Hard-Riding Cowboy

by Stacey Kennedy

  “That’s not true.”

  He glanced sideways at her and saw the tenderness in her eyes. “Now, I see that, but back then, that was a harder truth to find.” He tucked her hair behind her ear, caressing her soft cheek with his thumb. “Being with you, Megan . . . you make me believe in things that I thought I could never believe in again. And because of that . . .” He let her hand go to reach into his pocket and grabbed the warm metal. “I did this.”

  When he opened his hand, she gasped. “How did you . . . ?”

  He moved his hand closer, offering the ring from her grandmother that she’d pawned. “Harper and Emma told me”—he paused and chuckled—“while glaring at me, as a matter of fact, and explained that you sold the ring to get the down payment for the house.”

  Megan frowned. “They shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Yeah, actually they should have.” He put the ring in her hand then closed her palm. “This ring is yours. It belongs to you. I know how much it means to you.”

  Her chin quivered. “How did you pay for this?”

  “That’s not important,” he told her.

  “Nash,” she said firmly.

  That fire in her eyes told him she’d never let this go, needing to understand. “Ma lent me the money.”

  She held his stare for a long-loaded moment then slowly shook her head. “I know what this ring cost. You shouldn’t have done this. How can you pay this back?”

  At that, he cocked his head, regarding her. She obviously thought he was going back to his old ways. Not thinking things through. Living on the edge. Making rash decisions. Before, he would’ve let her believe that. Not anymore. He stroked her fingers in his, enraptured by the warmth she made him feel. “I’m going to sell my house.”

  She blinked. Twice. “But that’s Blackshaw land. You would never do that.”

  “You’re right—before I never would have sold Blackshaw land.” He squeezed her hand tighter, aware people around them were watching them now. He didn’t care. Megan mattered. Only her. “But now, there’s you, and what this ring meant to you.”

  Tears welled in her eyes. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

  “I should have done something like this for you a long time ago,” he retorted. “I’m making up for that now.” He released her hand, and when she opened her fingers, he took the ring again. “It’s not the only thing I should have done either.” He slid off the bench, watching her teary eyes widen as he went down onto one knee. “You told me that this ring was a symbol for what love should be. Real love. True love. You’ve shown me that kind of love is possible. And damn if I won’t love you the rest of my life for it.” He paused. Then, knowing he was doing things exactly right, he said, “This ring first told the love story of your grandparents. Now this ring will tell our story. I love you, Megan. Will you marry me?”

  “Yes. Yes, of course, I’ll marry you.” She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, Nash. I love you so much.”

  He held her tight until he needed more. She cupped his face, pressing her lips against his. It was a perfect kiss in a perfect moment that he’d never forget.

  Hoots and hollers, as well as clapping, suddenly surrounded them. Megan broke the kiss with a gasp. That was when he noticed the group of people around them. Some were River Rock residents. Others Nash didn’t know personally. He appreciated the congratulations, nonetheless.

  Turning away from them, he slid the ring onto her left ring finger.

  Megan stared down at the ring with smile that made him know he’d made the right choice. He always fought to protect the Blackshaw name and his family’s land. But none of it mattered without Megan in his life.

  She laughed softly and glanced up, tears on her cheeks. “We seem to keep giving the town something to talk about.”

  Heat consumed him when he slid his hand over her nape. “Then let’s really give them something to talk about.” His mouth met hers, and for once in his life, Nash knew he’d gotten this perfectly right.

  * * *

  After making the rounds of phone calls to spill the news to family on both sides, which took longer than expected since both Jenny and her mom spent a while crying in joy and then talking wedding plans, Megan called Jannie. Megan wasn’t sure how Dad would feel about it all, but she decided to think of herself from here on out and enjoy the fact that she was blissfully happy.

  That was until she followed Nash through the kitchen and the dining room of the new house. Gus squeezed his way past them, entering each room first and taking up a lot of space. God, he was a big dog. She supposed that’s why Nash had an open-concept house.

