“The boys. I better go check on them.” She tried to stand, but her head pounded. Her stomach lurched. Her mouth tasted bitter and for a moment she thought she’d retch.
Cole held her tight. “Easy there. We’ll check on the boys together as soon as I tie Judd up.”
She nodded and rose. Her head spun and it took an instant for her to steady herself as Cole found a length of rope in the kitchen and tied Judd’s hands and feet.
When Cole faced her she noticed the blood on his shirt. “You’ve been shot.”
“I’m fine.”
She touched his bloodstained shoulder. “You’re not fine. You’re bleeding.”
“The boys first.”
“And then I bandage you.”
He chuckled. “You’re in no shape to nurse anyone.”
She wobbled as they climbed the stairs. “I’m okay.”
“We’ll just see about that.”
Arm in arm they made their way up to the nursery. Cole eased the door open and found Dusty and Mac asleep, right where Rebecca had left them earlier.
“Thank God,” she murmured, amazed the noise had not woken them.
Cole strode over to Dusty and touched his back, counting the rise and fall of his back as he breathed. He stared at Dusty a long moment as he lay sleeping on his stomach, one foot sticking out from the blanket and his face buried in the pillow. He bent down and kissed the child then turned to Mac.
“Thank you, God, for letting me be the father to these boys,” he whispered as he tucked Mac’s blanket up to his chin and kissed him on the forehead.
Rebecca’s heart constricted. She’d never loved her husband more than she did right now.
Cole’s expression was somber when he joined her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and the two lingered in the doorway another moment.
She drew comfort from his firm grip. “I couldn’t live without them.”
“Me, either.” Cole ran his fingers over a bump on her forehead. “And I couldn’t live without you, Rebecca.”
Worry lines framed his mouth and eyes. His cheeks were sunken and drawn and his hair a wild mess. He looked ten years older. “Oh, Cole.”
“I love you, Rebecca. I think I always have.”
Tears stung her eyes.
“I came home tonight to tell you I’m sorry. I understand why you lied about Mac. You were doing what was best for him. I can see that now. Your love for him is part of the reason I love you so much.”
She touched his face, rough and unshaved. “I was afraid you’d never trust me again.”
He cupped her chin in his rough hand and stared into her eyes. “I trust you with my life.”
“I love you, Cole.” Tears streamed down her face, her promise not to cry forgotten.
He hugged her against his chest. “I’ve waited a lifetime to hear those words from you and I swear I’ll never get tired of hearing them.”
She smiled. “Good, because I plan to say it often.”
A chuckle rumbled in his chest. “At least once a day.”
“Maybe twice.”
He traced her lips with his finger. His expression grew pensive. “You are the center of my life, Rebecca. You are the heart of this family. Without you I am nothing.”
“We are the heart of this family, Cole. And we are nothing without each other.”
A shadow of a smile touched his mouth. His expression was filled with tenderness and promised a future filled with happiness, laughter and love. They would love each other with a searing passion and raise their boys together to be strong and proud men.
Epilogue
Eight Years Later
Ernie Wade had carted Judd off to jail that night. He was charged with attempted murder and assault. Ernie kept him in the jail twelve days before the judge made it back to town for the trial. It took the twelve-man jury ten minutes to convict Judd and sentence him to twenty years in prison. The judge decreed Dusty would stay with Cole and Rebecca.
Cole recovered quickly from his wounds and within three days he was back at the mine supervising his crews.
Twenty-seven days after Cole had reopened the Lucky Star, they found silver. Now, most folks will tell you it wasn’t the richest vein in Colorado history, but most reckon it was in the top ten.
Ernie and Bess married on Christmas Day of that same year. And nine months to the day they welcomed baby John into the world.
Hard to believe so much time had passed as Rebecca watched her husband and four sons standing on the dais next to the governor in town today for the ribbon cutting of White Stone’s new courthouse.
Dusty stood next to Cole and his brothers Mac, Leo and Lee. Dusty, eighteen years old now, had been accepted to the University of Virginia. Rebecca’s heart tightened with love when she thought about her oldest son going so far from home, but Dusty craved the challenge of a university education. His dark hair and magnetic eyes had caught the attention of more than one young girl and he promised to be a real heartbreaker.
Eleven-year-old Mac continued to excel at White Stone’s new schoolhouse, which boasted four rooms now, though he was quick to tell anyone who would listen that he preferred fishing. Next to him stood his younger brothers, six-year-old Leo and seven-year-old Lee. The boys had arrived in White Stone five years ago on the orphan train. Both boys had hair the color of sand and eyes as green as grass. They had a zest for riding and wide-open spaces and both had an incurable taste for peppermints.
The McGuire men were individuals, each with strong personalities. The one trait they all shared was a fierce protectiveness of Rebecca and their baby sister, six-month-old Lily.
Rebecca stared into her daughter’s face. She had Cole’s black hair and her blue eyes and the infant was indeed a miracle. She smoothed her gloved finger over the little girl’s nose and puckered lips.
Just then the crowd cheered. Cole waved to the crowd and climbed down from the dais. He stopped to shake a few hands then cut through the crowd toward Rebecca.
His eyes sparkled and his lips quirked into a seductive smile. With his shoulders back, he swaggered toward her. Delicious warmth spread through her body and her mind skipped forward to tonight when he would take her in his arms and make love to her.
He came to her side and wrapped his arm possessively around her shoulder. He kissed Lily on her forehead then in a voice only Rebecca could hear said, “Is it my imagination, Mrs. McGuire, or did you just have an impure thought about the town’s new mayor?”
Her laugh was throaty, seductive. “I’m afraid so, Mayor McGuire.”
He nibbled her earlobe, sending a thousand tiny tremors skidding down her spine. “Good. Hold that thought.”