Still the One (44 page)

“Oh, great.”

“Annette told us that you’re going to propose.” Bev rubbed her hands together and bounced on the balls of her feet, her thin
frame vibrating with excitement. Five other women poured out of the salon, all grinning like monkeys. He recognized Rachel
the manicurist, Josie Pringle, and Lulu, whose red hair was wrapped in perm rods. A large pink-faced woman had foil wrapped
around her head, the retired librarian’s hair was wound up in giant pink rollers, and a woman he didn’t recognize wore rolled-up
pants with weird purple spacers between her toes. Behind them ambled a beer-bellied balding man wearing a navy shirt with
a “Color Me Gorgeous” logo on the pocket. He unlocked the back of the panel truck.

“I called Joe with the police department and asked him to stop her for you,” Bev continued breathlessly.

Being stopped by the police was not likely to put Katie in the most romantic mood. “That’s not necessary” Zack said. “I’ll
catch her at the airport, or…”

“Joe’s already got her stopped.”

Zack climbed into his car and drove like a desperado. Three miles out of town, he saw flashing lights at the side of the road.
He braked behind the police car, opened his door, and climbed out.

Katie stood with her hands on her hips, her back toward him. She wore a pink polka-dotted sweater set, black pants, and ballet
flats. She looked both adorable and pissed off. “Joe, you’ve checked my registration, my license, my insurance, and my inspection
sticker,” Katie was saying. “You’ve known me all my life, so I don’t believe you really need to see any further identification.
I don’t think it’s even legal for you to stop me, since we’re out of the city limits. So quit fooling around and give me back
my license. You’re going to make me miss my plane.”

The officer scratched his wispy thatch of hair and shifted his stance uneasily. “I, uh, have orders to detain you.”

“Orders from whom?” Katie demanded.

“Actually, that would be from me,” called a woman’s voice.

Zack turned to see Bev climbing out of the passenger side of the pink Color Me Gorgeous van, her hand sheepishly raised. The
other women from the salon were scooting out, rollers and all, to stand on the shoulder of the road.

“Hi, y’all,” called Lulu, merrily waving. “Don’t mind us. We’re just here to watch.”

Katie’s eyes locked on Zack. They immediately turned wary. “What are you doing here? What the heck is going on?”

He drew a deep breath. “This isn’t how I planned it, but…”

A semi roared by, stirring up a wave of dust. Some of it landed in his mouth, making it hard to swallow. He swallowed anyway.

“…I love you, Kate.”

She stared at him. Her eyes narrowed. “You don’t believe in love.”

“That was before.”

“Before what?”

“Before you changed my mind.”

She put her hands on her hips, her eyes skeptical. “Just how did I perform this miracle?”

“You made me miserable.”

The women behind them laughed. Lulu’s titter carried over the whine of a passing motorbike.

“Not exactly a shining endorsement,” Katie said dryly.

“Maybe not,” Zack said, “but it’s a real one.” He took her arm and pulled her away from the crowd, which was growing by the
minute. A dozen old people were piling out of the Sunnyside Assisted-Living Villa van, Nellie climbed out of an old PT Cruiser
with a camera, and the other police officers on the Chartreuse police force had joined the crowd of spectators. “Kate, the
day you said all that stuff, I made plans to move my headquarters to Chartreuse. I went up to your room to tell you, then
I saw you in the closet with Paul’s stuff, and… well, I thought you weren’t over him.”

“I was getting rid of his clothes.”

“I know. Annette told me.”

“Annette?”

“I went by your house just now. I talked to Annette and Dave and Gracie.” He looked up, and saw them climbing out of Annette’s
sedan. Gracie paused to get the baby out of the car seat in the back. He pulled Katie farther away.

“Kate—I want to be with you. I want to share my life with you. I want to see what you look like when you’re old and gray.”

“I will never be gray, not as long as I can get my hands on a bottle of hair dye.”

“See? Now that right there—that mouth you’ve got on you—I love that about you.”

She smiled. The tightness in his chest uncoiled a little.

“I didn’t want to fall in love with you, Kate. Believe me, I did my best not to.”

“Once again, your silver tongue is just enchanting me.”

He took her hands. “The truth is, I didn’t want to be second-best. I thought you were still in love with Paul. I thought you
could never care about anyone the way you cared about him.”

The guarded look faded. She met his gaze, full on and open. “Oh, Zack—my feelings for you are just as deep. Love doesn’t get
used up like a bottle of shampoo. It stretches out your heart so you can hold even more of it.”

Zack stepped closer, looped a strand of her hair around his finger, and grinned. “Kate Landers Charmaine, did you just admit
that you love me?”

“I…” She looked down, her cheeks flaming, then looked up. “Yeah. I guess I did.”

Gravel bit into his knee as he knelt, but he felt no pain. “I love you, too. I want to marry you and spend the rest of my
life with you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring—a four-carat, brilliant-cut solitaire set in platinum, with
diamond baguettes paving each side.

