Close To Home (Westen Series) (35 page)

“Happy?” He moved closer, his hand stroking her arm.

“That this nightmare is finally over? Of course.” She laid her hand on his chest.

“Is something else bothering you?” Concern laced his words.

Might as well take the bull by the horns.

She took a deep breath then slowly let it out. “I think we need to talk about this...relationship.”

“Can we talk about it later tonight? I don’t think the parking lot is a good place to have such a personal discussion, do you?” He continued to stroke her arm, and his voice suggested he had something serious to say to her as well.

“Well, no.” Lord knows she didn’t want to discuss their future, or lack thereof, in the Franklin County Courthouse parking lot.

“Good. Then I’ll meet you back at your house this evening, and we’ll have a long talk.” He drew her into his arms and dropped his lips to hers, kissing her with a deep, barely restrained passion.

When he finally released her, she blinked a time or two to clear her thoughts. “Aren’t you coming back to Weston now?” She wanted to continue what this kiss had started.

“I have some business to finish here. But I should be back at your place by seven.” He opened the door and held if for her. “We’ll take the boys and your mother to the Peaches ’N Cream for a celebration dinner. Okay?”

Emma climbed into her car, feeling a bit dazed by all the day’s events, Clint’s kiss and his apparent dismissal. “Okay. I guess I’ll see you later, then.”

He leaned in and kissed her once more, lightly, then closed the door. In her rearview mirror, she watched him walk to his car without once looking back.

Despite her happiness and relief over the judge’s final decision in her favor, Emma drove back to Weston with a deep sense of dread nibbling at her mind.

* * *

Determined to make Clint realize just what he was walking away from when they had their “talk” this evening, Emma stood in the center of her bedroom, dressed only in her robe, panties and bra. She held up two dresses and tried to decide which outfit was the perfect one to wear to convince Clint he wanted to stay in Weston. The trouble was she really didn’t have anything that dazzling.

A knock sounded downstairs and two sets of footsteps ran across the hardwood floor to answer the front door. Then she heard Clint’s low voice and her mother’s welcome.

Great
. He was here, and she still didn’t know what to wear.

“Mommy, Doc Clint’s here,” Ben yelled from below.

“Can we go now, Mommy?” Brian added.

“I’ll be down in just a minute.” Emma took a deep breath, exhaled, then hung both dresses back into her closet. No point in trying to dress up to convince Clint to stay with her in Weston. If after being lovers for weeks, he didn’t know what she had to offer him—her heart, her love—then trying to look like some supermodel wasn’t going to convince him to stay.

She slipped on a pair of black linen pants and her favorite dark-green turtleneck sweater. Might as well be comfortable while he tore her heart out.

When she walked down the stairs, Clint stood in the hallway helping her mother with her coat and listening to the boys tell him about their day at school.

“My, don’t you look lovely, dear.” Her mother’s face lit up just like it had the first time she’d descended the stairs for a date.

Emma couldn’t help but return the smile. When her gaze met Clint’s her heart nearly stopped at the desire she saw written on his features. Hope filled her heart once more. Was it possible for a man to look at a woman like that and then walk away?

As she stepped off the last riser, he took her hand and drew her to him. “Do you know how beautiful you are?”

Heat filled her face and a little more hope filled her heart. Maybe he wasn’t planning to end their relationship, but what did he really expect? “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“Can we go now, Mom, please?” Ben asked.

Brian squeezed between her and Clint. “Yeah, please?”

She laughed, nodded and stepped back. Clint released her hand, and she went for her coat. Once outside the boys headed for Clint’s Jeep.

“Let’s walk,” he said, taking her hand in his once more and offered his other arm to Mama. “There won’t be too many more nights as nice as this one.”

That little bubble of hope inside her shrank some. They all crossed the street, heading for the Peaches ‘N Cream. The boys chatted the entire way, and Emma was glad the topic of her relationship with Clint didn’t come up once. Avoiding the subject gave way to the small cowardice she tried to keep hidden from the world, but tonight she willingly put the discussion on the back burner for a little longer. It was a night for celebration after all.

One store from the café, Clint stopped her then leaned down to whisper in the boys’ ears. They nodded and flanked Mama, each taking one of her hands.

“Mama, let’s go ahead so we can get a booth,” Ben said.

“Why, of course, boys,” she said and let them lead her down the sidewalk.

“Boys, come back here,” Emma called after them and took a step toward the café. “What did you say to them?”

Clint grabbed her hand again and stopped her. “I told them to take their grandmother ahead and that we’d be along in a minute. That I wanted to talk to you alone.”

“Can’t we do this later?” God, she didn’t want to hear this.

“No. Lorna and Harriett have half the town in there, waiting to surprise you with a party. I need to do this before all the craziness starts.” He drew her closer, touching her hair with his other hand. “Now that the stress of the paternity suit is finished, I can ask you something very important.”

“What?” she asked, barely above a whisper.

“I love you, Emma. And I love the boys. Will you let me help you raise them, be their father?” He slipped a finger under her chin and lifted her face so that her gaze met his. “Will you marry me?”

Oh, how she wanted to say yes. She hadn’t expected to be handed her heart’s desire.

Suddenly she knew she couldn’t take what he offered. She wouldn’t be a burden on him.

“I love you, too, Clint.” She slipped her hand between them as he tried to lean in to kiss her. “That’s why I can’t marry you.”

