The rest of the night was a long blur of noise and activity that Hope only remembered in flashes. The sound of sirens outside. Harry Armstrong being guided into the backseat of a police car. Finally feeling warm when someone wrapped a blanket around her. When they returned to the Golden Horse, and Allison walked Hope to her room, she collapsed into bed and immediately fell into an exhausted sleep.

By the time she woke up, it was well into the morning. Aside from being a little stiff, she felt none the worse for wear from her adventure. In a few years, she’d probably be able to recount it at parties as a funny story. Oh, you want to hear a fun fact about me? Once, I was mistaken for a member of a horse shifter family and taken hostage! Crazy, right? But at the moment, she could only remember the glint of light on the gun in Harry Armstrong’s hand and the look on Josh’s face as he’d tackled Armstrong.

She dressed slowly, hissing as the cuffs of her long-sleeved shirt brushed against the rope burns on her wrists. A knock on the door came as she was brushing her hair.

“Come in,” she called.

Josh opened the door, took a half step forward, and leaned against the doorframe. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay, all things considered. You?”

“I’m not the one that got kidnapped.”

“Good point.” He seemed reluctant to come any farther into the room, and she suspected that despite her reassurances, he blamed himself for what had happened. She moved over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, letting herself enjoy the closeness. He let out a sigh that seemed to relax his whole body.

After a few moments, he released her. “The rest of the family’s anxious to hear the details of what happened last night. Are you up to coming into the living room to talk about it?”

“Of course.”

Most of the family was gathered in the living room, crowded onto sofas and chairs, with some of the younger members sitting on the floor. Everyone’s attention focused on Hope as soon as she walked in. Tammy rose to her feet and offered Hope her chair, moving to perch on the arm of one of the sofas next to Mark. Hope sat down and hoped in vain that her self-conscious blush wasn’t too obvious.

“I feel like I should apologize to you on behalf of the family. You’re our guest, and what happened to you—we’re all just glad it wasn’t any worse.”

“Oh, please don’t apologize!” Hope exclaimed. “It wasn’t your fault, and none of you could have prevented it. If it hadn’t been me, it would have been someone else.”

“When we think about what could have happened to you....” Allison trailed off without completing her thought. “Sorry. That’s probably not very helpful.”

“I’m serious,” Hope said. “What if it had been Ian? Or Eva?”

“You really think Harry would have grabbed one of the kids?” Lisa asked.

“I think so,” Josh replied. “You didn’t see him last night, but he was pretty upset. I think that once he decided to go through with this, nothing would have stopped him. It was just a question of opportunity.”

Eva wasn’t in the room, but Ian was, and his father wrapped an arm around him. The adults shared a look and silently agreed not to pursue that train of thought any further.

“I just can’t understand how Harry got everything so wrong,” Lisa said.

“I tried not to stick my nose in too much,” Rick said, “but based on what I’ve heard around town, Harry didn’t handle it well when his dad left. Understandably. He started spending his time around Joe instead, and it sounds like Joe was having trouble remembering the details of things. Somehow, between his dementia and Harry’s anger, a minor boundary dispute turned into a theft.”

“Poor kid,” Tammy sighed.

“Poor kid?” Mark echoed furiously, turning to glare at her. “That poor kid cost us thousands of dollars with all of his sabotage, and then he kidnapped Hope! He should be in jail.”

“No, I think she’s right,” Hope said. She worried at her lower lip with her teeth as she tried to organize her thoughts. “I can’t speak for what he’s cost you, but it’s not entirely his fault. His grandfather lied to him, and he didn’t know the truth. And it sounds like his grandfather’s death really got to him. His father left, and then his grandfather died. It sounds like he didn’t really have anyone left.”

“That’s no excuse,” said Josh.

“No, it’s not. But putting him in jail for years won’t help me, and it won’t help him either. If anything, it’ll just push him further down the wrong path. He’s just a kid, and I don’t think he should lose his whole life.”

“Hope, this isn’t just a question of a few childish pranks. Not only did he kidnap you, but he used a gun. That’s aggravated kidnapping.” Josh crouched next to her chair and took her hand in his. “I don’t even want to think about what could have happened.”

“Well,” Rick interjected, “it’s up to the district attorney, not us. But it’s his first offense, so Hope might be able to speak on his behalf, and maybe they’ll make a plea deal with him on lesser charges. The good thing is that he and his family won’t be bothering us anymore.”

As people dispersed into smaller groups and separate rooms, Josh remained by Hope’s chair, a warm presence at her side. Several people stopped to talk to Hope as they passed, and each time the message was the same. They hated what had happened to her, but they were glad she was safe. She hadn’t known this unusual group of people for that long, but here they were, going out of their way to reassure her and let her know that they cared for her. It was something Hope had never experienced before.

