Forever Driven: Forever Bluegrass #4 (22 page)

“What is it?” Simon asked with concern.

“I have to go ask her father for permission to marry his daughter.”

Simon just laughed. “How hard can that be? I’m sure he’s already expecting it.”

Matt shook his head. “You don’t know her father.”

A
n hour later
, Matt was showered and standing at Cy and Gemma’s front door. He stared at it for a full minute before ringing the doorbell. The door opened instantly and Cy looked down at his watch. “One minute and seven seconds. I was wondering how long you were going to stand there staring at the door like an idiot.”

Matt waited for Cy to step back so he could come inside, except Cy never moved. Instead, he stepped outside, forcing Matt to step back. “I assume you’re here to talk to me, so let’s sit outside.”

Matt looked down to the military sniper rifle Cy had in his hands. “Spring cleaning?”

Cy just grinned and Matt relaxed. He had Cy’s support. If he didn’t, Matt would already be in trouble. “There’re too many prying ears inside,” Cy said softly as he took a seat on the porch and laid the rifle across the wicker table. “You’ll learn this. Wives say one thing, and it means the complete opposite.”

Cy raised his voice in imitation of his wife. “I’m
fine
. I’m not mad. I just want to
talk
. Don’t worry about taking the boys to the doctor, I’ll take them so I don’t interrupt you enjoying that beer and watching TV—it’s
no problem
. Don’t even think about bugging our kids’ phones.
Don’t shoot Matt
. . . you get the point. Always saying one thing and meaning the other.” Cy picked up the gun and clicked a magazine into place. “So, what did you want to talk about?”

Matt cleared his throat as Cy raised the rifle to check its sight. “I know I’m not the perfect man for Riley . . .”

“Is this because of the whole NA thing? Or is it about your biological parents?” Cy asked as he gently squeezed the trigger, and the top of a bright red daisy exploded six hundred yards away near a storage barn.

“Cyland Davies, are you shooting my flowers again?” Gemma yelled from inside the house.

“No, honey, that was Matt,” Cy yelled back. Matt blinked. Great. He was now being blamed for killing a flower, and his whole past he had hoped to stay secret was now laid out there as a reason not to marry Riley.

“So, which is it?” Cy asked as he calmly shot the stem of the now bloomless flower.

“Oh no, your cable sports package just went out,” Gemma called from inside the house. “So sad. No playoffs.”

Matt didn’t think Gemma sounded sad at all as Cy chuckled. “See, always saying one thing and meaning another,” he whispered to Matt before calling out. “I love you, sweetheart.”

“I love you, too. You’re still not getting your sports package back.”

“Don’t worry, I can think of other ways to occupy myself at night,” Cy said with a grin.

“Will you stop hitting on me and let the poor boy get your permission to marry Riley?” Gemma called back with amusement—amusement Matt wasn’t feeling.

“So, are you going to answer the question?” Cy asked him again.

Matt cleared his throat and lowered his voice. He now knew Gemma had her ear pressed to the door. In fact, it had silently opened about an inch a second before Cy had shot the daisy.

“How did you know about that? NA and my birth parents?” Matt asked.

Cy set down his gun and shook his head. “I was a spy.” At least he was nice enough to not call him an idiot again.

“Both,” Matt simply said. “As I was saying, I know I’m not the perfect man for Riley, but I love her, and I’ll do whatever I can to make her happy. And it’s not because you’ll shoot me if I don’t. I’m going to ask her to marry me next week.”

Cy grunted. “I don’t care about your past. You rose above it, and I respect that. You’re a good man, Matt, but you’d better not be having any children.”

The front door was flung open as Gemma rushed out. “Oh, this is wonderful! I’ve got to call the girls. And yes, children. Lots and lots of children! Of course you will, since the whole twin thing runs in the family. Oh, this is so exciting!”

Cy groaned and yanked his wife into his lap. His lips covered hers in a kiss that left Matt both impressed and embarrassed for witnessing. When Cy looked back up, he shrugged. “Works every time,” he said as Gemma had a happy, dazed look on her face. “You were saying?”

“Um, that I just thought you should know I’m going to propose. I hope you’ll approve, and I kinda need Mrs. Davies to help.”

Gemma blinked out of her daze. “See, I told you I liked him. And of course we approve. And call me Gemma, please. How can I help?”

* * *

R
iley collapsed
with a sated sigh onto Matt’s bare chest. She had never known it was possible to be so close to a person and not in just a physical way. Over the past month that Matt had worked on the farm, he’d put back on the muscle he’d lost during his six-month undercover stint. Plus he seemed at peace now.

His rich laugh was more readily heard, and he never let them fall asleep without kissing her goodnight and telling her he loved her. That night, he’d made love to her with such surety and emotion that Riley felt he’d shared his soul with her.

Matt stroked her hair as they lay in each other’s arms. It was at night after making love they talked about their hopes and dreams. Riley told him she was thinking of running for a second term after next year’s session. Peel and Stanley had resigned and were cutting a deal for their involvement in paying Karen to spy. Nabi had turned over information to the FBI showing the two had paid for Karen’s children’s private school tuition. That night, though, she was worried about his future. While Matt was happier than Riley had ever seen him, she knew Monday brought the return to reality—a reality that Matt could be sent away at any time for another undercover operation.

“Do you know what you’re doing on Monday?” Riley asked as she ran her fingers over the sculpted muscles of his chest.

“Business as usual. Since the news announced I was an undercover agent, my face was blurred in all the pictures and was never shown in the live shots. So I’m still cleared for undercover work. I guess I have Veronica to thank for that. Elton said when his office sent in the media request, there was one prefiled.”

