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  “How dare you take her and disappear. We’ve been frantic with worry,” Ruth exclaimed.

  “And how dare you try to twist her mind against me,” Alicia replied angrily. “How dare you tell her I’m a bad person and she should forget all about me.”

  Ruth flushed and stepped closer to her husband.

  “Now, now. Let’s settle down a bit.” Brodenck forced a laugh. “Goodness, it’s too damned early in the morning to get all worked up.” He gestured to the sofa. “Please...let’s be rational and sit down and discuss the situation.”

  Cameron walked over to the sofa and sat next to Alicia, fighting the impulse to take one of her hands in his, present a united front to this man and woman who’d frightened her so much she’d lived a life on the run.

  Ruth sank down in one of the wing-backed chairs, her gaze fluttering from wall to wall, but never landing on Alicia or Cameron. Broderick stood at the back of her chair. “Can we offer you some juice...a cup of coffee?” he asked.

  Alicia shook her head curtly. “This isn’t a social call, Broderick. I’m here to discuss Rebecca’s future .”

  “We all want what’s best for Robert’s little girl,” he replied.

  Cameron saw Alicia’s growing tension in the way her hands clasped her purse handle so tight her knuckles grew white. “If you truly want what’s best for Rebecca, then you’ll leave us alone, leave her alone.”

  “That’s not acceptable,” Broderick stated flatly. “We can do for Rebecca what you can’t. We can raise her in a proper home, with the best schools. Robert would have wanted that.”

  “No. Robert wanted to get away from you,” Alicia’s voice rose with anger and pain. “You destroyed Robert, and I won’t let you do the same to Rebecca.”

  Broderick’s eyes narrowed and Cameron’s adrenaline rose in response to the implied threat “Be careful, girlie. I make a powerful enemy. I’ve already got the paperwork drawn up seeking full custody of Rebecca. If you don’t want to settle this outside of court, we’ll settle it in court and I know you don’t have the funds for a court battle.”

  “Oh, but I do.” Alicia’s chin went up a notch. “Cameron has been kind enough to loan me enough money for a defense fund.”

  Broderick snorted derisively. “I should have known a gold digger like you would find another sap. How many times did you sleep with him before he offered you money?”

  Cameron heard Alicia’s swift intake of breath. The implication of Broderick’s words was ugly...and Cameron couldn’t allow him to talk to Alicia that way. “Be careful, Mr. Randall. I make a very powerful enemy,” he said softly, throwing the man’s words back at him.

  “It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s not going to come to a court battle,” Alicia said. With hands that trembled, she opened her purse and drew out some papers. “I found some interesting things in Robert’s briefcase last night.”

  Broderick frowned and Ruth nervously fumbled with her pearls. “I can’t imagine what Robert would have in his briefcase that has anything to do with Rebecca and our rights as grandparents to protect her from a whoring, alcoholic, abusive mother.”

  Cameron rose to his feet, the blood pounding in his temples. Alicia grabbed his arm. “It’s all right, Cameron. He can’t hurt me with his words,” she said. “They are no longer in control.” Cameron looked at her, saw the strength radiating in her gaze, and sank back down.

  Alicia focused her gaze back on her in-laws. “Do you remember a man named Henry Brockburn? Dr. Henry Brockburn?”

  Broderick blanched and Ruth gasped. Cameron had no idea what the man meant to them, but it was obvious he meant something unpleasant. “I...I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Broderick blustered.

  “Oh, I think you do,” Alicia countered. “The man was put in prison years ago for selling babies. He sold you a baby. A little boy named Robert born to Mary Kimble, father unknown.”

  “Damn you,” Broderick took a step forward and again Cameron stood. This time Alicia didn’t place a restraining hand on him, instead she stood next to him.

  “No, damn you!” she exclaimed. “Robert wasn’t your son, and that means Rebecca isn’t your granddaughter. There are no blood ties between you and what you did years ago was illegal. Want to take me to court? Take me. I’ll hold press conferences, I’ll tell the world that the great, powerful Randalls illegally bought a baby boy, then proceeded to destroy that baby’s life through control and manipulation.”

