“Do you want me to drive you home? Ty can bring you back to get your car.”
Forcing a smile, I replied, “Nah, it’s fine. Do you need help with Morgan?”
“Nope. We’re fine. You go.”
When I stood, it felt like the ground was rolling underneath me. I was more nervous than I realized. Leaning down, I kissed Morgan first and then hugged Lincoln.
“See ya later.”
She smiled. “Call me. And if you need me there, please let me know.”
With the practiced smile I had mastered after John’s death, I tossed my purse over my shoulder. “I will. Love ya!”
And with that, I rushed out of the little café and to my car. I didn’t even remember the drive back to the ranch. My mind was so unfocused; I honestly couldn’t believe I made it there safely. I drove straight to the main house, since Ty had sent me a text saying he was with his parents and Katy.
I could only imagine what was racing through Stella’s and Ty Senior’s minds. They could possibly have another grandbaby. One who was sick.
By the time I pulled up, I had my shit together. No matter what happened, I would be there for Ty because I loved him. I had no idea if this would put our relationship into a tailspin or maybe make him pull away more. But if he thought for one moment I was struggling, he’d think it was his fault.
Then I reminded myself about our talk in the hotel room, and I knew we were going to be okay.
We had to be okay. We had to.
Ty was standing on the front porch when I pulled up and parked behind a black Dodge truck. I assumed it belonged to Katy.
I got out and smiled as I walked up the steps. Ty gave me a once-over and then pulled me into his arms. “Before we go in there, I need to tell you something.”
My heart jumped to my throat. Oh, God. Katy had already told him.
“Okay,” I said, my voice sounding so much weaker than I wanted it to.
“I love you.”
I stared at him. Had I just heard him say what I thought he’d said?
“I love you, Kaylee. You are the woman I didn’t know I was praying for until you showed up in my life. There is not a single doubt in my mind that from the moment I first met you, I knew you were unlike any woman I had ever met, or would ever meet. You’re the woman who made me see that I was worth loving. You brought me out of the darkness and into a light so fucking bright with possibility that it makes me excited for the future. For our future. I want to marry you, have as many kids as you want, and spend every moment of my life showing you how much you mean to me. You are my everything.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I attempted not to fall to the ground in a crying mess. Ty reached up and cupped my face. He brushed the endless tears away with his thumbs.
“I wanted you to know that before we found out.”
“You don’t know yet?” I asked, sniffling.
He shook his head. “I wanted to wait for you. Katy did as well.”
“Oh, okay.”
“No matter what, it’s you and me, right?”
I saw the worry in his eyes. Placing my hands over his, which were still on my face, I smiled. “Forever and always, you and me, Ty.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
KAYLEE
Ty laced his fingers with mine as we walked into the house. It took me a few moments to get myself put back together after Ty’s declaration of love. My heart still raced, but it was no longer from nerves. I knew that no matter what happened, it was going to be okay. We were going to be okay.
When we stepped into the living room, Katy looked up and smiled. Sitting next to her was a man our age. He stood.
“Kaylee, it’s good to see you again,” Katy said, extending her hand. I shook it and then faced the gentleman next to her. “This is my husband, Bryce.”
“It’s a pleasure,” he said as I returned his smile.
“Nice to meet you.”
He appeared to be holding back his emotions, not giving any hints as to what was going to happen.
We all sat, and I quickly peeked over to Ty Senior and Stella. They both looked equally nervous and excited.
“So, I think it’s best if I just get right to the news,” Katy said.
Ty squeezed my hand, and I placed my other one over his.
“That sounds good,” Ty said, glancing over to his mother and father nervously. They simply gave him warm smiles that said no matter what, everything was going to be okay.
“The DNA came back, and you’re not Olivia’s father.”
It was instant, the relief I felt coming off of Ty. I let out the breath I hadn’t even realized I was holding. Even Stella and Ty Senior seemed to be a bit relieved.
Ty pulled his hand from me and scrubbed it over his face.
“Oh, thank you, God,” Ty said, a breath expelling along with the words. Then he looked at Katy. “I’m sorry . . . I mean, I would have been—”
She held up her hand and smiled. “Ty, you don’t need to explain your relief, believe me. I get it.”
“Your ex?” he asked.
“Yes, I must have already been pregnant when we . . .” Her voice trailed off when she realized what she was about to say.
Ty changed the subject. “So, was I a match for her, though?”
Katy shook her head. “No. You weren’t.”
“Damn, Katy, Bryce—I’m so sorry,” Ty said.
“What if we see if we’re a match?” Stella asked. “I know Ty’s father and I are more than willing to donate.”
Katy looked her way and reached a hand out to Stella. “That is so sweet of you, but we actually found someone who’s an almost-perfect match.”
“That’s wonderful!” Stella said.
“That’s great news,” Ty and I said at the same time. He laced his fingers with mine.
Katy grinned and wiped a tear away.
“Who’s the match?” Ty asked.
When her eyes met mine, I instantly knew.
“Kaylee.”
All eyes were now on me. “I am?”
Katy nodded. “Yes. You match nine out of ten. It’s the best match we’ve had so far.”
