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Page 16 of Small Town Hero

T hey parted in the hospital’s main lobby, Susannah planning to hide out in the women’s restroom for a few minutes, in an effort to recover her equilibrium by breathing deeply and splashing her face with cold water, her customary response to stress.

Ian squeezed her hand and headed outdoors, his phone already pressed to his ear. He was outlining Becky’s story for someone at the Copper Ridge Police Department.

When Susannah had calmed her tumbling stomach and churning emotions, she joined him on the hospital’s wide concrete steps.

With a gentle glance in her direction and an arm wrapping around her waist, Ian finished the call, pulled her close and, right there in front of God and everybody, the warm sun driving out the chill of all they’d learned, he kissed her.

The kiss was deep, and thorough in a way that made Susannah’s insides ache, as though opening to receive and enfold something longed-for but never really expected.

“Everything’s going to be all right,” Ian said, when he finally drew back.

Susannah’s knees immediately buckled, but he caught her. Held her up. “That was some kiss,” she murmured, still recovering.

Ian laughed gently, cupped her chin in one hand. “Lady,” he ground out, his eyes twinkling with amusement and promise, “you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”

His words sent waves of heat through Susannah, ones completely unrelated to the high-country climate.

She’d long since made a private promise to herself that she’d never have sex with any man until she was married to him, a challenge in the modern-day world, but in those moments, she wondered if she could fulfill that particular pledge.

Ian made her feel things she’d never even imagined feeling before.

And that had been the case, she realized now, since the day they met.

With a rather knowing smile, Ian took Susannah’s hand and they descended the steps, then made for the parking lot.

Susannah was blushing the whole way, and once she was seated in the passenger seat of Ian’s truck, seat belt fastened, she turned, trying to hide her face from him, embarrassed by her naiveté. But then, because she was strong, as Becky had said, she faced him.

“I have a secret,” she confided quietly.

“Interesting,” Ian replied, his hands resting on the steering wheel. He’d made no effort to start the engine. “Care to share?”

“That’s poetry,” Susannah said, with a grin that felt good on her face. Unforced. Natural. “And, yes, I’ll share.” She gestured for him to draw closer, and he leaned her way, so she could whisper in his ear.

He listened, drew back, contemplated her thoughtfully. “I see,” he said. “You realize, I presume, that I can’t make the same claim?”

Susannah smiled. “Well, you were married, so—”

“So, when the time comes, I’ll be more than happy to show you the ropes. Provided things get that far, anyway.”

Susannah was mildly troubled. She loved this man, she’d realized that quite soon after they met, though she had worried she was jumping to romantic conclusions, but the phrase “provided things get that far” had given her pause.

Fearful of saying the wrong thing, making a fool of herself and, worst of all, being rebuffed by the first man she had ever wanted in the world-shifting way she wanted Ian McKenzie, she fell silent.

Ian was quiet, too, until they were on the road back toward Copper Ridge. “Stay for supper?” he asked. “I’m a decent cook.”

“Sounds nice,” Susannah said. It wasn’t the real date he’d promised her, but that was scheduled for the following weekend anyway. She told herself it would be good for Ellie, sharing a meal with her friends Vivian and Mabel.

Ian’s eyes were on the road, but he was smiling, and that put solid emotional ground under Susannah’s feet. How was it possible that a man’s smile, the sound of his voice, his mere presence , in fact, could uplift her the way it did?

They hadn’t known each other for very long, and yet, from the beginning, Susannah had felt as if she’d known—and loved—this man through multiple lifetimes. He was a stranger who had never been a stranger.

And that, she supposed, was why no question, no topic of conversation, seemed out-of-bounds with him.

“Have you ever been to Chicago?” she asked, wanting to verify her take on the matter.

Ian glanced her way. “I went to college in the Windy City,” he responded, unexpectedly. “For a couple of years, anyway.”

“Did you like it there?”

Ian shrugged. “It was all right. I’m not overly fond of big cities, and I’ve never liked anyplace as much as I like the ranch.” He paused, favored her with a reassuring grin. “My turn to ask—what do you think of Copper Ridge?”

“It’s quaint. Friendly. I like it a lot.”

“Enough to stay after Becky and Ellie are back on track?”

Susannah hesitated. “Well, I have clients in Chicago. Friends. A house-flipping project I put on hold to come and look after my family. Plus, a nice condo that I own outright.”

“I see,” Ian responded, his tone noncommittal.

“Just now, Ian, I’m not sure what I want, when it comes to staying or going,” she said. But I definitely want you.

“I’m thinking we can figure out a plan together,” Ian reflected.

“Fair enough,” Susannah replied, and that was the end of that particular conversation, at least for a while.

The coming weeks passed as swiftly as if they’d been on fast-forward.

The FBI took on the Roy Pendleton case, since there were interstate elements, including his time in Copper Ridge.

