Page 99 of Winning His Wager

“Will—they arrested him. Sage and Joel. But Clint knocked him down and took his gun away and everything. Will is talking to the police. Sage told me what she could this morning when she and Gil were here to check on you. Ben took Dusty down to the cafeteria. Nikki and Hunter are coming in this afternoon.”

“What did Bruce want, babe?”

“Bruce is looking for something. A chest that was once his brother’s. Will was searching for it. I guess he searchedourhouse too. When I was in here before. He’s spilling his guts. About what he knows about the drug stuff up here. The stuff down in Texas. And Bruce and Morris Preston too. I just kind of got in the way.”

She shivered. Fletcher pulled her closer. He still had a lot of questions. Sage would have to give him the answers later. Right now, he just wanted to hold Dylan as close as he possibly could.

“Fletcher…I have a secret,” she whispered.

“What?”

“I think I know where the chest is that Bruce wants. It was supposed to be his brother’s, who died from a heart attack.”

“My father. He was one of Bruce’s brothers who died from a heart attack.”

Dylan shook her head. “No. I don’t think it was your dad. Will and Bruce were yelling about a chest with initials on it. MJT.”

“Uncle Marty. He died when I was not quite two. Martin Jace Tyler.”

“I know where the trunk is.” She was quiet again. “It’s in the attic at the inn. I was using it as a nightstand. It’s bigger than that trunk in Gil’s old room here, but it looks just like it. Except the initials. I don’t know how it got there, but…it’s up there. I just don’t know why Bruce wanted it so much.”

“We’ll figure it out. Later. Right now, I just want to know when I can take you home. And keep you there forever.”

“I’m up for that. As soon as we possibly can.”

“I love you Dylan Geraldine Brown Talley Tyler. And don’t you ever forget it.”

“Right back at you, cowboy. Right back at you. Guess I did get the best Tyler of the lot after all.”

Fletcher just kissed her gently. And kept kissing her—until her sisters arrived and made him behave. Fletcher liked misbehaving with her.

He and Dylan? They were just getting started.

EPILOGUE

They were being dischargedin an hour. Dylan was going to take her cranky cowboy back to the inn, where Dixie was going to help herkeephim for a little while.

Her dad and mom were there. Her father wanted to take her back to the house he rented from her uncle—and Dylan suspected he intended to keep her there, probably forever. Poophead fathers could be a bit overprotective and everything.

Well, that was not going to happen.Tyler Hot Guys—two, Arthur Talley—still sitting at zero.

Dylan was just fine with that. And if Darcey ever figured things out, it would be Tyler Hot Guys—three. She suspected that would happen eventually. Probably her father did, too. He was rather especially anti-MartinTyler right now.

Ben and Gil and Dusty were in Fletcher’s room, too. They were Dylan and Fletcher’s official ride. But her mom was fussing, mostly over Fletcher, and her dad was grumbling. Also over Fletcher.

Fletcher was sitting up, dressed, and ready to go. He was definitely feeling better—his hands had started exploring under her jammies early that morning after Dylan had snuck into his bed. Technically, she had been discharged the night before, but no one had kicked her out of Fletcher’s room or anything. Not like she would be going anywhere without him, either.

A room at the inn was waiting for them now.

It took a bit more organization and fanfare than Dylan had anticipated—her Tyler and his brothers really liked to yank her dad’s chain whenever they could—but then they were at the inn, settled on the couch in the lobby, with people stopping by to “check” on them every few minutes. Dylan didn’t mind the questions now—people cared. And that really mattered.

“You are being quiet. I don’t like it when you are quiet. You good?” Fletcher asked, almost whispering in her ear. His hand spread over her stomach gently. She was really bruised there—she hadn’t even been fully healed from the operation, after all—but she was feeling better. Of course she was, they were going to be okay.

“I am really tired, Fletchie. Really tired. I can’t wait to take a nap—with you holding me.”

“As soon as you are ready. And when the doctors say I can, I’m going to show you exactly what you mean to me.” His blue eyes were filled with that look again—the one that made her shiver.

“I am going to hold you to that.”