Whisperer (19 page)

“Absolutely and
remember, I have an eligible son who has a crush on you…” He winked
at her and watched her turn crimson.

A ways over
were Stacy and Kim chatting with Meg and her friend Lainey from San
Francisco. Lainey had been telling them about an attractive teacher
who kept coming into their restaurant to eat and talk to Meg, if he
got half a chance. He was persistent, she told them. Meg looked
embarrassed.

“Hmmm…. Meg,
are you the next Johnson to get married?” Stacy kidded her.

“I guess you
never really know about that sort of thing, do you?” said Meg
smiling.

Just then, her
Uncle Bill’s two sons were moving purposely toward Stacy and Kim to
ask them to dance. Jesse was trying to dance with Audrey, but
looked uncomfortable with his arm in a sling. Audrey smiled like
she was in Seventh Heaven. Jesse grinned whenever he looked at
her.

Colt and Mandy
were talking with his Uncle Bill and Aunt Emily from Reno. Bill
smiled when he noticed Colt kept a hand on her at all times – like
she was going to get away if he didn’t … When they started to
dance, he asked her, “Was this everything you hoped it would be,
sweetheart?” He twirled her around, just to see how beautifully her
dress moved.

She looked up
at him through her thick black lashes. “I plan on thanking you for
this day later tonight. Got any plans?”

Colt laughed
and said, “Sweetheart, I will always love you.” He paused.

“ ‘Love me,
that’s all I ask of you.’ ”

“You really are
the most romantic man in the universe, aren’t you, Colt Johnson?
And I caught your quote from ‘
Phantom of the Opera’
.

Then he smiled
the most extraordinary smile she had ever seen. Her lips parted in
surprise. He whispered in her ear, “ ‘My heart is, and always will
be yours.’ ” Colt moved his lips around to hers and said softly,
“Mrs. Johnson.”

The End

Mandy and
Audrey both had baby boys who grew up together as best friends. The
next year Mandy had twin girls and Audrey had a little girl. Two
years later, one more baby boy joined each family. With their
enlarging families, their businesses enlarged as well. Colt’s horse
training business became well known and was very successful, while
Jesse eventually took over management of the Johnson Ranch from his
father, Sandy. Their sons would eventually follow in their fathers’
footsteps. Like father, like son…

Jeanne Harrell
lives in Nevada with her husband. They are both long time Nevadans
mired in the Old West spirit. Traveling to different places in the
country, especially the western states, gives Jeanne ideas for
books that she writes down in her “magic notebook.” The MN used to
be made of paper, but now the Notes app on her iPhone and iPad work
beautifully.

Thank you again
for reading her work and please write on her blog if you have any
comments –
www.jeanneharrell.com
.

Her next book
in the
Rancher Series
will focus on one of Sandy and Lily’s
daughters. Will it be Meg, the assistant chef in San Francisco, or
will it be Janie, the deputy-in-training in Naples, Nevada.
Hmmm….

Watch for
Always and Forever
– coming soon to
smashwords.com.