Page 65 of The Cowboy and the Bombshell
I was about to approach someone to ask for details when a sound reached me coming from around the corner. I may have only been riding once in my life, but the sound of hooves was unmistakable. Looking to the end of my street, I was shocked when I saw a horse.
And then another.
My smile was instant when I realized that there were six horses from the Mounted Unit coming towards us. In Queens, that wasn’t a common sight, at least not in this neighborhood. The six horses marched toward us steadily, their riders sitting tall and proud in their helmets and aviator sunglasses as people waved and cheered.
When they reached our house, they stopped, each horse pausing in formation, except the final horse, who continued to move, passing all the others as it approached. I stared in confusion as the rider began to unbuckle his helmet, but I gasped in shock when I recognized that dark head of hair.
Stone sat atop the horse, his smile wide, as he removed the sunglasses and hung them on his shirt pocket as if he did it every day. I stood frozen, unable to truly process what I was seeing, until he swung his leg over the horse and dismounted. Stone strolled up my sidewalk like the sexy cowboy he was, his rolling gait making every move look smooth and confident. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he smirked up at me. “Hey there, Blondie.”
The laugh that burst out of me was full of joy. “Hey yourself, Cowboy.”
As he stood there looking up at me with so much emotion in his eyes, I couldn’t help the tear that escaped, rolling silently down my cheek, regardless of how hard I was smiling.
Being near Stone just filled me with so much emotion, I couldn’t help but let it out, even if that meant tears.
“I gotta say, you sure are a sight for sore eyes.”
“You too, Stone,” I replied quietly, feeling suddenly vulnerable. “I was worried when you didn’t call. I mean, you didn’t even question my leaving.”
“Oh, I questioned it, Blondie. I questioned the hell out of it. But that’s why it took me so long to get here. I had to take care of some business first.”
My eyebrows went up at that. “You mean…”
“Yeah, I sure do.” I watched as emotion flashed across his face, once again showing me so much in his eyes. Where before they had only expressed anger and annoyance, now I was seeing a whole range of things he would have normally kept inside. I had a feeling that Stone was done hiding from me.
And I was damn glad about that.
“You won’t be having any more problems with my sister or her husband. Everything is taken care of, Penelope.” He looked deeply into my eyes, his promise there for me to see. “It’s over.”
The relief I felt was astronomical. I had been living in fear of waking up to see myself splashed over a tabloid, disgraced and shamed for what was truly an act of love.
Because I did love Stone. I knew that now.
And I was ready to do what it took to be with him.
“Thank you, Stone,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck, my whole body trembling with the relief of having him here with me. “Thank you so much.”
“Anything, Penelope. You know that.”
I smiled and nodded. When I heard a sniff behind me, I remembered my mother was there, along with a squad or two of police officers and almost all our neighbors. Good grief, how had I forgotten?
Stepping back, I glanced again at Stone’s handsome face.
Oh, yeah. That’s how.
“Stone, I’d like to introduce you to my mother, Sonja Lund.”
Stone came forward, hand extended. “Stone Pennington, ma’am.”
“Pennington, now, is it?” I questioned, watching as he shook my mothers hand, and she practically swooned. Good grief. There was no way I was ever taking Stone to meet the ladies at the hospital. He’d never make it out again.
“Yeah, Blondie. Pennington forever.”
“Damn right!” came a shout from behind him. I looked past Stone’s broad shoulder to see what I had missed before. One of the mounted riders waved and smiled, grinning like a loon from atop his horse.
“Mr. Pennington?” I laughed. The man looked like a kid in a candy store, he was so happy.
“Hello, Miss Lund. Pleasure to see you again. I’ll expect you to be reporting back to work as soon as possible. We still have a hotel to launch, and I need my new Vice President of Marketing working hard to make sure it goes off without a hitch.”
