Finding His Lone Star Love (Harlequin Special Edition) Read online

  She needed to see him. She wanted to see him, even if it was one last time. She had so many things that she needed to ask him, so many things that she needed to understand, before he walked out of her life forever.

  She wasn’t ready to let him go.

  But when she saw that truck pull up, her pulse went off on its own.

  She couldn’t seem to control her feelings when it came to Sam. She loved him and that was it.

  And if it was just her, she would have confronted him a lot sooner, and forced him to tell her why he had been so secretive about being Shiloh’s dad. But it wasn’t just her that she had to think about. She had to consider how this new development would affect Shiloh, as well. And until she had some answers, until she knew whether or not she could really trust Sam, she had to be fierce about protecting her niece. Shiloh had always come first, and even though now Lucy was more open to allowing herself to love a man, her niece remained her first priority, as she always would. Lucy had dedicated herself to Shiloh all those years ago, promising she would do her very best to be a parent, to put her niece’s needs above her own. She had kept her promise, and even though she wanted to love Sam, her commitment to Shiloh hadn’t changed.

  But the fact remained that if she could have chosen any man in the world, could have put together all of the finest qualities in a father, she could have searched a lifetime and never have found anyone better than Sam. He was kind, generous and loving.

  How much it must hurt him to have missed so much of his daughter’s life. Even if he was guilty of deception, hadn’t he paid a high enough price already? Wasn’t the worst sort of punishment the one that Jennifer had doled out to him?

  Lucy didn’t want to inflict any more pain.

  Sam pulled the truck to a stop and stepped out of the cab and immediately found himself covered in Thor’s slobber as the dog bounced up into his arms.

  Shiloh seemed to know instinctively that Lucy and Sam needed some space, so she called Thor to follow her into the house. Before she closed the front door, she nodded to Lucy and gave her a thumbs-up. Despite the rapid sound of her heartbeat, the beads of perspiration forming, and the hairs standing up on her neck, Lucy smiled at her niece’s gesture

  She pulled her shoulders up, straightening her posture, and raised her chin, ready to face whatever Sam had to say. Regardless of what happened, she only needed him to know one thing.

  She would tell him that she loved him, and let him make his own decision about that information. Of course she hoped that he would stay. Of course she hoped that he wanted to be a permanent part of her and Shiloh’s lives, but she wouldn’t demand such a thing from him. She would let him know that he was welcome whenever he wanted to see his daughter, and the rest was up to him.

  Instead of walking toward her, Sam moved to the back of his truck and lowered the gate. He jumped up into the bed and patted the space next to him, inviting her to join him.

  Lucy’s heart swelled at his gesture, recalling that day when she came home to find him building Shiloh’s wheelchair ramp and they had sat in the afternoon sun enjoying each other’s company, before things got complicated.

  It was an afternoon that she would cherish for the rest of her life. It was when she had first noticed how comfortable, and yet how alive and on fire she felt in Sam’s presence. She wondered now if that was the moment when she had first started to love him.

  Had he felt the same way? Even if he did decide to stay, how would she ever know if it was for her, for Shiloh, or for both?

  There was only one way to find out. She walked over and took Sam’s hand as he held it out to help her up into the truck. Neither of them said a word, just like before. But unlike then, when they had sat together in total peace, this time the air crackled with an unpleasant sort of tension.

  It seemed as if all the words they wanted to say to each other were stuck inside their hearts. Lucy couldn’t tell how much time passed before Sam spoke, but it felt like forever. A mix of relief and bittersweet hope hit her when he opened his mouth.

  “Lucy, I came to tell you that I’m not leaving.”

  Rather than its usual calm, soothing tone, his voice was filled with determination.

  Paralyzed, she sat in silence.

  She didn’t know what she’d expected him to say, but his words were exactly what she wanted to hear, and they further softened her already tender heart. Lucy felt the prickle of tears behind her eyes, and she removed her glasses to rub them.

  “Sam, I—”

  “Hang on, Lucy. I’m not finished. I have some things that I want to say to you.”

  This time his words were even more firm, and even though they weren’t exactly the “I love you” that she’d hoped he would say next, it seemed like a little more life was injected into them.

  “I’m listening.”

  She fiddled with a hole that had sprouted in her jeans, nervous and jittery, but Sam just sat there as calm and steady as the oak tree that had been in Lucy’s front yard since before she was born. Even in this moment of terrible tension, he had the capacity to soothe her.

  She wondered if she would ever find anyone like that again, but even before the thought fully landed in her mind, she knew the answer. There was no one else in the world like Sam, no one else she would ever want the way she did him. He was the only man who had ever come into her and Shiloh’s lives and shown interest and passion for both of them. Lucy knew now the reason, because he was her niece’s father. But a spark of hope inside of her clung to the possibility that maybe what they had was real, independent of Shiloh.

  “You have every right to despise me,” Sam said. “It was wrong of me to come into your life without any explanation, to take so much time from you and Shiloh, without giving you any reason. It was stupid as hell of me to withhold the truth from you for so long. And I’m not saying any of this to excuse myself, or to give you reason to forgive me. I’m not asking anything like that of you. I just want you to know that when I came here, it was only for Shiloh.”

