For the Sake of His Heir Page 16

  Empathy had her reaching for him. She laid her hand on his forearm and squeezed. “I know that was awful for you.”

  “It’s awful for Jason,” he responded, correcting her, his gaze holding a sense of purpose and an absolute clarity about the situation. “My feelings for her died, but I would have been right there beside her forever, doing everything I could to be a good family man if she had shown any interest in raising Jason together.”

  “I know that.” Brianne nodded, picking through all the things she’d come to understand and love about Gabe. “It’s one of the reasons that I was scared to believe you when you said you loved me. I know you have that tenacity to protect your child at all costs, and to do anything to make his life better.”

  Gabe shook his head. “Brianne, I fought for you—and I’m going to keep fighting for you—because I love you. I love who you are, and that doesn’t have anything to do with Jason.”

  Surprise had her wishing she could rewind his words and listen to them again. Had he really just said that he wanted to keep fighting for her?

  “But you married me for Jason’s sake,” she said, even though that wasn’t at all what she meant to say. She needed to tell him she’d love him forever.

  “Because I knew I could trust him with you. You’d never hurt him—and I don’t think you’d hurt me, either, if you could help it.” He took her hand that she had let linger on his arm and flipped it over. Tracing soft touches along her palm, he stared into her eyes. “That’s one of many things that I love about you. You’re so good with Jason. So warmhearted and easy to be around. I was falling for you long before I should have. But I didn’t marry you for Jason’s sake, no matter what I spouted at that time.”

  “You didn’t?” Her words were barely there, just a hint of sound, as fragile as the hope that curled all around them.

  “Absolutely not. It was easier to tell myself that I wanted you in my life for practical purposes because then I didn’t have to face how much I already cared about you.”

  Brianne thought she heard a feminine whisper from behind the open archway that led into the kitchen, but it might have just been the voice in her head that sounded a lot like Nana, urging her to speak up.

  “I was scared to let myself love you.” She announced it without finesse or segue, awkward to the bitter end around this man she loved so very much. “I knew you’d lost so much faith in love and marriage—and who could blame you—so I worried you’d always carry some of that bitterness with you. That you wouldn’t allow yourself to ever truly love again.”

  The blue of Gabe’s eyes shifted somehow as he looked at her. There was something different in his expression that was special. Just for her. She could feel it, and it wrapped around her heart and squeezed tight.

  “Don’t be scared.” He stroked a knuckle along her cheek like she was the most precious thing on earth. “I’d do anything to protect you, Brianne. I’d never, ever hurt you.”

  A watery smile trembled on her lips. “I love you, Gabriel McNeill. And if you’ll have me back in your life as your wife, I promise I’ll never run out on you again.”

  He captured her mouth for a kiss, inhaling the last of her words and soothing all that fractious, fearful hope, turning it into simple, delicious pleasure. When he broke the kiss, he gazed into her eyes like he had all the time in the world for her.

  “And I promise you there won’t be any more awkward dinner parties with my ex.”

  “There will be, though. She’s going to waltz into Jason’s first violin recital and his kindergarten graduation and expect us all to be very impressed with her.” Brianne would find a way to deal with her, to keep the peace while promoting healthy boundaries. “But that’s okay. She was right about one thing. She’ll always be family. Together, we’ll figure out times that she can be a part of Jason’s life in a happy way.”

  “You’re amazing,” Gabe told her with a soft reverence that made her heart do a little tap dance. “And I might not deserve you, but I’m so glad you’re going to give me a chance to be the best husband you could have ever imagined.”

  “You already are.” She flung her arms around his neck, needing to hold him tight so she could feel the reality of him. Of this magical, delectable love. “You gave me Nana.”

  This time, there was no denying the feminine chortle of satisfaction Brianne heard from the eavesdropper on the other side of the wall. But it didn’t matter. It would save her from having to recount the whole story.

  Gabe’s eyes darted toward the archway as he grinned. “Is it just me, or are we not alone in celebrating this love?”

