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She grinned up at him. “I won’t mind at all, Mr. Parks. Thank you!”

  “That’s okay. You can do the same for me one day,” he said, tongue-in-cheek.

  She started giggling and only stopped when “The Wedding March” was belted out on the piano.

  “Straight faces, now,” Cy murmured.

  “You bet!” she agreed.

  They walked down the aisle, to where Blake was waiting with his heart in his eyes when he saw Violet in that vision of white lace and satin, the veil delicately covering her pretty face. He thought his heart might burst.

  The ceremony was brief, poignant, and unforgettable. Blake lifted the veil to kiss his bride, and Violet’s blue eyes brimmed over with tears as she returned the kiss with pure joy.

  They walked out of the church into a soft rain of congratulations, confetti and rice.

  “The rice is for fertility,” Libby Collins whispered loudly.

  “It worked!” Blake exclaimed in a stage whisper, with wicked eyes.

  Violet whacked him with her bouquet and winked at Libby.

  They climbed into the waiting limousine and sped away to Blake’s house, to change clothes before the reception.

  “What a good thing the reception isn’t for another hour,” Blake groaned as he kissed Violet hungrily in the big king-size bed.

  “And you think we’ll still make it in time? Optimist!” Violet panted, lifting up to the hard, measured thrust of his body.

  He laughed, but the sensations caught him unaware and he arched, groaning with pleasure so deep it felt like pain.

  Violet went with him, flying up into the sky like a rocket, exploding in sudden, fierce delight.

  He increased the rhythm, and the pressure, and seconds later, he was right there with her, burning up in a fiery satisfaction that was vaguely shocking in its length. It seemed to go on forever.

  When he was finally able to breathe again, he was wet with sweat and shaking all over. So was Violet.

  “Wow,” she whispered reverently as she met his eyes.

  He nodded, bending to kiss her delicately. “See what a week of abstinence does to a normal man?” he murmured against her swollen lips.

  “Want me to lock the bedroom door for a week to make it better…?” She jumped and cried out as he pinched her bottom.

  He wrinkled his nose at her. “You lock it, I’ll break it down,” he challenged. “I hate abstinence!”

  She wreathed her arms around his neck and smiled contentedly, although her heartbeat was still shaking her. She was wet with sweat, too, and working just to breathe.

  “It’s better every time,” she said, dazed.

  “I improve with practice,” he informed her.

  She grinned and slid her legs around his. “Do you, really? Let’s see…!”

  They knew the party was already underway before they got out of the shower. They dressed quickly in the clothing they’d laid out for the reception, a lacy pink dress for Violet and slacks with a white shirt, tie, and sports coat for Blake.

  They were barely dressed, still smiling at each other in a daze of pleasure, when there was a loud rap on the front door.

  They stared at each other. “Are we expecting anybody?” Blake asked curiously.

  “I don’t think so.”

  They went together to the front door and opened it.

  Outside was most of the Jacobsville Police Department, with Chief Cash Grier, in uniform, leading the rest. He had a paper in his hand and he was grinning mischievously.

  “Lady and gentleman,” he began, “your friends in the Jacobsville Police Department would like to congratulate you on your recent nuptials and remind you that if you are ever in need of assistance, we are only as far away as your telephone. We have…”

  “I’ll call the governor!” Blake began, interrupting the speech.

  Grier glared at him. “I have six pages to go.”

  “I have ten pages,” Assistant Chief Judd Dunn announced, displaying them.

  “I have a loaded shotgun,” Blake told him.

  Judd and Cash looked at each other speculatively. “How many years could he get if he pointed it at us?” Judd wondered aloud.

  “That wouldn’t be nice, on his wedding day,” Cash agreed, but he gave Blake a rakish grin.

  Blake’s eyes narrowed. “Trespassing on private property,” he began, “creating a public nuisance, terroristic threats and acts…”

  “I am not a terrorist!” Cash informed him.

  “But you are a public nuisance,” Judd told Cash.

  “Me?” Cash exclaimed.

  Officer Dana Hall cleared her throat and elbowed both superior officers out of her way. She was holding a cake.

  “This is the wedding cake from the reception,” she told them, giving it to Violet. “I’m really sorry, but it was all we were able to save.”

  Violet was staring at her blankly.

  Officer Hall cleared her throat. “Somebody spiked the punch. Harden and Evan Tremayne drank it before they realized. One of the local cattlemen also drank some and made a very loud, unpleasant remark about lunatics who raised organic cattle just as Cy Parks walked in with J. D. Langley.”

  Cash cleared his throat. “Judd and I had to, sort of, shut down your wedding reception and lock up a few of your guests. But we saved your cake. There was some punch, too, but Officer Palmer there,” he noted a tall, handsome blond officer with odd-colored highlights in his hair, “is wearing it.”

  Blake burst out laughing. Only in Jacobsville, he was thinking.

  “Anyway, you’re leaving right away on your honeymoon, right?” Judd asked them. “So you can get all the sandwiches and punch you want where you’re going.”

  “Your jail is full, I guess?” Violet teased.

  “Uh, yes it is, and he—” Cash indicated Blake “—represents Cy Parks and the Tremaynes. They want him to come down and get them out.”

  “That explains the cake,” Blake told Violet.

  She grinned at him. “We can detour through town on the way to the airport, can’t we? After all, Mr. Parks did give me away.”

  “Good point.” He sighed. “Okay, tell them I’m on the way. And, thanks for the cake.”

  “And the punch,” Violet said with a glance at Palmer, who grinned back.

  The police force got into its cars and left. Violet put the cake in the freezer. The house was quiet without Mee and Yow, who were being boarded for the honeymoon. Mrs. Hardy was staying at her house with a nurse.

  “Would you like your wedding present now?” Blake asked as they were turning off the lights.

  She turned and looked at him. “What is it?” she asked, surprised.

  He pulled her close and kissed her. “Janet Collins cut a deal with the San Antonio D.A. She pled guilty for a reduced sentence, so there won’t be a trial. You and your mother won’t have the stress of a court trial.”

  “Oh, Blake!” She kissed him hungrily. “You had something to do with that, didn’t you?”

  He nodded, smiling. “I’ve been working on it for two weeks. It came through yesterday. I saved the news for today.”

  “Thank you,” she said, and meant it fervently. She’d dreaded the idea of dredging the painful episode in public.

  “I have to take care of my best girl,” he whispered. “And the mother of my child.” His big hand rested softly on her slightly swollen belly. “You were the most beautiful bride who ever walked down an aisle.”

  “And you were the handsomest groom.” She kissed him back. “Well, shall we go and rescue some prominent local citizens on our way out of town?”

  “Works for me,” he chuckled.

  They walked to the car hand in hand.

  “Today is the first day of the rest of our lives,” Blake mused.

  “The rest of those days will be wonderful,” she said softly.

  They were.

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-1630-7

  BOSS MAN

  Copyright © 2005 by Diana Palmer

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