  Once they were in the living room, Nash examined the space and then stared out the big front window. Megan had been quiet, trying to let him absorb the new house that he would be moving into that he had no say in.

  “We’re going to have to downsize our furniture,” he said, glancing at the small space. “Not a bad thing. We can sell my stuff and use the money for baby furniture.”

  She hadn’t thought of that, and she shrugged. “That’s actually a really good idea. It’ll help for sure.” Hell, when she picked this place, it was only going to be her and the baby. Now, looking around, she realized he was right—none of Nash’s furniture would fit into the new house. His log home had space for large couches and tables. None of that would fit in here.

  Megan’s chest got a little heavy at that, as she followed Nash up the stairs.

  “Isn’t this staircase incredible?” she said.

  He ran his hand up the shiny wood. “Gorgeous.”

  When they reached the landing, he entered the smallest room first. “Good office.”

  “I thought that too.”

  He turned down the hallway and passed the bathroom, glancing inside, but didn’t comment and moved on. Gus charged into the master bedroom first. Megan looked on in slight horror as Gus walked between the bed and the wall, then realized he couldn’t turn around and had to back up out of the space.

  Nash glanced back at Megan. She smiled and shrugged. “It’s a little small.”

  “He’ll get used to it,” Nash said gently, then moved on down the hallway. When he entered the nursery, he walked into the center of the room. He studied the space with his normal intensity, his expression showing very little.

  “So . . .” she finally asked, fiddling her fingers, unable to stand the silence. “Now that you’ve seen it all, what do you think?”

  “I really like this room.” He smiled.

  She melted a little and moved closer. “I fell in love with it too. Maybe it’s the soft lighting or the crib?”

  He slid his hand across her belly. “It’s the who that’s going in this room that matters the most, I imagine.”

  He dropped his chin, and she gave him a quick kiss. “Maybe you’re right.” Perhaps it wasn’t the space at all that made this room so special, but how emotional she felt being in a room with a crib and knowing that this would be their baby’s safe place.

  Without much more than that to show he liked the house, he headed back down the stairs to the backyard. Megan studied him, watching his every move, trying to gauge his reaction as he took a good look at the patio.

  “I doubt my grill will fit back here,” he said. “We’ll need to sell that too and grab a smaller one.”

  Megan searched for disappointment in his voice or his expression, but there wasn’t any. He was simply dealing with the hand he had been given and finding ways to make it work.

  Her shoulders began to sag as he moved to the edge of the deck, examining the grassy part of the backyard. He was getting rid of everything that was his. His house, his furniture . . . and his massive truck didn’t even fit in the driveway when they arrived, so that would likely have to go too. She cleared her throat, trying to push past the emotion. “I was thinking we could put a swing set over there.”

  Nash nodded. “Yeah, and maybe a sandbox too.” He grabbed the railing on the deck and gave it a good shake.
“You weren’t kidding about the builder. This work is solid.” Again, Nash glanced from left to right, taking it all in before looking back at Megan again. “You made a good choice. It’s a fine house.”

  A fine house. When did Nash ever live in a fine house? No, he lived in a rugged log house that didn’t have neighbors. She couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Are you really okay with this?” she blurted out.

  The side of his mouth curved. He moved closer, taking her hand. “It’s a little tight, but we’ll get used to it.”

  Her chest tightened even more. He settled, all to make her happy. But this wasn’t making her happy at all. “We don’t have to get this place. There are still conditions on the offer that haven’t been met.”

  He gathered her in his arms, glancing down at her. His eyes were warm and soft. “You fell in love with this house. You put in an offer. I’m okay with staying here.”

  Megan glanced at Gus who sat in the middle of the backyard, looking utterly confused at the fences. She’d been originally so excited about the house. But now suddenly she felt less excited. It still was a great house. Beautiful and charming. But it felt like her house, not theirs. Nash was a country boy. Hell, she was a country girl at heart too. “I don’t think Gus agrees with you.”

