Russell's Return (22 page)

“Well, what was it?” she asked, plopping
down into a chair.

“She loves you,
kinda
like a second Mama,” he chuckled.

Emily smiled. “She called me Mama in the
barn yesterday.”

“You’re the closest thing she’s had to one
in two years. Hell, probably in her whole life.”

“I knew I loved her after the first time
I saw her melt down during one of our sessions. And I know that sounds weird,
but…I just knew that she was special. She’s brilliant, sweet and has this life
aura that surrounds her.”

“Then how could you ever have thought of
leaving her?” he whispered.

“I wasn’t thinking straight, Russell. If
I had been, I never would have gone.”

Russell asked the question he was
terrified of getting an answer to. “So, does that mean you’ll fly back with me
in the morning?”

“I haven’t decided yet. My heart is
telling me yes, but my mind is spinning. I still feel a little bit like running
away.”

Russell handed her his phone. “Call my
uncle. Maybe he can help you decide what to do. The hospital is on speed dial
seven, room eight. I’m going to go someplace to buy some clothes, do you need
anything?”

“No. I have enough in my bag for a few
days. Mom was going to ship the rest.”

Russell headed down in the elevator and
stopped at the desk to ask directions to the nearest big box store. Hopefully
when he got back, his uncle Cowboy would have talked some sense into his
girlfriend.

**********

“Dr. Mannon, this is Emily Zane. Do you
have a minute to talk?”

“Of course I do, dear,” he said into the
phone. “This hospital is quite boring.”

“Don’t you have Mr. Jack there to talk
to?”

“Like I said, I’m bored out of my mind.”

She heard Jack toss a couple of
expletives at his friend and laughed.

“So young lady, since you called me Dr.
Mannon, I assume this isn’t a social call.”

“No sir. I need some advice from the
doctor.”

“Okay,” he said calmly. “Go on.”

She told him about leaving Harper’s
Rock, her realization that she tended to leave bad situations and her irrational
fear of being bad luck to the people she loved.

“You do realize that you have nothing to
do with the bad luck that befalls people around you, and that running away
solves nothing, right?”

“Of course I do - rationally. But for
some reason, I’m still afraid.”

“And what do you tell your clients when
they have an irrational fear?”

Emily sighed and then chuckled. “I tell
them they have to face it. I guess that means I should come home.”

“Yes. Come home and we can talk in depth
then if you need to. I’m not sure how much we could solve over the phone.”

“Okay. Thank you so much Dr. Mannon.”

“Hey Emily, can I tell you something?”
He cleared his throat and continued without waiting for her okay. “My nephew
was a miserable human being when he left Las Vegas. He didn’t know which end
was up. When you guys picked us up at the airport he was the Russell I
remembered when he first came to stay with us after college. He has his life
back now because he has
finally
found love.”

Emily was quiet for a moment. “I can’t
give that up, can I? I lost friends and family and even someone I’d given
myself to for five years, but Russell…and Miranda are so much more. God Ethan,
I was so happy the last two months. What the hell is wrong with me?”

“Dr. Mannon will help you figure it out
when you and my nephew come home.”

“Thank you Ethan,” she whispered.

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Emily hung up the phone and headed for
the shower. By the time she walked out of the bathroom, Russell was back and
sitting on the bed.

“Hey…Oh, you’ve been crying.”

He reached out and brought her to stand
between his legs. His arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her close.
“What’s wrong?”

Emily leaned into the comfort of his
embrace. “I realized how big of a mistake I almost made by leaving. I could
have lost everything I care about.”

“Does that mean you’ll come back with
me?” he asked, pulling back to look into her eyes.

“Yeah and can we talk more about
starting up the summer camp?”

“Of course,” he said, releasing her to
move up to rest against the headboard. He patted the spot next to him and she
sat down.

“So, how would this work?” she asked.

“We could buy the land together, or I
could buy it or we could maybe lease something else in town. There is a lot to
consider.”

Emily nodded. “So, if we went into it as
partners, how would that work?”

“We’d have to sign a contract of sorts,”
he said with a smile.

“So a contract to buy the land and a
contract for the partnership?”

“Yes. The contract for the partnership
has a specific name though.”

“Oh. What’s that?” she questioned.

“I believe it’s called a marriage
license,” he said with a grin.

Emily smiled back at him. “Is this a
proposal Rusty?” she asked.

“Well,” he pondered. “I still have to
ask my daughter’s permission, but if she says yes, I’d like you to say yes
too.”

A tear rolled down Emily’s cheek and she
wiped it away.