  From behind the archway there was a scuffle before Nana entered the room, holding up her phone and pointing the lens of the camera toward them. “Well, shoot, if my cover is blown, I’d like to at least have a nice photo to send to your granddaddy, young man. He’s as invested as I am in finding out how the story turns out.”

  Brianne leaned in to Gabe and smiled for the picture while Nana’s camera flashed. Adella took a tentative step into the room behind her. She was followed by Nadine holding Jason, who had probably only been quiet for this long because he was eating a Valentine cookie. Red frosting decorated both his cheeks. His dark curls bounced as he bopped to the tune he seemed to hear in his head.

  “Gah!” he announced between bites.

  Brianne’s heart was so full she feared she would burst into tears for the second time that morning. Instead, she swallowed back that swell of emotion and cupped Gabe’s face with her hands, knowing that all her dreams would come true with this man at her side.

  “I love you so much, Gabe.” She kissed his lips, but it was a teeth-knocking kiss since they were both grinning. “We’re going to have the best time being married and loving each other for the rest of our lives.”

  “I’m never going to let you forget that you’re the only woman to have my heart, Brianne.” His words felt so right, honest and true. “Forever.”

  Epilogue

  Seven months later

  “You must feel like you won the lottery living here every day,” Scarlett McNeill observed between sips of a fruity umbrella drink. She jabbed at a lemon wedge with her straw, jiggling ice as she lay on a beach lounger beside Brianne.

  Gabe’s youngest cousin had come for a vacation to escape the ranch life in Cheyenne. But her official pretext for the visit had been to help Brianne get the nursery ready for the daughter she was expecting three months from now.

  Already, her pregnant belly made a mound she had to stare over when she looked out at the crystalline blue water of the Caribbean Sea. Not that she minded. She still wore a bikini to admire the miracle of a life growing inside her.

  So what if she hadn’t made much headway on the nursery since Scarlett’s arrival? Gabe’s cousin made an excellent sunbathing companion. For the first time in Brianne’s life, she was taking a real, honest-to-goodness vacation, having abandoned all her landscape-design chores at the Birdsong. Gabe had been hiding her pruning shears on a regular basis anyhow, insisting she rest and focus on baby-brewing.

  And with Scarlett around, she had a partner in crime to accompany her to the beach every day. When they weren’t reading juicy romance novels or trading opinions on the growing relationship between Rose and Malcolm McNeill, they spent time playing in the kitchen, blending tasty fruity drinks—without alcohol for Brianne and with alcohol for Scarlett.

  “That’s exactly how I feel,” Brianne observed, stirring her mango-passion fruit concoction while she flipped through a magazine full of nursery décor ideas. “Every day is like a lottery win with Gabe.”

  She had moved into his cottage on the property while he added on a huge addition to accommodate their growing family. She didn’t want anything too big, and she hadn’t wanted to build off-site since she had so many happy memories right here on the Birdsong property. They’d fallen in love while she gardened
and he built things, so as far as Brianne was concerned, they could spend every day that same way for the rest of their lives.

  Gabe had indulged her, but he was sparing no expense on the addition to the Key West-style “bungalow” with enough square footage to house most of the McNeills whenever they wanted to visit.

  “‘With Gabe.’” Scarlett mimicked Brianne and rolled her eyes, swiping her dark curls into a high ponytail with a pink elastic band she’d been using for a bracelet. “You’re such a newlywed. I’m sure life with my cute cousin is wonderful, but when I mentioned the lottery win, I was thinking more along the lines of this view. This weather. The exotic flowers everywhere. It’s paradise.”

  Listening to the waves roll onto the shore with their calming music, she had to agree.

  “It is just about perfect. But I’m bringing the kids to Cheyenne next winter so we can play in the snow.” And at the rate Malcolm was going, flying Rose to New York and Cheyenne for frequent visits, Brianne would need to go there to see her grandmother anyhow.

