Weekend With Her Bachelor (Bachelor Auction Returns Book 4) (16 page)
Read Weekend With Her Bachelor (Bachelor Auction Returns Book 4) Online
Authors: Jeannie Moon
“Me either. I slept horribly.”
“You left the ranch this morning?” he asked.
“Yeah. About nine o’clock. I almost drove to Bozeman to see you.”
“Really? How would you have found me?”
A watery laugh escaped. “I was going to stake out the hospital. I was fully prepared to live on vending machine coffee and granola bars.”
He laughed. The sweetness and sincerity of her confession struck a clean blow to his heart.
“I owe you an apology,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry. I never should have been so cold and callous to you.”
“No, I… it’s okay. We’ve both made mistakes.”
“I never meant to hurt you. I-I love you, Gavin, and…”
Her breath hitched, and before any more tears fell, Gavin walked around the swing and pulled her into his arms. He held her still, the sweet sobs coming quietly. “I love you, Ally. Please don’t cry.”
“Oh, God. I don’t want to lose you. I don’t. I didn’t mean to be so hard and insensitive. I want us to have a life together.”
“You do?” he asked.
“I do. It’s all I want.”
“Thank God.”
She nodded against his chest. “Please don’t let me make a stupid mistake again. I didn’t listen to you when we were teenagers and I lost you for so long. I can’t lose you again. I just can’t.”
Her tears were soaking his shirt while he held her tight. “I won’t let you make a stupid mistake. I’ll move to Seattle if you want. I’ll go anywhere. As long as we’re together, we’re going to be all right.”
Ally looked up. Her eyes were red from crying, her face streaked with tears, but no one had ever been as beautiful. She loved him, and Gavin had never been so relieved or happy.
“The city isn’t for you, so instead I’m coming home. I can work here, grow my business if that’s what I want to do. But what I want most in the world is to have my happy ever after with you. Only with you.”
“My mission in life is to make you happy. I won’t let you down.”
“You never have. Never.” Her arms slipped around his waist and she held him tight. “Can you work here? Or do you want to go someplace else?”
“Here is good. We’ll work it out. We will always work things out.” Taking her face in his hands, Gavin kissed each cheek, then dropped a kiss on her soft lips. “I love you, Allison Beaumont. I want to make a life with you, grow old with you. Marry me?”
She nodded, the tears coming faster and faster. “Yes. I will.”
Holding Ally close, Gavin’s heart felt right again. It hadn’t been that way since she’d left all those years ago.
“How many babies do you want?” she asked.
“As many as you want. I mean that. You want six, you can have six. We can build a house here on the farm, or in town closer to your folks.”
“Will there be a swing and a gazebo?” she asked sweetly.
Not thinking he could be any more affected, Gavin’s heart just about exploded. “Anything you want.”
Finally, through her tears, a smile broke. Wide and beaming, there was nothing in the world like it. Ally put her hands on his shoulders and stretched up to kiss him. Then she kissed him again and again.
“You’re my best thing, Gavin Clark. You make me a better person. I can’t wait to start our lives together.”
“I think we’re a good team. I love you. You’ve always been my girl. Always.”
“I love you, Gavin. I have since I was nine years old.”
“Well,” he said, kissing her soundly. “It took you long enough to tell me.”
Thanksgiving Eve
T
rue to form,
Marietta would have a snowy Thanksgiving, ushering in the holiday season right on schedule. As the snow fell that afternoon, all Gavin hoped was that the bad roads didn’t keep him from getting home. They hadn’t. He’d been late to supper, but he’d made it.
Ally was already in the house they’d rented in town a few months ago, arriving from a Key West destination wedding the day before. But tonight, before making love to his beautiful fiancée, Gavin was going to see the boys for the first time in over six months.
The auction in the spring had changed the all their lives. None of them could have predicted that with a winning bid came love. Every one of them had fallen hard. For a bunch of tough guys, they were putty in the hands of their women.
Walking into Grey’s Saloon, Gavin fondly remembered the night Ally dropped so much money to secure a wedding date.
Now he was planning on being her wedding date for as long as they both lived. After months of bouncing between cities and their hometown, he bought her a ring and he planned on giving it to her on Thanksgiving. It was fitting, since she was the thing in his life for which he was most thankful.
“At least it didn’t snow too hard. Worst case, we could crash at your new place if it’s too tough to get home.” Colt Ewing slapped Gavin on the back, then gave him a hearty hug. “It’s good to see you, man. It feels like it’s been forever since we were up on that stage.”
Gavin bear-hugged his friend and said, “I know what you mean. Six months ago we were bachelors, every one of us.” From where he was sitting at the round table in the center of the room, Gavin could see the door. As if on cue, both Nick and Code walked in; both of them had been traveling with their fiancées, and to be honest, he’d never seen either of his high-octane friends so relaxed.
“Cassidy and Hayley were yacking up a storm at the house. Where are Talon and Ally?” Nick straddled a chair and grabbed one of the beers Gavin had ordered from the middle of the table.
“Talon is with Parker.” Colt replied. “They’re making pies for tomorrow.”
