His attention returned to her. She couldn’t believe he’d ask her opinion about taking the job, but then again, she supposed if he really wanted to be with her, he wanted her to have a say in it. “What do you want to do?”
He held her hand. “I want to marry you, Dottie. In all the years I’ve been away, I’ve only thought of getting back together with you. Hell, I love you. I knew it from the moment I saw you again at the airport.”
She loved him right back, her eyes filling with tears with heartfelt emotion. After the disastrous relationship with the boyfriend that she’d broken up with before she’d met Jack, and her marriage to Jeffrey, she didn’t think she would ever meet someone who would be right for her. But not only for her. She had her children to think of. Who better to be their father than the man she’d fallen in love with, who was already their biological father, and had really shown how much he cared about them in the couple of weeks they’d been together.
“I’d love working for the CSF. I don’t want to be separated from you for that long—ten to twelve months, Chuck said. I don’t want to uproot you and the kids from here either.” Jack ran his hands through his hair, and in that instant, he looked frustrated like he didn’t know what to do exactly.
She didn’t imagine Jack was ever indecisive about anything. At least as long as they’d known each other, he hadn’t been. He acted as though he wanted to be with her and the kids, but he didn’t want to lose her over the separation.
She took his hand and pulled him down to sit on the bed next to her. “What brand of condoms do you use?”
Jack frowned at her, probably wondering why she didn’t say something about loving him or marrying him, or something more that suited the conversation. But she couldn’t delay telling him about the pregnancy test.
“Are you ready to be a daddy again?” She didn’t know how he’d take the news. This time, she wasn’t going to wait to tell him what he was in for.
His jaw dropped. And then he smiled. “Hell. Yeah.” He rubbed her shoulders, his eyes dark and intrigued, yet he looked amazed that he was going to be a father again, when he probably wasn’t used to being one yet.
“I was afraid you wouldn’t welcome the news.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “Of course I welcome the news. I’m thrilled. When do we get married? Or…should I ask, will you marry me?”
She laughed. “I thought you’d never ask. And yes!”
They kissed to seal the bargain and he rubbed her back, hugging her soundly. He’d thought of getting the kids involved in the marriage proposal, but he hadn’t wanted to wait any longer. Especially when she was pregnant with his child again.
“I’d say just keep the marriage simple, but I can’t. All my friends are going to want to take part in it and your family and mine too. So it’s not going to be easy to have something just quick and convenient.”
“What if we have a justice of the peace marry us, and then we can have the big wedding sometime after that, when everyone can plan to be there. You can let your family and friends know we’re getting married, and then take it from there.”
“Before I tell everyone I’m pregnant.”
“Yeah. My folks and my sister are going to be elated.” He kissed her again. “Do you want to wait on this, and we can find out what we need to do to get married first?”
“Are you kidding? No. I haven’t seen you in three months, and I’m not delaying this for any reason.”
Dottie had been anticipating being with Jack all these months and she couldn’t believe he was really here, undressing her, kissing her, making her blood sizzle. Just like she was kissing him and removing his clothes, smelling his musky, spicy scent that told her he was just as eagerly needing this as she was. She slid her hands over his muscular arms, loving the feel of him, the way his kisses turned from cherished to molten hot. The way his pheromones and hers incited each other’s to take this all the way.
He yanked the covers aside, and she laid against the bed while he continued kissing her.
She kissed him without reserve, her hands stroking his back as his naked body slid against hers, his hand sliding down her thigh in a sensual caress. She decided right then and there, she was following him wherever he went—to White Bear Lake if he had to train there, or even into the army. It didn’t matter. She wanted to be with him and he needed to be with her and the kids. Just as much as the kids needed to be with their daddy.
He tangled his tongue with hers. His stiffened cock rubbed up against her mound as he kissed her throat and then her breast bone. He gently suckled a nipple, his hand lightly caressing the other breast. To her surprise, he moved down further and kissed her small baby bump. She smiled down at him and ran her hands over his hair. This was a new experience for him, and for her.
That was another reason to be with him for now. She needed the intimacy and time to be close like this until the baby was born.
He stroked her swollen nub, already primed and eager for his touch. She shuddered with pent-up need and desire. The flicker of the stirrings of a climax quickly flared into a full-blown orgasm and she disintegrated into a million pieces.
Jack surged forward, pushing into her, deepening until he was snug in her wet heat. He belonged with her and he was seriously considering taking any job he could get in town. Maybe someone needed a security guard. Anything that would keep him in Yuma Town with Dottie and the twins. He continued to thrust deeply, thinking briefly about the brand new condoms he’d bought that were still in his pants pocket, and recalling she was already pregnant.
He felt the end coming, just as she cried out with release again, and he growled with contentment as his own climax hit. For a long moment, he just lay there with her, then remembering the baby, he rolled off Dottie and pulled her against his chest to cuddle. He loved this time with her, the aftermath of lovemaking, the feeling of release and gratification. “You are beautiful and I love you,” he whispered against her hair.
“You are too, and I love you right back,” Dottie said, snuggling comfortably against him.
