Crimson River (The Edens)

Three months later . . .

Four conversations floated around my parents’ kitchen.

Dad was telling Griff and Knox about the flat tire he’d gotten on Wednesday.

Talia was lamenting to Mom and Winn about the upcoming end of her maternity leave.

Foster and Jasper were discussing some UFC fight.

Memphis, Eloise and Vera were huddled over a phone, shopping for Harrison’s first birthday presents.

“We’re getting married.”

All four conversations came to a screeching halt.

Vance shook his head and chuckled. “So much for keeping it to ourselves until Mateo got here.”

“He’s late.” I shrugged. “That’s not my problem. Besides, someone would have noticed the ring.”

And I refused to take it off.

My family, momentarily stunned, gaped at us, then everyone seemed to move at once. There were hugs and handshakes. Mom dabbed tears from the corner of her eyes. And when the overlapping conversations started again, this time the topic was our engagement and wedding plans.

The noise in the room spiked, excitement infusing the air. The kids, sensing the energy, chased in and out of the kitchen, racing along an invisible path that wound around legs and chairs and a few scattered toys, all while the adults talked.

The solitaire diamond ring on my finger still felt a bit foreign against my knuckle. But someday, after I’d worn it for decades, I hoped that whenever I slipped it off, I’d see its indentation in my skin.

Vance had taken me on a hike this morning. The weather had warmed over the past two weeks, enough that some of the snow had melted in the foothills. It was only March and we’d undoubtedly get another storm or two, but he’d wanted to take advantage of winter’s reprieve and my day off.

The trail he’d found had taken us to a secluded meadow in the forest. Maybe he’d planned the hike. Maybe he’d scoped out the area in advance. Maybe he’d just gotten lucky to find such a picturesque clearing in the trees.

I wasn’t sure and wasn’t asking.

The minute we’d broken through the tree line, Vance had dropped to a knee and asked me to be his wife.

My cheeks flushed just thinking about how Vance had fucked me against the trunk of a nearby cottonwood after I’d said yes. Then we’d celebrated again in the back of his truck. And again when we’d gotten home. Twice.

Like he could read my thoughts, Vance’s gaze met mine from across the room.

“I love you,” I mouthed.

He winked.

“Where’s Mateo?” Eloise asked, popping a carrot from the veggie tray into her mouth.

“I don’t know.” Mom checked her phone. “He said he was coming.”

“Well, I’m getting hungry,” Dad said. “I’ll start the grill. We can cook his burger when he gets here.”

A line of men, each carrying a cocktail, trailed from the kitchen to the deck. Apparently it took six males to turn on one barbeque.

“So where do you want the wedding?” Mom asked, taking the burger patties she’d prepped earlier from the fridge.

“I was thinking the barn. If that’s okay with you guys.”

“Of course.” She clapped, giddy with excitement. “What about the ceremony?”

“The weather is always a risk, but maybe we could have it outside.”

“We could set up tents just in case of rain,” Winn said.

“Oh, I saw this amazing picture the other day of an altar.” Memphis scrolled through the plethora of wedding inspiration pictures she’d saved on her phone as an event planner. She found the right one and held it out for us all to look at. “Isn’t that pretty with the wood arches and flowers? We could easily add a roof or covering.”

“I love it.” I smiled. “Will you be my wedding planner?”

“Aww.” She pressed a hand to her heart, then swept me into a hug. “I’d be honored.”

“How are your classes going, Vera?” Talia asked.

Vera had become a regular at our family dinners these past three months. She’d actually become a regular at Mom and Dad’s, period.

After Vance had come back to Quincy, he’d told me about the weeks we’d been apart. How miserable they’d been for Vera.

His place in Idaho had sold a few weeks ago, along with most of his furniture. We’d all gone back for a weekend to pack his remaining belongings and move them to my place.

The plan had been for Vera to keep living in the guest bedroom at our house. But then she’d declared she wanted her own place. She wanted to start living like a normal twenty-one-year-old woman.

Vance didn’t think she was quite ready to be entirely on her own again. Maybe he was just being protective, but after four years of isolation, I agreed that easing her into things was probably the best bet.

So I’d called my parents.

There was a loft above the barn. Mateo had lived there for a time after college. Then my uncle Briggs had called it home when his dementia had become worse and Dad had wanted his brother closer. After the dementia had become too advanced, Briggs had gone into a nursing home.

The loft had been empty ever since.

It seemed like the perfect place for Vera to find her footing.

My parents adored her. They invited her over for dinner at least three times a week. Dad had taken it upon himself to help her refresh her driving skills. And Mom was teaching her how to cook.

Meanwhile, Vera had wanted to dive straight into a full-time job, but instead, we’d encouraged her to get her GED first. She’d aced her tests last month and had started two online courses since.

“I really like them,” Vera said. “I still have no idea what I want to do, but for right now, I like having options.”

She was enrolled in a nutrition class and a psychology course. Two wildly different topics but both seemed to pique her interest. For money, she’d been working at the coffee shop. Between her and Crystal, I was able to take Fridays and Saturdays off.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d get to keep her at the shop. Mom and Dad had all but adopted Vera in the past three months, so if the day came when she wanted to move out for college or a career, they’d miss her terribly.

