Her Cowboy Protector (24 page)

Hope flared to life inside her. "Can you love him? I mean, really love him? After what happened tonight—"

Niall silenced her with a kiss. He patted her belly. "I already love this baby, Cruz. Just like I love his mama."

At his confession of love, tears stung her eyes. "Oh, Niall." She pulled him down for a deep and sensual kiss. "I love you, too," she said breathlessly. "I love you so much. It hurt me so badly to leave you in the truck earlier. I just kept thinking about how I was abandoning the only man I'd ever really loved."

His thumb traced her lower lip. "You did the right thing. You protected Felix." He grinned and tilted his head. "But it's good to know you gave it a second thought."

She snorted at his teasing remark but then grew somber. "What are we going to tell him?"

“Who? Felix?” When she nodded, Niall's gaze shifted to her belly. "I don't know," he admitted. "We'll have to tell him the truth eventually. Or, at least, some version of the truth. I suppose we'll know how when the time is right and how much to tell him. This may be one of those secrets we take to the grave, Cruz." His grim expression softened. "But we have years to sort that out."

The idea of spending years with Niall filled her with warmth. "It won't be easy at first," she pointed out, desperate to be sure he was in for the long haul. "Not with me trying to transition back to work and adjusting to a newborn and there's still that business with the flash drive—"

"Sh." His rough finger touched her lips. "Not tonight, Cruz. We'll deal with all that tomorrow. Tonight, I just want to hold you while the three of us get some much needed rest."

"Rest sounds good." Cruz snuggled up to Niall, her heart threatening to burst with happiness.

"You know," Niall said after a while, "we're probably going to run into a small problem telling Carlos about us."

There was no squashing the smile that curved her mouth at the tremor of fear in Niall's voice. So Mr. Tough Stuff was afraid of her big brother, huh?

"Oh," Cruz said with a long sigh, "I don't know about that. He told me you were the only man he trusted to take care of me, that you'd run through hell with a cup of gasoline if he asked. I can't imagine he'd be happier with anyone else asking to date me."

"Date you? No, I think we're well passed that, Cruz."

A shiver of excitement rippled through her chest. "Is that your idea of a proposal?"

He laughed and kissed her temple. "I admit it's lacking in the romance department but that's me, sugar. So what do you say?" He squeezed her shoulder. "Will you marry me?"

"For real this time?" She couldn't resist the chance to needle him.

"Yes, for real."

"Well, I guess it's easier than telling everyone we were pulling a fast one."

He chuckled. "Boy, you know how to make a man feel special."

"I try." She lifted up and pecked his cheek.

"Try that one again," he whispered before claiming her mouth in a searching kiss. Cruz melted into him as they cemented their commitment, however teasingly made, to one another. When his tongue stole between her lips, she welcomed it. She caressed his stubble-covered jaw and nipped at his full bottom lip.

Nose to nose, they stared into one another's eyes. The love she saw reflected in Niall's gaze burned her right up. This was a man who would truly go through hell for her, who wasn't afraid to risk his life to save hers or that of her unborn child. Here was the man she'd been searching for all along, the man she would happily entrust with her heart.

"I love you, Niall. Of course, I'll marry you."

His eyelids drifted together. For a long moment, he looked as if he was fighting a surge of emotion. Eventually, his eyelids lifted and he held her gaze with his heated one. "You've made me so happy, Cruz. Happier than I'd ever dreamed possible." He kissed her again. "And, God, I love you."

Secure in her soon-to-be husband's strong embrace, Cruz released all the months of pent-up fear and anxiety. She was safe now.

14
Epilogue

"Come here, you little rascal!" Niall bent down and scooped up Felix before he had a chance to pull himself up on the bottom stair and try for the rest of them. He'd forgotten to secure the gate again and quickly snapped it into place before Cruz came out of the kitchen to investigate. He picked up the pile of toys Felix had dragged with him and carted them and the baby back into the living room.

