A Real Cowboy for Christmas by Stephanie Rowe

Author:Stephanie Rowe [Rowe, Stephanie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781940968643
Publisher: Authenticity Playground, LLC

Chapter Fifteen

It was almost an hour before Dane had the willpower to stop kissing her. They were snuggled under the blankets, his arms around Jaimi, her head resting on his shoulder, as they listened to Travis sing. Thanks to the presence of a few thousand fans, they were both still fully clothed, which had somehow made everything even more intimate. All they could do was kiss, and it had been a long damned time since he'd spent an hour kissing a woman.

He knew the order of songs Travis had planned for the evening, and he knew they were running out of time. "Sweetheart?"

"Hmm?"

"We need to talk."

She stiffened against him, a movement so slight that it was almost imperceptible. "You want to know why I don't know my brothers?"

"Well, yeah, that and I need to tell you about your dad. Which do you want to do first?"

She was quiet for a moment. "I'll talk," she said quietly. "I think it would feel good."

Something settled inside him at the realization that she trusted him. "I've got you."

"I know." She began to play with the buttons on his shirt. "I grew up in Boston with my mom. She was a teacher, too. It was just the two of us. She never dated, and she always told me that my dad had died before I was born. She was an amazing mom, and I never missed having a dad."

Guilt tore at Dane's gut, guilt for what he was going to have to tell her. "You had a good childhood?"

"A wonderful one. I was so happy." She sighed. "When Emily was born, and it became the three of us, we were a powerful force. I felt strong and invincible, like I didn't need anyone."

He could feel the "but" coming. "What happened?"

"A few months ago, my mom went on a backpacking trip on the Amazon river—"

"The Amazon river? Seriously?" Well, damn. No wonder Jaimi was so independent.

"Yeah, she was an adventurer. Nothing ever stopped her, except on this trip, she caught some tropical infection when she went swimming—"

"Swimming in the Amazon? With crocodiles? And snakes?"

"Yeah." The affection in Jaimi's voice was evident. "She was a lot bolder than I am. But she got bitten by something, and it got infected. She decided not to cut her trip short, and it got worse. I tried to get her to come home, but she refused."

Dane tightened his arms around her. "What happened?"

"She video-called me from some village a couple weeks ago." Jaimi's voice was heavy. "She looked terrible, and admitted that she was dying. Apparently, whatever had bitten her was extremely poisonous. She said she couldn't die without telling me about my brothers. She said she'd been on a cross-country backpacking trip when she was in her twenties, and had a brief fling as she was passing through Rogue Valley. Apparently, a few years ago, she decided to see if he was still around, and she discovered I had all these brothers. She'd left Chase's picture in her desk, and told me where to find it.

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