Exquisite Acquisitions

Twelve

Macy took the ring box from Carter’s hand. Joy burst through her heart and all of her fatigue, weariness and heartache melted away. She peered into the depth of Carter’s beautiful eyes, and when he gave her an encouraging nod, she opened the box.

“Oh wow.” She stared at the diamond ring Carter had purchased from the Waverly auction. The diamond’s lustrous facets reflected under the light with a brilliance that only matched the beautiful glow Macy felt inside.

Carter had offered her a ring. She was waiting for the words to come along with them, the words that would seal her fate with happiness. She was so much in love with Carter now that she could barely contain herself. She wanted to jump into his arms, scream at the top of her lungs and make love with him until the early morning dawned.

“I have no use for it now,” Carter said in a sincere tone that, once the words actually registered, burst her hopeful bubble. His next words nearly destroyed her. “I’m never going to propose to a woman ever again. Why don’t you take the ring and sell it? You can open up that drama school you’ve been dreaming about when you go back to Hollywood.”

Everything inside her went limp. Her hopes were instantly dashed, replaced by deep, wrenching disappointment. Pain sliced sharply through her entire body, cutting her like the blade of a dagger. She’d finally given in to her feelings for Carter. She’d finally realized that love was inevitable. And that it yielded great, uncontrollable power.

The Love Curse Diamond had struck again.

Silly her for daring to believe in love again.

She thought her time at the ranch had meant something to Carter. She thought that he might actually fall in love with her. She thought-and this particular notion hurt the most-that Carter hadn’t viewed her as his rebound girl, a temporary solution to his heartache.

Silly, silly her.

He waited for her reply wearing a satisfied expression. He thought he’d found a way to ease her pain. It was his way of protecting her.

The cure will kill you, they say and surely Carter’s solution would slowly, systematically cause her to die at least a thousand deaths. If only she hadn’t fallen in love with him.

Her heart sank yet the pain that blistered her would never see the light of day. She would hide her heartache and lift her head with pride. There wasn’t anything else Carter could do or say to her to make her feel any worse.

“If it’s not enough money to start up a school, I’ll invest in you, Macy. I’ll become your silent partner.”

“You’ll invest in me?” She’d been wrong. She did feel worse. He wanted to go into business with her, not pledge his undying love.

She stared at the ring and bolstered her courage. Concealing her destruction would be the hardest thing Macy would ever have to do. She had no more tears to shed, but keeping her voice steady and her body from collapsing in grief wouldn’t be easy. Summoning up her acting ability, she got into character and pretended to be a woman with more pride than smarts. Macy used every trick in her arsenal to bring him a performance worthy of a standing ovation.

“Carter, thank you. It’s very generous of you.” She smiled wide with gratitude plastered on her face and touched his cheek tenderly. “There’s no need to go into business together.” She took a silent swallow. “The ring will bring me enough money to see my dreams come alive.”

She held her head up and kept the smile on her face. “I can’t thank you enough for letting me stay here at the ranch and for, well…everything.”

“No problem, darlin’.”

“I, uh, I guess this is a good time to tell you. As soon as the work is finished on the inn, I’ll be leaving.”

Carter frowned and his brows knit tightly together. “When?”

“It’s just a matter of putting on the finishing touches now.”

“When?” he asked again.

Macy plunged ahead. The pain would be sharper and the knife twists far more gutting if she prolonged her stay here. “I’ve been in touch with my agent,” she fibbed. “There’s a role that’s perfect for me, and I’ll need something current on my résumé before I take a stab at opening a drama school. Success breeds success, as they say. I need to be in Hollywood before the weekend for an audition.”

“This weekend? That’s in three days.”

She hid her dismay well, yet her mind screamed for mercy. Three days left at Wild River. Three days left to be with Carter McCay. The thought made her stomach knot with tension, but she forced herself to continue with her charade. “Yes, I know. It’s time for me to face my life head on.”

He pierced her with a long, unblinking stare filled with intense regret. She met his regret with bold determination, and he let out a deep sigh of resignation. He wouldn’t try to change her mind. He wouldn’t say a word to stop her. They’d both known this arrangement was temporary. She wondered if he would miss her. She hoped so. She wouldn’t want her time here to have been so easily forgotten.

