Susan Mallery - Only His

She missed Tucker. She wanted to be strong and brave and say that she was over him. That he’d been an idiot to leave, and if that was how he treated her declaration of love, then she was better off without him. It was possible that one day she would actually believe that, but today wasn’t that day. Today, or rather, tonight, she ached. The hole where her heart used to be endlessly reminded her of what she’d lost.

She clicked on the dog pictures, then just as quickly left the site. It wasn’t responsible to get a dog now — while she was grieving. She had to figure out how to deal with her loss. Then, when she felt better, she would decide if she was ready to take on the responsibility of a pet.

Very rational and mature, she told herself. Her mother would be so proud.

The phone rang.

She glanced at the clock and saw it was after ten. Had something happened to someone in her family?

She glanced at the caller-ID screen and her throat went dry when she read Fool’s Gold Police Department. She pushed the talk button.

“Hello?”

“Nevada, this is Chief Barns. No one is dead.”

She drew in a breath. “Good to know.”

“That said, I have a problem. I need you to come to the town square right away. No one’s hurt. Don’t worry about that, but there’s…a situation.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’ll be a whole lot easier to show you.”

With that, the line went dead.

Nevada had no idea what the police chief was talking about, but she wasn’t going to get any answers just waiting. She got up and pulled on boots, then shrugged on a heavy coat and gloves. It was barely above freezing this late at night.

She jogged through the quiet residential streets, grateful it wasn’t windy or wet out. As it was, her ears were freezing by the time she rounded the last corner and could see into the square.

Streetlights illuminated the benches, the bushes that were mostly naked this time of year and the police car parked just to the left. The floodlights that had been installed for the giant vagina shone up on the weird sculpture. They also showed a ladder, a man on that ladder and the sparks of a blowtorch.

Chief Barns stepped out of the shadows and walked toward her.

“I don’t understand,” Nevada said, confused by what she was seeing. “Is he—”

The man moved then and she recognized him. Tucker. Tucker? What was he doing here? Was he back?

“Seems to me some vandal is dismantling that eye-sore,” Chief Barns said cheerfully. “The good news is Cat believes in simplicity of assembly. It went together quickly and should come apart just as easily. In the morning, one of my officers is going to find that it’s missing. What a shame. There’s going to be a lot of paperwork with this one.”

Nevada could only stare at the man on the ladder. “You’re not going to stop him?”

“Why? I don’t see anything.”

“What will happen to the piece?”

The police chief shrugged. “Rumor has it the whole thing is going to a sculpture garden in San Francisco. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it more than we do here.”

The chief slapped her gloved hands together. “I need to get home. One of my boys is studying for a history test tomorrow and I need to ride herd. You have a good night.”

With that, she got in her police car and drove away.

Nevada walked slowly toward the statue. Sparks were flying, then one side of the giant vagina fell to the ground. She instinctively braced herself for the sound of metal crashing into concrete, only to realize there was padding in place to protect the pieces.

“Tucker,” she yelled.

He turned and looked at her, then turned off the blowtorch. He hung it over the rung and started down.

She stood there waiting. Her heart thudded rapidly as she battled hope and fear and a twisting kind of nausea in her stomach.

When he reached the ground, he tore off his protective gear and swept her into his arms.

His mouth was hot and hard and claimed her in a kiss that made her toes curl. She hugged him back, holding on as if she would never let go.

“I’m sorry,” he said, pulling back enough to speak. “I was an idiot. Worse, I was the jerk who hurt you. I’m sorry, Nevada. I shouldn’t have left, except I had to. It was the only way for me to figure it out. But I’m back now and I’m never leaving. I talked to my dad on the way out and I’m moving the business here. I want to be here with you, in this town.”

He stepped back and took her hand in his. “I love you, Nevada. I have for a while. You were right — what I had with Cat wasn’t love. It wasn’t anything good. But I couldn’t see that and I never wanted to go there again. Because of that, I nearly lost you. I hope you’ll give me another chance. We belong together. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Say yes.”

She was floating. Honestly, she could feel her feet leaving the ground. This couldn’t be happening, only it was. He loved her. Tucker Janack loved her.