But for now, she seemed content. When she wasn’t working, she spent a lot of her free time with Vance. And day by day, her sweet smile appeared more and more.

While I wanted to give Vance and my family and my coffee shop credit for her growing happiness, I suspected a part of it had everything to do with the hikes she took into the woods.

She was searching for her father.

Neither Vance nor I asked if she’d found him. We stayed quiet, letting her do whatever it was she needed to do.

Poor Dad though. The first time she’d gone on a hike alone, Dad had panicked, worrying she’d get lost or hurt. Vance had promised my parents that he’d talk to her. And he’d reassured them that if anyone was safe in the wilderness, it was Vera Gallagher.

No one beyond the three of us knew that we’d found Vera with Cormac. My parents, like the rest of the world, believed that Vera had just shown up on Vance’s doorstep in Idaho.

And though I’d braced for it—and so had Winn—no one from the FBI had bothered to visit Quincy.

The door to the deck opened and the guys streamed back into the kitchen. Vance came to my side, hauling me close. He smelled like soap and earth and wind and . . . mine.

“Zalinski came into the restaurant for lunch today.” Knox pulled Memphis against his chest. “He mentioned retiring soon. I didn’t realize he was considering it.”

“News to me,” Winn said.

“Same here.” Dad nodded. “But I think it’s time.”

“Are you interested in running for sheriff?” Jasper asked Vance.

“Nah. Too much politics.” He grinned at Winn. “Besides, I like my new boss.”

“Thanks.” Winn smiled back. “If you want to run for sheriff, you know I’ll support you. But selfishly, please don’t leave me.”

Vance chuckled. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Winn had told me not long ago that Vance was like a breath of fresh air at the station. Most of the cops that worked for her had grown up in or around Quincy. Vance brought a different perspective. Different experience. She appreciated his steady nature, his total aversion to gossip or drama. And she knew he was loyal. He’d have her back.

The front door opened and bootsteps came thudding down the hall before Mateo appeared.

“There you—” Mom’s eyes widened. “What’s wrong?”

The cheerful mood from just seconds ago vanished as we all took in his ashen face.

“I, um . . .” He blinked, shaking his head like it was in a fog. “I have to go to Alaska. Tonight.”

“Tonight?” Dad asked. “Why? What’s going on?”

Mateo swallowed hard. “I think . . . I think I have a daughter?”

The room erupted in questions that Mateo didn’t answer.

He was already out the door.

“YOU OKAY?” Vance asked as we drove home from the ranch.

“Yeah.” I sighed. “Worried.”

Dinner had taken an entirely different turn after Mateo’s announcement. Mom had spent the rest of the night trying to call him—he hadn’t answered. And I’d kept my mouth shut as everyone else had speculated about the possibility of Mateo being a father.

No one else seemed to know about the woman he’d told me about months ago. The woman from his not-so-casual fling. So I just assumed he hadn’t wanted anyone to know. I’d let him explain to our parents and siblings.

But I was definitely telling my fiancé.

“A while ago, Mateo told me that he’d been seeing this woman in Alaska. He had hoped it would go somewhere but she wasn’t interested. Do you think that’s the mother? Of this baby?” I asked. Vance wouldn’t know the answer, but I couldn’t help thinking out loud.

“I don’t know, Blue.” He stretched an arm across the cab, taking my hand and bringing it to his lap.

“Ugh. I hate not knowing what’s happening.”

“He’ll figure it out. Give him time.” He brought my knuckles to his lips. “Your dad said he was cool with us having the wedding reception in the barn.”

Vance always knew when it was time to change the subject. And he was right. All we could do was give Mateo time. When he knew what was happening, he’d tell us.

“I want a big wedding,” I said, going along with the new topic. “The white dress. The cake. The party. I want a Lyla-and-Vance day.” That was the wedding of my dreams.

“A Lyla-and-Vance day,” he murmured, like he was tasting the idea to see if it was sweet.

“If you’d rather have something small—”

“I love you, Lyla. If you want a big wedding, then we’ll have a big wedding.”

“I love you too.”

“Could I toss out one idea?”

“Of course.”

He slowed the truck, easing to the side of the road. But there was nothing to see, just darkness and our headlights on the pavement ahead.

Vance unbuckled his seat belt, then bent over the console, crooking his finger until I was close enough to kiss. It was slow and lazy, the swirl of his tongue against mine causing a low ache to bloom in my center.

When he broke away, I unbuckled my own seat belt, ready to scramble into the back seat and have a repeat of our romp earlier. Me riding him, rocking the truck until we both cried out in ecstasy.

But before I could move, Vance held up a finger. “About this wedding.”

“Yes,” I drawled.

“You want it this summer.”

“Preferably.”

“Deal.” His gray-blue eyes locked with mine as a smirk spread across that sexy mouth. “But you let me get you pregnant first.”

Not at all what I’d expected him to say. It was the best idea I’d heard all night. “You’re on, Sutter.”