Carter brushed her hair to the side and kissed her forehead, her cheeks and then brought his lips to her mouth. His intoxicating kiss made her heart bleed.

That night, he made love to her with great passion. He touched every part of her body with his hands and his tongue and his mouth. He stroked her until she cried his name, and he pleasured her as if she was the most desirable woman on the planet.

And with each loving embrace, each sensuous kiss and each powerful release, she fell more and more in love with him.

Macy stood on her terrace, looking out over her neighborhood as Pacific breezes whipped at her hair. The salty sea air freshened an otherwise smoggy day. Sometimes on a clear day, from one angled view on her terrace, she could actually see the ocean. Today wasn’t one of those days.

Since she’d left Wild River, she’d pretty much stayed isolated in her three-bedroom condo in Brentwood. Her only contact had been with a grocery store clerk, a gas station attendant and her neighbor Ella, who had come by to drop off her mail. She’d felt so odd, so out of place, that it had taken her several days to finally reacclimate to living in Los Angeles again.

Carter had insisted on driving her to the airport and had given her a goodbye kiss that buckled her knees. He held her in a tight embrace afterward, and she thought maybe he wouldn’t let her go. That maybe he’d realized he couldn’t live without her. That maybe he could take one more chance on a woman, the right woman. But Carter had let her go and forced himself to step away from her, though with great reluctance. That was something she could hold on to when she thought back on her time at Wild River. Carter hadn’t said the words, but at least, his actions told her, he wasn’t ready for her to leave.

“I’m here if you ever need me,” he’d said. “Wild River is only a plane flight away.”

But there was no true conviction in his voice. He was so certain that she’d step into her old way of life, paparazzi and all, without a look back. He had her pegged all wrong, but it wasn’t up to her to inform him. He’d pretty much laid his cards on the table the other night.

I’m never going to propose to a woman ever again.

She asked herself why couldn’t she have stayed and allowed her fiery fling to flame out? Since when had Macy become such a stick-in-the-mud that now, suddenly, she held dear traditional values? Since when had she wanted the clichéd husband and family and white picket fence?

Since she’d met Carter and fallen in love, that’s when. With him, she wouldn’t accept anything less than having his love.

She’d kissed Carter one last time in front of the airport’s security gate, then brought her mouth to his ear and whispered, “I’ll never forget you, Carter. And please reconsider about your father.”

She hadn’t waited for his reaction. She knew he wouldn’t be happy with her last words, but she had to say them. She’d whirled around with her overnight bag in hand and made her way through the security line without ever once looking back.

Memories of Carter consumed her thoughts. She kept going over the irony in her mind. For the time she’d lived at Wild River, she’d thought that Carter’s ownership of her mother’s cursed ring meant there was no hope for the two of them. She’d believed that no good would actually come from Carter falling in love with her, or her him. Their fate was cast. But the staggering truth was sharper and more painful. Carter simply didn’t love her. It had nothing to do with a curse or the diamond rings.

Thoughts of her gorgeous white-clad cowboy, astride his stallion, racing into town to sweep her up and ride into the sunset would be left for the late show in her dreams. It was the only place for them. And as soon as Macy realized that, her heart would stop aching, her stomach would stop clenching and she would get her head back in the game.

Carter had worked from sunup to sundown for the past eight days. He made appointments he really didn’t need to make, had meetings in his Dallas office with each one of his employees that were unnecessary and worked alongside his capable ranch hands in the barns and on the land. He dove into his work with uncanny vigor. His actions caused attention, garnering raised eyebrows and a few tactful questions from those close to him. None of his attempts helped him shake the feeling that he’d lost something valuable, something that couldn’t be replaced. This afternoon, as he stood by the corral fence watching the new colt lumber around the arena, separated from his mama and trying to find his own way, Carter felt one with him. Just like Midnight, he faced the uncertainty and stumbled around.