“Oh wait! Don’t answer that yet,” he
warned. His hand disappeared into his pocket and he pulled out a small box. “I
almost forgot to offer you this.”

Emily’s breath caught in her throat as
he opened the box exposing a one carat diamond ring.

“Russell…I…Yes, if Miranda says it’s
ok…I want to marry you, but what if I can’t work through my problems…”

“Don’t worry,” he said, smiling at her. “We’ll
have a long engagement and if you decide you can’t stay, then we’ll either work
it out or go our separate ways. We’ll figure it out together.”

Emily’s eyes closed briefly. “If Miranda
says
it’s
okay, then my answer is yes.”

He brushed her damp hair off of her face
and pulled her close for a quick kiss. “Now you
have to
come home with
me.”

“But where is home? Will we go on like
we are now, or will we live together? We won’t all fit in the cottage for
long.”

“How about we build a house on the
ranch? We won’t be able to start building until spring, but I think we can
survive in the cottage until then.”

Emily was contemplative for a moment as
she fiddled with the ring box.

“You’re not having second thoughts already,
are you?” Russell asked as he took the box from her hands.

“What
?…
No,” she
smiled. “I was just thinking about the future.”

“Good things, I hope,” he said,
carefully taking the ring out of the box and reaching for her hand. “I’m not
waiting for my daughter’s permission to see this on you.”

Emily held her hand out and he slipped
the ring on her finger. “It fits perfectly! How did you know my size?”

Russell winked at her. “I have my ways.”

“You called my mother didn’t you?” she
asked.

“I didn’t have my phone with me tonight
when I bought the ring,” he said, avoiding her gaze.

“You called her before that?” she asked,
surprise in her voice.

“You’re not going to leave this alone
are you?”

“Nope,” she murmured moving over to
straddle his lap. “Tell me and maybe I’ll
kiss
you.”

“I called her…” His voice quavered. “The
day I told you I loved you for the first time. Now where’s my kiss?” He leaned
toward her and she pulled away.

“I never said I was going to kiss your
lips.”

Russell inhaled deeply and watched her
reach for his zipper. No sooner had he sprung free from his jeans than he was
enveloped by her hot mouth. His breathing matched the rhythm of her movements.
It felt incredible but he wasn’t ready to come yet. Putting a hand on her
shoulder, he pressed gently. “No more baby.”

“All the way, Rusty,” she murmured
before resuming her movements.

“No, please,” he gasped. “Not this
time.”

Emily pulled away from him, her eyes
sparkling. “Is there something you want instead?”

“Oh yeah,” he said suggestively as he
lunged forward, catching her as she turned away to flee. They tumbled over onto
the bed. Emily was on her stomach and Russell straddled her thighs. He played a
drum beat on her butt then leaned forward to whisper in her ear. “You’re a
tease. Now I’m going to tease you.”

Moving her hair off to the side, his
lips lightly touched her neck. “I think your shirt is in the way.”

“Then take it off,” she murmured.

“If you insist.” His hands ran up her
back, underneath her shirt, stopping only to allow him to spread kisses here
and there. She lifted her torso to let him to slip the garment off.

Russell’s lips once again met her neck
in a gentle kiss. His tongue blazed a trail down her back, stopping at the
waistband of her panties. “Now these are in my way.”

“Just take them off, Russell,” she
breathed.

As he worked them down her hips, he
placed kisses across her backside and thighs. “Don’t move, sweetheart.” His
clothes quickly joined her panties in a heap on the floor.

Emily heard his breath hiss as he exhaled
and climbed back onto the bed. A moan escaped her as he kneaded the flesh of
her butt.

“Every inch of you is perfect. I can’t
tell you how many times I wondered how pale and beautiful your skin actually
was. I used to dream about you.”

“Russell,” she murmured, trying to get
up, but only making it partway before he stopped her by grabbing her hips. He
bent down and kissed her back. “I want you Emily, just like this,” he
whispered, pressing his hardness against her.

Emily moaned and pushed back against him
in an invitation that he gladly accepted when he slowly pushed inside her slick
heat. “Oh yes,” he gasped.

His first movements were agonizingly
slow and gentle until he couldn’t take it anymore. His grip on her hips
tightened and he moved hard against her. When just the right rhythm was set,
Emily held onto the headboard with one hand while using the other one to tease
the spot that would heighten her pleasure. She cried out at the extra spike in
feeling. Her senses were suddenly on high alert. Every thrust threatened to
make her scream in ecstasy. Every movement of her fingers threatened to finally
send her over the edge, but with cues from Russell, she knew just when to ease
up. Then he would drive into her again and she would start the tease once more.