“I didn’t even know you’d donated to be tested,” Ty said, looking at me with so much love on his face that it nearly made me give in to my crazy emotions and break down into a sobbing mess. I didn’t, though.
I took a moment to let everything sink in. Ty wasn’t the father. And I was the match. Me.
When we’d been at the hospital, I’d told the nurse I wanted to be tested as well, to see if I would match. I had honestly not thought twice about it. Now I was in shock, both because Ty wasn’t the father and because of the way Katy was looking at me. She was putting all her hope on me and my blood to help save her little girl.
I faced Ty. “Well, I didn’t want to say anything with everything that was going on. It was just something that felt right to do.”
Stella stood and walked over to me. She reached down and pulled me into her arms.
“You are an amazing woman, Kaylee Holden. I just love you and am so proud of you.”
And that made the tears fall. My own mother had never spoken those words to me, so to hear them from Stella, a woman I loved and admired, meant the world to me.
When she pulled back, I wiped at my tears. Ty Senior was next in line to hug me, then Katy. Ty stood next to me, his arm wrapped around my waist.
“What do I need to do?” I asked.
“Can you come to Billings for about a week?” Katy asked. “You’ll get a daily injection for the growth of white blood cells. Then, on the fifth day, they’ll place a needle in both of your arms: one to remove the blood, the other to return it to your body. It goes through a machine that circulates the blood and collects the stem cells.”
“Any side effects?” Ty asked.
This time it was Bryce who answered, his arm around Katy. “You might get a headache. They say there could be bone soreness, and the needles might cause discomfort.”
&
nbsp; I nodded. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“You’ll do it?” Katy asked, trying not to let her voice sound too hopeful.
With a smile, I replied, “Of course I’ll do it.”
Two months later: July
I rode up on the horse to find Ty standing there, without a shirt on, pouring water over his body.
“Lord, have mercy, that is all mine,” I said as I fanned myself. Ty Shaw had a weird way of making me all hot and bothered. Literally.
Watching him, I couldn’t help but count down until the day was over and he would be coming home. Ty and I split our time between both of our houses. I stayed a week at his place, then he would stay a week at mine. The sex was amazing and hadn’t slowed down one bit. Ty and his weird rule of not liking odd numbers ensured I always got at least two orgasms, which I had no complaints about whatsoever.
He must have felt my eyes on him, because he turned and looked at me.
“Hey there, beautiful. What brings you out here?”
Today, Ty was working on putting up a fence in one of the pastures. It was about a hundred acres of land he was fencing off, and it was for some of the horses to graze on.
“I thought maybe we could have lunch.”
Ty smiled. I was quickly learning what life was like dating a rancher. He worked early in the morning and sometimes worked right up until dark. There was also a reason he had a body like he did. Just watching him swing an ax one day had nearly made me have an orgasm. He was covered in dirt six days out of the week. Stella made the boys take Sundays off, and the hired ranch hands took over.
I also learned fast that I could not allow myself to fall in love with the cows. Or their calves. I learned that when I helped Ty deliver a calf one night. It was my second go-round, but this time, I got my hands dirty. I thought it would gross me out, but I plopped that calf onto my lap and cried tears of joy. She was my baby as much as she was her mama’s. Unfortunately, her mama had all the milk, and the calf ignored me.
And when the cows I’d been naming started to disappear, I stopped asking where they went. It was too traumatizing. Stella had told me in knitting class that I needed to learn to keep my feelings for the animals inside. Ty was stressed out when I cried the first time after he’d told me my favorite cow had been slaughtered. I didn’t eat red meat for two weeks.
“Lunch sounds amazing.”
After sliding off the horse, I untied the basket I had brought and grabbed a blanket. I made my way to a large shade tree and laid out the blanket, then got out the sandwiches and fruit I’d made up for the two of us.
Ty leaned down and kissed me. “How are you feeling?”
I smiled. “Amazing.”
He sat. “Good.”
He’d gotten into the habit of asking that question after I’d given blood for Olivia’s treatment. After donating my stem cells, I had a massive headache for days afterward, then ended up getting the flu. Neither were related. Having the flu in late spring, though, sucked. Between the headache and the flu, which wiped me out, Ty decided he needed to ask me every single day how I was feeling. I loved that he cared so deeply.
“I heard from Katy earlier. She said Olivia is feeling better as each day goes by.”
Ty smiled. “I’m glad to hear that. You still don’t think it’s weird you’ve become friends with a woman I slept with?”
“No. Are you uncomfortable with it?”
He shrugged.
I reached for his hand. “Ty, if me being friends with Katy makes you uncomfortable, I can pull back some. I have fallen a little for Olivia, though, and since part of me was injected into her, I sort of care about her and would like to keep up with how she’s doing.”
“I know, and I want Olivia to get better—I do. I just feel like every time things seem to be going in the right direction, the floor drops out.”
With a reassuring squeeze of his hand, I said, “Don’t be sorry for feeling the way you do. I completely agree with you. I don’t talk to Katy that often anyway, and honestly, when we do talk, it’s about Olivia only. I understand her need to feel connected to me. I gave her something that is helping her child.”
