Page 60 of Stormswept Colorado (Hart County #3)

Ayla, One Year Later

“How are you feeling tonight, Denver?”

I looked out at the screaming, cheering crowd. I couldn’t make out their faces, but they looked like a sea of lights. The signature crimson stone of Red Rocks Amphitheater bordered the sides of the stage, now faded into dimness.

The air was crisp and cool. An ideal summer night.

“I appreciate you joining me tonight for the final night of my tour. This has been quite a journey. A lot has happened to me in the last few years. You might have heard.”

More cheers and laughter. “We love you, Ayla!” someone shouted. “You’re amazing!”

I grinned. “Why, thank you. I love you too, Denver. You’ve all been very good to me. It’s fitting that I’m wrapping up my tour here in Colorado. A place I love calling home whenever I’m here.”

As I strummed a few familiar chords on my guitar, the screams got even louder as they recognized what song I was about to play.

“But there’s one person in particular who has come to feel like home to me. This is a song that I wrote about him. ”

The crowd just about lost it.

I’d started writing this song in Silver Ridge during Emma and Ashford’s wedding weekend. Long before I had any idea what Teller and I could truly become.

This song was also the biggest hit from my new album. My number one.

Just like the man who had inspired it.

Usually, when I was performing, I gave everything to the fans who had come to see me. This was the quieter moment during my show, when I brought out my acoustic guitar and played. An intimate moment between me and the thousands of fans who had joined me on any particular night.

I’d found a new kind of peace in the last year.

I liked to think that I had settled into my fame.

Both becoming more creative and reaching a new level of independence in the business side of my career.

I finally felt like I was the one in charge.

I listened to the advice of Cheryl and the rest of my team, but I had the freedom and the confidence to make the final decision that worked for me.

Always after consulting with Teller, of course. Simply because he was my partner. My best friend. The person who understood me the most.

After I’d put the finishing touches on my album, with the help of my most trusted producer and collaborators, I hadn’t been sure how my fans would react. I’d been more heartfelt and more honest in these songs than ever before. In a way that Ruxton Records hadn’t allowed me to be.

The first single had been this one, the song Teller inspired, and it instantly hit number one. The singles that followed also did well on the charts, and the album went platinum soon after its release.

As soon as my tour was announced, it sold out pretty much instantly. My tour manager had begged me to go with the biggest venues possible. There was nothing like filling a stadium of tens of thousands of people and hearing them scream your name. I loved attending concerts like that too .

But for this album and this tour, I hadn’t wanted quite so much spectacle. And I’d known that I had to end the run right here, at Red Rocks. Which had been difficult to book even for me, let me tell you.

Teller had joined me for most of the performances. I adored knowing that he was waiting for me backstage, watching and singing along. My rock. The person who could always make me laugh when I needed it, who steadied me when I felt overwhelmed.

But as our relationship had grown more unshakable, we’d actually been spending a little more time apart. He’d been supervising the building of an addition on our home in Silver Ridge, plus taking more shifts with Silver Ridge PD simply because he loved it.

As for me, I trusted my team more than ever. My band, back-up singers, and crew were like another family. Ricky still did my makeup every night, when we got to chat about the latest gossip.

Plus, Hayleigh came to just about every show herself. She’d decided that being a documentary filmmaker was her true calling, and I had agreed to let her film some footage of my tour for her upcoming project on the music industry.

She was backstage tonight. So were several other people I couldn’t wait to see. Ashford, Emma, and Maisie.

And Teller. I hadn’t seen him for almost two weeks , our longest separation in a year, and I was dying to kiss him. Yet I was living for this anticipation.

Maybe that explained why everything seemed to shine brighter tonight. The chords struck against my soul as I sang my heart out. The crowd was absolutely eating up every second of it.

This was not just the final night of my tour, but my final hurrah before taking a long break from my career.

I didn’t call it a retirement, because I knew I’d be back.

But after tonight, I would head home to Silver Ridge for the foreseeable future.

Visits to our Malibu house would be occasional and only for fun.

We had so much planned .

When the encore was finished and the band and I exited through an underground tunnel, Maisie was one of the first to greet me. The walls of the greenroom looked like they’d been carved directly into the rock.

