Don't Tell Me You Love Me (Destiny Bay Romances~The Ranchers Book 6) (9 page)

“Always. Climb aboard.”

They went out for a little over an hour and Johnny stared at a lot of sea and a lot of sky, and tried to figure out what was best for him to do. Cheyenne was the most important element in his decision making process. But little Zachary was beginning to claim some space there as well. The more he thought, the more excitement grew. Could he do this? Could a leopard change his spots and a tiger catch his tail? Could his own happiness actually matter and gain a foothold here? Could he get a chance to redeem himself?
 

Tag’s boat returned him to the marina and he waved goodbye, heading for Mickie’s on the Bay, the best diner in Destiny Bay. Mickie cooked him up some breakfast herself, hash browns and scrambled eggs with cinnamon toast on the side. They chatted for a few minutes, and he saw Meggie, Mickie and Tag’s little girl who was a couple of years older than Zachary. He looked at her closely, realizing his connection to Cheyenne’s child had given him a whole new perspective on children. How adorable she was!
 

And then he went out to walk on the beach again. He was waiting for something, and before long, he felt it arrive to join him—Cheyenne was here. He didn’t turn around. He just kept walking, and pretty soon she caught up, slipping her arm through his. He turned and looked at her, warming himself on the glow of her goodness. It shone in her eyes.
 

“Where’s the kid?” he asked.

“Gina has him. He’s up at Mickie’s.”

He turned as if to go there, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Not yet. Give me a few minutes. We have to talk.”

He nodded and they went back to walking in the sand.
 

“How did you know I was here?” he asked her.

“Lysette called me first thing this morning. She told me…everything.”

“Everything?” he scoffed, teasing her. “Since when does Lysette represent the vast array of knowledge available in the world?”

Cheyenne smiled. “She’s a wise woman, my cousin Lysette. She knows more than you think.”

“Possibly.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“About what?”

“About us.”

He shrugged. “It’s your call. If there is an ‘us’, I’m all in. And I mean that literally. I’ll be there for you in any way you need me.” He turned to take her in his arms, but she pushed him back.
 

“We have to talk,” she insisted. “I have to know some things.”

“What sort of things?”

“All about you. All about your travels and what you were doing out there in the world all this time.” She looked at him earnestly. “I have to be reassured, Johnny. I have to know what you learned and how you’ve changed and whether or not we can make it together.”

He nodded. “Take all the time you need,” he said simply. “I’ll answer anything.”

They walked and they talked. She told him that she’d already called Frank and told him the wedding was off. Cancelled. Tossed down the memory hole. That was over and she admitted now that she never should have gone in that direction in the first place.
 

“I’ve got a few things to say to Frank myself,” he said, his mouth twisting bitterly.
 

“No.” She grabbed him by the jacket and looked up earnestly. “We’ll talk to him together. Okay? I don’t want to risk what might happen if you go alone.”

He touched her cheek, loving her, loving the passion she had for life itself. “Okay,” he said. “You make the call. We’ll go together.” He hesitated, then added, “But I’m not going to hold back. I won’t touch him, but I’m going to let him know what I think about what he did. We’ll see if he has a decent defense.”

“You definitely won’t touch him,” she agreed. “And neither will I. We’re parents, you know. We have to be aware at all times that anything we do might effect our parenting rights. Never risk that. Zachary comes first.”

He felt a stinging in his eyes. She was right. He was a parent—a father of a beautiful, wonderful boy. This was going to change his life for the better.
 

He pulled her into the shadows of the pier and kissed her soundly, giving his love to her in every part of the gesture. She clung to him and opened up, showing her trust, giving her heart. He kissed her mouth, her nose, her neck, her collarbone. They would make love tonight. He could feel it.
 

“Hey,” she said, laughing. “If you’re hungry, we can get Mickie to fix you something. I’m not on the menu.”

He drew back and looked at her with a love fuller and richer than he’d ever felt before.
 

“Will you ever want to marry me?” he asked her a bit wildly. “Say ‘yes’!”

She looked up and smiled at him, her heart in her eyes. “I think so. I’m pretty sure we can work something out. But I’m tired of making promises right now. So let’s give it some time.”

He nodded, feeling his heart swell in his chest. It was going to happen. He knew it like he knew the map of his own soul. They were made for each other. Their destinies had always been intertwined. These last two years where they’d been apart had been wrong, totally wrong. Now things were going to get back into equilibrium, and everyone was going to be happier. He took a deep breath and looked out at the ocean, a sense of peace and joy growing inside him. He had his Cheyenne back again. All was right with the world.
 

The End

My Mailing List!

Please leave your email
here
, in order to be informed when a new book is released, a free story is available, or a contest is ready to go!  Your email will never be shared and you can unsubscribe at any time.  

Please leave a review!
 

If you liked this book, please consider leaving a review at Amazon--even just a line or two.
 
It will make all the difference and you'll earn my eternal gratitude!

At
Amazon.com
!

At
Amazon.co.uk
!

Visit me at my blog,
http://helenonthecoast.wordpress.com/

Twitter:

@HelenMCon

The Destiny Bay Romances available now!

All Available from my
Amazon Author Page

Destiny Bay Romance-Forever Yours

Book 1-
My Little Runaway
- free!

Book 2-
Wife For a Night

Book 3-
Too Scared to Breathe

Book 4-
Make Believe Wife

Book 5-
Promoted to Wife

Book 6-
Not the Marrying Kind
 

Destiny Bay Romance-Baby Dreams

Book 1-
Husband Wanted:Will Train
- free!

Book 2-
The Baby Invasion

Book 3-
Waiting for Someone like You

Book 4-
Tick Tock, Baby Clock

Book 5-
Jilted 

Book 6-
Waiting for Baby Kate

A Destiny Bay Romance~The Ranchers

Book 1 -
Native Silver

Book 2 -
Destiny Ranch

Book 3 -
Sweet Desperado

Book 4 -
Stealing Shane’s Girl

Book 5 -
Luck Be A Lady

Book 6 - Don’t Tell Me You Love Me (coming soon)

Destiny Bay Romances-Islanders

Book 1 -
Saved by You

Book 2 -
Found by You

Book 3 -
Tempted by You

Book 4 -
Rescued by You

Book 5 -
Charmed by You

Book 6 - Blessed By You (coming soon)

Destiny Bay Romances-Forever Yours-Sweet Editions

Book 1-
Run, Run, Runaway

Book 2-
A Little Blackmail

Book 3-
Moving Too Fast

Book 4-
A Piece of Heaven in Utah

Book 5-
A Cowboy in the Castle

Book 6- Time to Choose

ABOUT AUTHOR

Helen Conrad is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 90 romances (over 15 million copies sold) 
published under various pseudonyms with Harlequin, Silhouette, Loveswept, and others.  She is currently revamping and rewriting much of her backlist--some available in the US for the first time--to present on Kindle.

Meanwhile, she and her husband are living in a California beach town very much like Destiny Bay and loving it.
 

"The Destiny Bay Romances take place in the sort of beach town I've always loved--and now I live in one!  But writing about beach towns came first and this series is centered on the rich, influential Carrington family living along the California Coast and its interior valleys, and in Hawaii.  These are good-looking, fast-driving, hard-hitting men and women whose impulses lead them into trouble every time--and inevitably to fall in love.”