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  Peter grabbed the door and shoved her aside, sliding in behind the wheel. Everything in Colin seemed to freeze in cold terror that she would be hurt.

  Acting automatically without thinking, Colin took aim at the tires. Through the car windows, he glimpsed Isabella’s feet and legs as she kicked at Peter.

  Colin steadied his hand and fired as Peter began to pull away. The passenger door opened and Isabella spilled out, rolling in the dirt. Colin raced toward her, praying she was all right. Someone else could catch Peter.

  As dogs came bounding to lick Colin’s face and hers, Colin knelt to scoop her into his arms. “Izzie—”

  She flung herself at him and sobbed. “You’re all right.”

  He heard more shots and looked up to see Boone in his car, heading after Peter. As Peter roared away, Colin saw Brett positioning his car to face Peter’s farther down the road.

  Peter swerved and turned as Brett raised his pistol and fired.

  Boone also fired. Peter already had one flat and now another tire went. He lost control of the car as it spun around, hit a tree and then rolled. Peter was flung out and tumbled across the ground, his car smashing against a tree and bursting into flames.

  Colin didn’t care what happened. All he wondered about was Isabella. He framed her face with his hands. “Are you all right?”

  “You’re bleeding!” she gasped, looking at her bloody hand and then at his arm where she had touched him.

  “Damn him,” Colin growled, studying her scraped cheek. Her blouse was torn and she had a cut on one arm.

  “Colin, you’ve been shot!”

  “It’s just a graze, Isabella. I’d know if I was shot, believe me.” Shoving a dog out of the way, Colin leaned down to kiss her and she turned her face up to him, holding him tightly. His heart pounded with relief that she was all right. He shook, feeling weak in the knees, terrified when he had seen Peter slide into the car with her.

  “Hey, you two,” Boone called.

  Colin raised his head as Boone rushed up. Sirens blared and one police car had already arrived and two uniformed men spilled out.

  “Are you all right?” Boone asked.

  “Isabella, these damn mutts,” Colin muttered. He stood, lifting her into his arms as dogs milled around his legs.

  “He’s shot,” Isabella said, and Boone looked at Colin’s wound.

  “I’m all right,” Colin declared.

  “It’s nothing,” Boone said. “Might help you if you’d set her down. Look—Erin just called. She’s got contractions so we’re off to the hospital.”

  “Call and let us know,” Isabella said.

  Boone was already running for the house.

  “Thanks, Boone,” Colin called, turning to carry Isabella inside. He glanced back to see the two police officers holding Peter between them. Brett, striding toward Colin, was talking on his cell phone.

  “Colin Garrick, you have to see a doctor about your arm. If you don’t go to the emergency room in Stallion Pass—” Isabella said.

  He kissed her to make her to stop talking, then set her on her feet. “Here comes Brett. I think I need to talk to him. We’ll go to the emergency so you’ll be happy, but you’ll see. If you let me clean this up, I’m just barely scratched.”

  “Are you all right?” Brett asked.

  Colin nodded. “We’re both fine. Scratches and bruises. Thanks.”

  “I didn’t know he was inside with you until all hell broke loose. I heard the shot, saw Isabella come running out and I knew he’d gotten to you in spite of my surveillance. I failed on this one.”

  “He’s good at what he does. He’s gotten away with his double life for years,” Colin said. “I remembered everything. On the night of the blast the ringleader found me and gloated, telling me, ‘Your friend set you up.’ Shots were being exchanged and we ran. Then the bomb exploded, and you know the rest. I knew the ringleader had to mean Peter. When the memories came back, I was on my way to call Mike and warn him. But Peter got here first.”

  “Damn. What an evil man. I saw him, but it was his shift to tail you, so I didn’t think a lot about it. I thought I knew where he was, but he slipped away without me seeing him.”

  “I had the alarm off because I was in the house and expecting Isabella to arrive.”

  “He’s caught now. They’re sending a chopper to pick me up. I’ll be going soon. Someone will come for a statement from you.”

