“I don’t know anything about cattle,” she said. “And I still don’t like mice. As for the chickens…”

He laughed. “How about you leave the wildlife to me? All I ask is that you keep on lovin’ me.”

Emily couldn’t think of anything she would rather do. “Will that make me a real rancher’s wife?” she asked.

“If that doesn’t, this will,” he said. He feather-touched her forehead with his lips before swooping down to capture her mouth with his. He kissed her until her head spun and her body tingled. Each heart-stopping, toe-curling, knee-weakening kiss filled a deep need even as it made her want more. A lot more.

Moaning softly, Chase tightened his hold on her. “Not only do I want you to be my wife for real, I want you to be my wife forever.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “Forever,” she whispered.

Now that she knew how it felt to be a rancher’s wife, she had no desire to be anything else.

Epilogue

Judge Gray looked up from his desk and groaned. “Not you two again.”

Emily squeezed her husband’s arm and laughed. She’d been doing a lot of that lately—laughing. Everything had worked out better than she could have imagined. Once Royce learned that Emily was expecting Chase’s baby and wasn’t going anywhere, he’d agreed to accept Chase’s offer.

Chase sold some of his cattle to square things with Royce, but the land was kept intact. It would take time for Chase to restock the herd, of course, but the McKnight legacy was secure, and the future looked bright.

Just as amazing, when word got out that Emily had identified the leader of the cattle-rustling ring and saved the ranch, the townspeople stopped blaming her for her uncle’s misdeeds. She was now fully accepted as a rancher’s wife.

The judge rifled through the stack of papers on his desk. “Don’t tell me you’re here for an annulment.”

Chase winked at her. “We’re not here for an annulment. We’re here to get hitched.”

“Hitched?” The judge’s hand stilled. “If memory serves me right, you’ve already got your boots in a tangle.”

“Yep,” Chase said, “but we want to get married again.”

The judge adjusted his spectacles. “Why?”

Chase gazed lovingly into Emily’s eyes. “This time, I want to marry the woman I love.”

“Are you sure about this?” Judge Gray asked.

“Couldn’t be any surer,” Chase said.

Gray directed his next question to Emily. “What about you?”

Emily ran a loving hand over her rounded stomach. “Oh yes!” She smiled up at Chase, and a warm glow rushed through her. “This is the man I intend to spend the rest of my born days with.”

The judge glanced across the room at Rusty, Peggy Sue, and Ginny standing by the door. “I take it you’re the witnesses.”

“We are,” the three of them said in tandem. Looking pretty as a picture in a blue floral dress, Ginny covered her mouth to hide her giggles.

Rusty wrapped one arm around Peggy Sue and the other arm around Ginny. “Then we want to make a date for you to marry us.”