  At least Nana had promised to be in Martinique for the birth of the baby.

  “Snow. Ugh.” Scarlett tipped her face into the breeze. “Maybe I’ll house-sit for you when you’re up there.”

  “House-sit?” A shadow fell over Brianne as her husband entered the conversation. “I’m wondering if you’ll consider babysitting, since I’d like to steal my beautiful wife for a few minutes.”

  Brianne’s whole world lit up as she glimpsed Gabe trying to hold Jason’s hand before the little sprite sprinted into the surf. At almost a year and a half, the boy ran everywhere, his legs churning nonstop all day long until he fell into an exhausted sleep at eight o’clock every night.

  “Mama!” Jason patted Brianne’s belly gently, slowing down long enough to very careful with her.

  A McNeill already.

  Scarlett came to her feet. “You mean I get to play with this cutie?” She scooped Jason up for a kiss before putting him back down so he could run toward the shoreline. “I like that trade.”

  The two of them squealed and splashed on the beach, dancing along the waves.

  “I quite like that trade, too.” Gabe kissed Brianne’s forehead and then her cheek. Then her lips. And that kiss lingered. “How are my girls today? Do you want to go for a walk with me?”

  She squinted up at him in the sunlight, loving the way a light sheen of sawdust still covered his upper arms. He must have been working on the addition.

  “I’ll go most anywhere with you, Gabe.” She started to get up, but before she was off her chair, he was tucking an arm under her elbow and guiding her to her feet. “And both of your girls are happy as can be.”

  “Good.” His smile was possessive and all-male as his gaze raked over her. “Have I mentioned how much I love the bathing suit?”

  “You might have worked that into conversation a few times.” She grinned at him, giving his side a light pinch. “Especially since all I’ve done is laze around on the beach since Scarlett arrived.”

  “I couldn’t have come up with a better way to distract you myself. I’m a whole lot happier seeing you in a bikini than battling vines and roots with the gardening shears.”

  Brianne tipped her forehead against his shoulder, inhaling the light scent of sweat and sawdust that was a serious turn-on.

  “Doesn’t it feel like every day we’ve won the lottery?” she asked, thinking Scarlett had really nailed it with that observation.

  Gabe slowed his step and stopped, turning to look in her eyes. “Every. Single. Day.”

  * * * * *

  If you liked this McNeill family story, don’t miss

  all the McNEILL MAGNATES from

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  THE MAGNATE’S MAIL-ORDER BRIDE

  THE MAGNATE’S MARRIAGE MERGER

  HIS ACCIDENTAL HEIR

  LITTLE SECRETS: HIS PREGNANT SECRETARY

  CLAIMING HIS SECRET HEIR

  FOR THE SAKE OF HIS HEIR

  Available now from Harlequin Desire!

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  MARRIED FOR HIS HEIR

  By Sara Orwig

  Available March 2018!

  ***

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  Rich Rancher's Redemption

  by Maureen Child

  One

  It had been two weeks since the funeral that...wasn’t. Jesse Navarro still felt like the world had shifted beneath his feet. But, he assured himself silently, that was probably the normal thing that happened when your brother walked into his own damn funeral.

  He frowned into the afternoon sun and told himself it wasn’t easy to hold a fancy funeral when the guest of honor shows up. Alive. He pushed one hand through his hair and muttered, “Just be grateful, for God’s sake.”

  And Jesse was. Grateful. Hell, he had his brother back. But he also had a damn mystery to solve. And Jesse didn’t like mysteries.

  If Will Sanders was alive and just now showing up in Royal, Texas, then whose ashes had been in the urn they’d believed was Will’s? And who the hell was the guy who’d pretended to be Will for all those long months? And why did he do it?

  “No,” Jesse said aloud, “I know why he did it. The money.” Hell, the Sanders name carried a lot of weight and not just in Texas. So the bastard had tried to cash in on Will’s name and had done a damn fine job of it, too. It wasn’t just Will’s name he’d stolen. He’d had Will’s face. Had his movements, his smile, down cold. He’d fooled Will’s family.

