She tried to fling it off. “To hell with the rules. I’m going for a walk!”
“Then we’re all going for a walk,” Jericho said, spilling out of the bunkhouse behind him. “Come on. We told Elizabeth and Gabe to stay put with the others. Chris and Byron will catch up with Jess.” He slapped Walker on the shoulder, and when Clay and Angus appeared, the men fanned out around Avery, who stopped in her tracks and growled with frustration before striding on.
Walker kept pace with her.
As he’d expected, she headed for the pasture where the bison herd cropped grass, several calves frolicking among the older animals. If he didn’t know Avery well, he would think her thoroughly engrossed with their antics, but he knew her better than that. Her shoulders were straight and high, her hands clasped tightly behind her back. Avery was struggling to hold her emotions in check. Fair enough; he was, too.
When Brody agreed to sign the paperwork asking for an annulment, Walker’s chest had flooded with heat. Elizabeth’s challenge hadn’t changed that. Nor did Gabe’s attempt at humor.
“He’s going to sign those papers, right?” Avery asked.
“That’s what he said.” Brody had gotten exactly what he wanted, exposure on national television, and Walker had no doubt he’d capitalize on it.
All he cared about was Avery, however. He leaned in close, still holding her hand.
“Say it,” he said. “Say you’ll marry me.”
“You haven’t talked to Sue. You haven’t even talked to Elizabeth. She hasn’t agreed to free you from your promise.”
“You’re killing me,” he said.
She faced him. “We still have to do this right. Brody has to sign the paperwork. You have to tell Elizabeth you’re not marrying her. You have to call Sue.”
“I will,” he said. “I just want to know your answer.”
“You know my answer. You’ve always known it.”
Walker cupped her chin with his hands, bent down and kissed her. With the herd rustling and lowing behind the pasture fence, he savored the feeling of Avery, the aliveness of her. They had met right here on a hundred mornings in all kinds of weather, drawn together by their love for the bison, the big open sky and each other. He’d never been able to make his feelings clear to her, and he was damned if he was going to wait another moment now.
She met him with a sigh, her mouth soft under his. He traced her jaw with his thumb and tangled his other hand in her hair, needing to feel all the different textures of her. A cool breeze played over them, and she shivered in his arms. Walker held her even closer. He never wanted to let her go, never wanted to live another day without her by his side.
When they parted again, she sighed. “Is it really going to work out this time?”
“It damn well better.” He couldn’t stand much more of this. Walker wanted all of Avery—forever.
Now.
“I’m going to call Sue. I’ll tell her to come here before school tomorrow so we can have it out. By lunchtime it’ll all be over.”
“I’m afraid to even hope.”
He stopped himself from crushing her to him. He didn’t want to hurt her, but he wanted to prove he wouldn’t let anything get between them again. She was his everything. His whole world.
Avery pressed her hands against his chest and lightly pushed away. He let her go reluctantly.
“We have to go back,” she said. “We need to strike while the iron is hot and get Brody’s signature on that document.”
He bent toward her one last time, speaking softly, aware of the cameras on them. “Later,” he said into her hair. “By the creek. When everyone else is asleep.” She nodded, and his heart lifted. If she would agree to that, then she was agreeing to be with him, to spend a life with him. He knew Avery. The one went with the other.
“When everyone else is asleep,” she agreed.
Back at the bunkhouse, they found Brody already signing documents on Boone’s old wooden desk, a host of witnesses gathered around, ready to sign, too. Renata was on the phone to Fulsom, explaining the situation. “I’ll send you photos of them right now,” she said, “and I’ll get the original documents off in the mail in the morning. I’m faxing them straight to a law firm in Vegas, too, which guarantees an annulment within four days.”
Elizabeth met them at the door, her eyes blazing, Gabe not far behind her. “We have to talk about this,” she said.
Walker squared off with her, drawing himself up to his full height. “We’ll talk about it in the morning, when Sue is here. I’m going to do this only once,” he said. When she seemed about to protest, he repeated, “In the morning.”
Her shoulders sagged. She searched his face. “Fine. In the morning.” But she didn’t look happy.
Many hours later, Avery turned onto her shoulder, tense and listening for movement in the bunkhouse. It had taken forever for the groups sleeping in the tiny houses to say their good-nights and leave. First, Brody had decided he needed to recap his performance on the show, pulling out his guitar and playing and singing, segueing from one tune to the next until Jericho finally took the instrument away from him. Everyone else stayed to chat, speculating on what would happen next. Jess, who’d been persuaded no one was mad at her, hung around close to Brody until he deigned to notice her, and soon they were huddled over cups of tea, whispering like schoolchildren. He left with the crew when they finally departed, loudly proclaiming how happy he was he could finally get a decent night’s sleep at the motel in town.
Elizabeth kept to herself, her jaw set and her gaze tracking Walker wherever he went. Several times, Avery thought she would confront him again, but she didn’t. Gabe stayed close to her, murmuring in her ear