Warmth and promise and happiness filled her. She stared into his dark eyes and knew that they would always have each other. That their future was going to be more wonderful than she could imagine.

She smiled. “You haven’t asked me anything,” she said, her voice teasing. “What am I supposed to answer?”

“What? Oh. Right.” He dropped to one knee. “Nevada Hendrix, will you marry me?”

Right there, in the night, with the stars as witness, in front of a giant vagina. Only in Fool’s Gold, she thought happily, pulling him to his feet.

“I love you,” she whispered, before kissing him. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

He picked her up and swung her around, then set her down slowly and kissed her.

This was perfect, she thought, kissing him back. They held each other close, before he turned back to the statue.

“I need to get this finished.”

“I’ll help,” she said. “It’ll go faster that way and then we can go home.”

5:45 p.m. New Year’s Eve

Gold Rush Ski Lodge and Resort

A LIGHT SNOW had been falling all day. Just after sunset, it had taken a turn for the serious. White carpeted the parking lot and roads. The valets checked the guest list one more time to confirm that everyone had arrived. As all the guests would be spending the night at the hotel, getting the roads plowed could wait.

In the smaller of the two ballrooms, chairs had been set in neat rows, dividing the space into sides for the bride and groom. Make that brides and grooms. A few folks from South Salmon, Alaska, who knew Finn Andersson mingled with former patients of Dr. Simon Bradley. Elliot Janack, Tucker’s father, introduced himself to Sasha and Stephen, Finn’s twin brothers.

Max Thurman settled on the brides’ side, Dakota’s adopted daughter, Hannah, in his arms. While Max wore a dark suit, the baby was dressed in a pale pink dress with lace shoes and a crown of tiny pink roses in her hair.

The Hendrix brothers, except Ford, who’d been unable to get leave, were in attendance. Ethan sat next to his wife, Liz, their three children next to her. Kent and his son would sit beside them after escorting Denise to her seat.

The townspeople settled on both sides of the aisle, to make sure the numbers were even. With the Hendrix triplets finally settling down, there was no point in upsetting anyone. Better for the men to feel they were a part of Fool’s Gold.

The Gionni sisters, still feuding, sat across from each other. Eddie Carberry and Gladys Smith settled next to each other. Mayor Marsha walked in with her granddaughter and grandson-in-law, Charity and Josh Golden, their beautiful daughter in Josh’s arms.

Pia and Raoul Moreno each had a twin daughter. Morgan, the man who owned the bookstore, sat next to them and reached for one of the girls. He was still waiting for his daughter to give him a grandchild. The McCormick family took up an entire row. Janis and her husband, Mike, still looked at each other like they were on their honeymoon, despite having been married more than thirty years. Daughter Katie and her husband, Jackson, were expecting their first child in the spring.

Jo and Will slipped in a side door.

“Is my hair okay?” Jo asked anxiously.

Will kissed her. “You look amazing.”

She smiled at him and leaned close. “Thanks, but do I look like I just had sex? I think people would find that tacky.”

“No. They’d be jealous.”

As she sat next to him, the diamond ring on her left hand winked in the light. Neither of them were interested in a big wedding like this. Sometime in the next few weeks, they would take off for Las Vegas and make it all legal.

Charlie, Annabelle and Heidi walked in together.

“Nice,” Charlie said. “A little fussy for me, but nice.”

“It’s beautiful,” Annabelle said with a sigh. “It almost makes me wish I was more romantic.”

Beside them, Heidi nodded. “I’ve sworn off men, but I could almost go for this.”

They walked up the aisle and found seats behind Mayor Marsha, Charity and Josh.

Denise Hendrix sighed with contentment, watching the guests settle. Despite the speed with which everything had been arranged, the whole wedding had turned out perfectly.

The fragrance of roses and lilies mingled with the scent from tall, tapered candles. Romantic music drifted from the small orchestra in the corner. She was willing to admit that might have been an extravagance, but it wasn’t every day a mother saw three of her daughters marry.

She stepped into a side hallway and went to check on the larger ballroom, where the dinner would be held.