Worth the Trouble (31 page)

She
had seen that on some cop show she had watched, so she figured it must work.  If he was only pinching it, not gripping it, he couldn't shoot her.

His eyes held dark humor as he pulled it out like she instructed, then swung his arm and tossed it over to land at her feet.  "Who you dating here, Ethan?  Dirty Mary?" Brad asked with a short laugh.

"Now put your damned hands up," she ordered gruffly.

"You have no idea, just don't cross her," Ethan warned
him then gingerly walked over to Brad and turned his back to him.  "Cut this damned tie off."

With a wary glance at
Rocky, Brad reached down into his boot and pulled out a knife Ethan knew would be there.  When Brad slit the zip tie, blood rushed to his numb fingers and Ethan groaned then rubbed circulation back into them.

"Now give me your radio, man," Ethan told him and held out his hand.

"Ethan, I'm sorry about all this," he told him and held his eyes.

"Your dad is sick, Brad," Ethan told him.  "Hopefully, they'll get him the help he needs.  I'll help you find a good attorney for him."

"He's going to need one," he said and glanced at Rocky.

"Just get us the hell out of here, and we'll help you
both
find an attorney, my boss knows a good one," Rocky told Brad, which made Ethan wonder what had happened between them, if Brad was involved in this mess somehow.  He sure as hell hoped not. 

She was definitely pissed off at Brad
though, had thrown him off of her horse, and held a gun on his friend, so something had to have happened.

Walking over to Mr. Thomas,
Ethan searched his pockets until he found another zip tie.  He rolled the man over on his stomach, then secured his hands.  That was when he saw Amelia running across the field toward the trees.

"
Amelia
!" he yelled, then watched Rocky run to Reed and swing up on the saddle, then kick him into a full gallop.  Damn that horse was fast, he thought as he watched her lean low over his neck and use the reins to make him even move even faster.

"Wow," Brad said in awe as they both watched Rocky sprinting across the field after the little girl.

"Yeah, she amazes the hell out of me too," he told his friend shaking his head. 

Roxanne Baker
was the finest woman he'd ever met.  She was not only beautiful, she was courageous, smart and tough. 
Totally amazing. 

I
n that moment, Ethan realized he loved her, which was also amazing, considering all they'd been through, and the fact he never thought he'd find the kind of love his sister had found with Joel.

But that was exactly how he felt about the crazy cowgirl.

If she would have him, he was going to keep her forever, which would probably be like trying to keep lightning in a jar.  Adrenaline surged through him at the thought of trying it for a lifetime though.  Ethan knew with Roxanne, there would always be trouble, never a dull moment probably.  Exactly how he'd lived his whole life so far. 

Roxanne Baker
would definitely be worth every minute of it though, because at the end of the day she would be his, and he would be the only man to ever call her baby again.

Ethan was going to make sure of it.

EPILOGUE

Ethan sat at the head table at his dad's retirement party in Henrietta, drowning himself in his third beer, half paying attention while his dad finished his retirement speech.  His mother was at the table, dressed to the nines in a black lace formal.  She had her hair done earlier in the day, and she looked damned beautiful, and happy. 

It was about time she looked that way again.

He
wished he felt an ounce of the happiness that she did though, Rocky had turned him down and he hadn't seen her in two weeks.  He thought his heart must be as black as his mood, because Ethan missed her so bad he ached with it. 

In hindsight, a
sking her to marry him in the middle of the chaos at the campground, after the helicopter dropped them off there, probably wasn't the best timing.  With the crosswinds in the canyon, the helicopter ride had been rough, and it was her first.  Her nerves were shot, just like his had been.

But his adrenaline had been at an all time high, and the love he felt for her had been too.  He hadn't been able to wait.  Even watching his best friend be loaded into the back of a police car at the same time his father was loaded into an ambulance hadn't put him off of asking.
  Because he was an idiot. 

Now he had probably ruined his chances with her for good. 

Her reaction had gone from shocked, to speechless, before she turned slightly green and sick looking.  When she slapped a hand over her mouth and ran for the port-o-let, he headed for a friend's car to hitch a ride to Henrietta.  He'd been at his parent's house since licking his wounds. 

Terri had called
a few times, but he hadn't wanted to talk to her, figuring she was going to ream him out, or want to know when he was coming back to the ranch to go to work.  He wasn't going back to the ranch, and was going to let her know that after the party. 

Ethan had
talked to Inspector Gilley about a job. 

The man told him i
f he took a few more classes, he could move to Lubbock and transition his experience to an investigative career.  Inspector Gilley had assured him a job would be waiting for him.

There was no way he could see Roxanne day in and day out.
  His eyes drifted to his sister, where she sat on the other side of the table next to Joel.  She would just have to find herself a medic, Ethan just couldn't do it. 

Joel put his hand around
Terri's shoulders and squeezed, and Ethan's stomach rolled. 

He pushed up
from the table and walked to the bar to get him another beer.  When he sat back down, his mother turned concerned eyes his way and told him, "You probably should slow down, honey."

He wasn't drunk, he wasn't even buzzing. 
Considering the mood he was in, it would probably need another dozen or so to even take the edge off.

"I'm fine, mama," he told her gruffly, then lifted the bot
tle to his lips for a long draw.  Terri elbowed Joel, then all eyes at the table swung in his direction, and Ethan felt heat push up his neck, but then he realized they weren't looking at him, they were looking behind him.