  “Thanks, Brett,” Colin said, extending his hand to Brett.

  “I didn’t do what I should have.”

  “That happens to all of us and you stopped him from escaping. If you hadn’t stepped out and fired at him, he might have made it away from here.”

  “He couldn’t have gone far. Good luck. Nice to know you, Isabella. Your scream brought me on the run.”

  Colin looked at her. “Why did you scream? You hadn’t seen Peter, had you?”

  “You weren’t there to meet me when I came in the door.” She raised her head. “I have instincts, too. But then I looked in the mirror and saw a man with a gun, so I just screamed to distract him and I ran.”

  Colin hugged her. “I told you that you’d make a good soldier.”

  They could hear the sounds of a helicopter and all three turned to look. A black military helicopter swept over the ranch and settled on the ranch runway. Brett turned to jog away. “Y’all take care,” he called, waving at them. “I’ll miss this place.”

  “Come back and visit,” Colin called after him.

  “How on earth did they get a helicopter here so soon?” Isabella asked.

  “There’s a base at San Antonio. It wouldn’t take any time to get from there to here.” Colin looked down the road to see the police putting Peter into a car. A lawman was striding toward Colin and Isabella.

  “Here comes an official who’ll probably want a statement. Go on inside and I’ll get rid of him. We can give him a statement tomorrow.”

  “I’m not moving without you,” she said in a low voice and he looked down to smile at her.

  “Colonel Garrick?” the officer said, extending his hand. Colin shook hands with him as he introduced himself.

  “I’m Larry Norris. Are you folks all right?”

  “We’re fine. Nothing big, except shaken up. I know you need a statement, but can we come in tomorrow and give it to you?”

  The officer’s lips firmed as he seemed to mull it over, but then he nodded. “Not exactly following procedure, but you’ve been through this before. Do you mind coming first thing in the morning?”

  “Sure, and thanks,” Colin said. “Where do we go?”

  “Stallion Pass courthouse. Nine o’clock. Just ask for me.”

  Colin nodded. Just then Boone and Erin drove past and waved. Isabella and Colin waved in return.

  “I can’t believe my brother is about to become a daddy,” Isabella said.

  “You better get used to the idea soon. You’re going to be an aunt before long.”

  “That I can imagine much easier. Come inside and let me clean that wound. If it’s the least bit deep, off we go to the emergency. When did you last have a tetanus shot?”

  “You sound like an army nurse. I had one last year and don’t need another now. And I sure don’t need one for this. Isabella, these damn dogs,” he said, trying to get to the house, but the dogs were still milling around his feet.

  “The gate’s open,” she said, and started back to close it, but Colin held her arm.

  “I’ll get it, but they’re not about to run away. These mutts have sense enough to know a good thing and they’re not leaving you.”

  He hurried to close the gate and returned, shooing the dogs away as he and Isabella went inside. The moment the door closed, he pulled her into his arms to kiss her.

  Isabella stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him in return.

  She raised her head after a moment. “We clean your wound. I don’t want you bleeding to death in my arms.”

&nbs
p; “No danger.” They started across the kitchen and she caught his wrist. “See, when I was right here, I could see the reflection in the mirror of Peter standing there with a gun.”

  “That scream saved the day.”

  “Thank goodness,” she said.

  They went to the big bathroom and she began to rummage in the cabinet for antiseptic. Colin’s hand closed over hers.

  “I’ve got a better idea. Let’s get in the shower and wash all these wounds and scratches and see how bad the injuries are.”

  Her eyes darkened, and she got that sultry look that heated his blood.

  She nodded and he began to unfasten her buttons as she twisted his free. They undressed each other and stepped into the shower and he turned on warm water.

  In seconds she was in his arms. Isabella clung to him, relishing his strong arms around her, overjoyed to feel his bare, warm body, hard and strong, pressed against her.

