Seducing Zeb (Tarnished Saints Series) (26 page)

“Go on,” she sai
d playfully, giving him one of her seductive glances.

“You cleaned my desk and organized my office. And I noticed the way you fixed up our new house.”

“Our new house? Does that mean you’re not hell-bent on still living in the condo in Benton Harbor?”

“No.
I understand now how important it is to be near our family. We can fix up the lake house however we want, and maybe even remodel and expand.”

“And maybe Jeeva can move in with us too,”
she suggested and Zeb looked happy to hear he wouldn’t have to give up his virtual maid after all. “Just as long as you don’t have her calling you master anymore,” she said with a smile.

“I promise,” he said, giving her a smile of his own that warmed her heart. He looked so sexy, even with his two black eyes.

“Cat, there are a ton more things I love about you, but I have to know – will you marry me and make me the happiest man in the world?”

“So you’re sure y
ou’re willing to give up being a bachelor? Forever?”

“Damned sure. Now what’s your answer?”

She couldn’t tease him any more. She believed everything he said and knew it was time to stop being afraid of the good things in her life turning bad. And she felt the same way about Zeb that he felt about her.

“I
know I said a lot of hurtful things to you, Zeb, and I’m sorry. And I realized lately that I have some pretty strong feelings for you as well. I love being in Sweet Water and on the Thunder Lake and around your family. It’s the family I always wanted, and you are the man I always dreamed of, even if I didn’t know it at first. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Zebedee Taylor. And I love you, too. Yes! I will marry you and be your wife.”

He clasped the necklace on her and took her hands in his and kissed her.

“Yahoo!” she shouted, as he picked her up off the pier, kissing her in the process. Then he lost his footing and they both fell into the lake again laughing.

“Am I interrupting anything?” came a voice from the shore and she looked up to see a tall, dark-haired man standing there and Nate was next to him. Suddenly she was a child again and when the man smiled she knew exactly who he was
and her heart swelled with joy. But this couldn’t be so, and she was afraid to believe it was true. Because her brother was dead, so how could he be standing in front of her right now?

“Lorenzo?” she asked
softly, her voice shaking, as she saw the ghost of her brother returning from the grave. “Is that really . . . you?”

“
Cat, that’s where I’ve been,” said Zeb, helping her up out of the water. “I’ve been searching for your brother. I had a feeling that if your father was as devious as you said that he might have lied about your brother’s death.”

“That’s right,” added Lorenzo. “And he
’d told me that you and mom were dead as well.”

Cat couldn’t move at first. Her hand went to her mouth and tears welled in her eyes.

“Go to him, sweetheart,” said Zeb, giving her a nudge forward. Then she ran to her brother who she hadn’t seen in nearly twenty years and hugged him, laying her head on his chest. She was all wet, but neither of them cared.

“This is too good to be true,” she said, then reached up and kissed him on the cheek
, all the while sobbing tears of joy. “You are alive. And we’re together again,” she said, pulling back to take a good look at her brother.

“And all bec
ause of Zeb,” he said nodding to Zeb who was still standing in the water.

She ran
back over to Zeb again and kissed him and hugged him and then hit him in the arm. He held a hand up over his face and smiled.

“Please don’t slug me again,” he said.
“I already look like a raccoon.”

“Oh, Zeb, I’m sorry. I’m sorry for accusing you of being with other women and I’m sorry I almost ruined our marriage.
Thank you so much for finding my brother and for asking me to marry you. This is all a dream come true and I don’t want it to ever end.”

“
It’s not going to end, Cat, I’ll make damned sure of that,” Zeb promised. “Because this is just the beginning. Now, how about we all go inside and get dry? Nate, maybe you can invite the rest of the family over here to help us celebrate because Cat has just agreed to marry me.”

“Again?” asked Nate.

“Again,” Zeb repeated, pulling Cat into his arms. “And this time I swear it’s going to last forever.”

* * *

An hour later everyone was filing into Cat’s new home and she had never felt happier. Zeb and her brother were on the deck barbecuing and drinking beer with Zeb’s brothers, Levi and Nate. Judas was sitting next to his daughter googling over her baby and obviously trying to learn as much as he could about being a father before his baby was born.

All the kids were out in the front lawn playing, and Dan, Thomas’s eldest son
was flirting with J.D.’s friend Charolette who they’d invited over as well.

“Cat, we’re so happy for you,” said Angel, helping to put food into serv
ing dishes. Since this was on such short notice, Candace had suggested they bring side salads over from the diner and grill burgers and brats.

“Yes,” said Laney. “Not only are you engaged but you found your long lost brother
who you thought was dead.”

“Tell me this is all real,” said Cat. “Because I cannot believe that something
this good is really happening to me.”

“It’s real
. So believe it,” said Angel.

“How are you feeling with the morning sickness?” Cat asked Laney.

“Better. But I swear sometimes I feel seasick.”

“Honey, the burgers and brats are
almost done,” said Zeb, popping his head in through the open sliding glass doors. “Can you bring me a platter?”

“Sure,” she said, taking the platter out to the porch. Then she looked down to the lawn where the kids were playing and noticed that Zeb had taken not only his wet clothes form the lake but also his money from his wall
et and hung it up to dry with clothes pins from the thin branches of a lilac tree. “What is that?” she asked with a giggle, seeing his money blowing back and forth in the summer breeze and the younger kids trying to jump up and touch it.

“Just laundering money,” he said with a smile and Cat reached over and kissed him.

“Funny,” she said.

“Yeah, but too bad I’m also into laundering cell phones.”