"Well, hello there pretty lady," his dad said from the podium, his voice full of humor.  "Bout damned time you got here, I was almost done with my speech!"

Ethan spun in his chair to see what the attraction was, and his eyes met determined gray ones, set in a beautiful face that looked a helluva lot like Leigh Ann Baker, only better.  His eyes skimmed down to the enhanced cleavage pushing up over the top of the low-cut V of the gold sequined dress that hugged the killer body of the goddess wearing it.  He swallowed the lust that slammed into him and drank in her beauty as she gracefully walked toward their table.

"Holy,
shit
!" Ethan whispered reverently and stood. 

The goddess didn't stop at the table though, she cast him a heated glance and walked
by him, then continued to the stairs beside the stage.  Gracefully, she gathered the hem of her dress and held the rail to walk up on the stage.  Once she was up there, she straightened, then met his dad's eyes and smiled brightly, as she walked toward him.  That smile lit up the whole room, and Ethan was mesmerized. 

The Chief
kissed her cheek, then stepped aside so she could take the podium.  She cleared her throat then smiled again, before saying in a trembling voice, "Chief Cassidy, congratulations on your retirement." 

His heart rate tripling,
Ethan staggered then plopped back down in his chair.  He recognized that husky voice, even though he didn't recognize the sexy bombshell it was coming from.  His eyes moved to the other men in the room, his firehouse buddies, who were scattered around the room and saw their tongues were hanging out too. 

Irritation surged through him, and he wanted to go up on that stage and throw Roxanne over his shoulder and haul her out of here. 
What the fuck was she up to?

Rocky cleared her throat again, then said, "My mama always told me you should go after what you want.  That if you're determined, nobody could stop you from getting it."  She hesitated and met his eyes, then took a deep
breath, before letting it out slowly.  "Ethan Cassidy, you asked me a question the other night at the campground, and I have to say you shocked the sh--" she blushed then reworded, "dickens out of me." 

Chuckles and hoots erupted around the room
, when the crowd settled, she looked directly at him, then wiggled her index finger at him.  He scraped his chair back and stood then walked like a man in a trance to the stage. His heart was in his throat and his hands itched to pull her into his arms, when he stood beside her. 

"Honey, don't you know it's rude to ask a question like
you asked me, then leave before a girl can answer?" she drawled, beauty queen sweet, and he swallowed hard then shook his head.  "And then not answer her phone calls after that?"  She tsked and shook her finger in his face.  "I know your mama raised you better than that, didn't you Miss Ella?" she asked and looked at his mother at the head table. 

More chuckles, then outright laughter filled the room.

Ella?
he thought and shook his head. 

Roxanne
had never met his mother before to his knowledge. 

Ethan was floating in an alternate universe right now, he was sure the beer he had consumed didn't help matters, but dammit he wasn't drunk.  He was just poleaxed at how Rocky looked, and stymied as to why she was here.

She put her hand on his shoulder, then leaned into touch her lips to his briefly, which sent fire shooting from his lips throughout his body. 

Wolf whistles and more guffaws filled the room and he
felt light-headed, so he grabbed the podium to steady himself.  His knees felt weak too, and they hadn't felt like that in a long time.

It was then he noticed she had a small string bag attached to her wrist.  The gold material matched her dress, which is probably why he hadn't noticed it before.  She pulled the cord then dug inside and pulled out a huge diamond ring and held it up, then smiled that gorgeous smile of hers again.

"The answer is yes, Ethan," she said then slipped the rock on her left hand and held it up to his face and wiggled her fingers.

"Where did you get that ring?" he asked in a hoarse whisper.

"My sister has a collection, she loaned me one until you could get me one and ask the right way, when I'm not airsick," Rocky told him with a chuckle, her beautiful eyes sparkling.

She grabbed his cheeks, then told him, "I love you, Ethan...e
ven though you piss me off most of the time, and you're the smooth-talking city boy my daddy warned me about."

He heard his sister whimper, and his mother gasp,
before the entire room went silent, expectantly waiting on his response.

Ethan swallowed down the emotion that pushed the beer up from his stomach.  He
wished now he hadn't drank so much on an empty stomach.  He was damned determined he wasn't going to screw this up though. 

He'd been given a gift, another chance. 

Taking a deep breath he got control of himself and his stomach, then pulled her to him in a tight hug.  "I love you too, baby, but we are doing this right
now
, not later," he told her then slipped the ring off of her finger, and grabbed her hand to pull her to the side of the podium so everyone could see.

Taking one of her hands, he held it and held the ring up to her.

He looked at his dad, who walked to the microphone and took it off of the stand then held it near him. 

"Roxanne Baker, you know I can't seem to stay out of trouble.  I need a keeper baby, someone to protect me and keep me in line.  Just ask my mama and sister," he said and the room erupted in
laughter and applause, then Ethan finished with, "I can't think of anyone better qualified to save me from myself. I know it's a tough job, but I love you, Roxanne Baker, would you take the job?"

Her gray eyes filled with tears and her lips wobbled when she said, "Yes
," and joy shot through him as he slid the honking Buick-sized diamond ring on her finger.

Ethan
stood and swallowed down the happiness that threatened to choke him, before he smiled, then looking into her beautiful gray eyes, he told her, "You know, baby, I checked the weather report this morning and I think it's gonna rain."

She looked confused a minute, but then her eyebrows lifted and a broad smile took over his crazy cowgirl's cherry-flavored lips.