Montana Sheriff Read online

  He shrugged, resigned. There was no escaping what was. The truth always had a way of finding you. He knew that now.

  “Some people get to move on—like my mother and your dad—which is good,” he added quickly, wanting to make it clear that he was glad for them. “Some people can’t. I guess I’m one of those.”

  Out of things to say and having resigned himself to the fact that he might not have moved on with his life but she had, Cole murmured, “I just wanted you to know that before you left.”

  And with that, he turned on his heel and began to walk away.

  He had almost gotten to the point where he had to disappear around the side of the house when he heard Ronnie sharply ask, “And that’s it?”

  Turning around, Cole looked at her, unable to make sense of her question. “Excuse me?”

  She was on her feet, walking toward him in deliberate, measured steps. “And that’s it?” she repeated. “You’re retreating? Just like that?”

  He’d just spilled his guts to her without a single comment on her part. What did she expect him to do? Cheer? “I’m the sheriff. I’m not allowed to grab you and drag you behind the barn.”

  “How about into your arms?” she asked, her face a sheer portrait of innocence. “Can you do that?”

  His face broke into a wreath of smiles. “I can do that.”

  There were still a couple of feet between them. Ronnie stopped walking and looked at him expectantly. “Well?”

  The next moment, Cole was doing exactly that, dragging her into his arms and kissing her, kissing Ronnie to make up for all the moments of agony he’d suffered since he’d driven away from her the evening of the barn raising.

  “So what does this mean, Ronnie?” he asked her when he finally came up for air. There was a rushing sound in his ears, but he could still hear her answer—provided there was one. “Where do I stand?”

  Ever cautious even in euphoria, she asked, “Where do you want to stand?”

  This time there was no hesitation. “Next to you,” he breathed, pausing to press a kiss to each one of her eyelids. “For the rest of my life.”

  She could feel a warmth spreading through her. A comfortable warmth along with the passion that was sizzling through her veins. “That could be arranged.”

  He ran the tip of his forefinger along the perfect ridge of her nose. “Think there’s a place in Seattle for an ex-sheriff?”

  “I’m sure the police department would love to have someone of your dedicated caliber,” she assured Cole, “But I was thinking more along the lines of my staying here.”

  She saw the surprise in his eyes. Along with a flicker of relief. She couldn’t blame him. He’d known what he had wanted all along. It had taken her a lot longer to come to her conclusion. There’d been wings to try first. But she was done with that stage now. Done with it and ready to settle down where she belonged.

  “My dad’s getting on a bit and Wayne can’t run this place on his own, not with the plans I have for it.” Plans until this moment she had decided were best to leave unsaid. But now everything was different. “I can get some significant capital from these investors I know and the ranch can really get on the map as a place where ranchers can find not just good quarter horses but the best quarter horses.”

  Cole laughed softly, shaking his head. “You really do think big.”

  “I thought so, too,” she agreed, “but somehow, I managed to miss the biggest thing of all.” The look in her eyes left no room for doubt about her meaning. “I love you, too, you know,” she said, threading her arms around his neck. “And that ‘since birth thing,’ I guess that about sums it up neatly,” she confessed. “I’ve been waiting for you to tell me you loved me forever and I just about gave up hope. But—”

  He tightened his arms around her, holding her to him and reveling in the heat that generated within him. She was staying. The three-word sentence kept replaying itself in his head like a wonderful refrain.

  She was staying.

  “I’ll love you forever,” he said. It was exactly what she’d been waiting to hear.

  And then he kissed her with all the feeling of a man who intended to do just that, to love her forever.

  He paused only for a moment to add, “How do you feel about making an honest man out of me?”

  “You mean marriage?” she asked breathlessly, afraid to hope that she hadn’t ruined things after all.

  “I mean marriage,” Cole answered with a smile. “I think Christopher would like that. How about you?” he prodded.

  As if he didn’t already know the answer to that. “I’d like that very much.”

  Cole grinned that grin that he reserved for when he was really, really happy. The one she loved so much, and said, “Me, too.”

  It was all either one of them said for a long time.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-1261-9

  MONTANA SHERIFF

  Copyright © 2011 by Marie Rydzynski-Ferrarella

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario M3B 3K9, Canada.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

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  ††Forever, Texas

  *Cavanaugh Justice

  **The Doctors Pulaski

  ‡Kate’s Boys

  >Famous Families

  †††The Fortunes of Texas: Return to Red Rock

  ***The Baby Chase

  †Matchmaking Mamas

  ‡‡The Fortunes of Texas: Lost…and Found

  ‡‡‡Montana Mavericks: The Texans are Coming!

  Table of Contents

  Letter to Reader

  About the Author

  Selected books by Marie Ferrarella

  Dedication

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Copyright