Earlier today, Carter had looked up an old girlfriend’s phone number. He’d stared at the screen that, with one tap of his finger, might have hooked him up with a woman, and then he cursed at his own stupidity.

“What the hell.” Instead of making that call, he’d grabbed a cold beer and strode outside.

He took a few gulps quickly, letting the foamy brew slide down his throat, and thought about how often in the past week he’d been tempted to call Macy. He’d thought about her at least twenty times a day. He wondered if she’d fallen right back into step with the Hollywood scene. And the more he thought about her, the more it irked him that she’d left the minute after he’d given her back that ring. Maybe that was all she’d ever been after. Maybe she saw her opportunity to play on his generous nature with well-rehearsed tears. She’d admitted she was broke. Just maybe, she’d played him for a fool. She might, at this very minute, be going after the other diamonds she’d sold at the Waverly auction.

Carter winced at his own suspicions. He’d been tainted by Jocelyn’s deception, and because of her he’d vowed to keep up his guard around women. His wavering trust was as thin as a split horsehair.

He swore an oath and told himself he was right to let her leave. They’d had a brief affair with no talk of a future between them, no talk of anything beyond the here and now. That night in New York, he’d seen a woman being hounded and pursued against her will and he’d intervened. His protective streak had kicked in big-time, and he told himself that’s all it was. He couldn’t watch Macy being badgered like that, and another round of protectiveness had kicked in when he’d seen the extent of her vulnerability. He’d invited her to Wild River because she’d needed an escape, a safe place to hide out, and not because she was beautiful and witty and the distraction he’d needed at the time.

“Hey, Rock,” he said when the golden retriever ambled toward him. “How’s it going, boy?”

The dog plopped his forlorn body down beside him. Rocky had been a victim of Macy’s departure, too. He’d spent the first five nights in her bedroom, waiting eagerly for her to appear. He’d sniffed in her closet, under her bed, in the bathroom, and when Carter would pass by her room, the dog would look up with a question in his disappointed caramel eyes. It was one thing to work through his own sense of emptiness with Macy gone, but seeing it expressed so damn desperately on the dog’s face was like a sucker punch to his gut.

“Yeah, I miss her, too.” Carter had been insane to think that he wouldn’t.

He polished off his beer in one quick gulp and strode to his Jeep. “C’mon, Rock.”

He knew the dog would follow in hope that Carter would lead him to Macy. That wasn’t going to happen. Rocky would just have to forget her, and in time he would. Carter might not be so lucky.

He sped off with the dog in the passenger seat. Rocky stuck his head out the window, and the warm August air hit his face and ruffled his whiskers in the breeze.

Though he didn’t have the first clue why, Carter drove across town and slowed as he approached his father’s house. He parked the Jeep in front. On a deep, unsteady breath, he turned his head to face the shack where he’d grown up, and he stared for a long while. He didn’t really see a broken-down porch with wood planks missing or window shutters loose on their hinges. He didn’t really see the dirt and neglect. He looked beyond that this time, to see something entirely different.

A chance.

He got out of the Jeep with Rocky at his side. “It’s a ten-minute visit,” he said to the dog. “And then we’re outta here.”

An hour later, Carter’s restlessness and jumpy nerves got the better of him. He powered the Jeep along the highway that led to Wild River Ranch and took the turnoff that led to the inn. He thought about that mysterious Gold Heart Statue, and whether his friend Roark was in any danger. He went over the facts on his mind about that text Roark had sent… Anything to keep him from thinking about Macy.

Rocky’s ears perked up when he heard Bill Fargo’s call of hello. Carter pulled the Jeep alongside Fargo as he walked the grounds. “Hey there, out doing your rounds?”

The old man smiled. “That’s what you pay me for.”

Carter nodded. “Got time to take a break?”

The old man looked at his watch. “I was just about to.”

Carter parked by the front of the inn and climbed out. He walked with Fargo to the shaded gazebo steps and they sat down. Rocky sniffed all around first, his nose down as he moved along the perimeter, picking up Macy’s scent. When he finally looked up, it was with recrimination.

Where the heck is she? the dog seemed to be asking.

