Creek Falls. Now that the moment was here, he was paralyzed by his own doubts and fears.
Apparently his sister felt differently, because the door he was staring at suddenly flung open.
“You’re here!”
Those two words were the only warning Luke got before Bella launched herself into his arms. He caught her—a reflex action—and she pressed her cheek to his, covering his face with kisses and tears.
The unexpected outpouring of affection made his heart swell inside his chest, so much that his ribs actually ached.
“You’re really here,” she said again.
“I’m really here,” he confirmed.
“I know you said you were coming,” she acknowledged, “but I’ve been waiting for so long that it feels like forever.”
His arms tightened around her. It felt like forever to him, too. And though he’d had more than a few reservations about returning to Rust Creek Falls, right now, with Bella in his arms, he was certain that he’d made the right decision.
All too soon, she was drawing away again. “Come on,” she said, tugging on his arm. “I want you to meet my husband.” Her eyes sparkled as her lips curved. “We’ve been married for almost six months, and I still get such a thrill every time I say that.”
“I feel a shock to hear you say it,” Luke confessed. But he was eager to meet Hudson Jones—and to thank him for hiring the PI who had tracked him down.
When he stepped into the building, he was immediately enveloped by warmth—a welcome reprieve from the bitter winds blowing outside—and assailed by various sounds and scents: crying and cooing and singing; baby powder and Play-Doh and fresh gingerbread.
“We’re baking cookies for the toddlers to decorate today,” she explained. “And to eat, during snack time.”
“I guess day care isn’t all about story time and building blocks,” he mused.
She laughed. “You have no idea.”
He took a minute to catch his breath and survey the space. The tiles beneath his boots were multicolored, the walls were painted sunshine yellow and decorated with artwork that he suspected had been done by children who attended the day care. “How did you end up working here?”
“The facility was opening at a time when I was desperate for a job,” she admitted. “Jamie’s wife died after giving birth to their three babies, so I came home from college to help him with Henry, Jared and Katie.”
He’d thought nothing could surprise him more than discovering that Bella was married, and now she was telling him that his youngest brother had also married—and been widowed—and was a father. “Triplets?”
She nodded.
“And you left school to be his babysitter?”
“He’s family,” she said simply, as if that explained everything. “And the only brother I had left after you, Bailey and Danny took off.”
“Bella—”
“We’ll talk about that later,” she interjected, hooking one arm through Luke’s and raising her other hand to knock on a partially open door beside the main reception desk.
“Come in.”
She pushed the door open the rest of the way. “Hudson, there’s someone here that I want you to meet.”
The man behind the desk slid his chair back and stood up. The smile that lit his eyes when he looked at his wife assured Luke that he was just as much in love with Bella as she obviously was with him.
Then his gaze shifted, and cooled noticeably. “You must be Luke.”
He nodded and shook the proffered hand. “It’s nice to meet the man who won my sister’s heart.”
“She won mine first,” Hudson said. “And I’d do anything for my beautiful bride, so I was pleased to hear that David Bradford was successful in tracking you down in Wyoming.”
“I’m grateful for your efforts,” Luke said sincerely.
“I just want Bella to be happy,” Hudson said.
Luke understood what the man was saying—and what he wasn’t. Hudson had hired the private investigator to find Bella’s siblings because it was what she wanted, but he wouldn’t tolerate anyone—even her family—hurting his wife. Although Hudson’s demeanor made him a little wary, Luke couldn’t help but respect his new brother-in-law for wanting to protect his bride.
“I am happy,” Bella assured him. “And I know this is going to be the best Christmas ever, not just because it’s my first as Mrs. Hudson Jones—” she sent an adoring look toward her husband “—but because Luke is finally home and Danny is planning his Christmas Eve wedding.”
Luke opened his mouth, intending to tell her that he wouldn’t be staying in Rust Creek Falls for Christmas, but the last part of her statement pushed everything else from his mind.
“Our Danny?”
Bella nodded.
“He’s here—in Rust Creek Falls?”
“You didn’t know?”
Luke shook his head. “We kind of lost touch a few years back,” he admitted.
“He’s been here since October,” Bella told him now. “After he saw an interview with Jamie on The Great Roundup, he realized he missed his family and finally decided to come back.”
“What’s The Great Roundup?”
His sister seemed surprised by the question. “Don’t you watch TV?”
“Not a lot,” he admitted.
“The Great Roundup is a reality show, similar to The Amazing Race but with a Western theme,” Hudson explained. “There are various challenges of skill and survival, and the winner gets a million dollars.”
“And you watch this?” Luke asked, his tone dubious.
“Travis Dalton and Brenna O’Reilly are on the show,” his brother-in-law explained.
“And they’re engaged!” Bella exclaimed.
Although Luke didn’t know Travis or Brenna, he knew the Daltons and O’Reillys were longtime residents of Rust Creek Falls. But he was more interested in what she’d said about their brother than the details of a reality show. “And you said Danny’s engaged, too?”
“To Annie Lattimore,” she said, naming their brother’s high school sweetheart.
“I should have known,” he realized. “Danny never wanted to leave Rust Creek Falls—or Annie.”
“Then why did he?” Bella wondered. “Why did you?”
He