Rick was the last to leave the room. Towering over her where she sat, he should have looked frightening, but she remembered him charging in right behind Josh to come rescue her. She envisioned him like the foundation of the house, solid and reliable, and crucially important to the whole structure. “You’re always welcome here,” he said, in his rumbling voice. “And if you want to be part of our family, we’d love to have you.”

“Thank you,” Hope managed, blinking back tears.

Then Rick was gone, and they were alone. Probably not for long.

“I’m not normally so emotional,” she said to Josh, brushing the tears from her eyes, “but I think I’m still a little frayed from last night.”

Josh crouched next to her. “You’ve got a good heart. Maybe too good.”

“Harry lost the most important person in his world. I think we can both understand how that feels, and how it might make him do stupid things.”

He stood up and held his hand out to her. “Do you want to go for a walk? I promise nothing bad will happen this time.”

“Can we go back to that spot by the creek?”

“That sounds perfect,” he said softly.

***

Josh should have felt calm. Everyone was safe. The sheriff had Harry in jail where he couldn’t bother anyone. And Hope had clung to him last night as if she never intended to let him go. But that wasn’t the same thing as a commitment. What if she didn’t want to stay on the ranch? What if it had too many bad memories for her? He wanted to promise that he’d follow her anywhere, but he couldn’t live anywhere he didn’t have room to shift and run on a moment’s notice. He’d thought there was nothing worse than never finding his mate, but loving her and not being with her would be ten times worse.

The sun beat down from almost directly above them, so when they reached the creek, he led her under the shade of the cottonwood trees. From there, they could hear the water rushing over the rocks in the creek. They stood there, quiet and still while he held a running debate with himself. Should he say something and risk hearing an answer that broke his heart? Was it better to ask and get the bad news right away, or should he just be content with whatever she was willing to give him?

Before he could speak, Hope beat him to it. “So much has happened in such a short time. It seems like weeks ago, when you told me about how you loved to come out here and be alone.”

“This isn’t my place now. It’s ours. Whether you decide to stay or not.”

“Josh—”

He kept talking, afraid to hear what she might say. “The ranch can be a little challenging in winter, but we’ve got a lot of people to help with the shoveling, and I’m sure you know what it’s like to wake up and see a pure white blanket over everything outside.”

“Josh, listen. I know I freaked out on you the night we met.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a half-hug. “I shouldn’t have mentioned marriage so quickly.”

“Maybe,” she admitted. “But I shouldn’t have panicked. I should have trusted you.”

“You barely knew me.”

“That doesn’t matter.” When he didn’t reply, she continued. “Does it? I’ve never felt like this about anyone in my life, and I don’t think you have either.”

“You know I haven’t,” he said huskily. He raised his hand to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear, and when he touched her skin, he felt it jolt through him.

“As soon as I met you, I was attracted to you. Really attracted, obviously.” She reached for his hand and entwined their fingers together. “But I think I was in love with you by the time dessert came.”

“In love?” Josh asked. Nothing had ever made him so happy as those two words.

She blinked away the tears that were welling in her eyes. “Of course.”

He brought their joined hands up to his mouth and kissed her fingers. “God, I love you too. So much. I was so scared last night.”

“So was I. But mostly, I was afraid that something would go wrong, and I’d never get the chance to tell you how I felt.”

A tear tracked down her cheek, and he wiped it away with his thumb. “Do I need to ask you again?”

She laughed shakily. “Technically, you never asked me the first time.”

“No,” he said, “I guess I never did get to that part.”

He locked his arms around her waist and looked down into her upturned face, her eyes filled now with happy tears.

“Hope Callahan, will you marry me?”

“As if you had to ask,” she laughed, her eyes shining. As she leaned up to kiss him, he kissed her back with everything he had in his heart, trying to make her feel how precious she was to him. When the kiss ended, she rested her cheek over his heart.

“And you’re sure you want to marry into this crazy family?” he asked.

She straightened up and punched him lightly in the arm. “Stop doing that. You keep warning me about your family. Yes, there are a lot of them. They’re loud and argumentative. They’re also funny and warm and good-hearted.”

“You’re right,” he realized. “I’ve been so worried about losing you, I guess I got kind of fixated on how different they were from how you grew up.”

“Just promise me no more kidnapping.”

He knew she was only teasing, but it stung a little. “I should have protected you.”

She shook her head at him. “You can’t protect me every time I want to go for a walk.”

“I can try,” he insisted.

“I don’t want someone to protect me every second of every day.” Her lovely blue eyes were serious, and she took his face in her hands. “I want a partner. Someone who will love me for the rest of my life.”

“Always,” he vowed to her. “I’ll always love you.” He had found his mate, and no matter what happened, he would always be with her.