After making love, they cuddled. Jack reached over to get his phone off the side table. “I’m going to check and see how we go about getting married fast.”
“No Las Vegas wedding.”
He smiled. “Wouldn’t think of it.” He didn’t know why he hadn’t looked into the procedure to marry Dottie prior to coming here. Not that he hadn’t been swamped with work and trying to get out-processed at the end, and trying to line up the job with the CSF, so he could come home to Dottie and the kids. He wanted to see Jeff and Trish too. If they could take care of the marriage license application right away, he wanted to do that first, and then pick up the kids.
He did a couple of searches and said, “Okay, good, we can apply for the marriage license online. Then we need to drive to Loveland to pick up the marriage license at the Clerk and Recorder’s Office to sign it and then get the judge to marry us.” He smiled. “They say here that if you get it at the Loveland Larimer County Clerk and Recorder’s Office, your marriage will have ‘The Sweetheart City’ included.”
She laughed. “Okay, sounds good.”
“We can be married by a judge, retired judge, magistrate, clergy, or do it on our own. The person solemnizing the marriage just completes the certificate and sends it in to the Larimer County Clerk and Recorder’s Office and we’re legally married. No blood test, no residency requirements, no waiting.” He pulled up the application.
She loved how he jumped right in with both feet, no hesitation. But what were they going to do about his job situation? Still, she was glad they were getting married. They would make everything else work out however they could.
“Who do you think we should have certify that we’re married? Wait, your boss. He’s the sheriff. Yeah, that would be perfect. No one would doubt the validity of the marriage license then.”
“Uh, yeah, I guess.”
“It could be someone else if you prefer. From what this says, anyone
will do.”
“I think Dan would be perfect. I’ll call Shannon and tell her we have to run to Loveland to take care of this business. I might as well get the ball rolling.”
“Okay, what do you want me to do?”
She looked at his hunky nakedness and smiled. “Maybe get dressed?”
He laughed, then hurried to get dressed. “You want to make the rest of the calls in the car?”
“Sure. That will give me a chance to make all the arrangements on the way there, and let everyone know what’s happening.” She finished getting dressed and called Shannon first to make sure it was okay with her that she was going to leave Trish and Jeff there for so long. Then again, they could take them with them. “Do you want to take the kids with us?”
“Either way is fine with me. I’ll leave it up to you. I’m going to call Chuck Warner and see if there’s any way he can give us a break and let me be here after maybe a month of training. Or maybe I should just ask Dan if I could work as a part-time deputy until I can work out something else.”
“I’ll see if Shannon can take care of the kids first, and then if not, we’ll take them with us. As to the situation with the job, let’s just get this taken care of first.”
“You do love me, don’t you?” Jack asked, pulling her in for a hug.
“Are you kidding? I thought that was rather obvious.” She smiled up at him. “Yeah, Jack, I love you. I was so afraid the business between us was a case of rebound in the beginning. What we have is so much more.” She kissed him soundly. Then she reluctantly pulled away so she could call Shannon, as Jack led her out to the car. “Hey, Shannon, I’m not going to make it to swim with you and the kids. Would you mind terribly taking care of them for about five or six hours?”
“I would love to keep them. I have to know if this is good news concerning Jack.”
Dottie climbed into the car and Jack shut her door for her. “Yeah. We’re going to Loveland to get a marriage license.”
Silence.
Jack got behind the steering wheel and drove down the driveway and then onto the country road.
“I’m going to ask Dan if he’ll sign the paperwork. If he’s unable to, maybe you could do it? Or Chase?”
“Are you sure you’re not jumping into this too quickly? Maybe you should get to know him better.”
“No, he’s the one. He’s always been the one. I just couldn’t see it because of his military obligation.”
“What about his work situation?”
Jack turned and drove up the main road to Loveland.
“We’ll figure out something. If I have to, I’ll move with him to White Bear Lake,” Dottie said to Shannon over the phone.
“In Minnesota? No way. I’ll ask Chase to talk to Dan about a position here in Yuma Town as a deputy sheriff if the CSF can’t relax their policy concerning where Jack is trained.”
Dottie wasn’t sure if Dan would want Jack working for him. She glanced out the window at the pines they were passing by, thinking of running with Jack and the kids in this area, glad he was finally here.
“But yeah, I’ll sign the paperwork. Ask Dan first though. He’s your boss, and you’ve been friends for so long, I wouldn’t exclude him. We’re still going to do the wedding, right? You can’t escape that.”
Dottie smiled. “Yes, we want to. We want to get married right away, just in case we do have to be separated for a while.” Especially with Dottie being pregnant again! She’d mention it only after she and Jack were married though. A few hours wouldn’t make much of a difference.
“Okay, well, we’re good here. Get something to eat in Loveland, enjoy yourselves before you’re an old married couple. You already have the kids.”
Dottie laughed. Little did Shannon or anyone else but the doctor know… Then she and Shannon ended the phone call and she punched in Dan’s number. “I’m getting married to Jack Barrington. Will you fill out the paperwork and sign it for us?” she hurried to say.
“Hell, Dottie. You just met the guy.”
