeps a man out of contact for four or five months?” Austin was saying when Zane joined his brothers in the stables the next morning. He was due to bring Cheyenne and the girls to town to meet Storm for lunch at a local restaurant later, but now he had to catch up on his chores. He’d slept late after an unforgettable night of lovemaking with Storm. It was as if both of them had needed to make up for lost time. Waking up beside her was the sweetest reward for patching thing up between them.

“It’s barely been one month,” Mason said.

“Yeah, but he said we wouldn’t hear from him until Christmas time. That’s a hell of a long time.”

“Talking about Colt?” Zane asked, moving to the stall where Jasper poked his nose over the door, snuffling Zane’s hand when he reached up to stroke him.

“Don’t you think it’s strange?” Austin challenged him.

“A little. I figure he’s on the kind of mission that takes time to set into place.”

“Like what?”

Zane shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out when he comes back.”

“If—” Austin broke off as his brothers turned on him. “Sorry.” He raised his hands in an apologetic gesture. “We’re all thinking it.”

“I’m thinking that Colt’s one of the best combat controllers the Air Force has ever seen. He’ll get the job done and get home as soon as he can,” Mason said.

“You’re right.” Austin ducked his head. “I shouldn’t have said it. I’m going to get back to work.”

Zane found it hard to shake his worry even without Austin there to give voice to his fears. When he’d been in the Marines he hadn’t had time to think much about his brothers; he’d been too busy keeping himself alive. Now that he was home it was another matter. Back on the ranch, it only seemed right that the family would be reunited. Colt should be here, too.

He’d have to get used to him being away, though. Even when this mission was over, there would be others, if Colt had his way.

“Is it my imagination or are things on the mend between you and Storm?” Mason asked.

“We’ve made progress.”

“You need to talk to Heloise. We can’t put her off any longer.”

Zane sighed. “You’re right. I’ll talk to Storm first, though. See what we can come up with.”

“A lot’s riding on this.”

“You think I don’t know that?”

Mason put his hands up in a placating manner. “I’m sure you do. I’m just reminding you. Tell Heloise the truth, not some trumped up story.”

Zane didn’t want to think about how that would go. “Like I said, we’ll see what we can come up with.”

His brother hesitated. “When I think about losing all of this again…”

Zane clapped him on the shoulder. “Stop that thought right there. I’m not going to let you down.”

When Storm answered
her phone later that morning, Heloise launched an immediate attack.

“I didn’t think I was handing you a hobby when I gave you Mandy’s,” she said. “I thought you had gumption in you. Maybe you’re afraid of a little hard work.”

“I’m not afraid of work, Heloise.” Storm stayed calm. “I’m working right now. I’ve been here almost every day, and my mother and sisters arrived in town recently.”

“And you haven’t brought them to see me?”

“They’ve barely gotten settled in.” Storm thought fast. She could almost hear Heloise working herself into a tizzy. “I’ll bring them today, though. How’s that? In an hour or so?” Zane was due to bring them by the store soon.

“Well… fine. Do that. While you’re at it you can explain how you’ve cloned yourself. It’s a neat trick to be climbing a mountain in Nepal and renovating a store at the same time.” Heloise hung up.

Storm stared at the phone in horror as she realized Heloise must have been the one who’d spilled the beans about her to Zane. If Heloise knew she was a fake, then the whole ranch was in jeopardy. No wonder Zane had lost his cool. At the time she’d thought it was the lies that had angered him, and she hadn’t blamed him one bit, but if Heloise knew she wasn’t Kenna, then she must have guessed their upcoming wedding was a fake.

“What’s wrong?” Zane said, coming into Mandy’s. Her mother and sisters followed close behind him. Zane took Storm’s arm and led her to a corner of the store where they could talk alone.

“That was Heloise. She knows. You never told me!”

“She looked Kenna up on the Internet. Old girl’s smarter than me.” He dropped a kiss on her head to take the sting from the words. “We need to talk about that, though. If we’re going to go through with the wedding, we need to go see her and admit that you’ve been impersonating Kenna. See if we can convince her that’s the only lie, though.”

“The ranch—” she said faintly.

“Is going to be just fine when you tell Heloise that you were acting as Kenna in order to make money, but you fell in love with me along the way.”

“You want me to tell her the truth?”

“That much of it.”

“But—” She scrambled to sort it all out. “She knows you tried to hire a fake bride.”

“That’s right. We come clean and confess everything. Then we hope she gives us a second chance.”

“She won’t believe that we love each other now! She’ll take Crescent Hall away!”

“What else can we do?”

“I don’t know.” She looked at him helplessly. “I’m so sorry, Zane.”

“I had it coming, I guess. Should have known not to ever try to fool her. You’d better think it through, though. If you marry me, and Heloise refuses to hold up her end of the bargain, we won’t have a home. I won’t have a livelihood. We’ll have to start over.”

“I don’t care about that,” she said. “I care about you. All of you. This is your home.”

“This is your home, too. Let’s go fight for it.”

It was a
subdued group that Zane shepherded to the assisted living center fifteen minutes later. Even Zoe, Daisy and Violet had been told that this was a serious visit and that they had to be on their best behavior. When Heloise let them into her apartment, she looked the newcomers over, and gestured for them to take seats on the sofa.

“Mrs.
Willow
, I take it,” she said to Cheyenne.

Cheyenne cast a glance at Storm. “Yes. That’s right.”

“These are all your daughters?”

“Yes.”

“Why so many years between Storm and her sisters?”

Cheyenne frowned at the personal question. Zane intervened. “Heloise.”

“I’m curious. Maybe it explains Storm’s behavior,” Heloise said sharply.

Color rose on Cheyenne’s cheeks. “Mitch and I didn’t mean to start our family so young, but when we found out I was pregnant with Storm we got married and never regretted it. Once my husband got his surfing sponsorship, we went on to have more children. That has nothing to do with the way Storm—”

“I see.” Heloise cut her off and sat down on the love seat across from them. She turned to Storm. “Your turn. I hear you have something to say.”

“I do. I’ll keep it brief.” She didn’t look happy and Zane knew she would have preferred that her sisters didn’t hear what she had to say. “My boss, Kenna North, offered me a cash bonus to take on her persona for six weeks while she was out of the country. I said yes.”