One glance around the room and Niall realized he was really going to have to move forward with their plans for renovations around the old farm house. Cruz's settlement had finally come through so at least paying for them wouldn't be a problem. Of course, he'd have to give Hank and Joe that raise Cruz had been harping at him over for the last few months. She wouldn't allow one bit of work to be done on the house until the hands got their increased pay.

The "undisclosed" amount for her troubles was much higher than she'd been expecting but much too low from Niall's point of view. The Feds had risked her life. The number the lawyers had settled on didn't do justice for Cruz and Felix's worth in Niall's eyes. But that pesky non-disclosure agreement put an end to the matter. Cruz's lips were legally sealed.

Felix whined as Niall tossed the toys into the box. He followed his chubby little man's finger to the teething ring he was currently obsessed with and picked it up. "Here you go, son."

Felix happily gnawed on the nubby ring while Niall swept aside more toys and books. Who would have thought one baby would need so much stuff? His once immaculate living room now resembled a daycare facility.

Not that he minded much. Fatherhood had opened his eyes to a whole new world filled with wonder and love. Every day Felix surprised him with some new accomplishment. Lately it was pulling himself up on furniture and cruising along the edges. He loved watching his son figure out this new walking thing. Cruz, on the other hand, had gone completely overboard with the baby proofing. Everywhere Niall looked he saw foam edging. He expected to come home one day and find Felix decked out in bubble wrap.

He couldn't blame Cruz's overprotectiveness. Going back to work to finish up her doctorate had been so hard for her. Even with Niall right there to watch Felix every day, she'd been a blubbering mess. It had broken his heart to push her out the door every morning, but, she'd worked so very hard and had been so close to defending her thesis and getting that degree, he'd had to do it.

She'd graduated in December and accepted a post-doc position at Angelo State University in mid-March. He'd been surprised when she'd accepted that job offer over the one at UT but it seemed she really did enjoy small town life in Eldorado. The nearby university in San Angelo offered her the best of both worlds. It was a two-hour round trip but they were making it work. Thankfully finding a good babysitter hadn't been too hard. There was no shortage of empty nesters in town desperate to love on Felix.

"Cleared for takeoff," Niall said as Felix giggled and stuffed a chubby hand into his mouth. He playfully munched on his son’s fat little baby neck before lifting him high and zooming him back into the kitchen as if he were an airplane.

"There's my little man!" Carlos beamed at the sight of his nephew flying into the kitchen. Niall transferred the squirming eleven month old into his uncle's arms and headed over to the granite island to help Cruz.

She eyed him suspiciously from the stove. "He was trying for the stairs again wasn't he?"

"Maybe."

"And you left the gate open again, didn't you?"

"Possibly."

She playfully huffed and rolled her eyes before threatening to whack him with the silicone spatula. He swooped in for a quick kiss, hoping she'd forget all about his little transgression. Although it put a smile on her face, he sensed he was going to get the baby safety lecture again before bed. Unless, of course, he was able to distract her with something a little more fun.

"Let's see if Tio Carlos can get you in this high chair," Carlos muttered mostly to himself.

Niall carted a bamboo bowl holding salad and a square serving dish filled with steaming hot homemade mac 'n cheese to the table. He watched his brother-in-law struggle with the small latches but refrained from jumping in to help. If Carlos could disable an IED on the side of the road, he could figure out a high chair.

"Got it!" Carlos laughed and slipped a chattering Felix into the chair. He buckled him in and slid the tray into place.

"Good job, Tio." Niall clapped his old friend on the back. He was glad to see Carlos smiling again. It was nice to see him easing back into the normal world after that short stint in the pen.

Not that Carlos would ever be completely out of the woods. He'd always be a marked man, always under suspicion by the Reynosa boys, but things had gone surprisingly in his favor since ditching the assignment.

Carlos had been smart about leaving without a word to anyone, not his handlers or his cartel crew. Jolene had actually been telling the truth. She'd been waiting to blow his cover after killing Cruz. Once plan to lure and trap The Scorpion had failed, the Feds had whisked her away to Witness Protection and offered her a slick deal. No one had heard a peep from her again.