  Desire raged, burning away control as she moved her hips slowly against his arousal. He groaned and combed his fingers in her hair. “I’ve missed you more than I ever thought possible,” he declared and her pulse jumped with excitement.

  “All I could think about all the way home was you, Colin. I couldn’t wait to get here.”

  “I have an evening planned for us.”

  “Your arm!” she gasped, remembering and pulling back to look at him. His skin was torn, but it was minor, looking as if it were no more than a scrape from a branch.

  “See, I told you it was nothing.”

  “I was so frightened for you.”

  “I was damned terrified for you. You got right in the thick of it. But that scream was marvelous. It startled him and gave me just enough of a chance to get away from him.”

  “It’s over, Colin. You don’t have to worry about being a target any longer and you have your memory back.” She gazed up into eyes that were filled with desire and a hunger that was mutual.

  “I missed you so much,” she whispered.

  “Darlin’,” he said, then leaned down to kiss her. They forgot the water pouring over their naked bodies as they clung to each other and kissed endlessly. He stepped out of the shower stall to retrieve a packet of protection. But when he returned, they dried each other off and kissed once more before he finally picked her up to make love to her.

  Colin carried her to bed to hold her close in his arms.

  “I’ve been dreaming of this since the moment you waved goodbye,” he whispered. “Wait a minute and I’ll be right back,” he said, getting up and leaving the room.

  Isabella smiled in contentment. She knew what she wanted for her future and she knew she was making the right decision.

  She watched Colin walk back to bed. He was nude, aroused again, all lean, hard muscles.

  “You’re beautiful, Colin.”

  “Hardly. But you probably think all those mutts out there are beautiful, too. Darlin’, I’ve come to a decision about the future. I missed you every second you were gone. Isabella, I love you.”

  Her heart thudded. The words were magic, important when they came from Colin, and she wrapped her arms around him to kiss him passionately.

  His arms banded her waist and he held her against him. Their bare legs tangled while they kissed. He raised his head and brushed her hair away from her face. “Darlin’, I made a decision. I don’t have to live in Stallion Pass. I can live in New York. Will you marry me, Isabella?”

  Her heart thudded against her ribs and joy filled her. She threw her head back. “Colin! Yes, yes, yes!” She laughed with joy and showered him with kisses and then kissed him on the mouth, a long, steamy kiss.

  When she pulled away. “Marry you! Yes! Oh, Colin, I’m so happy.”

  “What about ‘I don’t ever want to marry because it will interfere with my career’?” he asked, gazing at her solemnly.

  She laughed and pushed him down as she straddled him. “You think a career is better than this?”

  He grinned and pulled her down into his embrace to kiss her and the question was forgotten for a longer time as Colin stroked and kissed and then made love to her again.

  It was an hour later as they lay in each other’s arms that she turned to him. “Colin, I thought about us while I was in New York.”

  “And—” he said warily.

  “Don’t sound so worried. I want you and a family more than that career. I have a perfectly fine business right here and I’ll have a beautiful new home and a sexy husband. I don’t want that job.”

  He raised up so swiftly, she fell back against the bed. He pulled her up to look her directly in the eyes. “That’s all you’ve wanted all your adult life. You’ve told me that repeatedly. Your brother has told me. Since when did this change of heart happen?”

  “When I was away from you,” she answered solemnly. “I hated it.”

  “Isabella, I don’t want you to wake up one day and realize that you tossed aside a fantastic career to marry me. You can do that and marry me. I’m not objecting to your job.”

  “Aren’t you getting argumentative!” she exclaimed. “I’m not going to wake up one day and wish I’d done something else. I know my own mind and I know how I felt when I was away from you. I know what I want.”

  “You want to get married and live in Stallion Pass for the rest of your life?”

  “If it’s with you. Don’t you want to stay here?”

  “You’re sure?” he asked.

  “Since when did you think I don’t know what I really want?”

  “You must not have known when you went to New York,” he pointed out.