She realized his cell phone had fallen into the water as well and felt bad that it was ruined. Then she heard her cell phone ringing from inside the house and ran in to answer it.

“Hello?” she asked, not recognizing the number.

“Cat? Where is everyone?”

“Who is this?” she asked.

“It’s James. I’m over at Thomas’s cabin. I’ve unloaded my horses and I tried calling all of my brothers but no one is answering.”

“James?” Now this could be awkward, but Cat knew she’d have to face it sooner or later. “Zeb’s phone fell in the lake and the rest of us are at our new cabin. Zeb asked me to marry him and I said yes. We’re having a barbecue to celebrate.”

“I thought you were already married
,” he said.

“Well,
we were and then we weren’t but this time it’s going to be for real.”

“Oh,” was all he said,
and then was very quiet.

“We’d lik
e you to come join us. We’re across the channel from Thomas’s main house, and a few houses down from Judas and Laney. Just look for the crowd and listen for the noise – you’ll find us.”

“Are you sure
I should come?” he asked.

“James, I know it might be a little awkward, but you’re going to be my brother-in-law now and I am in love with your brother. So please, come be part of the family.”

“Ok, I’ll be right there,” he said, clicking off the phone.

“I’ve got to go, sis, my wife just called and she
’s in labor.” Lorenzo kissed Cat quickly and ran out the door with Nate.

“Wait!” she said. “When will I see you again?”

“Talk to Zeb, he’ll tell you everything.”

Zeb walked up to her with a bratwurst in his hand, taking a bite and then offering her one.

“No thanks,” she said, pushing it away as the smell of it or maybe just all the excitement had her feeling a little queasy again. “When will my brother be back?” she asked.

“Well, as soon as they have the baby, sell their place and pack up his office
, I guess.”

“What does that mean?” sh
e felt a tingle of excitement rush through her.

“It means Lorenzo is going to be working fo
r me now. And he’s agreed to rent my condo until they can find a place to live.”

“That’s wonderful,” she said. “Oh, Zeb, I can hardly wait. I feel that for the first time in my life I’m going to have a real family.

“Uncle James,” one of the kids called out, and Cat looked up to see Zeb’s twin brother, James riding up to their house on a horse. Five other horses were tied together right behind him.

“James!” Zeb finished eating the brat in two bites and walked over to greet his brother.

“Who wants to ride my horses?” James called out, tipping his cowboy hat to Cat in the process. He slid off the horse and handed the reins to Dan. All the kids jumped and yelled and shouted out that they wanted to ride the horses he’d brought from Texas with him.

“Congrats on your engagement,” said James taking off his hat and shaking his brother’s hand. “You too, Cat,” he said with a nod.

“Oh, come here you goof and give me a hug. We’re going to be family,” Cat told him.

After they hugged, Zeb looked at his brother. “Are you ok with all this, bro?”

“Sure,” he said, nodding his head. “But just to let you know, you better never treat Catalina poorly or you’ll have hell to pay with me.”

“You’ll find someone, James,” said Cat. “Just give it some time.”

“Are you going to be staying with Thomas until you find somewhere to live?” asked Zeb.

“He offered,” said James, “but I think I’m going to look for a farm with more room for the horses.
His barn is too small and my horses need an open field to run and graze. I hear Old Man MacAllister is getting on in years and looking for help running his farm. Word is he’s looking for a boarder, or at least that’s what Gus told me when I stopped by his gas station on the way in. And I know MacAllister has a big barn that’ll house all my horses. I’m going to go see him about it in the morning.”

“James,” said Zeb. “I wanted to ask you – that is if Cat doesn’t mind – to be my best man at the wedding. It would mean a lot to me if you did.”

“Do you mind?” James asked, looking at Cat.

“Not at all,” she said with a smile.

“Then I accept,” he said and finally smiled. Cat was beginning to wonder if he would ever smile again.

“So who
is going to be your maid of honor?” asked Aunt Cappy walking up to them, having overheard the entire conversation. Laney was at her side.

“Laney, y
ou’ve become my best friend since I’ve been in Sweet Water so I’d like to ask you to stand up for my wedding,” said Cat. “But I really have to ask Aunt Cappy to be my maid of honor since she was the reason behind us getting married in the first place.”

“I accept,” said Laney.

“I’d love to do it, too,” said Aunt Cappy with a huge smile and then sighed. “But always a bridesmaid and never a bride.”

“Aunt Cappy, don’t even try to pretend,” said Zeb
with a grin. “We all know you were never a bridesmaid and always a bride.”

“That’s what I meant to say,” she corrected herself with a giggle. “Never a bridesmaid, always a bride.”

“Zeb, there’s someone on the phone who wants to congratulate you,” said Levi, walking up and handing his cell phone to Zeb.

Zeb took the phone, not at all sure of who would be calling to congratulate him because most his family was already here.

“Hello, who is this?” asked Zeb.

“Ahoy, matey,” he heard from the other end and knew at once it was his brother Simon. “Congrats, I hear you’re getting married.”

“Thanks, Simon. So where are you anyway?”

“I’m aboard a luxury liner cruise ship in the Caribbean. I decided since I enjoy sailing so much I’d take up an offer from a good friend of mine to be a part of his crew aboard his ship.”

“Well, I hope you can come home for our wedding,” said Zeb. “
And bring our no-good bum of a brother Thad with you when you come.”

“Well, that depends when it is. Have you set a date?
” Simon asked him.

“Not yet.
But I think Cat would agree with me that it’ll be as soon as possible. Maybe next week if we can work it all out. Neither of us want to wait.” He looked up and winked at Cat.