He twisted toward the camera, and they both waved.
Suddenly Walker found himself being pulled into a loving embrace as Ivy offered him another scorching hot kiss.
Laughter bubbled inside, and he caught her up in his arms and twirled her. Skirt flying, her long hair streaming behind them.
Love in her eyes as she stared into his.
“I love you,” she repeated softly, just for him. “Now and forever.”
The tumbleweeds had come home.
If you’d like to read Walker and Ivy’s story you can find it in A Rancher’s Song, the second book in The Stones of Heart Falls series.
Part III
A Wild Horse Wedding
It’s late April, and Kelli James is about to stir up some trouble for her fiancé, Luke Stone. Good thing there’s nothing he likes better than her kind of mischief.
* * *
Timeline: This story takes place in the spring, about a month before The Cowgirl’s Secret Love begins.
Kelli
Kelli James lay stretched out in the hayloft, straw poking into her backside as she stared at the dust motes drifting through the sunbeam above her.
It was pretty much one of her favourite places to be. The barn, where even now the horses shifted lazily in their stalls. The scent on the air was clean country, which meant not a lot of manure but tons of that rich, dirt aroma that lingered wherever animals lived.
Yep. It was her most relaxing getaway spot, yet she still felt her insides jittering worse than any time she’d been about to take on an animal with more energy than brains.
Floorboards creaked, but the faint whistle that accompanied the noise meant she didn’t bother moving other than to let one arm fall across her forehead.
There was no time to hide the evidence beside her.
Luke’s familiar chuckle tickled her ears. “You’re looking very ‘forlorn damsel in distress’ with that pose. You been taking acting lessons from Lisa and Josiah?”
Kelli rolled onto her side as he settled on the hay bale to her right. No matter how frustrated she was, getting the chance to look over her man wasn’t an opportunity to be missed.
One dark lock of hair had fallen across his forehead, the five o’clock shadow on his cheeks and jaw showing it was nearly the end of the day. Whatever he’d been working on, he’d gotten hot enough to roll up his shirtsleeves, which gave her a glimpse of his powerful forearms.
Muscles pressed against the fabric over his biceps, his jean-clad thighs only a foot away from her—
“You’re looking pretty delicious,” she said, ignoring his question. “What do you think our chances are of getting caught if I decide to jump your bones right now?”
He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees as he stared down. “Pretty much one hundred percent. Although I have no objections to the bone-jumping on principle.”
She curled up a little farther, sliding her hands along his thighs and moving in close so she could tilt her head back for a kiss.
The next moment, his arms were around her, lifting as he leaned back to drape her body over his. All the while the kiss went on. A little harder, a little more demanding.
The firm caress of his hands along her back and down to her butt set her motor flaring even hotter. His muscular body was rock-solid in all sorts of interesting ways.
A cough sounded from near the top of the stairs.
Luke’s lips curled into a smile against hers. “Hundred and ten percent.”
“It’s a good thing I know you two so well.” Caleb’s complaint held a touch of amusement. Then he raised his voice, calling behind him. “Okay, girls. You can come up now. Auntie Kelli’s here. She can help us find the kittens.”
Her two favourite little people were about to arrive, so she pressed a final quick kiss to Luke’s lips before murmuring a quick promise. “Jumping will happen later.”
He patted her on the butt as he pretended to help her find her feet.
Kelli stifled a giggle as she greeted Sasha and Emma. “Is it kitten cuddle time?”
“Kelli says it’s always kitten cuddle time.” Sasha blinked. “I mean, you say that.”
Emma nodded her head enthusiastically, sliding her hand into Kelli’s.
God, these kids were cute. Although the fact that Sasha repeated everything Kelli said had become a constant reminder to watch her p’s and q’s.
“Well, I certainly don’t want to interrupt kitten hunting.” Luke’s attempt to step aside was immediately squashed by Sasha grabbing him by the hand.
“You can stay, Uncle Luke. Kelli says cuddling kittens helps make people less cranky.” Sasha stared up at him, head tilted to the side.
“Is Uncle Luke cranky?” Emma joined in the perusal before a little furl formed between her brows. “It’s okay, I’ll let you cuddle with my favourite kitten. It’ll make you feel all better.”
Oh my God. Out of the mouths of babes. Kelli glanced up at Luke, trying to hide her grin. “Well, we can’t have a cranky Uncle Luke wandering around Silver Stone ranch, can we?”
Luke took it in stride, although he did glance over at his brother and give a warning frown. “No comments from the peanut gallery.”
“I didn’t say a word,” Caleb insisted, raising his hands in protest. Then he rubbed his palms together and moved forward as if eager to get started. “Okay, girls. Let’s go find some kittens.”
They took off, crawling carefully across the hay bales, but not before Luke spotted the pile of magazines Kelli had been thumbing through. The ones all about creating the perfect wedding day and the latest fashions in wedding dresses.
The magazines that had been driving Kelli absolutely frantic ever since her girlfriends had presented her with the stack of them during a recent girls’ night out.
Tracking down kittens was exactly what she needed to calm the wild butterflies in her belly.
Being engaged to Luke? Hands down the most wonderful thing that ever happened in her life. It meant getting to be with the man she loved more than anything. It meant being a part of a wonderful family and having a home.
The whole wedding dress business? Not sending a thrill through her. More like nausea.
“Come, Auntie Kelli.” Emma’s sweet voice. She’d climbed to the top of a section and was looking down past her hands in awe. Kelli joined her, enough happiness rushing up to get rid of all of the grumbly, cranky feelings that had been marring her happiness.
A brand-new batch of kittens was curled around their mama, contentment radiating from the little pile of furry perfection.
Warmth covered her back as Luke joined them, wrapping himself around Kelli like a protective blanket as he stared down, breathing slowly. Nuzzling his cheek against hers. “They look pretty content, don’t they?”
She was content. Just like these baby kittens, being entangled in Luke’s protective warmth was all she needed.
It was the simple things. It had always been about the simple things.
Sometime in the next few days, she was going to make that clear.
Luke