Cherish Collection January 2014 (Books 1-12). Rebecca Winters

that’s breezy, isn’t it?” she said, quickly refastening Piper’s pink outfit and pulling her baby up against her.

      Stacey tucked Piper under her coat as she made her way to Colton’s room, where his parents sat next to him.

      “Hi,” she said. “I thought you might enjoy some visitors.”

      Colton looked up, and, seeing Piper, he gave a groggy smile. “Hey, how’s the little one doing?”

      “Great. She barely made a peep on the way. An hour’s drive. There’s hope that she will be a good traveler.”

      “Joe didn’t come to see you, did he?” Colton asked.

      Stacey slid a questioning glance toward Colton’s parents, but his mother just shook her head and rose. “Come on, Frank. Let’s get some coffee.”

      “I just had coffee,” Frank said.

      “Well, I want some more,” Olive said firmly.

      Frank sighed and rose to his feet. “Thanks for coming,” he said to Stacey and gave a little wave to Piper.

      “You’ve mentioned Joe several times,” Stacey said. “I thought it was a result of your concussion. Why do you keep talking about him? Did you have a hallucination?”

      Colton gave a short laugh, then grabbed his bruised ribs. “No hallucination. He showed up at the bar the other day.”

      Shocked and confused, Stacey stared at Colton. “Joe? In Horseback Hollow? Are you sure?”

      “Yeah, I punched him in the face,” Colton said.

      Stacey covered her mouth with her free hand. “Oh, my goodness. How did that happen?”

      “Easy,” Colton said. “He opened his mouth and started talking. I gave him twenty-four hours to go see you. Then, I told him I was taking my turn.”

      Stacey sank onto a chair, pulling Piper onto her lap. She shook her head but felt no sadness. “He never showed.”

      Colton took a deep breath and winced. “The night of the wreck, I was counting down the minutes to come see you.”

      Stacey’s heart squeezed tight. “Oh, Colton, no.” She rubbed her forehead. “That means you would have never had that accident if you had decided to stay home and wait until morning.”

      “I couldn’t wait,” Colton said. He closed his eyes. “I have a confession to make. Back before Joe proposed to you, I told him he needed to put a ring on your finger. You’re a special girl, and someone was going to steal you away. He proposed to you the next day.” Colton sighed, opening his eyes, his gaze full of regret. “I always felt guilty—that maybe you wouldn’t have gotten pregnant if I hadn’t given Joe that push.”

      Stacey blinked at the revelation. She felt a rush of emotions. All those months ago, Colton had been protective of her. What Colton told her just confirmed what she already knew. Joe had never truly loved her. He might not have wanted to lose her, but he hadn’t loved her. “I hate that he had to be pushed along, and that I believed in him. I hate that he abandoned both Piper and me. But I could never regret having Piper. She’s the light of my life.”

      “Yeah, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been through a terrible time because of Joe.”

      “Why did you give him twenty-four hours?” Stacey asked.

      Colton shrugged his shoulders and winced slightly. He looked away, then back at her. “I’m in love with you. I don’t know exactly when it happened or how. It just did. I fell in love with you. And Piper. Maybe I shouldn’t have threatened Joe—”

      “Stop,” she said breathlessly and nearly fell out of the chair. “Did you just say you love me?”

      He narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, I did.”

      “And Piper. You love her, too?”

      “I do,” he said, almost defiantly.

      Stacey jumped from her chair and planted a kiss on his mouth. “I love you, too, Colton Foster. So very, very much.”

      He met her gaze. “Are you sure?”

      “Very, very sure. I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. Say it again, please. Say you love me again so I can be sure. I feel like I dreamed it.”

      “I love you, Stacey Fortune Jones. I want you to be Stacey Fortune Jones Foster,” he said.

      Her heart stopped in her chest. “I feel as if I’m walking in a dream.”

      “I want to make your dreams come true as much as I possibly can,” he said. “Even if that means sitting in tiny chairs I’m afraid of breaking for the sake of having a tea party with Piper.”

      Stacey’s eyes filled with tears. “Oh, Colton.”

      Piper made a chirpy sound, and he turned to her. “I wanted to take this slow and be sensible, but life is too short. Stacey and Piper, will you marry me?”

      “Yes, yes and yes,” Stacey said and kissed Colton again.

      His parents walked into the room. “Everything okay?” Mrs. Foster asked.

      “Everything’s great,” Colton said. “Stacey, Piper and I are getting married.”

      “Well, thank goodness,” his mother said, her voice full of relief and emotion. “We couldn’t be happier.”

      “I guess we’re going to have to build a house on the ranch for you three,” Mr. Foster said. “We’ll get started as soon as possible.”

      “Dad, I’d really like you to see a doctor about your back. I don’t want you working on a house for me when you might hurt yourself.”

      His father frowned and shrugged. “Your sister’s taking me for an appointment to see a doctor next week. I didn’t want to do it, but she told me I owed it to you. I’m gonna hire a full-time hand and a few part-time guys, too. It’s time. I’ve got more money in the bank than anyone knows, but don’t spread that around. We’ll get through. I just want you to get well.”

      Stacey squeezed one of Colton’s hands. “This means you can concentrate on getting better,” she said. “That’s what we all want.”

      * * *

      The next day, Colton arrived home from the hospital and was recovering by leaps and bounds. His doctor called him superhuman because he was healing so quickly. Stacey constantly chided him to take his time and rest, but she could see he found it hard not to forge into his regular routine. She visited him every day, and every day, it seemed as if their love for each other grew stronger.

      A few days after that, Colton stood with her in the den of her parents’ home. The room was usually a warm, welcoming place for family and visitors, but not today.

      Today, the visitor was the biological father of her child. Stacey had fought the meeting with Joe, but Colton had insisted that she and Piper deserved some support from Joe. Stacey couldn’t be less interested in seeing Joe. In many ways, she didn’t want Piper exposed to such a man. She could only hope that someday he would grow up.

      A knock sounded at the door, and she looked at Colton. “You’ll be okay,” he said. “I’m here with you. You’re just looking out for Piper. Remember that.”

      Stacey took a deep breath and answered the door to her former fiancé and Piper’s biological father. He didn’t look nearly as handsome as she remembered. She wondered how that had happened. “Hi, Joe. Come on inside,” she said.

      Joe entered with a slightly ill expression on his face. “Yeah, uh. I know I need to give you child support,” he said. “I should have done it before, but I just couldn’t face the idea that I had a child. I’ll catch up,” he promised.

      “That’s good,” Stacey said. She wouldn’t thank him. This was