When they were done, they collapsed in a tangle of arms and legs against the side of the fallen log. Rob pulled Morgan onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her softly.
After a moment, she laughed breathlessly.
"I keep thinking that when we finally make love we're going explode. I can't believe how good you feel."
"I'll gladly explode if it means I can make love to you." He kissed her again. "I'm bringing you back here on our wedding night, and I'm going to make love to you under the stars on this very ground."
"I can't wait," she said.
"Neither can I."
* * * * *
As they gathered their things and made their way back to the river, Morgan's legs were shaking and she had a feeling her biceps would be sore tomorrow from bracing herself against that log.
It was worth it, though. She'd never experienced anything like that before. Her desire for Rob seemed to be unquenchable. Only the feeling that she should be there when Claire and Jamie left for their honeymoon compelled her to hurry back to the wedding rather than stay here in the starlight with Rob.
Well, she'd have a lifetime of nights like this, wouldn't she? The thought made her smile. Rob wrapped an arm around her waist and hoisted her into his arms as they crossed back over the creek.
On the other side, they had quite a hunt to find the high-heeled slippers she'd tossed to the wind, but when they found them they made their way back up the hill to Rob's truck and climbed inside.
Morgan felt like a lifetime had passed since they'd pulled up on this hillside, instead of an hour. Something important had changed, and she struggled to define it, until in a flash it became clear:
She trusted Rob.
Not blindly, and not out of some foolish hope – but from her intimate experiences with him. Rob brought her to the highest heights, but he did so every time with the utmost respect for her, for her feelings and for her boundaries, as well. Many people who'd known her for years didn't respect her half so much, or spend nearly as much energy trying to bring her joy, for that matter.
As he climbed in the driver's seat and took her hand, she gripped it tightly. Eyes suddenly damp, she turned to him and hoped he could see the love shining there.
"I know," he said. "I feel it, too. We're supposed to be together, aren't we?" He leaned over and kissed her cheek softly.
Yes, she agreed with him silently. She thought they were.
* * * * *
"Over my dead body."
Rob tightened his hold on Morgan's waist and stared up at his father, a dark shape in the dim porch light. It was past two in the morning, and he and Morgan had said their good-byes to Ethan and Autumn after helping to do some preliminary cleanup as the wedding wound down. Claire and Jamie had left hours ago for a night at a hotel in town before they flew to Hawaii in the morning for their honeymoon. Holt must have been snoozing on one of the porch chairs, waiting for them. Damn Jake – couldn't he keep his mouth shut for one night?
No, damn Ned, Rob thought. Jake would have kept his mouth shut, but Ned wouldn't. He loved to make trouble; always had.
"Over your dead body, what, Dad?" He knew exactly what his father meant, but he wasn't going to make it easy on the old man.
"Over my dead body you're going to rip up this good rangeland and plant…grapes." Holt spit out the word.
Morgan stood stiffly beside Rob, and he could only imagine how she was feeling. "Dad, it's late, and my fiancée is tired…"
"Your fiancée has some nerve coming here thinking she can ruin this family's legacy," Holt boomed. Morgan jerked as if she'd been slapped and anger filled Rob until he could barely hold it in.
"You'll shut your trap and we'll work this out later, between the two of us," he said, tugging Morgan toward the stairs. "I'm putting Morgan to bed and then I'm coming back out to make sure you're gone. Don't even think about sticking around."
"You think you can talk to me that way?" Holt roared, taking a position at the top of the steps that would force them to push past him if they wanted to reach the front door.
"Rob?" Morgan's voice was thin with strain and he knew she'd be devastated by the way this was playing out.
"Damn it. Come on, Morgan," He grabbed her hand and pulled her back the way they'd come.
"Where are you going?" Holt hollered after them. "Get back here. I haven't had my say!"
Rob helped Morgan back into the passenger seat of his Chevy, and rounded the cab to climb in the other side.
"Where are we going?" Morgan asked him, her face white.
"Back to Ethan's. He'll put us up for the night, and tomorrow I'll talk some sense into my old man. Don't mind him; he's more bluster than bite." But he knew she was too smart to believe the lie. Hell, he was deep in it now. He had no idea how he was going to turn this around.
But he was going to turn it around. He was going to get Morgan that vineyard.
No matter what his father said.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
"I wish you two could stay," Autumn said the following morning after breakfast. It was a rare morning off for her, since they hadn't booked guests for the weekend because of the wedding. As Jamie was gone for the remainder of the week, Rob was helping Ethan, and Morgan was in the kitchen unloading the dishwasher while Autumn put her feet up. "Jamie's old cabin is empty. You could take it. It's traditionally been for the ranch's horse trainer, but now that Jamie and Claire have built their house, no one's living there."
"Thanks, but we have to patch things up with Rob's family."
"Well, if that doesn't work out, you can hold your wedding here. We've done two so far this summer, I'm sure we can handle another one. I'm beginning to feel like a pro." She began to get up, but Morgan waved her down again.
"Rest. How are you feeling?'
Autumn dropped a hand to her still-flat belly. "Pretty good, actually. My morning sickness finally stopped, so I feel almost human. I'm really hungry these days and I've got this urge to clean everything. If you weren't here, I'd probably be sorting out the attic. I peeked up there last week and it looks like no one's touched a thing in ages."
"No shifting boxes around for you. You take it easy while you still can. You'll have enough to do when the baby gets here. I can't believe you're starting this business while you're pregnant."
"What about you? You'll be starting a winery. Are you and Rob going to put off having kids?"
The question brought a surge of heat through her body at the thought of making love to Rob, then a cold wash of anxiety as she remembered what had happened last night. "We'd planned to get right to it, actually, since a certain someone scared me to death with her stories about women waiting too long. All I can think about since you told me about your Mom's patients is having my kids as soon as humanly possible."