Page 110 of Lawbreaker

Except Cole. He was staring at Tony with one eye narrowed. “They had a sale on ammunition at the gun shop yesterday,” he began.

Tony held up both hands. “I don’t even need persuading.” He looked at Odalie with warm, soft eyes. “Every time I took her out, I had to fend off the competition. Wedding rings are a great deterrent,” he added with a smug grin.

Odalie laughed and pressed close to him.

“We can get a license at the courthouse and get the judge to marry us,” Tony said. “But later, I’d like us to get married in church,” he added solemnly. “Just in case you ever want to get rid of me, I want to make it as hard as I can.”

She laughed and punched him in the ribs. “As if!”

“What about the Met?” Tony asked, and he looked really upset.

“We’ll have a nice long talk about stress,” she promised.

He blinked. “About what?”

“You’ll see.”

“Can we go home now?” John asked. “I need to feed Precious.”

Tony’s eyebrows arched. “You got a dog?”

“Well, no,” John said. “Actually, he’s a...”

“Rattlesnake,” the whole family voiced at once.

Tony’s eyes almost popped out.

“Don’t do that,” John groaned. “He’s got no teeth, poor old thing, and he doesn’t even threaten to strike at people. I feed him freeze-dried things...”

“He lives in John’s room,” Heather said, shivering. “The maid won’t even go in to change the sheets!”

“She will now, honest,” John told his mother. “I put a sheet over the enclosure so she doesn’t have to look at him. Hurts his feelings, of course,” he muttered. “He can’t help being a snake.”

“Hurts his feelings.” Cole was nodding. “One of my prospective buyers for that new lot of purebred calves was looking for the bathroom. He got loose and wandered into John’s room instead.”

“Oh, come on, Dad, it was just a little bit of plate glass...” John said defensively.

“A whole picture window,” Cole translated, “plus a trip to the ER, a hospital bill and then therapy because the man has a snake phobia...!”

“I’ll paint Precious green and tell everybody he’s a tree boa,” John said.

“I’ll paint you green and tell people you’re a leprechaun if you don’t find other accommodations for your...pet!” Cole muttered. “It’s unnatural to have a rattlesnake in the house!”

“The wedding,” Heather interrupted. “The wedding?”

“We’ll get the license first thing in the morning,” Tony promised, pulling Odalie close with a sigh. “Please tell me there’s a jewelry store in town?”

“Yes. It’s a hundred years old,” Heather laughed. “And he’s got some beautiful antique sets,” she added. “Old Mr. Scott says even the best jeweler in Dallas can’t touch his inventory.”

“We’ll go ring shopping at the same time,” Tony agreed. He looked at Cole and Heather. “I may have managed things badly,” he said gently. “But nobody on earth will love your daughter more than I do or take better care of her and the baby than I will. And that’s a promise.”

Which caused Odalie to burst into tears, because Tony had never said those words to her. She curled into him and held on for dear life.

Cole shook hands with him. Heather hugged him. So did Tanner and Stasia.

John shook hands, too. “You keep that promise. Just remember,” he added with a smile and wiggled eyebrows, “I have worms.”

Everybody broke out laughing.