  Nash followed her gaze and chuckled. Gus lay down, head on his paws, ears back, with the saddest look on his face. “He’s only sad because there are no more kittens for him to love all over. But soon”—he placed a hand on her belly—“this little one will be here, and Gus will be in his glory.”

  She stared into the strength of Nash’s eyes. “I want you to be happy.”

  “I am happy.” He dropped his mouth to hers and grinned. “I have you.”

  She parted her lips to dig deeper, but Jannie came into the backyard. “We’ll have to head out soon,” she said. “I have another appointment in fifteen minutes.”

  Megan frowned. She wanted more time to show Nash the house and get a feel for how he truly felt. That might have happened if Jannie hadn’t rambled when they first arrived. From “Oh, you had me so fooled, Megan. I thought you wanted to get a bigger place,” to “Everyone knew you two would eventually get together,” to “How do your parents feel about the baby?” Jannie had tried desperately to get the goods for her gossiping train, but Nash had expertly deflected the questions.

  “It’s a really cute place, isn’t it?” Jannie asked, sidling up to Nash.

  Megan cringed. Cute. This place didn’t suit Nash at all.

  He nodded, his arm wrapping around Megan’s shoulder. “It’s perfect.”

  Jannie began chatting his ear off about all the house’s features. Nash winked at Megan before following Jannie.

  Megan sighed and dropped down on the patio steps. Gus climbed the steps then rested his head onto her lap and whined. “Yeah, I know, buddy,” she said softly, stroking his soft head.

  This house wasn’t perfect. Not anymore. And the only one not hiding that fact was Gus.

  Chapter 19

  Two weeks later, Nash arrived at the guest ranch full of a hearty breakfast and a couple cups of coffee. To even his surprise, his log home had sold the day he proposed to Megan. A retired couple from Wisconsin came in with an all-cash offer, and that was that. The closing was in two months. Nash would pay his mother back for the ring. Then he’d pay off Megan’s mortgage and start thinking about that training facility.

  This morning, the sun was hot, the air at the ranch dry, when Nash leaned against the hood of his truck, staring down at his phone.

  The Blackshaw Cattle Ranch was our favorite vacation yet.

  From the incredible food, to the authentic cattle runs, to the cookouts overlooking the mountains . . . just wow! Five stars!!!

  Nash smiled. Those one-star reviews were still there. They didn’t matter anymore. He couldn’t please everyone. He knew that, and he was pleasing the people who mattered now. For a long time, he got a lot wrong. It felt damn good to finally get things right.

  Across the yard, near the guests’ cabins, he spotted the kittens and Diva outside the cat house eating the food that Nash had set out for them. He’d grown attached to those squirts, and he was glad to see them all doing well. Sure, he was tempted to keep them at the house, but at the ranch, they were spoiled rotten. And the two tween girls who were staying at the ranch with their parents fussing all over the cats was proof of that. Of course, Gus was sitting by their sides, watching them closely. Come winter time, Nash would bring them into the new house. Everyone, including the cats, seemed good with that plan.

  “Mornin’.”

  Nash tucked his phone away, spotting Chase approaching from Ma’s house with blueprints rolled up in one hand, a coffee mug in the other. Today, they’d both come to discuss the rebuild of the barn at the ranch before Nash headed out on the cattle run. “Got the idea all figured out?”

  “Yup.” Chase sidled up next to him, took a sip of his coffee, then placed the mug on the hood of Nash’s truck.

  Once Chase opened up the plans, Nash studied the blueprints. The barn only had six stalls and was much smaller than what had originally been there. There was a tiny tack room and another larger one. “It’s a little small, don’t you think?”

  “Nope, it’s perfect.” Chase smiled like he knew some big secret Nash didn’t. He gestured at the blueprints, a glint that Nash hadn’t originally noticed in his eyes. “This plan is for the new barn at the ranch.” He grabbed the paper from underneath. “This is what I was thinking for your property.”