Roy was tracked down quickly and arrested, along with his two high-school cohorts, and charged with first-degree murder, stalking, and a panoply of other lesser crimes, though all of them were felonies.

Further investigation proved that the body in the field-grave near Susannah and Becky’s childhood summer home was a teenage runaway named Callie Freeman. Later, to everyone’s surprise and horror, other bodies were found in other locations nearby.

With Roy incarcerated, and unlikely to win himself a verdict of “innocent,” essentially off the streets and out of the picture for good, Becky began to gain emotional ground with every passing day.

After a month, she was released from the hospital, and in the late summer, funded by Susannah, she and Ellie moved to Chicago, taking up residence in a quiet neighborhood with parks and tree-lined streets and good schools.

There, Becky, who planned to study nursing, would continue receiving treatment and Ellie could make a fresh start.

Throughout that busy time, Susannah and Ian spent a lot of time together.

They went on formal dates, shared home-cooked meals, and talked.

They talked and talked, about everything.

They went on long horseback rides and Susannah made lots of new friends, and became involved in community projects, like food drives and animal rescue.

Then, too soon, it was time for Vivian and Mabel to return to Florida for the new school year. Susannah had become very attached to the twins, and she knew she would miss them, but, of course, their departure was harder on Ian—and poor, sweet Dub—than anyone.

Ian flew with the kids to Miami, while Susannah stayed in Copper Ridge, in the almost-finished flip-house, with Dub and Nico, who gave each other a wide berth for the first few hours but then developed a cautious camaraderie.

Knute and Erma Carlson looked after the horses.

When Ian returned, a day later, Susannah met him at the airport in Flagstaff.

His face lit up when he saw her there, waiting.

He dropped his carry-on bag, took her into his arms and, for a moment, buried his face in her hair.

“You okay?” she asked, after a few moments.

Ian straightened, looked into her eyes, and answered, “Yeah,” in a low, gruff tone.

Susannah gave him a hard squeeze and changed the subject. “I’ve been thinking,” she said. “You really ought to update the ranch house. I know it holds a lot of good memories, but—”

Ian interrupted by touching her nose and saying, “ I think we ought to build a new place. Maybe up on the ridge. As you know, the view from there is amazing.”

Susannah stared at him, barely aware of the crowds moving around them, completely focused on the word “we.” “But I thought you’d want to live in the old place forever,” she finally replied. “Because of your grandparents and everything.”

Ian shook his head, picked up his bag in one hand and touched Susannah’s slightly heated cheek with the other. “It’s time for a few changes,” he told her quietly. Then, for what seemed like a very long moment, he looked deep into her eyes, so deep that she felt a tender touch to the soul.

“Such as?” Susannah asked, full of hope.

“Such as, this isn’t the most romantic place in the world, and I don’t have a ring handy,” Ian answered, “but I can’t hold back any longer. I’ve loved you since the first time I saw you, Susannah. Will you marry me?”

All the noise and activity of the airport seemed to fade away; Susannah’s heart swelled. “I’ve loved you just as long, Ian McKenzie,” she replied, “and, yes , I’ll marry you.”

“What about Chicago?” Ian asked. They were moving again now, making their way through the flow of departing and arriving travelers, toward the nearest exit.

“I love the place,” Susannah admitted. “But I love you more. Maybe we can work out some kind of compromise—a back-and-forth kind of thing, time here, time there. And there are certainly stables where you could board your horses, if you wanted to take them along—we’d keep Dub with us always, of course.

Meanwhile, we can build that house you were talking about.

I can do most of my web design work remotely, and planning the new place will keep both of us pretty busy. ”

They were outside by then.

Horns honked.

People shouted greetings and farewells to each other.

“Not a bad idea,” Ian conceded, as they headed for the parking area where Susannah had left her SUV. “I’d rather not transport the horses to the big city, though. Let’s just hire a ranch hand or two, and spruce up the old house a little so they’d have a place to stay.”

Susannah hesitated as they waited to cross the busy road, then went for broke. “You’d really do that, Ian? Leave the ranch for part of the year? Let someone else look after your horses?”

“I’d really do that,” Ian confirmed. “I love you, Susannah. And we can come back here anytime we want.”

The crossway light, a green hand, shone brightly, and they moved on, entering the parking garage.

They found the SUV, and Ian tossed his bag into the back seat, but instead of opening the passenger door for Susannah—he always drove when they were together—he pressed her against the side of the vehicle and kissed her again.

She nearly fainted from the pleasure of being in such close, primal contact with the man she loved. It was almost better than she imagined actual sex would have been.

Almost.

“I’m going to want babies,” Ian informed her, withdrawing only slightly. “You good with that?”

“Very good with that,” Susannah assured him.

“Great,” Ian answered. “Let’s go buy a ring.”