Chapter Seventeen
Liam had warned her that the Christmas that Isabel was used to in Wisconsin or in New York was worlds away from what Christmas at Mitchell Town was going to be.
For starters, there was no snow and it rained more than it was cold. Strangely enough, Isabel couldn’t have been happier.
Liam bought a Christmas tree from two towns away and Isabel helped Sophie decorate it. The three of them spent a week putting up lights around the house, stringing them from all the trees in the ranch and building a fake snowman near the gate with cotton wool and red felt clothes.
So, on Christmas night, when the sun had set all around them and it was dark, the ranch shone. Isabel had never seen anything as beautiful before.
She had been at the ranch for nearly a month now and she could hardly remember what her life was like before she moved here. She was falling in love with Mitchell Town: the simple good people she met every day, the teacher at Sophie’s school who was overwhelmed and underpaid and had requested Isabel to help him whenever she could. She loved the horses, especially Henry, Sophie’s four best friends who came over to the house ever so often now that Isabel had started baking them cupcakes and cookies after school.
Most importantly, she loved Liam Mayer. She had arrived at this town with the hope that she would be able to settle down with a strong man and his daughter, escape the life she didn’t feel worthy of, and, hopefully, get over the loss of her own father. She had achieved all of that and then some. She had also found a man who cared for her, who was upright and strong, who she felt safe with and who loved his family passionately. But Isabel wasn’t quite sure if she was a part of his family yet.
They lived together like one. She slept in his bed and every night, Liam made her orgasm violently, hugged her limp, spent body and put her to sleep. They ate all their meals together, they laughed and joked together… but was this permanent? Liam never spoke to her about it. They didn’t sit down and have an actual serious discussion. Isabel was beginning to grow restless. The arrangement felt too temporary; too much like a dream that could end at any time.
“When can we open our gifts?” Sophie squealed. She was sprawled on the floor beside the Christmas tree, watching Isabel clear up the plates from their dinner.
They had just finished a lavish six-course meal that Isabel had spent the whole day preparing. Liam was smoking his pipe outside.
“Soon honey,” Isabel said, smiling at Sophie. She couldn’t get enough of this child, she was growing to love her more passionately every day, like she was her own.
“I say we open it now. It’s midnight somewhere in the world isn’t it?” Liam had come in through the door and Isabel hadn’t heard. Sophie squealed and fell on the gifts that lay scattered under the tree. Isabel smiled and shook her head at Liam and took off her apron.
“Come over here, Isabel.” Liam extended his hand towards her and she accepted. He pulled her close and kissed her softly on her forehead.
“This one’s from daddy.” Sophie was screaming excitedly as she ripped the wrapping paper open. It was a dollhouse that Liam must have bought in the town he had visited for the Christmas tree. Sophie was excited beyond words. She came running to Liam’s arms, hugged and kissed him, and then went back to her gifts again.
“This one’s from Isabel,” she said and stretched her lips. She shook the box in her hands and held it to her ear before ripping through the wrapping paper.
“A baking set!” She squealed and ran into Isabel’s arms. “Thank you so much. Does this mean I can bake with you?” she asked and Isabel nodded. “Come open your gift from daddy, Isabel,” Sophie added, running back to the tree.
Isabel looked at Liam and bit down on her lip. He was smiling and there was a twinkle in his eye that excited her. The box was square and big, and Isabel took her time to open it. Only to find that the box opened to another box, which she had to open again. Like a Russian nesting doll, this one gave way to another so that she had to open six other boxes until she got to the final one.
This wasn’t a box so much as it was a small velvet case. Isabel’s heart was racing as she opened it, aware by now what she would find there. A diamond ring lay in the center like a pearl in an oyster. Isabel shrieked and Sophie shrieked as well. She jumped up and Liam caught her in his arms and kissed her neck.
“Will you marry me, Isabel Bowes?” he asked, laughing at her excitement.
“Of course I will. I was ready to marry you the first day I got here,” she said as he took the ring from her hand and slipped it onto her finger. Isabel didn’t have the time to look at her ring. She was busy kissing Liam while Sophie danced around them in delight.
“I wanted to do this right,” Liam whispered in her ear when they broke away for breath. Isabel nodded, her own breath caught in her throat.
“I want you to be my wife, the mother of my child, and I wanted you to know me before you said yes.” Liam pressed her hand and then brought it to his lips. Isabel felt faint again. This time, it wasn’t because of the heat.
*****
THE END