  Broderick sputtered wordlessly, but Cameron could tell by the defeat in his eyes that Alicia had won. “What do you want?” the man asked. “How much money do I have to pay to keep your mouth shut?”

  Alicia’s gaze held no triumph, but only a deep sadness. “I don’t want your money. I don’t want anything from you except to be left alone to raise my daughter. That’s what Robert would have wanted.”

  Broderick nodded and Ruth got up and left the room. “You win,” Broderick said. “But it was a dirty fight.”

  Alicia smiled tightly. “You taught me everything I know.” She grabbed Cameron’s arm, her fingernails digging into his arm. “Come on, we’re finished. Let’s get out of here.”

  They didn’t speak until they were out of the house and in the car. Then, Alicia turned to him, her eyes shining with excitement. “I did it,” she exclaimed with utter joy. “Finally, it’s over.” Tears of happiness sparkled like diamonds on her lashes. “Rebecca and I can go anywhere we want and not look over our shoulders. We can start a new life.”

  Cameron nodded slowly, happy for her. Now the only thing to find out was if there was any room in her new life for him.

  Chapter 15

  “So, what are your plans now?” Cameron asked.

  Alicia started the car and backed out of the driveway. She wanted to get as far away from this house as quickly as possible. “My only plan at this moment is to go pick up Rebecca from the day care. But first I want to stop by my house and get your check.” She smiled at him gratefully. “I don’t think I’ll be needing it.”

  “I’m glad things are working out the way you wanted.”

  “I knew something was going on with Robert in the weeks before his death. He was more optimistic, was making plans for the three of us to move. Thank heavens I found those papers in his briefcase.” She pulled into the driveway of the house she’d shared with Robert.

  “Nice place,” Cameron observed. “Won’t you miss this?”

  Alicia stared at the house where she’d lived for her married life. “Yes, it’s a nice house, but I won’t miss anything about it.” And she knew the truth of her statement. “It never felt like home, never felt like it really belonged to me.” She couldn’t tell him she’d felt more at home in his house, with its scuffed walls and antiquated plumbing. “Come on in and I’ll get you the check.”

  He followed her inside. She took him through the living room and into the kitchen where she opened a drawer and pulled out the check.

  She clutched it for a moment, realizing it was the last link to him. After she returned it there would be no more reason for her to contact him, no more reason to have anything to do with him.

  She turned around and held it out to him. He tossed his hat on the table, then stepped closer to her. He took the check and shoved it into his pocket.

  “Well...I guess that’s that,” she said, wishing he’d move away from her...come closer to her...love her. How she wished he’d love her.

  He reached out and stroked a strand of her hair away from her face. She flinched at his touch. How could he not see that him standing so near, touching her in the most innocent manner tortured her?

  “Now that you’re truly free, I guess there’s a world of options open to you.”

  She nodded and stared at the floor, unable to look at him.

  “Is returning to Mustang one of those options?”

  His voice sounded curiously strained and when Alicia looked up, she met his intense gaze.

  “I...there’s nothing there for me.”
Her reply was faint as she felt herself falling into the depths of his eyes.

  “You made a lot of friends there. You’ve already begun to build a life for you and Rebecca in Mustang.”

  She nodded, unwilling to tell him the reason why she’d never consider living in Mustang again. She couldn’t, not loving him the way she did.

  “I’m there,” he added.

  The words rang in the stillness of the kitchen and reverberated in Alicia’s head. She didn’t know what to make of them, what he meant? She opened her mouth to speak, but no words would come.

  He raked a hand through his hair, his gaze still locked on her. “Samuel caught up with me yesterday afternoon. Funny, I thought he’d come to kill me and he came for forgiveness.” He looked over his shoulder, out the window, obviously momentarily lost in thought. “I didn’t realize until talking with him how much I’d allowed my hurt...my anger to color everything in my life. And the funny thing is, I didn’t even love Ginny...not really...not the way a man should love the woman he intends to spend the rest of his life with.”