“Ally’s at the new house. She’s unpacking. Just got home from an event.” Gavin couldn’t wait to see her.
“I’ve been given instructions,” Code said, as he pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket. All at once, laughter erupted from the table. “Hayley has questions.”
“Have your marching orders, do you, pussycat?” Colt couldn’t resist a good ribbing.
“Fuck off,” Code said. “Like you don’t bend over backwards for Talon?”
“I didn’t say that. What does Hayley want to know?”
Gavin held in his laughter, to his own amazement. Of all of them, Code was the most no-nonsense. He hadn’t had an easy life, and he deserved to be happy. They all did.
“Hayley and I want to set a wedding date. She’s requested information about your weddings, so there’re no conflicts.” Turning to Gavin, he said, “She also wants you to ask Ally if she’ll be the event planner.”
He knew Ally would jump at the chance to plan Code and Hayley’s wedding. To her, nothing was better than helping a couple plan the perfect day. That they were all friends was even better.
Business out of the way, they talked about jobs and sports, how their favorite teams had been losing, and during the conversation what Gavin noticed was that all the guys, him included, were settled, less on edge. They’d all been at loose ends, one way or another, when they walked into that auction, and now they had futures that would include women who loved them, kids… a place to call home.
Maybe this was Karma. None of them had wanted to get up on that stage. There were a thousand reasons to say no. Each of them could have put up the money needed to build the helipad—but by going the extra mile, the payoff had been huge. Sure, the town got what it needed, and Gavin never doubted that it would; but he and the boys got what they needed too, and that was completely unexpected.
Gavin rose from his chair, anxious to get home to his bride-to-be. Downing his beer, he hugged the men who were like brothers to him.
“Come out to the ranch for dessert tomorrow night. Mom likes nothing better than to feed you hoodlums. Bring the girls, and Parker.”
There was no doubt they would all be there. They always were.
Walking out onto the snowy street, Gavin looked around, happy to be home. From where he stood, he could see the lights from their tiny house on the hill just beyond the row of stores. Ally was there waiting for him.
His phone chirped and he checked to see a text from her.
Hurry home. I miss you.
Home. All of them had a new appreciation for what it meant. They might not all settle in Marietta, but they had all found their place and someone to love them.
Gavin smiled and looked at the house again.
For him home was where Ally was. It was that simple.
On my way
, he sent back, and he headed up the hill.
The End
I’ve absolutely loved taking this amazing trip to Marietta, Montana where love always wins.
Weekend With Her Bachelor
was so much fun to write, and I hope you enjoy reading Gavin and Ally’s story as much as I loved telling it.
The idea of a friends to lover’s story, coupled with a reunion, gave me a rich place to start. Add four lifelong friends, close-knit families and a bachelor auction in this lively small town, and sparks will fly.
No story is ever written in isolation, and I am honored to have shared this series with three amazing authors. Charlene Sands, Robin Bielman and Sinclair Jayne, we make a great team, and I’m so happy we were able to revisit the Bachelor Auction together.
I need to say thanks to all the people who helped this book come alive. My local RWA chapter, the Long Island Romance Writers, continue to provide inspiration and support. (A few of you lent your names to this story, so I thank you all for permission.)
Many thanks to the amazing Tule Team—Lindsey, Meghan and Danielle; you ladies are priceless. As always, I thank the amazing Jane Porter for inviting me into the Tule family. Tule is my mothership, and I thank you, and the founding authors, for creating a place for writers to spread their wings. Endless appreciation to my editor Laurie Johnson, who helped bring the story into focus, and my copy editor and friend, Jennifer Gracen who polished up a very messy manuscript.
My family? They put up with me, they feed me when I’m on deadline, and they love me when I am at my least loveable. For that I am forever grateful. Love you. xo
Thank you for joining me on this wonderful ride. Please stay in touch! You can email me, or find my social media hangouts at my website
jeanniemoon.com
.
Love to all,
Jeannie
The Bachelor Auction Returns
Bachelor for Hire
by Charlene Sands
Falling for Her Bachelor
by Robin Bielman
Seducing the Bachelor
by Sinclair Jayne
Weekend with Her Bachelor
by Jeannie Moon
For more stories from The Bachelor Auction, check out…
The Bachelor Auction Series
Bound to the Bachelor
by Sarah Mayberry
Bachelor at Her Bidding
by Kate Hardy
The Bachelor’s Baby
by Dani Collins
What a Bachelor Needs
by Kelly Hunter
In Bed with the Bachelor
by Megan Crane
One Night with Her Bachelor
by Kat Latham
Jeannie Moon
has always been a romantic. When she’s not spinning tales of her own, Jeannie works as a school librarian, thankful she has a job that allows her to immerse herself in books and call it work. Married to her high school sweetheart, Jeannie has three kids, three lovable dogs and a mischievous cat and lives in her hometown on Long Island, NY. If she’s more than ten miles away from salt water for any longer than a week, she gets twitchy. Visit Jeannie’s website at
www.jeanniemoon.com
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