Page 103 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

She laughed. “Yes, we’ll be missed. Let’s go back and party for the next hour, and then maybe we’ll disappear.”

He glanced around. “There’s no one out here right now.” He kissed away her answer, and she kissed him in return.

“I can’t believe we’ve been here alone this long. C’mon and join the fun,” she said, taking his hand and returning to the dance floor to join the festivities.

Later she stood in a big circle with Blake’s arm around her waist. Cade was there, and Gabe. She had finally met Nathan, but he and Lydia had left early to take baby Amelia home.

She was glad for Blake that his half brothers had made him part of their family, and she was thankful that their own baby would be welcomed by her big family.

Her sister Lenora came to get her. “It’s time to toss your garter to the bachelors,” she told Sierra.

“All right,” Gabe said, laughing. “C’mon, Cade. That’s us.”

“Not me,” Cade said, laughing with him and shaking his head. “No marriage in my future, bro. Sierra, throw it right to him, and we’ll get my wild little brother married off.”

She nodded and turned, feeling her white satin skirt swirl around her ankles.

When she tossed it, Gabe jumped into the air and grabbed it, grinning and waving it while he whooped with glee. She had to laugh. He had an exuberance that seemed to run in the family.

Friends turned to talk to her, and she forgot about Gabe. When she rejoined Blake, he slipped his arm around her waist as they stood in a circle talking to friends.

“I’m not the only one to make peace with my dad—there’s my mom sitting by him.”

Sierra had just met Veronica Callahan, Blake’s mother, the previous week because she had finally arrived in Texas for the wedding. Now Sierra looked at the slender woman, whose white hair was turned under to frame her face. She was tall and attractive, with dark brown eyes that Blake had inherited. She sat at a table with Blake’s father.

Nearby, Crystal Callahan, divorced from Dirkson and mother of Cade, Nathan and Gabe, was with a group of friends at another table.

“Let me see if I have this straight. Your dad’s first wife isn’t here, and they had no children.”

“That’s right.”

“Your mom was his second wife, and she’s sitting with him now. And she’s very nice, Blake. I really like her.”

“She likes you, and she is so excited to become a grandmother.” He looked to where his mother sat with his father. “I don’t think they’ve spoken since I was a little kid. Maybe he’s made peace with her, too.”

Sierra smiled. “I know your mother is very excited to be a grandmother. I’ve already received half a dozen presents for the baby. And back to wives—your half brothers’ mother is Crystal, enjoying herself with friends and divorced from Dirkson.”

“That’s right. After all these wives, he’s alone now. He had mistresses in that lineup, too. He just had no interest in his children.”

“He made that choice,” she said. “Blake, we’re alone and the party is in full swing, and has been for hours now. Do you still have a waiting limo?”

“Do I ever, darlin’,” he said, taking her hand. “Walk slowly, as if we’re moving to find some friends, and we’ll slip out and be on our way.”

Smiling, she did as he said, and in minutes they sat in the limo as it pulled away and left the club, heading for the airport and Blake’s waiting jet.

It was night when they entered the penthouse apartment Blake kept in New York. He turned to embrace Sierra, who had changed into a pale blue dress and matching heels. Blake was still in his tux, but he paused to shed his coat and tie while she unfastened the studs on his shirt. Before she finished, he wrapped his arms around her to kiss her, and she held him tightly, returning his kiss.

Joy filled her as she began her marriage to the rancher she loved with all her heart. His hand slid over her still-flat stomach. “Our baby, Sierra. This baby will have a world of love.”

“Yes, this baby and our others, Blake. I love you with all my heart,” she declared, gazing up at him with a faint smile, knowing life was good and they would have a marriage filled with love.