What Happens on Vacation...
Author
Brenda Jackson
Reads
16.3K
Chapters
1
Epilogue
“For a while I thought I would have to send a search party out for you two,” Maverick said, grinning at Jess and Paige when they walked into the anniversary party. It was obvious his gaze was drawn to the huge diamond on the third finger of Paige’s left hand. He lifted a brow. “Is there something I need to know?”
A huge smile covered Paige’s face. The day after their “talk,” Jess had convinced her to fly with him to Alaska, high in the mountains near the Yukon and Arctic Ocean. A friend of his was the sheriff of this small town where it snowed all year round. His purpose for taking her there was for her first dogsledding experience. He had borrowed Maverick’s plane to fly them there.
Jess pulled her closer in his arms and smiled at his younger brother. “Yes. We had a great time in the mountains, Paige loves dogsledding and I brought your Cessna back in one piece.”
Maverick frowned. “Cut the BS, please. That diamond on Paige’s hand is almost blinding me. Do you want to tell me about it?”
Paige giggled and held out her hand. “We’re engaged!”
Maverick lifted a brow. “Engaged?”
“Yes. We’re getting married on Paige’s birthday in late November,” Jess said.
“November? That’s three months from now,” Maverick said.
Paige smiled. “Yes, three months, five days and approximately thirty-nine hours, but who’s counting?”
Maverick laughed. “Damn, just what happened on that mountain, so I’ll know never to take a woman there?”
Paige gave her future brother-in-law a cheeky grin. “Don’t you know what happens on vacation...”
“...stays on vacation,” Jess finished. “We will talk more later—it’s time for us to mingle.”
And they did. The Westmorelands and Outlaws were there in full force, and news spread quickly of an upcoming wedding in three months. Another Novak was marrying a Westmoreland cousin. Everyone was excited and happy for the couple.
“So, are you moving to Hollywood or is Paige moving to DC?” Dare Westmoreland wanted to know. Dare and his wife, Shelly, lived near Atlanta, where Dare was the sheriff of College Park, Georgia.
“We’ll be living in both places until Paige finishes all her film projects. Then she’s moving to DC,” Jess said, smiling down at his fiancée.
“That’s wonderful,” Shelly said. She then glanced beyond them to see more guests arriving. A huge smile touched her face. “I see our son is getting a lot of attention.”
Everyone followed Shelly’s gaze and settled on AJ Westmoreland, Dare and Shelly’s oldest son, who was the spitting image of a younger Dare. In other words, he was handsome as sin.
“That’s AJ?” Paige asked, surprised. “Or should I say Alisdare,” she added, since everyone had gotten word that nowadays he preferred being called by his birth name. “I haven’t seen him in years. Last time was when he graduated from high school, and we all went to the graduation.”
“Alisdare finished college with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland and a master’s from Harvard, both in criminology,” Dare said proudly. “Earlier this year, he was hired by the FBI. He wants to work a few years as an agent before joining his cousins at the Westmoreland Security Firm.” The Westmoreland Security Firm was run by Dare’s cousins, Cole and Quade Westmoreland. Cole, who was a former Texas Ranger, and Quade, who’d worked for PSF, a special unit of the Secret Service protecting the president, had started a network of security companies that was in thirty of the fifty states.
The seventy-fifth wedding anniversary party for Daniel and Katherine Russell was well attended and turned out to be the fabulous affair Chardonnay had wanted it to be. Pam and Dillon didn’t make the event. They were busy back in Denver helping out Bane and Crystal with their two sets of triplets. Pam and Dillon had been the first Paige and Jess had called to give them their good news.
It took a while before Jess and Paige had a moment alone. He pulled her into his arms as they stood outside and gazed up into the sky.
“It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it?” she said.
Jess turned to Paige. “As beautiful as the woman I intend to marry. I love you, Paige.”
Paige smiled up at him. “And I love you, Jess.”
When he pulled her into his arms, Jess knew this had ended up being the best vacation ever.
Don’t miss a single story in theWestmoreland Legacy: The Outlaws seriesfrom award-winning and bestselling authorBrenda Jackson!
The Wife He Needs
The Marriage He Demands
What He Wants for Christmas
What Happens on Vacation...
And Maverick’s and Charm’s stories, coming soon!
Keep reading for an excerpt from The Rancher’s Reckoning by Joanne Rock.