Carter ignored him and stretched his legs out, his boot heels scraping the cracked stone steps that surrounded the gazebo. “How’s it going?”

Fargo looked out across the field. “Fine. No sign of trouble. Everything’s been kinda peaceful-too peaceful actually, without Macy stirring up trouble.”

Carter swiveled his head and caught the man’s knowing gaze. “Yeah.”

“Haven’t seen you here for a while,” Fargo said. “Not since Macy left.”

“I’ve been busy.”

“I bet you have. Busy ignoring the truth. Maybe even afraid of dealing with it.”

Carter should take offense. The man worked for him, and though his tone wasn’t disrespectful, his words certainly were. “What do you think I’m afraid of?” He gave Fargo a pass due to his age. Carter was curious to hear what he was getting at.

Fargo took his hat off and ran his hand through his shock of graying hair. “I was busy like you once upon a time. So busy, in fact, that I let a woman slip right through my fingers. The perfect woman for me. It was a messy thing, it was. And I’m sorry I ever let her go.”

“What happened with her?”

Fargo’s self-deprecating laughter touched the very ends of Carter’s soul. “I lost her. Oh…it was a long time ago, but in some ways it was yesterday. I’ve been lonely for her all my life. I’d hate to see that happen to you.”

“Me? That won’t happen to me. I’m never going to let it.”

“You’re too busy, Carter,” he said with a shake of his head. “Ignoring what’s right in front of you. Too busy denying what you’re feeling in here.” He thumped a finger into Carter’s chest right over his heart. “And letting what’s going on in here,” he said, pointing to Carter’s head, “make the wrong choices for you.”

Carter drew a deep breath.

“Don’t let pride stand in your way, son. If you care about Macy-”

“How do I know she feels anything for me?” Carter asked. “And how can I believe her? She’s an actress. As soon as she got the ring back, she left the ranch.”

“Did she get what she really wanted? If you think she was after that diamond ring, you’re thinking with your ass.”

Carter’s eyes snapped to his.

“Pardon me. I’m an old man, and I tell it like it is. That girl was devastated when she left the ranch. I heard it in her voice. I saw it on her face. Maybe the only acting she was doing was when she pretended it didn’t kill her to leave Wild River. I know one thing, it’d be a shame to let your fears and suspicions hold you back from finding out the truth.”

Carter drew a sharp breath. The old man was confusing him, and when he got that way he became cautious. Carter didn’t need someone telling him how he should feel and what he should do. He’d done all right for himself so far, with only a misstep or two in his life. But who could blame him? He’d had a rotten upbringing and was proud of what he’d accomplished under the guidance of his uncle.

Carter changed the subject abruptly and spoke with Fargo for only a few minutes more before taking his leave. He couldn’t let Fargo persuade him into making another blunder. He wasn’t about to go after Macy, hat in hand, only to have her turn a cold shoulder to him and laugh in his face. Though a large part of him said she wouldn’t do that, Carter couldn’t be sure, and he wasn’t good at taking foolish chances.

The next day, he wandered around the ranch with no real sense of purpose. His work was all caught up and his desperate restlessness couldn’t be ebbed. He’d taken off on his favorite mare and rode roughshod over the terrain, pushing his horse hard and coming back exhausted and spent. The day after that, he paid his cousin a visit to shoot the breeze and drink hard liquor until he couldn’t see straight. Brady had driven him home that night.

That next afternoon, Carter sought Bill Fargo out to finish the conversation they’d begun the other day. But Fargo didn’t answer his phone or respond to the text message Carter had sent him. Henry hadn’t seen him today, and neither had Mara.

Carter strode into his bedroom, frustrated. He had to shower and change for a business dinner in Dallas he’d rather not attend. As he slipped his shirt off, he noticed a plush velvet ring box sitting on his dresser. His heart leaped in his chest. It looked like the same box he’d given Macy. There was a note attached.

Carter opened the box first. To his amazement, the legendary Tarlington diamond caught the light and reflected back at him with a twinkle. There was no mistaking the iconic ring with the T-shaped configuration. Its brilliance was matched only by its uniqueness. Mystified, Carter set the ring down and lifted the note.

