The Bride Wore Spurs (The Inconvenient Bride Series, Book 1) (42 page)

Smiling to herself now, Lacey scanned number three, then reread it to make sure of what she'd seen;
She's having my baby and wants it as much as I do
.

"Oh, Hawke," she murmured as again her gaze shot up to his. This time when their eyes met, it left them both a little misty.

Catching her breath, Lacey read number four, and burst into giggles;
Because I really, really can't help myself.

And number five filled her heart to bursting;
Because she is the sun, the moon, earth, wind, and fire to me.

The last entry in that column was scrawled across the page, since Hawke had been writing it when she snatched the book away.
Because I
—

Giving a grin as big as all of Wyoming, Lacey glanced to the top of the ledger where the
Against Loving Lacey
column started. It had but one entry;
It's too damn embarrassing to tell her how much I love her in public
.

With tears rolling down her cheeks, Lacey let the slender book fall from her fingers as she threw her arms around Hawke's neck and whispered, "And I love you, too, my husband."

Then, kissing him with all the love and passion she felt inside, she reminded him of yet another entry which belonged in the
Reasons For Loving Lacey
column.

Out of the kitchen comes the tune.

—An old Irish saying

Epilogue

Hawke didn't get the opportunity to enjoy rounding Phantom up again. When they returned to Winterhawke Ranch the following day, the stallion was standing in the lush meadow which bordered the mare's enclosure, calling to his "girls." A bucket of grain was the final persuasion that coaxed the silvery stud back into his own corral, and there he was happy to keep watch over his lovely ladies.

Lacey and Kate had worked out their troubles by then, too, and came up with an agreement; since neither of them wanted to live in the past, they decided never to look on it again.

Thanksgiving supper was held at Winterhawke Ranch that year—not because Lacey suddenly became adept at cooking, or because Hawke's culinary talents moved beyond simple stews and roasts, but because the log house was bigger than the Weatherspoons'. With three babies and an eleven-year old boy among them, the weary adults needed all the room they could get.

Shortly after the twins were born in October, Crowfoot had finally agreed to move into the house. His surge of protectiveness made it impossible for him to let them out of his sight for more than an hour at a time. He bedded down in the babies' bedroom, still content to lie upon the little straw mattress he'd fashioned in the barn. This arrangement was fine with Lacey, who wasn't getting much sleep, and Hawke was darn near agreeable to anything, so awed was he over the perfect little boy and girl he and Lacey had created.

As William Braddock's only living relative, Hawke did indeed inherit everything the man owned, including Winterhawke Ranch. Other than their home, which Hawke had considered as his own property anyway, the inheritance didn't really mean so much to him. He and his wife were content just to live in peace to raise their family and the horses. Of course, the extra money Braddock's holdings afforded them did come in handy here and there. Especially for frivolous, nonessential items. Like sterling silver spurs.

Eyeing the pair of miniature spurs hanging from a wire above each of his red-haired babies, Hawke impulsively reached out and flicked the tiny shamrock wheels at the backs, setting all four of them to spinning. For luck, he told himself. Not that the Winterhawke family felt they needed any more than they already had. But just for luck.

The End

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The Inconvenient Bride Series

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Marrying Miss Shylo

The Marrying Kind

Excerpt from

Marrying Miss Shylo

The Inconvenient Bride Series

Book Two

by

Sharon Ihle

Bestselling, Award-winning Author

"Are you all right?" Shylo asked, moving closer. "You look a little flushed. Is the heat getting to you?"

"It appears that it is," Dimitri said, fighting the urge to rip the pins from her hair and let it tumble over his hands. "What I have in mind," he whispered, "will not cool either of us. This is all right with you?"

"It is if you want to court me."

Dimitri was taken aback. Were all American women so aggressive? "I suppose you could say that, among other things, is what I have in mind."

"What other things?" She tilted up her chin, parting her lips in case he hadn't caught on.

Dimitri lowered his head and brushed his mouth over hers. "Something like that. Do you still approve?"

She was surprised to hear her own voice come out in a breathless whisper. "Mr. Adonis, if I'd known it was going to be so much trouble getting you to kiss me, I would've just sat down and wrote you a letter."

Marrying Miss Shylo

The Inconvenient Bride Series

Book Two

by

Sharron Ihle

~

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