  Cameron focused his gaze back on her. “Ginny wanted marriage, and I wasn’t ready to commit. She found what she was looking for in Samuel’s arms, in his heart and now I can be glad for them. I know now why I wasn’t willing to commit to her. She wasn’t my soul mate, she didn’t own any pieces of my heart.”

  Alicia’s breath felt trapped in her chest as she saw the light that shone in his eyes. She was afraid to breathe, afraid to move...afraid that somehow that light might disappear.

  He stepped closer to her, bringing with him the scent that was intrinsically his own. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he kept his gaze locked with hers. “I had to face all that baggage with Samuel in order to free my heart and realize I found my soul mate. You, Alicia...you’re my soul mate, the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

  His words soared through Alicia, filling her up with euphoria. He loves me, her heart sang. Cameron Gallagher loves me. Tears spilled from her eyes, unexpected but joyous. “Oh Cameron. I do so love you,” she whispered. She could say no more, for her lips were captured by his as he wrapped her in his embrace.

  His mouth moved against hers with hunger as his hands stroked up and down her back. It was as if he couldn’t get close enough, couldn’t hold her tight enough, couldn’t kiss her deeply enough to satisfy him.

  She felt the same way. She wanted to crawl inside him, wrap him around her, wear him like a second skin for the rest of her life.

  “Come back to Mustang,” he murmured against her neck when he broke the kiss. “Come back home and be my wife, my love.”

  “Yes. I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be.”

  He framed her face with his hands, gazing deeply into her eyes. “Be sure, Alicia. You thought you loved me when you were afraid and on the run. You aren’t running any longer and I need to know that you are absolutely certain of your love for me.”

  She looked at him, loving him with every fiber of her being- “The only place I intend running to from now on is into your arms as often as possible. I love you, Cameron, and I’m through running away. I want to build a life with you, a life filled with love and laughter.”

  “I want that, too.” His eyes flamed with emotion and again his lips sought hers, hungrily possessing hers. Alicia knew there would never be another man for her, another love like theirs. The warmth of their love filled the corners of her heart.

  “I hope you don’t want a long engagement,” he said when the kiss had ended. “I want you as my wife as soon as possible.”

  “I’ve always thought long engagements were silly,” she agreed. She moaned as his mouth moved down her neck, trailing heat with every kiss. “Cameron, I have to go get Rebecca,” she finally managed to say. “I promised her she wouldn’t be at the day-care place for very long.”

  “I have a feeling this won’t take long,” he said, his eyes gleaming wickedly. Alicia smiled, and gave into his caresses, his sweet love.

  Forty-five minutes later Alicia and Cameron pulled up in front of the day-care center and Alicia went inside to get Rebecca.

  “Mommy!” Rebecca greeted her with a hug and a kiss. “I’m so happy to see you.”

  Alicia laughed. “And I’m so happy to see you.” She pulled Rebecca to her, held her for a long moment as she thanked the stars above that the nightmare was over. Never again would she have to worry about somebody taking Rebecca away from her. “Guess what?” she said as she released her daughter.

  “What?”

  “I have a surprise out in the car for you.”

  Rebecca’s eyes widened. “A surprise? Is it a new toy?”

  “Something better,” Alicia said.

  “A pony?”

  Alicia laughed. “Something even better than a pony.”

  “Better than a pony?” Rebecca drew a deep breath. “I’m out of guesses.”

  “Then you’d better go see what it is,” Alicia replied.

  She followed Rebecca out the day-care door. As they left the building, Cameron climbed out of the car.

  “Mr. Lallager!” Rebecca squealed in delight and tore off toward him as fast as her little legs would carry her.

  Alicia’s heart threatened to burst with happiness as she watched the man she loved scoop up the little girl she loved in his arms.

  Rebecca wound her arms around Cameron’s neck and hugged him tight. “Oh, I hoped and hoped I’d see you again.”

  Cameron closed his eyes and returned the hug. “I had my fingers crossed that I’d see you again.”

  Rebecca smiled in delight. “You did? I did, too!” Cameron laughed, his laughter mingling with Alicia’s and Rebecca grinned, obviously not getting the joke, but happy just the same.

