Her lips parted. "I thought you didn"t like women who did the can-can," she said.
He burst out laughing.
She did, too. She lifted her arms and he went into them. They stood locked together in the cold, kissing as if they would never be able to stop. He loved her. His mouth was telling her so, without speaking a word. She was telling him the same thing. It took a long time.
A siren broke them apart. They turned together toward the street, stunned.
Cash Grier was sitting in his squad car with the blue lights spinning. "Indecent exposure!" he called. "Lewd behavior is not tolerated here in this purest of small town societies!"
"A likely story," Rodrigo tossed back. "You"re just jealous! Why don"t you go home and kiss your own wife while I finish trying to get mine back?"
Cash laughed uproariously. "You should marry him, Glory," he called to her. "I"ve never seen a man who needed coaching in social graces more. You should hear him curse!"
"I already have, thanks!"
Another squad car pulled up behind the chief"s and threw on its blue lights as well. "Hey," Kilraven called to Cash, "you"re obstructing traffic! Get moving or I"ll ticket you!"
"Watch your mouth, Kilraven, or I"ll give you school crossing duty!"
"Little kids love me!" came the laughing reply. "Hi, Glory!" he called to her. "I guess you"re about to be taken off the market?"
"You can bet your life on it, Kilraven!" Rodrigo told him. He put a possessive arm around Glory to prove it. "See what you get for saving people"s lives?" he teased.
Kilraven just laughed. "I wouldn"t dare get married," he said. "Women would commit suicide in droves if I went out of circulation!"
"Let"s go," Cash called to his man. "Sandy"s made us a big pot of beef stew for lunch at the station, with homemade cornbread and real b.u.t.ter!"
"Race you!" Kilraven dared, pulling his head back in. He waved to the couple in front of the For Sale sign and raced past Cash onto the street. The police chief threw on his lights, and his sirens, and took off in hot pursuit.
Rodrigo looked down at Glory with his heart in his dark, soft eyes. "Marry me," he coaxed. "I"ll love you until the dark washes over me and carries me away, and the last word I whisper will be your name," he whispered.
Tears poured from her eyes. "I love you," she choked.
"And I love you," he said huskily. "I love you more than my own life."
She pressed hard against him, clinging. "I"ll marry you."
"Yes."
He bent and kissed away the tears. It took a long time. He held her and rocked her in the wind, his eyes closed as he savored the newness of belonging to someone.
"You won"t mind, that I can"t keep up with you some of the time?" she asked, still insecure.
His lips touched her forehead. "Would you mind, if I were blind, or if I"d lost an arm, like Colby Lane?"
"Oh, no," she said at once. "You"d still be Rodrigo. And I"d still love you. More than ever."
He looked down at her tenderly. He smiled. "More than ever," he repeated. He folded her close in his arms. "Do you like the house?"
"I love it. Can we buy it and live here?"
He pulled some papers out of his inside jacket pocket and handed them to her. It was a bill of sale for the house. She looked up, awed.
He shrugged. "I wasn"t sure of my chances," he confessed with a grin. "I thought if you liked the house, you might marry the owner to get it."
She grinned. "Smart thinking."
He linked his hand in hers. "I have the key, if you"d like a look inside before we apply for a marriage license."
She nuzzled his shoulder with her cheek. "Yes, I would."
He curled his arm around her and drew her along with him to the house. He grinned as he inserted the key and opened the door, letting her go in first.
There were six huge vases full of roses in the elegant, and furnished, living room. There were several boxes of very expensive chocolates piled on the sofa. And just as Glory was getting used to that surprise, a group of mariachis began playing a love song, grinning at her from behind their instruments.
Rodrigo sighed. "Flowers, candy, serenading," he said as he gave her a wicked smile. "The perfect combination for winning a woman"s heart. Did I get it right?"
"Oh, yes, my darling," she laughed. "You got it right!" And she kissed him, very hard, to prove it.
In the darkest hours of her life, she"d dreamed of having a home and a loving husband and children. This seemed like a miracle. If only there could be a child, one day, she would be the happiest woman on earth despite her flaws.
He seemed to sense that sadness. He turned her to him, while the singers crooned, and tilted her face up to his. "Sometimes," he said, "all we have is faith, and hope. But miracles happen every day. Wait and see."
She smiled. It was a bittersweet hope, at best.
TWO YEARS LATER, almost to the day, she gave birth to a son, thanks to constant medical monitoring, new drugs and much prayer. Eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g with tears, she looked up into her husband"s radiant face and said, "Yes. Miracles do happen!"
"What did I tell you?" he teased.
They looked down at the tiny boy and saw generations of Ramirez and Barnes ancestors in that handsome small face. John Antonio Frederick Ramirez was named for two grandfathers, one of whom was Danish, and a great-uncle.
Rodrigo kissed her. "One is enough," he said firmly. "I won"t go through that fear again. I can"t live if I lose you," he said.
The simple statement was so profound that it made her heart skip a beat. The truth of it was in the eyes that adored her. She reached up and drew her fingertips across his wide, sensuous mouth. "You won"t lose me," she promised. "I"ll stick like glue."
He drew in a long breath and relaxed. He c.o.c.ked his head as he watched the tiny little boy feed at her breast and counted his blessings. He had so many!
Glory smiled to herself, secure in his love and the wonder of the years that still lay ahead. The pain of her early life had tempered her, as fire tempers steel. Her strength had carried her through the dangers she faced and, in the end, won the heart of this firebrand next to her. She thought of what she"d endured, fearlessly, and knew that what she had now was worth every single tear she"d shed, every stab of pain.
She looked down into the face of her child and felt his tiny fist curl around her finger. It was the most beautiful day of her life. She laid her cheek against Rodrigo"s broad shoulder. "I was just thinking," she murmured.
"What?" he asked, kissing her forehead.
"That my life began the day I met you," she said simply.
"Amada mia!" he breathed at her ear. "As did mine begin, when I met you."
She closed her eyes and smiled. It was, she thought, a perfect day.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-4692-8.
Also by Diana Palmer.
Lawman.
Trilby.
Lacy Heart of Winter.
Outsider Night Fever Before Sunrise.
Lawless Diamond Spur Desperado The Texas Ranger.
Lord of the Desert The Cowboy and the Lady Most Wanted Fit for a King.
Paper Rose Rage of Pa.s.sion Once in Paris.
After the Music Roomful of Roses Champagne Girl Pa.s.sion Flower.
Diamond Girl Friends and Lovers Cattleman"s Choice Lady Love The Rawhide Man.