  His words sliced through her so sharply that she wondered if he also had the power to remove the stars from the sky. It felt as if he had reached inside and grabbed her heart, pulling it out of her chest and leaving it on the floor.

  She had been wrong. Her instincts had misled her. He had come for Shiloh alone, and he didn’t want anything to do with her. She thought for sure that the tears would come, fast and relentless, but it seemed that she was dried up, hollow inside.

  “Sam, please don’t say any more. I don’t think I can take it.”

  He turned to her and for the first time he looked uncertain as his hands fidgeted in his lap. So many emotions covered his face, and she couldn’t make sense of any of them.

  “No, Lucy, that’s not it at all. You don’t understand. Even though I came for her—when I met you...everything changed.”

  “Thanks for that, Captain Obvious. Everything changed for me, as well. That tends to happen when a new person walks in and turns your world upside down.”

  In the midst of what would probably be the most important conversation of her life, a hint of humor flashed across Sam’s eyes at her statement and she wished so hard that things were different. She wanted to go back to a few days ago when they had laughed together, got lost in each other’s bodies, when they had been happy for that brief stint of time. She would do anything to get that back.

  Sam’s face turned instantly serious. “Lucy, listen to me. Stop being so stubborn. I’m trying to tell you that everything changed in a good way. I didn’t expect you. Up until I met you, I would’ve told anyone with certainty that I didn’t have room for that kind of love in my life. Up until I met you, I didn’t even believe that that kind of love existed. I would’ve told you that it was just a joke, something sold in movies, but that didn’t exist in real life.”

  Something inside of her shifted as she slowly began to understand his meaning. She wanted to latch on to that tiny inkling of hope that was starting to bubble up in
side of her. She dared to look into his eyes, and when she did, they spoke of his love more clearly than any words he might have said. All the same, she wanted to hear it from his lips.

  “Sam, are you saying that—”

  He interrupted her with his mouth, but it wasn’t by speaking. In the space of half a second, he had moved in, wrapped his palms around her face and he was kissing her. The kiss was both harder and tenderer than any they had shared so far. As it grew deeper, Lucy struggled to maintain control, afraid that if she didn’t stop she might get lost in it.

  She pulled away, biting her lip.

  “What I’m saying, Lucy, is that I want to be a part of Shiloh’s life. But that’s not all I want. I want to be a part of your life, as well. I didn’t expect any of this, and I know you didn’t, either, but it would be a damn shame if we let something like this go. Lucy, you’re the most beautiful, smart and interesting person I’ve ever met, and I’m not going to let you go without a fight. You’re a damn fine woman—and I love you.”

  Lucy was glad she was sitting in the truck bed because if she hadn’t been, she was pretty sure her legs would have given out beneath her. When Sam’s truck had pulled into her driveway, she thought that she was about to lose one of the best things that had ever happened to her. But Sam had just said all of the things she wanted to hear, and it was going to take a minute for her mind to catch up. She resisted the urge to pinch herself to see if this was really happening.

  When she looked at him again, his eyes begged her to say something back. The truth of everything he had just told her was reflected there. Now it was her turn to make his dreams come true the way he had for her.

  “Sam—” She paused, trying to find adequate words to express the immense, mind-blowing joy that was thundering through her heart like wild horses. When they didn’t come, she decided it was best to do what she always did, and stick with the facts.

  “I love you, too, Sam. You’re welcome in Shiloh’s life, and you’re exactly the kind of father that she deserves. I couldn’t wish for a better one for her. But I want you in my life, as well. I want all of you, and even though I want to know you more, I don’t care what happened in the past. I’m not going to judge you based on the person you were before. I only want the person you are now—the person I’ve fallen in love with in the past few days.”

  When Lucy finished speaking, Sam wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in for another kiss. This time it was uncomplicated, passionate and filled with hope for a future that they would share together.

  When Sam pulled away, his eyes shone. “Let’s go tell our girl the good news,” he said, jumping down from the truck and lifting Lucy into his arms.

  She wrapped her hands around his neck, and let him carry her off into their new life.

  Epilogue

  One year later

  Lonestar Observatory Annual Starry Night Gala

  Lucy couldn’t have been happier as she watched the two of them dancing, Shiloh spinning her chair around as Sam twirled her on the dance floor. They were a sight beyond beauty—father and daughter—and Lucy was the luckiest woman in the world for having two such special people love her.

  The stars overhead seemed to have been hung there just for her, and Lucy smiled, remembering the way her father’s face had lit up when he’d taught her about each of the constellations, naming them for her one by one, as if handing over a gift for her to treasure. Looking at the two people she loved most in the world, she knew she had more riches than she could ever have hoped for.

  Sam had come crashing into the Lonestar Café kitchen, and into her life, a year ago and changed her world forever. He spent time with Shiloh every day and had proven himself an amazing father. The two of them were inseparable. And Lucy still had to catch her breath each time he looked at her, touched her or held her in his arms. It was all unbelievably amazing—yet it was real.

  And it belonged to her.