  Hell. He’d fooled Jesse.

  That was a hard pill to swallow. Somehow, Jesse felt disloyal for not spotting the damn imposter the minute he’d shown up at the family ranch. How had he been duped? In his own defense, Jesse could admit that “Will” hadn’t spent much time with the family. He’d avoided too much closeness and at the time, Jesse had just figured his brother had a lot on his mind.

  Which, of course, he had. Or, the impostor had. The man had worked nonstop to keep up the illusion.

  Jesse shifted his gaze to the main ranch house. A sprawling white mansion, it looked nothing like what you’d expect a ranch house to be. It was massive, elegant. All white but for the black shutters at the windows, the house boasted a wide, columned front porch and dormers on the second floor, and at night, the lights made it shine like heaven.

  And somewhere inside that massive house, was the real Will Sanders. There were a couple of cars out front, and Jesse’s gaze narrowed on one of them. It was a beat-up, faded green Honda with Nevada plates, and the woman who’d driven it was inside. With Will.

  The woman, Jillian Norris, didn’t fit her car. A woman like that belonged in a Porsche. Or at the very least a classic Mustang convertible. During all the chaos since Will’s return, Jillian had somehow become a friend of Jesse and Will’s sister Lucy, so she’d been at the ranch a few times. And every damn time, Jesse was slapped with an instant blast of heat that nearly swamped him. He’d spoken to her a few times, and her low, sultry voice had seemed to thrum in his blood, making it steam and sizzle in his veins.

  He scowled at the distant horizon, telling himself that if he had any sense at all, he’d steer clear of Jillian Norris. Apparently though, common sense had nothing to do with what his body was demanding. Instantly, Jesse’s mind drew up an image of Jillian and everything in him tightened. Shaking his head, he could admit to himself, at least, that it had been that way from the first minute he’d seen her at the fu
neral.

  Drop dead gorgeous, with curves that could bring a strong man to his knees, Jillian Norris had mile-long legs and bright hazel eyes that looked both wounded and defiant. An interesting mix that had drawn Jesse in from the beginning. At the memorial service, she’d stood at the back with her baby girl. Yes, she had a daughter, about two. A miniature version of herself, with big hazel eyes, white-blond hair and a wide smile.

  Jesse’d wondered, of course, who the hell the woman was and why she was at Will’s memorial service. But then Will had strolled in, asked What the hell is going on? And suddenly there were much bigger questions that needed answering.

  “And two weeks later, I’ve still got questions.” Jesse shook his head, slapped one hand on the top bar of the corral fence, then squeezed the plank of wood hard enough it should have snapped in two.

  His little brother was back from the dead and he was grateful for it. But there were gaps in Will’s memories, leaving the family wondering exactly what had happened to him while he was missing. Naturally, Will wondered too, Jesse reminded himself, but somehow, it was harder to be on the sidelines. Hell, it was making Jesse crazy knowing there was nothing he could do to fix this situation. He was the older brother and he was used to riding to the rescue.

  This time, though, no one had known a rescue was required and there had been nowhere to ride.

  Chaos had erupted at the funeral, with Jesse’s mother shrieking Will’s name and flinging herself, followed closely by Lucy, into the man’s arms. Will had looked at Jesse for an explanation, but he’d been too glad to see his brother to find the words—and didn’t know if the right words had existed anyway.

  Shaking his head, Jesse remembered that it hadn’t been until long after the confusion caused by Will’s arrival had settled down some that he’d found out who Jillian was. Some lawyer had told her to come to Texas and claim a part of Will’s estate on behalf of the child they’d made together. That little girl was a heartbreaker, but as it turned out, Mac wasn’t Will’s daughter after all. That had become clear the minute Jillian admitted that she’d never met the “real” Will before. Now she knew that like everyone in Royal, Texas, she’d met and been fooled by the impostor.