When El Alacrán's body had shown up in De La Garza territory across the border, in one of their supposed safe houses no less, with Carlos's calling card stapled to his shirt, he'd given the impression he'd gone off for a revenge killing. His connection to Cruz had been revealed. The fact he'd been hiding a sister wasn't all that uncommon in that world. Many of the men embroiled in that lifestyle did the same to keep their families safe.

Huge, coordinated busts took place days after Carlos fled. After seeing Cruz was safe with his own eyes, he'd willingly gone to El Paso to allow himself to be arrested and charged with various crimes. He'd even spent nine months in jail to make it look real. Once he'd been released, he'd done what many criminals did after incarceration: he walked away from the life.

Whether he'd be allowed to live without his past coming back to haunt him was anyone's guess. Niall figured he'd bought himself some breathing room, at least. Besides the Reynosa boys were probably more worried about stomping out the rebellion within their cartel and holding off the flood of rival gangs spilling into their now poorly controlled territory. After the sweeping arrests and incarcerations, they'd been left incredibly vulnerable. The De La Garza cartel and another from farther south had capitalized on their lack of force by mounting full-scale war.

Not that the De La Garza crews had gone unscathed. Cruz hadn't needed to follow through with her plan to expose the dirty politicians and law enforcement officers after all. Carlos had done it for her with some help from a hacker he had met during his time undercover. He’d handed off the flash drive and login details for the website and watched the hacker kick off an epic shit-storm. Emails to major news organizations garnered much attention. Within days, the resignations were rolling in amid public outcry for full investigations.

"So," Cruz said as she tore up little bits of fried chicken for Felix to gum, "what's the plan, Carlos? You planning on hanging out in our guest room for a few more weeks?"

Niall heard the hopefulness in Cruz's voice. After years of separation, she wanted her brother close by her. She wanted him in Felix's life.

"I don't know." Carlos pushed food around on his plate. "I've got some unfinished business I need to tie up."

Niall didn't like the sound of that. "Think that's wise? I mean, you left the life, Carlos. You really want to go stir up a hornet's nest?"

"It's not that easy, Niall. It's something that needs to be done."

"Well," Cruz said carefully, "you always have a room here. You're always welcome in our home, Carlos."

Niall didn't miss Carlos's quick glance. His jaw still ached with the memory of that mean one-two punch that had knocked him out cold. Carlos had reacted exactly as Niall had expected to the news that he and Cruz were getting married. To say it hadn't gone over well was an understatement.

But things were improving. Carlos seemed to be getting used to the idea of his baby sister and his best friend being married and doing the things that married people did behind closed doors.

"Try some chicken." Cruz tried to convince Felix to give the chicken a try but he was more interested in squishing handfuls of macaroni and cheese between his fingers. "Son, I'm going to have to hose you down with a pressure washer before your bath tonight!"

Niall laughed as Felix smeared even more cheesy pasta on his face and in his dark hair. The edges of his brown eyes crinkled with pure joy as he made a huge mess. He started to giggle gleefully, a sound so hilarious and joyful it had everyone laughing. Felix chuckled until he hiccupped. He turned his confused face to Cruz who was wiping at her eyes.

"Get something red, Niall," Carlos instructed. "That'll get rid of his hiccups."

"No," Cruz said with a shake of her head. "You're thinking of
ojo
."

"I remember Mom putting a red handkerchief on your head when you were a baby anytime you got hiccups. He needs something red."

"I'm telling you, Carlos. That's for curing
ojo
."

"And I'm telling you…"

Shaking his head at the two siblings fighting over old Mexican panaceas, Niall tucked into his dinner. He'd been with Cruz long enough to recognize that look in her eye. Carlos could be absolutely correct but she wasn't going to let up. Unfortunately, Carlos shared the same gleam.

Niall made eye contact with Felix who looked back and forth between his mother and uncle. He made funny faces that elicited squeals of delight from his hiccupping, giggling son.

In that moment, Niall realized he truly was the happiest man on the planet. For so long he'd been sure a life of solitude would give him that feeling of contentment he so desperately craved. He couldn't have been more wrong. This crazy, complicated family was exactly what he'd needed all along.

And he wouldn't have it any other way.

*

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