  Lucy turned to Tessa and started to say something, but her best friend held up a finger. “I know,” Tessa said. “I know. You are...so lucky. And I am so very, very happy for you. I love you to pieces and I’m so glad you finally stopped being so darn stubborn and let that man love you.”

  Lucy laughed and the sip of champagne she’d just taken nearly shot out of her nose.

  “Oh, come on now,” Lucy joked, “tell me how you really feel.”

  Tessa wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they watched Sam and Shiloh finish their dance. Sam took a bow in front of his daughter and kissed her small hand.

  Lucy reached into the sleeve of her dress for a tissue to rub away the happy tears that had formed, but Tessa nudged her.

  “Oh!” Tessa shook Lucy’s elbow, nearly causing the champagne to jump out of her glass as she pointed furiously toward Sam and Shiloh. “Will you just look at that?”

  They both stared, speechless, as a boy about Shiloh’s age walked over and tapped Sam on the arm. Though the two women couldn’t hear what he said, they both held their breath as Sam nodded at him, and the boy took Shiloh’s hand in his, leading her back onto the dance floor.

  Lucy watched as her niece’s face filled with starlight, her green eyes twinkling at the cute kid’s attention. Lucy laid a hand over her heart and looked at Tessa.

  “I know,” her best friend said. “She deserves that. Just make sure you send that kid my way if he breaks her sweet heart. I don’t care how young he is, I’ll kick his little ass to Timbuktu.”

  “Tessa!”

  “What? You know it’s true.”

  They both burst into giggles, eventually forgetting what set it off and just enjoying the laughter. By the time Sam joined them, holding out two fresh glasses of champagne, they were in hysterics and unable to take the drinks.

  “What’s got you two so riled up?” he asked, setting off a fresh round. “Never mind. Forget I asked.” It wasn’t long before Sam was laughing with them.

  When they finally calmed down enough to watch Shiloh’s second dance with her new guy, Sam took Lucy’s hand. His warm skin was familiar to her now, but the contact never failed to set off magic. She knew it would be that way forever, and that was how long she planned to belong to Sam.

  Sam leaned over and kissed Lucy’s head before tickling the top of her ear with his lips. He squeezed her hand and then led her away from where they had been standing, nodding at Tessa as they left.

  “Where are we going?” Lucy asked, the speed of her pulse increasing.

  “You’ll see,” Sam said. He led her away from the deck, away from the dance floor and farther into the dark night. When they were far enough away from the building to be alone but still bathed in the light from the party, Sam stopped and leaned down, lifting up each of Lucy’s feet to remove her shoes. He hooked his thumbs into the straps, before grabbing her hand and leading her over the soft ground toward the Rigsby telescope.

  “What are you doing, crazy man?” she asked, chuckling.

  “For a woman who claims to trust me, you sure do ask a lot of questions,” Sam said, his voice lighthearted and filled with boyish mischief.

  “I’m a scientist at heart. It’s what I do.”

  “I know. You can’t help yourself, and I love that about you.”

  Lucy’s breath was heavy by the time they reached the top of the hill.

  The view from up there was even more astonishingly beautiful now than the first time they had seen it together. This time, Lucy knew Sam loved her, and she knew she didn’t have to wonder about that ever again. Her heart was secure, and in that security she found a freedom that allowed her to say yes when the chance for adventure came her way.

  She felt as if she’d been sleeping for most of her life, and Sam had come along and woken her up. Each day with him, new light found its way further and further into her heart, into the dark places that had formed—when she’d lost her mother, then Jennifer, then her father.

  Sam hadn’t erased the pain—that was impossible—but he had poured sunlight over a
ll of it, exposing the ugliness that she’d hidden away, bringing it into the day so she could see it for what it was, and then slowly start to let it go.

  She could never thank him enough.

  When they got to the telescope, Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. He unlocked the door to the control room and grabbed Lucy’s hand with urgency, leading her inside. He closed the door, and the place was dark except a few rays of moonlight, which gleamed and bounced off Sam’s sandy hair, pouring over his gorgeous face and casting shadows over his tawny eyes. He moved her to the middle of the room, letting the light splash over both of them so they could see each other.

  As her eyes adjusted and his face became clear, Lucy noticed that Sam’s hands were shaking.

  She would play the next few moments over and over in her mind for the rest of her life, never tiring of it, like a favorite film. Time seemed to stop for the two of them as Sam dropped down to one knee, holding her gaze firmly in his the whole time.

  Everything on Lucy’s mind vanished in an instant, leaving only the scene in front of her. Her jaw fell as Sam’s fingers disappeared into his pocket only to return with a diamond ring. It was beautiful, the moonlight glinting off it rivaling the shimmer in Sam’s eyes as he said the words she’d never expected to hear, but that she realized she’d been waiting for her whole life.

  “Lucy, I love you with all of my heart, and I need you more than the earth needs the sun. I refuse to live a life that doesn’t have you at the center of it.”

  Tears escaped and were sliding down Lucy’s cheeks in great waves as she anticipated Sam’s next words. When they came, Lucy thought she might explode like a supernova.

  Sam slid the band on her finger before he even asked the question.

  “Lucy Monroe, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Please say you’ll be my wife.”