Silent Run - Barbara Freethy [119]
“I can’t believe you still want me.”
“I do. Forever.”
She kissed him lovingly on the mouth, tasting the truth on his lips, and nothing had ever tasted sweeter.
“I have to go to LA,” she said, breaking away. “Damn, I can’t believe I have to go to LA now.”
“Caitlyn and I will go with you, and when you’re done there we’ll go home together. We’ll finish building our house. And when we both know the time is right, we’ll get married.”
“That plan sounds perfect,” she said as he kissed her again and again and again. Finally, laughing and breathless, she pulled away. “Caitlyn,” she started to say.
“I’ve got her,” Teresa said, holding Caitlyn in her arms. “Although, if this is going to get X-rated, you might want to take it inside.”
Sarah smiled as tears of pure joy now filled her eyes. She took Caitlyn from Teresa, and she and Jake wrapped their arms around their daughter. They were going to be a family after all.
“Well, Sarah,” Catherine said, “I think you finally got your happily ever after.”
“I think I did,” she said, meeting Jake for another kiss, another promise for the future.
Epilogue
Two months later
Jake and Sarah said their wedding vows just before sunset in the garden of a beautiful mountain lodge overlooking Lake Tahoe. Teresa stood up for Sarah, while Dylan offered his services as best man. Catherine held a squirmy, giggling Caitlyn on her lap while the minister blessed the union between Caitlyn’s parents. It was a damn Hallmark card moment, Dylan thought, as he watched his brother and Sarah share their first kiss as husband and wife.
He followed them down the aisle and was the first to offer his big brother a hug and congratulations in the receiving line. Then he kissed Sarah on the cheek. “You got yourself a good guy. Treat him right.”
“I know it,” she said, a loving smile on her lips as she glanced back at Jake. “He’s the best.”
“So are you,” Jake replied.
“You two are sickeningly happy,” Dylan said. “I’m going to get a drink—a strong one.”
“Your turn next,” Jake said with a grin.
“Dream on, brother. Not everyone wants to have a ball and chain strapped around his ankle. No offense, Sarah.”
She laughed, as Dylan had known she would. In the past couple of months he’d come to know his new sister-in-law a lot better, and she had an amazingly good sense of humor, especially about herself. She’d stripped the murky brown color from both her hair and Caitlyn’s, returning them to their natural blond beauty. She had also decided to keep the name Sarah and, in fact, had legally changed her name to Sarah Jessica Sanders, combining her present, her past, and her future. Since Jake had forgiven her for putting him through seven months of torture, Dylan had forced himself to let go of any lingering resentment. As long as Jake was happy, that was really all that mattered.
“Thanks for being my best man,” Jake said.
As he left the receiving line, Dylan wandered over to the bar, grabbed a seat, and ordered a shot of Jack Daniels. He enjoyed the burn as the liquor slid down his throat. After draining the glass, he immediately ordered another. He didn’t like weddings, and usually avoided them at all costs, but this one he hadn’t been able to miss. He wa thankful that he’d finished his formal duties as best man. He just had to get through the next hour before he could call it a night.
Glancing across the room, he watched Jake and Sarah share their first dance on the back deck of the Woodlake Mountain Lodge. In the glow of candlelight and the backdrop of the purple-blue twilight sky, they looked exceedingly happy, as if the past year hadn’t tested their love in every possible way. But they’d come through the bad times. From here on out, it would be nothing but smooth sailing—at least Dylan hoped so. He smiled as Teresa brought Caitlyn to the dance floor. Jake’s eighteen-month-old blond angel was the hit of the wedding, and as usual Caitlyn