Dear Carter,

You bought a very expensive ring at Waverly’s during the Tina Tarlington auction. I outbid you, or rather, my assistant outbid you for Tina’s prized ring from the man considered her one true love. I adored Tina’s work and once spent time with her. I’d hoped she’d run away with me, but it wasn’t to be. In any case, I’ve had my eye on you, Carter, and think you are a good man. You have fallen hard for Tina’s daughter, without a doubt. I’d like you to give this ring back to her. Whether you return it to her as a favor to me, or give it to her as a pledge of your love, it’s up to you, but I wouldn’t be a fool if I were you. Macy is worth far much more than a mere diamond ring.

Bill

The words sank in as the questions flew. Carter’s wary nature had him looking at an attached bill of sale that appeared absolutely authentic from Waverly’s. And inside the ring, he squinted to read the loving inscription from Clyde Tarlington, With love to my Tina.

Carter was shaken to the core. His suspicions had vanished. He didn’t need any more proof that this diamond ring was the genuine article. He had the actual Tarlington diamond in his possession, and there was only one person on earth who deserved to wear this ring. There was only one person on earth who deserved everything he had to give.

Carter closed his eyes briefly, acknowledging the potent emotion sweeping through him. He’d denied it, stomped on it and disregarded it for too long. Now, it swelled in his heart and made him feel giddy inside. He didn’t have a clue who the heck Bill Fargo really was, but he knew one thing-he owed him a giant Texas-size thank-you.

Macy stared at the cowboy who stood on the grassy hill, his black felt Stetson shading his eyes and his manly physique accented by tight Wrangler jeans and a red Western shirt. When the director called “Action,” Macy took her cue and rode on horseback over to him.

The cowboy was a pretty boy who was cocksure of himself, strutting around the Hollywood set, getting into character by spitting tobacco and dusting up his shiny new leather boots. The irony of Macy landing this role in the Rugged Cologne commercial was almost laughable, but she needed the work and it paid well.

The cowboy spoke his lines, his Southern drawl too drawn out to sound authentic. In a grand sweep, he lifted her off the horse and stumbled backward attempting to carry her weight. Desperately, he clutched at the material of her calico dress while trying to keep his balance and ruined the take.

It seemed the Rugged cowboy needed some more time in the gym.

Macy couldn’t help making comparisons. Ronny Craft was trying, but he needed a few more years of maturity and a complete personality adjustment to pull off being the real cowboy deal. He’d been hitting on her all day, asking her out on a date, and hadn’t quite gotten the hint no matter how many times she’d told him no.

Carter was the real deal, and she missed him like crazy. Just being on horseback again reminded her of the time she’d spent at Wild River Ranch. Working on a set with wranglers and watching them care for the horses brought images of the night Midnight was born. This silly cologne commercial had stirred up memories of Carter that Macy had tried desperately to lock away.

The diamond he’d given back to her would go a long way in helping her achieve her drama school dream, but Macy’s heart wasn’t in it anymore. She couldn’t force herself to sell the ring. She couldn’t force herself to find a location for the school. Every day she found an excuse to put it off.

And every day she hoped her love for Carter would diminish. Every day she’d tried to talk herself out of loving him until she finally realized that she would probably love him until her dying day, in the same way her mother had loved her father.

It hurt to think her love was one-sided. But the hurt also helped to remind her that he had never loved her back. He hadn’t put up even a mild protest when she announced she was leaving the ranch.

“That’s a wrap!” the assistant director shouted an hour later. The crew, who’d been quietly hovering behind an invisible boundary in back of the director, scattered and scurried to clear away the equipment.

Later that day, Macy stopped at the grocery store to buy eggs and vegetables. A veggie omelet was on the menu for tonight’s meal. Macy pulled the scarf from her head, tired of the disguise, and let her black curls fall freely. The media frenzy surrounding her had died down now that the Tina Tarlington auction was over, and Macy could actually drive in her own neighborhood without being followed. She had Whitney Wynds to thank for that. The rising new starlet had stolen the spotlight for her high crimes in fashion. She’d taken a scissor to a designer’s original work, making it all her own for her first Hollywood premiere, and the style police from all across the nation wouldn’t let it rest.