  “How would you like to come back to Mustang and live with me forever and ever?” Cameron asked the little girl.

  She frowned. “With Mommy?”

  Cameron’s gaze warmed Alicia from head to toes. “Oh yes, definitely with your mommy.”

  “Then the answer is yes!” Rebecca exclaimed with excitement. Her excitement ebbed and she looked at her mother uncertainly. “But what about the people monsters...will they find us?”

  “You don’t have to worry about the people monsters any more,” Cameron said.

  Alicia knelt down next to her daughter. “Mr. Gallagher and I are going to get married. That will make the three of us a real family and people monsters don’t bother with real families.”

  Rebecca nodded slowly, her brow furrowed in a thoughtful frown. “So that means I’ll have two daddies. My daddy in Heaven and Mr. Lallager can be my daddy here, right?”

  Again Alicia’s heart swelled as Cameron drew Rebecca back into the circle of his arms. “That’s right, sweetheart. I’ll be your daddy here.”

  Rebecca placed a little hand on the side of Cameron’s face, a huge smile on her face. “Oh boy. I’m so lucky. I get a real cowboy for a daddy.”

  Cameron laughed, for the first time truly proud of his old nickname. “I’m so lucky,” he returned. “I get a real cowgirl for a daughter.” His gaze turned to Alicia. “And the woman of my dreams for my wife. How lucky can one cowboy get?”

  Alicia gazed at this man...this cowboy who had stolen her heart and claimed it as his own. She knew the sweetness of his kisses, the magic of his touch, but most of all, she knew that in his love...she was home.

  Epilogue

  “I’ve never seen a man so impatient,” Elena Richards said as she flew through the bedroom door and quickly closed it behind her. “Cameron actually told everyone to sit down and be quiet so he could make you his bride.”

  Alicia laughed, unsurprised by Cameron’s actions. Despite the fact that Elena and Alicia had pulled together a wedding in less than two weeks, it hadn’t been fast enough for Cameron, who acted as if at any moment Alicia might suddenly disappear.

  “Oh honey...you look gorgeous,” Elena exclaimed.

  “Are you sure it’s okay?” Alicia wh
irled around to view her reflection in the dresser mirror. She smiled self-consciously and ran a hand down the satin skirt of the ivory gown. “I know it’s crazy to wear a traditional gown...I mean, I’ve been married before, and I have a daughter...”

  “Stop,” Elena commanded. “You look beautiful, and you and Cameron both wanted the traditional trappings.”

  “The first time I got married it felt all wrong. I was dressed in my waitress uniform and neither of us knew the two witnesses.”

  “And how does it feel this time?” Elena asked softly.

  Alicia turned toward her and smiled. “So right it’s almost frightening.”

  Elena laughed. “That’s because it is right. I’ve never seen two people more suited to one another than you and Cameron.” She leaned forward and kissed Alicia on the cheek. “And I don’t know anyone else I’d rather have as a sister.”

  Alicia hugged Elena. In the past several weeks the two women had developed the beginnings of what Alicia knew would be a strong, lasting friendship.

  “Mommy?” Rebecca entered the room and stopped short. “Oh Mommy, you look like a fairy princess,” she exclaimed.

  “And you look quite lovely yourself,” Alicia replied. Rebecca wore a frilly dress, the blue an exact match for her eyes. On her feet were the beloved red cowboy boots.

  “Daddy Lallager says hurry up. He can’t wait anymore.” Without waiting for a reply, Rebecca turned and whirled out of the room.

  Alicia tried to still the frantic pounding of her heart as she left the bedroom and walked into the living room. The furniture had been taken out, replaced by folding chairs and every chair was occupied by the friends and acquaintances Alicia had made in Mustang.

  But she didn’t notice the people in the chairs. Her gaze was fixed solely on the man who stood next to the preacher.

  Cameron. He looked so tall, so handsome and his eyes flamed with the fires Alicia knew would warm her not only through the long winter ahead but all the winters of their lives.

  As the preacher began the ceremony, Rebecca tugged on Alicia’s skirt. “Mommy?” she said in an exaggerated whisper. “Mommy, it’s really, really important.”