“I’ve known him for some time. He’s right for me. He’s the father of my kids.” She knew Jack would assume her boss wasn’t really backing this marriage. He had to understand that her friends only wanted the best for her. They hadn’t even met Jack yet. They didn’t really know him at all.
“For what it’s worth, I think you should wait. He’s here now, right? So just…date for a while. He can stay at the cabins. Get to know you again. And the kids. Give it some time. I understand he’s going to White Bear Lake to train to be a CSF agent, and then when he’s finished, after a year, you can see if he’s still the one for you. That will give you time to see the matter more clearly,” Dan said.
“You know, I fantasized that maybe you and I could be together.” She needed to let Jack know that though she hadn’t had relations with another man other than her rotten husband, she hadn’t really believed she’d see Jack again. That he would have stayed in the service and made it a career.
Jack glanced at her.
“But it seems I’m not the only one who has secrets, Dan.”
“You mean about your kids and who the father is?”
And that she had another on the way! “Yeah, so what’s your secret?”
“I’ve never known you to be this impulsive. You always think things through.” Dan avoided the question.
She didn’t think anyone else knew what was going on with Dan, except maybe Leyton. There was some kind of unspoken communication going on between them. He wouldn’t enlighten her one way or another.
“I’ve been thinking about this since I saw Jack in Missouri. I’ve been corresponding with him daily. It’s done. We’re getting married. Do you want to sign our marriage license? Or do I get Shannon or Chase to do it?”
“So just like that? He doesn’t even have the decency to marry you so you can celebrate with your friends and family?”
She let her breath out in exasperation. “That will come next. We want this done before he has to leave for that CSF training, unless you can use another deputy sheriff.”
Dan didn’t jump in and tell her he would hire him.
“I know you’re concerned about me, but I know what I’m doing…this time around.” Dottie didn’t want anyone thinking they needed to intervene on her behalf this time. Yes, she’d made a horrible mistake marrying Jeffrey. Jack wasn’t anything like him.
“I checked further into his background. So did Leyton and Chuck. Well, because he wanted to work with them. He’s clean,” Dan said.
She fought the urge to hang up on Dan! She had to remind herself that he and the others were trying to protect her from marrying the wrong kind of guy again. But this was not the same as before. And Jack was the children’s father. “Dan, yes, or no?”
“If you are set on this course.”
“I am.”
“All right. When?”
“We’re on our way to Loveland to get the marriage license, and we’ll be back in about four and a half hours from now.”
“You know where to find me.”
“Thanks, Dan. See you later.” Though from the grouchy way Dan had talked, she was thinking that maybe she should just have Shannon do the honors.
When she ended the call, Jack cleared his throat. “Do you want to wait a bit? Let your friends get to know me first?”
“No. Dan and the others just know how devastated I was with my first marriage and the trouble Jeffrey caused when he returned. They’ll come around.” Her phone rang and she saw the call was from Deputy Sheriff Stryker Hill.
Either Shannon or Dan must have already told him what was up. Or Shannon had told her deputy sheriff husband, Chase, and he had told Stryker. News really got around fast in the cougar town.
“Hey, you’ve probably heard I’m getting married. Just a quick one and then a fancier one later when we can invite everyone.”
“Are you sure about this, Dottie? Last time—“
“Last time, my husband was a liar and an arms’ deal
er. Jack is the father of my kids and a good guy. Ask Dan. He even had him investigated. No skeletons in his closet, okay? I know his family—his mom, Lisa, his dad, John, and his sister, Roberta. They love me and the kids. I’m fine. Just be happy for me. All right? I’ll talk to you later. Bye.” She ended the call. She didn’t need all the negativity about this right now. She only wanted to feel good about this. She was certain everything would work out. By the time they returned, she figured the whole town would know about it.
She sat in silence for a few minutes, Jack being just as quiet, then he said, “Maybe you might like to join me in White Bear Lake for a while so we can be a family until I can get a job in Yuma Town. By then, your friends would realize we’re staying together. And that we love each other. That we’re good together. All of us.”
“If the kids and I move to a new area and you’re off training or working somewhere else, I won’t have cougar friends to talk to. And I want Kate to deliver the baby. I’m close to everyone here. I isolated myself after Jeffrey took off and left me to take care of the babies on my own. I don’t want to be isolated like that again. But that said, I don’t want to be separated from you again. The kids need to get to know you. We’ll follow you wherever you end up and my friends will come around eventually.” She just hoped they would sooner than later.
“But you need the support system from the cougars of Yuma Town. I have no idea what my schedule might be like. I might be gone for weeks at a time. I’ve already decided that I’ll just take any job I can in Yuma Town. Later, maybe there will be other job options. But for now, I want to be with you and the kids. That way you’ll still have your friends whom you can confide in, and your local doctor to see that everything’s progressing fine with the baby.”
“Thank you, Jack.” But she had made up her mind. If he didn’t find a job he liked, she wasn’t going to let him sacrifice his career. He could end up hating the job, and resenting her and the kids. “We’ll see what happens.”
“When will you learn if it’s a girl or a boy?”
“Next month. Do you want to know?”