Gray, Ginna (29 page)

Sam paced away rubbing the back of his neck, then swung back.
"Look, things have changed for you. It looks like Carlos is going to cash
in. If that happens, you won't have to start your life over. Not in witness
protection or with me."

Each word he spoke struck her like a fist. The awful knot just
beneath Lauren's breastbone tightened painfully.

Her chin came up a notch. "What are you trying to tell me,
Sam?"

"Look, I know I coerced you into this marriage. Now that the
danger to you is gone, if you decide you want out I won't hold you to it. Hell,
I'm not even sure the Navajo ceremony would be binding for a non-Native
American. If you want to test it, you can probably have it set aside."

"What?"
Augustus thundered.
"What is this nonsense?"

"Stay out of this, Dad," Sam ordered, but his gaze never
left Lauren's.

"I see," she said quietly. Her chest was so tight she
could barely breathe.

Hurt coursed through her, but she fought against it. Not an hour
ago this man had told her he loved her, had kissed her passionately and held
her as though he'd never let her go. She refused to believe all that was a lie.

Knowing she was about to take the biggest chance of her life, she
walked up to Sam and put her arms around his neck. He stiffened and watched her
uncertainly.

Doing her best to ignore his less-man-encouraging response, she
smiled up at him. "In that case, we'd better go back inside and have the
judge marry us again. Because, like it or not, you're stuck with me. You see, I
love you, Sam."

His dark eyes blazed. "Lauren...you've been through a lot. If
you're not absolutely sure—"

"I'm sure. I've never been more sure of anything in my
life."

He stared down at her, his fierce warrior's face taut with
emotion. Then he threw his head back and laughed, a rich, full-body sound that
did strange things to her insides. "Oh, I like it, babe," he said
when he recovered his voice. "I like it a lot. But are you sure this is
what you want? Really sure? Because if you stay, there's no turning back. This
is for life."

She smiled slowly. "I'm counting on it."

He cupped her face with his hand and gazed at her tenderly.
"I love you, Lauren," he murmured, and there on the courthouse steps,
as his family looked on, hooting and cheering, he kissed her.

When at last their lips parted, Lauren's head was spinning and she
sagged against him. She looked up and wrinkled her nose at him. "What
about you? Are you sure about this? I'll probably make you a terrible wife, you
know. Other than music, I have no skills, no training, no experience. I can
barely cook enough to stave off hunger, as you've already discovered, and my
other domestic skills are still rudimentary. The only jobs I could get would be
in music, and those are scarce. I'll just be a millstone around your
neck."

Sam laughed again and hugged her close. "Trust me, babe,
you're no helpless powder puff. You just proved that by whipping Todd's sorry
ass. You also kept your head when you witnessed a murder. You survived a plane
crash and a trek through the wilderness in the dead of winter, took charge when
I got shot and saved my life. Not exactly the acts of a helpless female. You're
a strong, competent woman, sweetheart, and I haven't a doubt in the world that
you can do whatever you set your mind to."

He ran his hands over her back and hips, and a slow, sensual smile
curved his lips. "Believe me, babe, being married to you won't be a
hardship.

"Although, before you make up your mind, I should warn you. I
intend to quit the Bureau and go home to the ranch. So if you have any
objections..."

"Why on earth would I object? Oh, Sam, I think that's
wonderful."

The relief she saw in his eyes told her how much her answer had
meant to him, and her heart contracted with love.

Sam bent and planted a hard kiss on her mouth. When he
straightened, he kept one arm hooked around her waist and turned back toward
the courthouse doors. Smiling, he looked deep into her eyes. "C'mon,
sweetheart, let's go find that judge."

A native Texan,
Ginna Gray lived in Houston all her life
until 1993, when she and her husband, Brad, built their "dream home"
and moved to the mountains of Colorado. Writing was a natural career choice for
Ginna, given that spinning colorful yarns was commonplace in her large
Irish-American family. She sold her first novel in 1983 and has been working
full-time as a writer ever since.

The mother of two grown daughters, Ginna also enjoys other
creative activities, such as oil painting, sewing, sketching, knitting and
needlepoint.