CHAPTER 32
Three months later
The sounds of Kate’s guitar drifted through the open window. Humming along, Cash rolled the final coat of paint on the wall behind the stone fireplace anchoring the front room of the old Klein place.
It had been a wreck the day he’d carried Kate over the threshold, but he’d never been happier. Kate had brought in a crew to help her with renovations while he’d been off leading Resolution Ranch’s inaugural crew of veterans on the same trek he’d made the previous January. But as soon as he’d returned, he’d shooed them away, insisting on finishing the final work himself.
This was his home, and he wanted to leave his mark on the walls.
“You almost done in there, hon?” Kate called through the screen. “I’ve been coolin’ my heels all afternoon.”
“Just a few more minutes. I finished the kitchen earlier.”
“I don’t know why you wouldn’t let me hire the crew to finish it.”
Exasperated, he returned the roller to the paint tray. “Dammit, woman. A man’s gotta leave his mark on his own house.” Technically, he already had. Before he’d left for the trek, he’d spent his evenings at the farm building a fire pit and a large stone patio between the farm house and the cottage out back that housed Kate’s recording studio. But this room was special, the heartbeat of the house. And he wanted to paint it.
“But I’ve almost finished the lemonade,” she wheedled.
He picked up the roller, going over a spot he’d missed. “Fifteen more minutes, play me another song.”
“Fine.”
He grinned at the pout in her voice. “Patience, grasshopper. I promise you’ll love it when you see it.”
“Will you at least give me a hint?”
“Nope.”
“Oh alright, you big meanie,” she said with a laugh. “I’m going to work on somethin’ that’s been jarring around in my head.” A second later, she started plucking a melody he didn’t recognize, humming intermittently as she paused, slowly stringing fragments of melody into a line.
He would never tire of hearing her noodle around on her guitar, of listening to Kate bring a song to life. It was magic. Part alchemy, part craft, and one-hundred-percent awe-inspiring. He hurried through his final touch-ups, then washed the roller in the utility sink he’d installed in a mudroom right off the back door.
At the front door, he paused in the doorway, captivated by the picture before him. Kate sat, feet propped on the porch rail, sundress pooling at her thighs, guitar across her lap, lemonade on the floor beside her. The late afternoon sun made her hair glow like an angel. His angel. Slipping out the door, he crossed to her, and moved her hair, exposing the creamy column of her neck. He bent, laying a kiss on the sensitive spot where her neck met her collarbone. “Sounds as lovely as you.”
She glanced sideways, her mouth curling up. “You finally ready to let me into the house?”
“Mmmmm.” He breathed in her fresh, sweet scent, awareness settling low in his belly. “In a minute.” He nipped and kissed his way across her collarbone to her exposed shoulder, enjoying the goosebumps that rose on her skin. An image of all the ways they could break in the front room rose in his mind.
She pulled away, but only to return her guitar to its case. Then she stood and stepped into his embrace, tilting her face for a kiss. He’d never say no to a taste of her sweetness. Dipping his head, he brushed his mouth back and forth across her plump lips, savoring until he couldn’t stand it anymore. She made a noise in the back of her throat that went straight to his cock. Flicking his tongue across her lower lip, he swept in for a taste when she opened her mouth with a sigh. Sugar and mint. And lemons. Fucking heaven. He palmed her ass, pulling up on her dress. “Let’s get inside before I bend you over the rail and have my way with you.”
She laughed, eyes lighting hungrily. “Even though someone might see us?”
“We’re a half-mile from the road darlin’. We’d see them long before they saw us.”
She raised her eyebrows eagerly. “Oh?”
Her expression had his cock jerking at the vision of her bare-assed and bent over the rail. “You like that idea, huh?” Giving her ass a squeeze, he kissed her again. “We’ll save it for another time. I want to show you inside. Shut your eyes.”
Kate shut her eyes, and pressed her lips together, unable to stop her grin from growing. Taking her by the hand, he led her into the middle of the room then came to stand behind her, arms wrapping around her middle. “Open your eyes,” he murmured into her ear.
His hard work was rewarded with a gasp of pure delight. “Oh, I love it. It’s the perfect color. The color of prairie grass at dawn.”
“It reminded me of your eyes.”
“Aww.” She melted into him, laying her head back on his shoulder. “I love you, Cash. And I love this room.”
“How do we decorate it?”
“With a big fluffy sofa right in front of the fireplace for cold winter nights. And a Christmas tree in the corner.”
He could see it. “And a stand for your guitar in the other corner. How’s that sound?”
“Perfect.”
He heard the smile in her voice and tightened his embrace around her, kissing her temple, pulse kicking up a notch. “What else can you imagine?”
“A big farm table for Sunday dinners.”
“Who’s at the table?”
“You, me. Sterling & Emma. Travis and Elaine and their kids.”
“Sounds pretty nice.”
“Yeah,” her voice trailed off.
Heart thumping irregularly, Cash turned her and kissed her forehead, her nose. “Any other kids at the table?”
She cocked her head, looking at him quizzically. “I don’t follow. We don’t know any other kids.”
Could she hear how loudly his heart was pounding? The way it stuttered when she looked directly into his eyes? He gulped, pushing down a wave of fear. “What about our kids?” His voice grew thick, husky. “Could you see our family around the table? Alongside our friends?”
She cocked her head the other direction, a half-smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “What are you saying?”
He jammed a hand in his pocket and pulled out the ring he’d purchased in Santa Fe and had been carrying around ever since. “I’m not as poetic as you are, but I want to spend the rest of my life doing all those things you wrote in the song. We’ve built this house with love, and now I want to fill the inside of it with just as much love. I want to make a family with you and fill this house with the sounds of our children. What do you say? Will you marry me, Kate?”
With shining eyes, she let him slip the ring on her finger. “The ring is beautiful. And yes. I’ll marry you, and I’ll be your bride.” She sang the last few words, her husky voice filling the space.
“We’ll walk through life, side by side.” He sang back, letting his voice blend with hers.
“You sure you don’t want to go into songwriting?” she teased.
Laying a kiss on her sweet, sweet mouth, he answered. “Only if it’s with you.”
THE BEGINNING OF HAPPILY EVER AFTER
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To get her boot company off the ground, Lydia makes Colton an offer too good to refuse, but he ups the ante. Will the bargain she strikes bring her everything she’s dreamed of and more, or did she just make a deal with the devil?
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