Macy enjoyed the peace as she walked the brick pathway that led to her condo. But her small smile faded as she glanced down at the sidewalk and saw the shadow of a man looming long and tall behind her. A Western hat outlined by the late-afternoon sun told her who it was.

“Ronny,” she said, gripping her grocery bag tight. “I told you on the set, I won’t go out with you.”

“Who’s Ronny?”

She recognized that voice. Macy whirled around so fast she dropped her bag of groceries. “C-Carter?”

He grinned, a devastating grin that made her breath catch. “Hello, Hollywood. I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve, uh, missed you, too.” Macy blinked. Her heart thudded heavily against her chest. And her legs went wobbly at the sight of him standing in front of her home. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

Carter took a few steps forward and then bent to pick up her grocery bag, sneaking a peek inside. “I bet half those eggs didn’t break.”

She blinked again, trying to get with the program. Carter was here, in Hollywood, and more important, on her doorstep and she wasn’t dreaming. “No, I, uh, guess the grocery boy packed them really good.”

Carter rose, holding the grocery bag in one hand while the other hand touched her arm lightly. His beautiful hazel eyes turned serious. “Do you have time to talk?”

Talk? He wanted to talk?

She nodded, wondering what brought him here. “Okay.”

“I’m not interrupting anything…with Ronny?” he asked, his brows lifting.

“Ronny? Oh no…he’s not-” He’s not a cowboy. He’s not you.

“’Cause if you’ve got something going with him,” Carter said, his voice menacingly low, “I’d have to knock him ten ways to Sunday.”

Macy actually laughed. And so did he. “May I come in?”

Macy let him inside her home and immediately wondered what he thought about her decor. She had good taste but loved to bargain shop. Her home was an eclectic display of design on a budget.

“Nice,” he said as she grabbed the grocery bag from his arms. He walked around, taking a look out her terrace window while she put her grocery bag on the kitchen counter. She was so nervous having him here that she fidgeted with the plastic bags of vegetables and actually counted the unbroken eggs. Carter was right, she’d lost only half of them.

She shoved the carton in the refrigerator, her nerves jangling, and when she turned around Carter was there, standing three feet away.

He looked massive inside her small kitchen and handsome wearing a Western jacket over a pressed white shirt. His jeans were comfortably worn and fit him to perfection. He took his hat off and a lock of his dark blond hair fell onto his forehead. It was so endearing, Macy had to hold herself back from rushing into his arms. She didn’t have a clue what he was doing here.

“I paid a visit to my dad the other day. We…talked for a while.”

Macy swallowed past a big old lump in her throat. “That’s good.”

“Rocky came along.”

She bit her lip, holding back her satisfaction. “I bet Riley was glad to see both of you.”

Carter shrugged. “I think so.”

It was a start, Macy thought, and she wondered if the two of them had actually gotten along during the visit. Still, she was glad Carter had made the effort with his father. But she wondered if that was the reason he was here-to tell her about his progress with his father? She waited for him to say more about it, but his expression changed and she knew that conversation was over.

“I, uh,” he began, then stopped to brush invisible dust from the brim of his hat. Macy had never seen Carter looking so nervous. “I never thought I could do this again.”

Macy’s throat constricted and her voice came out small and fragile. “Do what again?”

His gaze fastened over her right shoulder, as if he was searching for the right words. He seemed determined to get something off his chest. “You know that Jocelyn made a fool out of me and it hurt my pride and my ego. She’d been trying to make Brady jealous the entire time we were together. I didn’t see it. That kind of manipulation works on a man’s trust.”

Macy nodded.

“I guess I really didn’t know her, and I certainly didn’t love her,” he said. “I know that now.”

“You do?”

Carter’s gaze shifted back to her. He pierced her with an intense look. “Yeah, I know it for fact. Because I’m crazy in love right now. With you, Macy.”

Macy slumped back against the refrigerator door, floored by his admission. Joy instantly leaped into her heart. “You are?”