  “Well, I figured it out quickly when I got there. How long are we going to argue about this? You just proposed and now—”

  He kissed her and ended the conversation, and his kiss confirmed how much he wanted her. He broke free and reached over to the bedside table. He placed a black-velvet box in her hand. “For you.”

  She opened the box and looked at a dazzling emerald-cut diamond flanked by two smaller diamonds. “Colin!” she gasped and threw her arms around him, knocking him flat as she kissed him.

  In seconds she raised her head and pulled up the ring to look at it again. “It’s gorgeous.”

  He took it from her. “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes, I will,” she said, gazing into his sexy gray eyes, her heart pounding with joy. “Oh, Colin, how I missed you and dreamed about this!”

  “I wish I’d known. I’ve been in hell while you were gone. Isabella, darlin’, I love you.”

  She hugged him. “Goodness knows, I love you!”

  He leaned back to look at her. “I heard you say something about wanting a family. Isn’t that a big change, too?”

  She smiled at him. “I think having a little Colin would be the most wonderful thing possible.”

  “I’d like a family. I take it you also know exactly what you want on this issue, too.”

  “Certainly,” she replied smugly. He grinned. “All right, but let’s not start on the family for a little while. For a few months I want you all to myself.”

  “I think that’s a splendid idea.”

  “And how soon can we marry? Make it soon, darlin’.”

  “This is April. How about the middle of June? I think that’s soon.”

  “Not soon enough, but I’ll settle for that. Now come here and let’s make up for lost time,” he said in a husky voice, caressing her breasts as he pulled her to him.

  A ringing broke the stillness. Colin stretched out his arm to pick up the phone, placing it on the bed before he answered.

  He glanced at Isabella, then handed the receiver to her. “Your brother.”

  Colin toyed with her hair and caressed her back, leaning forward to lift her curtain of silky hair while he kissed her nape.

  Suddenly she shrieked, nearly toppling him off the bed. “I’m an aunt!” she cried, turning to look at him. “They have a little girl. Seven pounds. They named her Mary Isabella Devlin and they’re going to call her Ma
ry.”

  “Great,” he said, leaning over again to kiss her ear.

  “We’ll be there,” she said, replacing the receiver and handing him the phone, which he set back on the table.

  “I told Boone we’d come see them and little Mary.”

  “Uh-huh,” Colin said, cupping her breasts as his thumbs circled her nipples.

  “Oh, you wicked man,” she purred, leaning forward to kiss him.

  Epilogue

  I sabella gazed at herself in the mirror, still unable to believe what she saw. She pushed back the bridal veil. The simple white silk dress had tiny sleeves and a plain skirt with a train that could be removed. Tiny pearls beaded the lower part of the dress and along the straight neckline.

  “You look beautiful!” Erin said, standing nearby.

  Isabella turned to her matron of honor and squeezed her hand.

  “So do you. You don’t look as if you could possibly have had a baby a little over a month ago.”

  “I feel like I did,” Erin said, laughing. “Right now, Boone has her. At least I know she’s in good hands and he’s experienced at this.”

  “He’s a pro when it comes to babies.”

  “I’m glad you’re marrying Colin,” Erin said. “Your brother didn’t think you’d ever give up a career, but he’s glad you did.”

  “I didn’t give up a career. I have my studio, but I know what you mean. I’m so happy, I could fly,” Isabella said, and Erin smiled.

  “You do look gorgeous,” Stacia Longstreet confirmed.

  Isabella turned to her friend. “Thanks again for being in my wedding. Thanks to all of you,” she said to her sister Emily, a tall, slender brunette, and to another sister, Cathy, a shorter brunette with hazel eyes.

  Emily smoothed the skirt of her black dress. “A black and white wedding—this black dress is great, Izzie, because I can actually wear this dress again to parties.”

  “Good!”

  At a knock on the door, Isabella called, “Come in,” and her brother Zach thrust his head in the door. “The minister said it’s time. Don’t be late for your wedding,” he teased, closing the door quickly.