He nodded. “Change of subject—are you ready for the weekend?”
I smiled. “Yes! Still not going to tell me where we’re going?”
“No.”
When I gave him a sad pouty face, he laughed. “Not going to work. I’m still pissed at you and Lincoln for talking us all into Disney World.”
“Yeah, that was sort of miserable last week, wasn’t it?”
“Mom and Dad mentioned something about payback, so you and Lincoln might want to sleep with one eye open.”
Laughing, I handed him the fruit. “They had fun, and you did too. Admit it!”
He smiled. “I did have fun. It was nice to see Blayze and Brock together like that. I’m glad he retired from bull riding.”
“She won’t ever admit it, but so is Lincoln. Now she’s got Blayze hell bent on it, though.”
“He’s got it in his blood. Look how good he’s gotten at mutton busting.”
I groaned. “Good Lord, even that stresses me out, and I’m not his mother.”
“It’s a sheep!” Ty said.
“He could still get hurt.”
He grinned. “You have to admit, he’s pretty damn good.”
I chewed on my lip, then giggled. “He is really good!”
For a moment, I wondered what it would be like to have a child with Ty. If we had a little boy, would he want him to bull ride? Or maybe do something else, like Tanner?
Things between me and Ty had been amazing. He was right: they almost seemed too good. Ty still went to his therapist once a month. He told her about his thoughts of suicide, which was a huge relief for me. He also seemed to be letting his guard down more and more, even talking about his addiction to his parents and telling them that it would always be a struggle, or at least he felt like it would be.
The one thing we hadn’t ever brought up again was our future. I didn’t want to split my time between two houses; it was getting exhausting.
With a deep breath, I asked him that very question.
“Ty, where do you see us at in the future? Like in a month? In six months? In five years?”
He froze, and for a moment I saw the walls going back up. I didn’t say a word. I simply rubbed my thumb gently over his hand and waited. Because that was what I promised I would do. I’d be there for him and not give up on us.
That still didn’t mean my heart didn’t pound in my chest as I waited for his answers.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
TY
It wasn’t like I didn’t see a future with Kaylee. Hell, I dreamed of our future together. Since we had started staying with each other, my nightmares had all but stopped. When she wasn’t next to me in bed, I found myself staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. I needed her by me, and that still scared me.
I didn’t want to think of Kaylee as some sort of crutch or addiction. She was, though, because I was fucking addicted to being inside her. Kissing her. Hearing her laugh. And even the occasional argument when she had to be stubborn about something.
Her question only threw me for a minute or two. I could see it on her face. She thought I was withdrawing, but it was just the opposite. I didn’t want to ruin my plans. I knew I wasn’t scared to be with her. Hell, I had bought a ring, and even though my head was telling me to slow down, my heart was telling me I needed to jump on the bull and get it locked down.
The feel of Kaylee’s thumb gently sliding over my skin calmed every nerve ending in my body.
I looked directly into her eyes and answered her. “In a month, I see us decorating one of our houses for fall, because I hope by then we’ll decide whose house we’re going to be living in permanently.”
Her body visibly relaxed. “Do you have a preference?”
Thinking about it, I answered her honestly. “Yes. I think we should live in your house.”
&nbs
p; That surprised her. “Mine?”
Taking a bite of my sandwich, I nodded. “Yeah.”
Then her smile erupted over her face. “Ty, are you sure?”
“Does that make you happy? The idea of living in your house?”
“Yes, but only if you’re positive.”
“I’m positive. I want to see our kids raised in that house. I can’t explain why. Maybe it’s because that’s where you and I first made love. I feel a stronger connection there.”
Her eyes filled with tears. “Me too.” She chewed on her lower lip, trying to contain her emotions.
“Six months. That’s a new year, so I’m thinking I see us on the floor in front of our fireplace. We’re both naked, and you have been thoroughly fucked and are content in my arms.”
“I like that one . . . a lot.”
I laughed.
“Five years. That’s easy. Married . . . to you.”
Her cheeks turned a beautiful pink.
“At least one baby, maybe two.”
That’s when she lost the battle and let the tears fall.
“Do you see the same thing, Kaylee?”
She nodded, then launched herself over our food, pushing me back. “Yes. I do. And right now, I need you to be inside me.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
We both worked quickly to rid ourselves of the clothes we had on. All I had to do was kick off my boots and drop my pants and boxers; Kaylee pulled off her jeans, leaving her top on. When she crawled on me and slid down onto my cock, I let out a moan.
“No one will show up, right?” she asked, her breathing ragged as she slowly moved up and down on me while she looked around.
“No.”
“Thank God.”
I reached between our bodies, and it only took the pressure of my thumb on her clit to have her squeezing around me. When she dropped her head to my chest, I rolled us over and slowly made love to her. Something about being under that tree, in the middle of the ranch, buried inside the woman I loved more than life itself, moved me.
I had planned on asking Kaylee to marry me this weekend, at the cabin, but this moment felt too right.
I felt my buildup and saw it on her face too.
“Come with me, Kaylee.”
Always Enough Page 24