“Russell!” she cried. She didn’t know
how much more she could withstand. Pleasure so perfect it was almost painful
invaded her whole body. The world spun and her eyes felt heavy. She could
barely breathe. She didn’t want to breathe, to interrupt the glorious
sensations that pounded her as she screamed and her body shuddered with
release. Russell followed a moment later, sighing her name.

**********

“I love you,” Russell whispered as he
held Emily in his arms.

“I love you too,” she said, followed by
a yawn. She was warm and happy with his arms around her.

“Why don’t you just go to sleep,
sweetheart. I need to take a shower and call the airlines. I want to leave as
early as possible in the morning.

The loss of his arms made her ache, but
she didn’t fight it. An exhausted sleep soon claimed her.

CHAPTER
20

Emily slept the last twenty miles to
Harper’s Rock. Russell had to shake her awake when he stopped the SUV in front
of the main house. “We’re home Em. Are you ready to face Miranda? If she says
no, we might have a long fight ahead of us. Or do you think we should wait?”

“I’m ready,” she said, running her
fingers through her hair. “I’m not going anywhere Rusty. I can’t bear to run
anymore. Let’s get this over with.”

“Still, talk to my uncle please,” he
asked. “Just
to
…”

“Don’t worry, I will. I think I’ll even
go see Dr. Carleton on a regular basis. Just to reinforce what I already
know…My home, and now my family, is all here in Harper’s Rock. I’m not going
anywhere.”

Russell honked the horn and got out of
the car. Emily joined him, grabbing his hand. “Here we go!”

Miranda and Rizzy came running out with
Evelyn, Jackson and the younger Ethan following close behind.

“Daddy,” the little girl cried, throwing
herself at him. Next it was Miss Emily’s turn to get a hug.

“You guys are just in time for lunch,”
Evelyn informed them. “Your Uncle will be released in a couple of hours.”

The group headed inside to the dining
room and when everyone was seated, Russell asked Miranda the question that
terrified him. “So kiddo. How would you feel if Miss Emily and I got married?”

The little girl looked from her father
to her friend and back again before bursting into tears.

Emily immediately went to Miranda and
wrapped her arms around her. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We won’t do it if you
don’t want to.”

The little girl tried to speak but
couldn’t, so Emily just held her as lunch resumed.

When Miranda’s sobs quieted, she pulled
out of Emily’s arms. “I’m not sad,” she said between hiccups. “I’m glad. I want
you and Daddy to get married.”

A smile broke over Russell’s face as he
stood and welcomed his daughter into his arms. “Thank you baby girl,” he
whispered.

“You’re welcome, Daddy. Can I give her a
ring?”

Russell chuckled. “Of course you can.”
He dug in his pocket to retrieve the ring he’d given Emily the night before.
She’d taken it off on the plane so they wouldn’t shock anyone. “Here you go
kiddo.”

Miranda turned to Emily. “Miss Emily,
will you become Daddy’s wife and my Mama?”

“I will,” she said with a smile as the
little girl handed the ring to her. Slipping it on her finger, she hugged her
soon to be stepdaughter and Russell joined them.

“When’s the wedding?” Miranda asked
excitedly. “Can we have it before Uncle Cowboy and Mr. Jack go home?”

“I think we might wait a bit to get
married. There’s a lot of stuff that needs to be done before we take that step.
That’s okay, right?”

Miranda frowned. “I guess.”

“Miss Emily is going to start a horse
therapy summer camp for kids with autism. We should start working on that
before we do anything else. Maybe we can have the wedding as part of the grand
opening of the camp,” Russell suggested.

“Really? That sounds fun!” Miranda
gushed. “But what about Uncle Cowboy and Mr. Jack?”

Evelyn pulled her granddaughter over to
sit next to her. “I’m sure they will be able to come back for the wedding, and
I’m sure there will be a lot of people here. We’re going to have a grand
party!”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Jack
broke in with a smile. “I like seeing you happy, Randi.”

“Yay!” Miranda squealed as she went back
to her seat to start on her lunch.

“So, how long do I have to plan this
thing?” Evelyn asked the couple.

“We’re estimating the summer of 2016 for
the camp opening. The wedding is subject to change depending on how we feel,”
Emily said with a smile.

“Well at least there will be no
twenty-four hour wedding chapel in Las Vegas this time. This will be much
better!”

“I think you’re right, mother,” Russell
said, grabbing Emily’s hand. “As always.”