“That was so cool, Aunt Ayla! Did you see us? We were right near the front, and we got lots of snacks, and I sang all your songs really loud!”

“Good.” I beamed as I hugged her. “I loved knowing you were there. I’m glad you liked the show.” Maisie was so grown up suddenly. How had that happened? I felt like every time I saw her in person she had changed in the most fascinating ways, even with our regular video calls.

I hugged Emma and Ashford next. “Sorry I’m sweaty.”

“I should sell this T-shirt online,” Ashford said. “ The Ayla Maxwell sweated on it.”

“Oh, shut it.” I spotted Teller behind them. He gave me a smile that had my stomach doing flips.

We walked toward one another, everyone else seeming to disappear.

Then I was in his arms, and he was kissing me. “I missed you so much, Chief Landry,” I murmured against his lips. I still called him that, though it wasn’t his job title anymore. I knew he liked it.

He growled. “Missed you too. Do you have a dressing room or somewhere I can drag you off to?”

I laughed. “We should probably wait for the hotel. I need a shower.”

“And I need you naked.”

Teller and I still couldn’t keep our hands off each other.

Back in February, we’d celebrated the one-year anniversary of getting stuck in that snowstorm.

Naturally, we’d gone to Silver Ridge for the occasion.

We left the bodyguard back in town and drove out to a secluded spot.

Not in Teller’s department vehicle, but in the new SUV that I drove whenever I was in Silver Ridge.

Teller had been giving me lessons on driving in the snow .

We’d turned off the engine, grabbed the blankets we’d brought, and fogged up all the windows while getting naughty in the backseat.

But alas, no getting naked backstage tonight. There were last hugs and goodbyes with my band and crew. Hayleigh recorded some footage, going on about the Red Rocks backstage and how unique it was.

Finally, Teller and I piled onto the tour bus. I pulled him into the private area at the back, pushing him onto the couch and straddling his lap. I’d wiped off my makeup and changed into a tank top and jeans.

“Hi.”

“Hey, Troublemaker. Naked time now?”

“No, we’re waiting for the hotel. The tour manager booked us a suite. I plan to make use of it.”

He grumbled, but he couldn’t stop grinning between kisses. “And tomorrow, I get to take you home.”

“I know. I can’t wait.” I drew back so I could look at him. “You still want to…”

“You think I’d change my mind? Hell no.” His grip tightened on my hips. “Have you told the O’Neals yet? I assume not, since they didn’t say anything tonight.”

I shook my head. “Haven’t told anyone. But I asked them to keep their schedules clear tomorrow afternoon after we all meet up for lunch.”

“I did the same with Piper.”

“Good.” I pressed my forehead to his. “I can’t believe we’re getting married tomorrow.”

In less than twenty-four hours, we would head to the Hart County justice of the peace.

Our families and very closest friends would be there, and they were going to be very surprised.

Nobody even knew Teller and I were engaged.

We’d picked out rings together in Los Angeles, and they’d been shipped to Teller in Silver Ridge.

“Me neither,” he said. “And you…you did the other thing? ”

My skin heated. “Yes. I did.” A while back, I’d gone to the doctor to discuss going off birth control. Now, that was all taken care of. “So the next time we make love…”

“You mean, tonight when we make love.”

“Yes, Mr. Impatient, tonight. We might start growing our family.”

Teller pulled me in for another slow kiss. “It doesn’t have to happen right away. But when it does, I’m ready. Our house in Silver Ridge is all ready too. Are you?”

“ So ready. I can’t wait. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mrs. Landry.”

“Soon,” I whispered.

Even though I was taking a break from the music industry, I would always have music in my life. A brand new recording studio was waiting for me at our home in Silver Ridge. Maybe I’d feel like releasing a single or two at some point. There was no pressure unless I put it on myself.

In the meantime, I knew Teller was thrilled to serve his community every day as a Silver Ridge PD officer again. I planned to make frequent visits to the station with lunch for my man.

Someday, I would be back onstage. Touring the world.

But for now, I was thrilled to stay put in Silver Ridge. Live a simpler life. Not simple as in small . Because it would be so big. As big as the Rocky Mountains. As big as the horizon across the ocean.

Starting a family with Teller was my next booking, and it was going to be the best of all.