“Why not?” He drew his brows down and studied her.

“Because your life is in the city. The boys and I need to live here, with Mama. I can’t come with you, and you can’t give up your medical practice in Columbus to stay with us.”

He laughed. “I already have.”

“You already have what?” It was her turn to be confused.

“That’s what I’ve been doing today, sweetheart. Uncle Ray has agreed to let me take over his practice here, permanently. My partners—who think I’m either nuts or you’re some kind of genie to make me want to live out in the boondocks—bought out my portion of the ER practice in Columbus, and I’ve put my condo on the market.”

“But you can’t.” She tried to step back, but he wrapped his arms around her to keep her from moving.

“Why can’t I?”

“You can’t give up your life because of me and the boys. I won’t let you put your ER career on hold for us. I did that for someone, and I swore I wouldn’t ever ask it of anyone else.”

“Emma, listen to me. Before I came here in August, I had no life. I hated my profession. I blamed myself for a young boy’s death. I didn’t want to heal people anymore, I didn’t want to be a doctor. My personal life was nonexistent. I had nothing left to give anyone.

“Then I came to Weston. You and the boys made me feel things again. This town gave me a purpose in life. The people here and in the surrounding countryside made me feel like a doctor who gave a damn again.”

He tilted her head back and stared at her. Desire and passion lit his eyes, the lines around his mouth softened with love. “I am going to make my home in Weston. But I want to do it with you and the boys as my family. I want you by my side, and I want you to be able to finish nursing school so you can help me in my practice. So, will you please marry me?”

“You might as well say yes, Emma,” Harriett said from behind them.

“Put the boy out of his misery.” Lorna stood beside her in the door of the café. Mama, Uncle Lloyd, and Gage stood on the sidewalk, the twins jumping up and down in front of them, while half the town, along with Clint’s brothers and sisters, stared out the windows at Emma and Clint.

Emma laughed and threw her arms around his neck. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Doctor Preston. I’d be crazy not to.”

Early winter snowflakes started to fall around them as Clint sealed their decision with a slow deep kiss.

The street filled with the tiny town’s people. They laughed and slapped each other on the back, congratulating each other on helping bring the town’s favorite daughter and the new doctor together. Horns honked. Classic rock and roll music filtered out of the café’s open door into the night. The children chased each other up and down the sidewalk.

Neither Clint nor Emma noticed.

The End

Suzanne Ferrell

Suzanne discovered romance novels in her aunt's hidden stash one summer as a teenager. From that moment on she knew two things: she loved romance stories and someday she'd be writing her own. Her love for romances has only grown over the years. It took her a number of years and a secondary career as a nurse to finally start writing her own stories.

A double finalist in the Romance Writer's of America's 2006 Golden Heart with her manuscripts, KIDNAPPED and HUNTED (Romantic Suspense), Suzanne has also won The Beacon Unpublished and the CTRWA's contests in the erotica categories with her book, The Surrender Of Lacy Morgan.

Suzanne's sexy stories, whether they be her steamy Western eroticas, her on the edge of your seat romantic suspense, or the heart warming small town stories, will keep you thinking about her characters long after their Happy Ever After is achieved.
Visit Suzanne Ferrell’s website at
www.suzanneferrell.com

FBI Agent Jake Carlisle is in deep trouble. He’s been shot and if he can’t get help fast, two lives will be lost—his and that of the young witness whom he’s sworn to protect. Desperate, on the run from both the police and the Russian Mafia, he kidnaps a nurse from a hospital parking lot.

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Praise for Kidnapped
:

Loved it! Five Stars

"...very entertaining and well written. Jake, Sami and Nicky were great main characters who supported the plot very well.

If you're looking for a nice and relaxed read I can recommend this one to you." - Book lover (Athens, Greece)

Amazing Story! Five Stars

"This story is one of the better books that I have read in awhile. The interaction between Jake and Sami are electrifying without being outwardly mushy. The plot and interactions molded so well. I will be buying other stories from this author. I found the three main characters and their back-stories both heartbreaking and touching. I highly recommend this story! You won't be disappointed." - Amazon reader (Pennsylvania)

Available now on Amazon

Kidnapped

In one fiery explosion Katie Myers' witness protection cover is blown. Unable to trust the Marshals who've been responsible for her safety, she’s on the run from the cult leader she put on death row. In desperation she forces a near stranger at gunpoint to help her hide. By-the-book patrolman Matt Edgars is shocked when the woman he's come to rescue points a gun at him and demands he help her leave a crime scene. The stark terror in Katie’s beautiful eyes has him breaking rules for the first time in his career. With a hit man on their trail, Matt must break down the walls Katie has built to guard the secrets of her past. If not the cult leader will fulfill his prophecy and take the one woman Matt has ever loved to the grave with him.

Available now on Amazon

Hunted

“Set in the Montana Territory, 1882, The Surrender of Lacy Morgan is a story of outlaws on the run, brothers seeking justice and an untraditional love story that had me saying “Ahhhh...” more than once. Ms. Ferrell has a very talented voice for writing gritty and vivid historical settings.”

- The Long and the Short of It Reviews

Available now on Amazon

The Surrender of Lacy Morgan

Copyright © 2012 by Suzanne Ferrell

Cover Art by Lyndsey Lewellen