“That’s right. I am. I love you. I never thought I’d let myself feel this way. I never thought I could trust anyone with my heart again. I wanted no part of marriage or long-term relationships. I was done. And then I saw you on that New York street-”

“And you rescued me.”

“It was fate, Macy. I might never have met you otherwise.”

Macy looked him straight in the eyes. She knew how hard this was for him. He was taking a giant leap of faith in revealing his feelings. And she should make him sweat it out longer after what he’d put her through. But she didn’t want to tempt fate. And she’d been waiting her entire lifetime to say these words. “I’m pretty crazy in love with you, too,” she said. “For the record.”

Carter closed his eyes to her declaration, as if he was absorbing her words. As if he was reaffirming them in his mind. When he opened his eyes again, she was standing toe-to-toe with him. She looked into his beautiful hazel eyes. “Are you going to kiss me now?”

Carter took her into his arms and Macy melted in his embrace. “Not yet, sweet darlin’. There’s more.”

“I’m listening.” Macy circled her arms around his neck and watched his mouth move, watched his strong stubborn jaw relax and watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. Every motion, every nuance that was Carter brought her happiness.

“I’m having the gazebo rebuilt. It’s going to be magnificent. And I want the Wild River Inn to house your drama students. They can come for summer sessions and weekends during the school year. I want you to teach, Macy. I want you to be my wife and live with me at Wild River Ranch until the sun sets for the last time on both of us.”

“Oh, Carter.” It was more than Macy had ever dared to hope, yet it was what she’d been secretly wishing.

“There’s more,” he said, “and believe me, if I thought I could wait another few hours, I’d do this much better. But I can’t. I’ve wasted enough time.”

Carter bent down on one knee and took a red paisley neckerchief out of his pocket. He unfolded it carefully and presented her with a diamond ring. “There’s only one place this ring belongs,” he said reverently. “And that’s on your finger.”

Stunned, Macy’s hand came to her mouth. She stared at the sparkling diamond, eyeing the ring that had bound her parents’ love. Then finally, she managed to whisper through thick emotion, “The Tarlington diamond? I never thought I’d see it again. How did you…?”

“It just came into my possession, sweetheart. I’ll explain later,” he said tenderly. Then he took her hand in his, holding it steady, while the rest of her body trembled in anticipation. “Macy Tarlington,” he began, “I’m promising to love you and keep you safe and happy for the rest of our lives. I’m promising you this from the bottom of my heart. And I’m asking you to become my wife and have my children. Come live with me at Wild River. Come home.”

Macy didn’t hesitate. Wild River was her home. She loved Carter with everything she had inside and she belonged by his side. “Yes, Carter, I’ll be your wife.” She didn’t know how he’d done it, but the proposal and the ring together went beyond her most cherished dreams. Her voice softened to a hush. “I love you so much, Carter McCay.”

He slid the ring on her finger and happy tears spilled down her cheeks. “It fits.”

Carter laughed along with her and then finally brought his mouth down to claim her in a bone-melting kiss that knocked her knees out from under her. Carter was there instantly, protecting her from the fall. He lifted her and carried her out of the kitchen. “Show me your bedroom, darlin’. I’ve missed you something fierce.”

Macy grinned, touched a loving hand to her cowboy’s cheek and pointed the way.

Afterward, once the sun had set and they lay facing each other, sated and cocooned in the cozy embrace of their love, Carter told her about their mysterious benefactor, Bill Fargo. His explanation left more questions than answers, but Carter said he was grateful to Fargo, or whatever his name was, because the old guy managed to break through his stubborn pride and make him see the love he had for Macy.

“Thanks to Bill,” Macy said softly, “I’m getting a wonderful husband.”

Carter kissed her cheek. “And I’m getting a multitalented, beautiful Hollywood starlet, uh, serious actress for a wife.” He winked. “There aren’t too many Texans who could make that claim.”

Macy thought she was definitely getting the better end of the deal, but she’d never admit that to her Stetson-wearing gorgeous hunk of a cowboy.

She wasn’t that stupid.

Just incredibly lucky.