Wild Rodeo Nights (20 page)

“Yes.”

“Yet you didn’t even bother to ask me what I wanted. I didn’t matter to you that I only wanted you. People who care about each other work things out—together, but no, you wanted to pull some macho
I’m the man
thing.”

“It did matter. How could I ask you spend the rest of your life with someone who couldn’t take care of you? Or someone who might never be able to make love to you again?”

“I don’t need you to take care of me. I can take care of myself, thank you very much. I have for several years now.”

He stood up and moved toward her as a nervous tingle zipped down her arms. Grabbing her upper arms in his hands, he pulled her to his chest. “I didn’t want you to have to do it alone. I’ve seen how you had to give up your dreams to man the store and take care of Jess. Now you have to take care of Robert, and I didn’t want to give you one more burden to bear, Carrie. I wanted to be the person who took care of you for a change. I wanted to shoulder some of those things for you, not add to them.”

Tears clouded her vision while she stared into his eyes. “Don’t you see,” she sobbed. “I love you. I felt like I was dying when I saw you in that hospital bed and you couldn’t talk to me. I thought I was going to lose you like I lost my parents and Jess. I prayed so hard that God wouldn’t take you from me too. At that point, the store didn’t matter—only you mattered, but you turned your back on me.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, wrapping his hands around her until they stood chest to breast and thigh to thigh. His hands roamed down her back in a slow caress.

“I was so happy when you said you loved me, but then you pushed me away. I didn’t know what to think.”

“It doesn’t matter now.” He set her away from him and looked into her eyes as his fingers caressed her face. “I love you. I want to be there for you for the rest of our lives, to love you and help you.”

She choked back a sob. “What about the rodeo stuff? I don’t want someone who is only around during the week and gone off to God knows where on the weekends.”

“I can’t ride anymore—not rodeo, anyway. I can still work on trucks to help with bills, but my pro-rodeo days are over.” The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile. “I can still trail ride.”

“Why?”

“The doctor’s said my back isn’t perfect. If I were to chance it and get hurt again, I wouldn’t be able to walk for the rest of my life. I don’t want to risk losing you for anything in the world. You mean too much to me.”

“Exactly what are you saying, Cole?”

He brushed the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. “I’m saying I love you, Carrie Marsh. Abby told me once that it would be sooner rather than later when I would run into the one woman who would put me in my place. I laughed at her. I figured there was no way I’d find someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with because I wasn’t in one place long enough. Leave it to you to wrap me around your little finger in two days. I can’t live without you. I don’t want to.”

The next thing she knew, his lips were softly caressing hers. Nipping at the corners of her mouth, he trailed them along her cheek to her ear.

“Say you still love me, Carrie. I need you not just in my bed, but in my life, too.”

“I love you. I never stopped. I couldn’t even if I wanted to.”

He lifted his head and looked into her eyes, giving her the biggest smile she’d ever seen. “Does that mean you’ll marry me?”

She laughed and tears rolled down her cheeks. “Is that supposed to be a proposal?”

“It’s the best I can do on short notice. I didn’t know whether you would even see me, much less let me propose. There is one thing I can do, though,” he said as he slid down her body, kissing her breasts and her stomach before reaching his knee. He slipped the ring off his pinky finger. “Carrie, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she whispered when he slid the ring on her left hand, and they both laughed.

“We’ll go buy a pretty diamond tomorrow, but I wanted you to know tonight that I want you for my wife.”

He stood up and swept her up in his arms, before he headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time until he reached her bedroom door. With a wicked grin, he said, “I’ve been thinking of this for months.”

Epilogue

Robert giggled when Cole chased him around the furniture. Bonnie sat on the couch laughing at her son playing with the little boy while she cradled her other grandson in her arms. Samantha sat on her grandfather’s lap and she read him a story.

“Can I get you anything, Bonnie?”

“Mother, please, Carrie.”

She smiled her heart light with having her family around her. “All right, can I get you anything, Mother?”

“No sweetheart, I’m fine.”

“I need something, though, wife of mine.” Cole laughed before he swept her up in his arms.

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders. “And what would that be?”

“A kiss.”

“I think I can manage one of those.”

His mouth dove for hers as she sighed and pressed against him. He let his tongue caress the crease of her lips, asking for her mouth, which she gave up eagerly.

“All right, you two—enough of that,” Chase said slapping Cole on the back.

“Carrie? I think this pie is done,” Abby called from the kitchen. Carrie sighed as she flashed her husband a devious smile and backed toward the kitchen. He started to follow until Chase stopped him. She giggled at the disappointed look on his face.

“We’ve been assigned to set the table.”

“You are absolutely no fun at all, Chase. I’m still a newlywed, for crying out loud.”

Chase laughed and handed him the plates from the china hutch.

Jamie, Abby, and Carrie began to bring out the mountain of food that they had been preparing for days for the family’s Thanksgiving. She and Cole managed to convince all of them to come to Silver Ridge for the holiday. When everything was in place, Cole took the head of the table with Carrie to his right and the rest of his family around him.

He took Carrie’s hand in his, giving her a playful wink before he turned his attention back to the rest of his family.

“I know I have a lot of be thankful for this year, and I want to share some of those with you all. First, I thank God every day for bringing Carrie into my life. I don’t know how I survived before I met her.”

“With a hell of a lot of luck,” Justin piped in.

They all laughed.

“Very true, Justin. Just wait until you find a woman who turns your life upside down.” Cole winked at Abby as a knowing smile spread across her lips. Carrie told Cole about her conversation with Abby the night before. Carrie knew Abby already had one of her feelings about the woman Justin would find and fall helplessly in love with. He just didn’t know it yet. Carrie almost rubbed her hands together gleefully as she thought about Justin being put in his place. He had to be one of the most arrogant, domineering, and stubborn men she ever met.

Cole cleared his throat. “Second, I need to thank all of you for being there for me when I wasn’t sure I would ever walk again and had shut out the one person I shouldn’t have.”

“I forgive you.” A smirk settled on her lips, and she cocked a knowing eyebrow in his direction. “You’ll pay for that later.”

Another round of laughter echoed in the dining room, and Carrie sighed happily. It had been such a long time since there had been this much happiness around her, and she loved every minute of having her adopted family close.

“Thirdly, I need to thank my wife. She’s stood by me and loved me, stubborn man that I am…through these past months and my need to come to terms with the changes in my life.” He kissed the hand he held, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “And we need to let you all know in about eight months, there will be another Wilder in the family.”

“You’re pregnant?”

“Well, I’m not, but Carrie is.” He joked at his mother’s question when his gaze caressed Carrie’s face until she was tugged to her feet. His family wrapped her in warm hugs of congratulations before his brothers slapped him on the back.

“Now—shall we eat?”

Laughter rang throughout the room when Cole cut the turkey and everyone piled their plates high with food.

THE END

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