“He’s got a ring!” Lulu exclaimed. Oohs and ahhs arose from the onlookers, who crowded in for a better view. “And, oh, my—it
looks like a doozy!”

Zack continued, undeterred, seeing only Katie’s face. “Kate, I want to live with you and make more babies with you and see
your face the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. I love you.” His dimple flashed as he smiled. “In case
you didn’t catch that, I love you. I, Zack Ferguson, love you, Kate Landers Charmaine. I. Love. You. So… will you marry me?”

“Yes,” Katie said, her eyes shining and bright as the Louisiana sun. “Yes, I will.”

He rose to his feet, pulled her close, and kissed her, oblivious to the applause of the crowd or the roar of another passing
eighteen-wheeler or the cloud of dust swirling around them. He had found his one and only, his everything and more, and her
arms were both heaven and home.

Where authors give you the inside scoop!

From the desk of Paula Quinn

Dear Reader,

While doing research for LAIRD OF THE MIST, I fell in love with Clan MacGregor. Their staunch resolve to overcome trials and
countless tribulations during a three-hundred-year proscription earned them a very special place in my heart. So when I was
given the chance to write a brand-new series featuring Callum and Kate MacGregor’s grown children, I was ecstatic.

The first of my new four-book series, RAVISHED BY A HIGHLANDER (available now), stars Robert MacGregor, whom you met briefly
in A HIGHLANDER NEVER SURRENDERS. He was a babe then, and things haven’t changed. He’s still a babe, but in an entirely different
way!

My favorite type of hero is a rogue who can sweep a lady off her feet with a slant of his lips. Or a cool, unsmiling brute
with a soft spot no one sees but his woman. Rob was neither of those men when I began writing his story. He was more. I didn’t
think I could love a character I created as much as I loved his father, but I was wrong, and I’m not ashamed to say it.

Rob isn’t careless with women’s hearts. His smile isn’t reckless but a bit awkward. It’s about the only thing he
hasn’t
practiced every day of his life. Born to fill his father’s boots as chief and protector of his clan, Rob takes life and the
duties that come with his birthright seriously. He’s uncompromising in his loyalty to his kin and unrelenting in his beliefs.
He’s a warrior who is confident in the skill of his arm, but not rash in drawing his sword. However, once it’s out, someone’s
head is going to roll. Yes, he’s tall and handsome, with dark curls and eyes the color of sunset against a summer blue loch,
but his beauty can best be seen in his devotion to those he loves.

He is… exactly what a lady needs in her life if an entire Dutch fleet is on her tail.

I’ll tell you a little about Davina Montgomery, the lass who not only softens Rob’s staunch heart, but comes to claim it in
her delicate fingers. But I won’t tell you too much, because I don’t want to reveal the secret that has taken everyone she’s
ever loved away from her. She came to me filled with sorrow, chained by duty, and in need of things so very basic, yet always
beyond her reach: safety, and the love of someone who would never betray her or abandon her to danger.

I saw Rob through Davina’s eyes the moment he plucked her from the flames of her burning abbey. A hero: capable, courageous,
and hot as hell.

We both knew Rob was perfect for her, and for the first time, I saw hope in Davina’s eyes—and her beauty can best be seen
when she looks at him.

Travel back to the Scottish Highlands with Rob and Davina and discover what happens when duty and desire collide. And I love
to hear from readers, so please visit me at
www.paulaquinn.com
.

Enjoy!

From the desk of R. C. Ryan

Dear Reader,

Are you as intrigued by family dynamics as I am? I know that, having written a number of family sagas, I’ve been forced to
confront a lot of family drama. But fiction mirrors real life. And in the real world, there’s nothing more complicated or
more dramatic than our individual relationships with the different members of our families.

We read a lot about mother–daughter and father–son relationships, not to mention sibling rivalry. Psychologists tell us life
paths are often determined by birth order. And yet there are always exceptions to the rule—the child of poverty who builds
a financial empire. The man with a learning disability who lifts himself to the ranks of genius. The girl who loses a leg
and goes on to run marathons.

And so, while I’m fascinated with family dynamics, and our so-called place in the universe, I’m even more intrigued by those
who refuse to fit into any mold. Instead, by the sheer force of their determination, they rise above society’s rules to become
something rare and wonderful. Whether they climb Mount Everest or never leave the neighborhood where they were born, they
live each day to the fullest. And whether they change the world or just change one life, they defy the experts and prove wrong
those who believe a life’s course is predetermined.

In MONTANA DESTINY, the second book in my Fool’s Gold series, Wyatt McCord returns to the Lost Nugget Ranch after years of
living life on the edge, only to lose his heart to the fiercely independent Marilee Trainor, a loner who has broken a few
rules of her own. These two, who searched the world over for a place to belong, will laugh, love, and fight often, while being
forced to dig deep within themselves to survive.

I hope you enjoy watching Wyatt and Marilee take charge of their lives and forge their own destinies.