  “My property?” Confused, Nash looked down at the white paper that had a pencil drawing of a two-story log house and a barn with a sand ring set next to it. “What is this?”

  “Your new house and training facility.”

  Nash slowly looked up.

  Chase burst out laughing. “If only I had a camera to take a picture of your expression. Oh, wait, I do.” He grabbed his phone and snapped a picture, still laughing. “Priceless.”

  Nash wasn’t laughing. “Explain.”

  Chase finally stopped laughing and cupped Nash’s shoulder. “After we heard that you were planning to move to the city, I gave you two months before you were begging Megan to move back out here. Shep bet a month. Emma thought you’d do anything for Megan and stay there forever. Harper said two days. And Ma said as soon as the shovel hits the dirt, you’ll be itching to move back onto Blackshaw land.”

  Nash parted his mouth to say something, but Megan interrupted him.

  “I gave you ten minutes.”

  He glanced over his shoulder, watching Megan approach from the house. He had thought it odd that she wanted to come with him this morning to visit his mother. Now, he knew why she’d been so adamant. The world spun away from him until he realized that Megan wasn’t surprised by Chase’s drawing of their new place. He pointed at the drawing on the page. “You knew about this?”

  She smiled and nodded. “Well, you see, here’s the thing: I had a financial condition on the new house. So, I contacted Scott at the bank and told him I didn’t have the down payment anymore. Which made the deal fall through.”

  Nash arched an eyebrow. “You let the deal fall through?”

  She stepped closer, pressing all her warmth into him. “Selling Blackshaw land—something that I know means the absolute world to you—to buy back the ring I pawned was the sweetest, most giving thing anyone has ever done for me.” She cupped his face, and he placed his hand over hers as she continued. “But living on Blackshaw land is a part of you. That other house suited me, not us. The plan was to take your house off the market, but then you told me it sold. So, when I heard you guys starting to talk about the rebuild, I went to Chase to see what we could do.”

  He held her tight in his arms but looked at Chase. “Can we afford to do this?”

  Chase gave a quick nod. “It’s the reason we kept the barn here at the ranch as small as possible. Shep and I played around with the numbers. From the money we got from the fire to the money you’
ll receive from the sale of your log house—”

  “To my addition of the down payment that I had originally intended to use on the other house,” Megan said.

  Chase smiled at Megan then nodded at Nash. “It’s doable.”

  Nash studied the new plans, totally winded. There were words to say. Probably perfect words, he was sure of that. He simply couldn’t think of them. He finally only managed to sputter, “I can’t believe you all did this.”

  Megan wrapped her arms around his waist tight and stared up at him with those pretty eyes sparkling at him. “You’re a good man, Nash Blackshaw. And it’s about time you had good things happen to you again.”

  Jesus. How fucking lucky was he? Overrun with warmth sliding through his chest, he cupped her face and dropped his mouth to hers. He had expected one thing when got together with Megan, but what they ended up having was better. A selfless love that he wanted to protect.

  He finished with a light peck on her lips then said against her mouth, “I love you, Freckles.”

  She smiled. “I love you too.”

  “You love me too, right?”

  Chase was laughing by the time Nash looked at him. Nash took his brother into a tight hug. “Yeah, brother, you know I do.”

  “Oh, good, he likes the idea.”

  Nash turned around to find his mother’s beaming smile. He released Chase to hug her. “You were in on this too?”

  “While this was all Megan, I supported her one hundred percent.” She patted his cheek in her sweet motherly way. “Back on Blackshaw land is where you belong. Now you’ve got this fresh new start, where you’re going to do so many good things. I just know it.”

  Nash kissed his mother’s cheek, then noticed Shep, Emma, and Harper all approaching from the house.

  “Is that a tear?” asked Harper with a sly grin before taking him into a hug.

  “I don’t cry,” Nash grumbled, but hugged her back. Hard.