Riley nodded against his chest. She loved him, and she knew this was a big part of him. Just because she worried about it didn’t mean she didn’t support it. Matt was one of the best officers out there.

“But for now I’ll just be patrolling around here and Lipston. Elton wants me to take some time off from undercover work, and I can’t say I’m sad about it.”

Riley raised her eyes and looked into his, so dark blue they almost couldn’t be seen in the night. “You aren’t?”

Matt stroked his hand down her back and nodded. “I’ll do my job when I need to, but for now I find myself not wishing to leave you or our town. I much prefer sleeping in your bed than sharing a shoddy motel room with a couple of guys. Do you want me to show you why?” Matt asked as his voice dipped lower along with his hand.

“You may have to show me multiple times.”

“My pleasure,” Matt whispered as he took her with his body and heart.

* * *

R
iley stretched early
the next morning and sat up suddenly when she realized Matt wasn’t in bed. A quick sniff of the air told her where he was. He was cooking breakfast. Riley admitted it—she was easy to please. Sex and breakfast were all it took to have her drooling. She slid into her robe and headed for the kitchen.

Matt was just putting bread into the toaster when she sat down at the island. She nibbled on the bacon as they talked about plans for the day. Riley’s phone pinged and she looked down at her text. “Hey, have you read the paper yet?”

Matt shook his head. “Not yet. I just brought it inside before I made breakfast. Why?”

“Reagan just texted me and asked. I told her not yet.” Another text came through and Riley picked up the paper. “She said it’s the best edition yet.”

“Read it to me,” Matt said as he put the toast onto a plate.

Riley picked up the paper and scanned the headlines. “A cow from Hickman’s Farm got loose and was almost hit by a car. I’m starting to think we have a cow problem like some towns have stray cats.” Riley moved onto the next headline. “Judge Cooper is retiring, and Kenna has been placed on the ballot this month to replace him. She’ll be good at that.”

“Is anyone running against her?” Matt asked.

“No. It says Henry Rooney thought about it but decided against it. I’m sure it had to do with the robe hiding his shiny suits,” Riley joked of the town’s defense attorney slash pick-up artist extraordinaire, and not a in a good way. “Let’s see, there’s a Memorial Day Parade.”

“Yup. Guess who gets to be on duty for that. To serve and protect from errant cows.” Matt winked.

“Oh goodness. Nikki Canter of the Belles has been named the Belle of Keeneston and will be riding in the front car. There’s something you can do. Find out how she rigged that vote. Oh, this is rich. Andy, Deputy Dinky’s son, was voted Beau of Keeneston.” Andy was the nicest, kindest man in Keeneston. He just wasn’t the most handsome. His freckles, carrot-red hair, short stature, and the fact he had been the high school mascot had put him in Friendsville for any girl that grew up with him.

“Nikki’s going to be beyond mad,” Matt laughed. “I thought Gabe was the shoo-in.”

Riley scanned the article. “He’s going to be in Monaco that weekend and nominated Andy to take his place. Everyone agreed that sometimes good guys like Andy shouldn’t finish last, and he won by a landslide.”

“Poor Nikki won’t nab her prince after all,” Matt said, trying to sound sad about it. It was hard to, though. Nikki didn’t put the
B
in
bitch
, she was definitely the
itc
h in it.

Riley moved onto the next article “Oh, Addison Rooney is graduating law school at the end of this month. She’ll be taking the bar exam in July.”

Riley turned the page and scanned the results and odds of the latest bets going on at the Café before reading the next article. “Here’s one,” Riley said out loud. “Local Girl Receives Marriage Proposal.”

Matt turned around from the sink and came to read over her shoulder. “Who’s getting married?”

Riley started to read the article her mother had written. “The proposal took place Saturday morning, shortly after the printing of this article.” Riley looked up to Matt. “That’s strange, right?” When Matt nodded, she went back to reading.

“When interviewed, the bride’s mother said she couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome such an honorable man to the family. The father of the bride is quoted as saying,
I didn’t shoot him, did I?
” Riley snorted. “That sounds like my father.”

“The man is said to have proposed by going down on one knee and asking, ‘Riley Davies, will you marry me?’” Riley blinked and looked at it again. Nope, she hadn’t read it wrong. That was her name. She turned to ask Matt about it and found him on one knee with a ring in between his fingertips.

It was a good thing she gasped in surprise, because after that she forgot how to breathe. Matt looked up at her with all the love he had for her in his eyes. “Riley, will you set off fireworks with me for the rest of our lives?”

Riley nodded her head. “Yes!” she said as Matt slid the diamond ring onto her finger. She remembered to breathe when Matt wrapped his arms around her waist, stood up, and lifted her into the air.

“I’ll love you forever,” he whispered before she brought her lips to his. The kiss was long and full of the future.

A
n hour later
, Riley was back with her head on Matt’s bare chest. She was exhausted, satisfied, and naked. Was there anything better? She laid her hand, now with a sparkling ring on it, on Matt’s chest and felt his heart pumping. “How are you still alive? I mean, you obviously told my parents beforehand. I’m just surprised my dad didn’t kill you.”

She felt Matt chuckle. “He shot your mother’s flowers instead. And I had to promise him we wouldn’t have any children. I think in his mind that means we’re not having sex.”

Riley sat straight up in bed, the sheet pooling around her thighs. “You promised we wouldn’t have children? But I want kids.”

Matt just grinned at her in return. “I do too. I just figured by then, your dad might think twice about killing the father of your children. I took a calculated risk.”