by Joanna Sims
“Thanks for this, Pop,” Liam said. “This is the kind of welcome I wanted for Kate and Calico.”
“You’ve got Lilly and Savannah to thank,” Jock said in his typically gruff tone. “I thought we could just throw a couple of steaks on the grill and call it a day.”
Jock eyed him. “I was none too pleased to hear that you’re abandoning the family.”
That comment threw Liam for a loop. “What are you talking about, Pop? I’m not abandoning anybody. Certainly not my family.”
“You’re movin’ right off of Sugar Creek. That’s abandonment right there.”
Jock wanted all of his children to live at Sugar Creek Ranch. Anything short of that was seen as a failure to him.
“Pop...come on.”
“What do you think you’re gonna do with that chunk of land I gave you? You’re just gonna let it sit there and rot?”
“No.” Liam put his empty glass down on a nearby table. “I’ll keep it maintained. Sarah may want to live there when she’s older.”
“What about Cole? That ain’t right takin’ your son’s birthright and handin’ it over to Sarah.”
“Pop. Cole isn’t a rancher. Trust me. Out of the two of them, I think Sarah has Sugar Creek in her blood.”
“The girl.” Jock frowned.
Liam smiled, half in humor and half in resignation. His father was nothing if not a chauvinist. “Yes, Pop. The girl.”
They ended the conversation with Jock handing him an envelope. “That’s just a little fun money.”
“Thank you, Pop. We appreciate you.”
Jock waved off his comment like he was swatting away a pesky fly and then ended the conversation by just turning and walking away.
He was still watching his father when Kate appeared at his side.
“Can you believe all of this?” She looped her arm through his. “They even have a cake. A wedding cake. I didn’t even realize that I wanted one until I saw it. Did you see it?”
“Not yet.” Liam handed her the envelope. “This is from the folks.”
Kate stared at the envelope for a moment before she peeked inside. She looked at the number on the check, her eyes widening slightly. She closed the envelope. “There’s enough in here to revise the plans on the house and break ground!”
“Pop’s always been generous with money.” Liam nodded, not surprised. His father had always been generous with his money and his land—he just didn’t have it in him to be generous with his praise.
Jock could always put him in a weird mood—it seemed that he could never really please Jock, and he wished his father’s approval didn’t still matter to him.
“May I have this dance?” Liam asked his bride, wanting to shake off his sullen mood. This was a night for celebration, not for an analysis of his complicated relationship with his father.
The moment he took Kate in his arms to slow dance to one of his favorite Trace Adkins songs, Liam forgot about everything as his focus narrowed to his wife’s pretty face.
“Are you having a good time?” he asked her.
There was so much love for him, for his family, in her eyes when she said, “This is one of the best nights of my life, Liam. I’ll never forget it.”
He kissed her lightly on the lips, a promise of better things to come when they were alone.
“You look beautiful tonight, Kate.” Liam was so happy to have her in his arms.
“I think you are so handsome.” His wife gazed up at him in a way that made him feel completely accepted and loved. “I love looking at you.”
Liam kissed her again with a chuckle. “That’s good, baby. Because you’re going to be looking at this mug for the rest of your life.”
They danced and they drank and they ate incredible food together. They mingled with friends and family, and spent special time with Callie. Liam made sure that he had requested one of Callie’s favorite songs so they could share their first father-daughter dance. At the end of the evening, when too much food and too much booze was consumed by all, it was time for the cake-cutting ceremony.
“Speech! Speech!” A chant started with the small gathering of friends and family.
Liam put his arm around Kate’s shoulders, proud to call her his wife. Proud to call Callie his daughter.
He waved for Callie to join them from the front row of the crowd. Shyly, she walked to his side, and he put his other arm around her shoulders so he was sandwiched in between mother and daughter.
“Thank you to my family for putting this incredible shindig together to celebrate my marriage to this wonderful woman on my right. And thank you to our friends for supporting us no matter what and for all of the presents I saw sitting on the foyer table.” That got a laugh out of the crowd. “But in all seriousness, all I can really say is that my life is now complete with Kate and Calico in it. Thank you for coming tonight. We love you,” Liam said. “Now, let’s cut this damn cake!”
Chapter Fifteen
“That’s the last of it.” His brother Bruce stacked the last box in the moving van.
It was moving day for Liam, and several of his brothers had cleared their schedules so that they could help him move his life from Sugar Creek to the Triple K. It was a light move, considering that he was leaving most of his furniture behind. Kate didn’t have room in her small ranch, and lately he’d been toying with the idea of renting out his cabin to people who wanted to experience life on a real Montana ranch. Of course, he was going to have to run that idea by Jock. Later.
“Are we ready to go?” Gabe, a long-distance hauler for high-end horses, had loaded both of his horses into the trailer.
“You can go on ahead,” Liam told him. “Kate’s waiting for you.”
“All right, then.” Gabe gave him a nod. “I’m moving out.”
Bruce pulled down the door on the back of the van and locked it. “I’m heading out too.”
“Thanks, man.” Liam slapped his brother’s shoulder. “Shane and I will be right behind you.”
Shane, a veteran of the Iraq War, who rarely made an appearance at any family function, had managed to show for the move. Shane stood beside him quietly, his eyes red from lack of sleep and smoking too much dope.
“I think I’ll cut out here,” his brother said to him.
There was no sense pushing Shane. The war and too many deployments had changed him; he wasn’t the same man who had left, and the family was beginning, slowly, to come to terms with the fact that he never would be again. This, the man that he was now, was Shane.
Liam hugged his brother. “Thanks for coming out to help, Shane. I know it’s not easy for you.”
“I like Kate,” his brother said.
“I’m pretty partial to her myself.”
After a short minute of silence, Shane changed the topic. “My landlady died.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. When?”
Shane scratched his chin through his long, scraggly beard. “Oh, I don’t know. About a month or two ago.”
His brother seemed to be fuzzy with time a lot these days.
“No one’s been around to collect rent. I may be kicked out of my place. Who knows. If I need a place to crash...?”
Liam cut him off. “No problem. You can stay here. But no drugs, Shane. I don’t want you smoking pot on my property.”
Shane’s lips turned up in the slightest of smiles. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, brother.”
“Okay.” Liam frowned, but gave his brother another hug for the road. “Sure you don’t.”
* * *
“I’m exhausted! I thought men traveled light!” Kate flopped onto their brand-new mattress after taking a long, hot, steamy shower. She had rifled through her husband’s T-shirt drawer and was wearing one of his faded, black Trace Adkins concert shirts.
“It takes a lot of
work to look this good.” Liam raised one eyebrow and posed for her jokingly.
“Thank you. You do look good, I’ll give you that.”
Liam had his shirt off; he made his abs ripple for her. “Oh, yeah? Do you like what you see?”
“That’s...amazing.”
“If you’re lucky, you can get some of this later,” her husband said as he headed into the bathroom.
Kate listened to the sounds of Liam preparing for bed: turning on the faucet, brushing his teeth, uncapping the mouthwash. They had only been married a short while, and yet she had come to count on those sounds.
Liam appeared in the bathroom doorway naked as the day he was born; the man had never been shy about his nudity. And because the man preferred to sleep in the buff, Kate always checked their bedroom door to make sure it was locked. Callie knew better than to open a door without knocking, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
Her husband turned off the lights but opened the blinds so they could enjoy the light from the moon, as limited as it was. He climbed in bed beside her with a happy sigh.
“I have to admit.” Kate turned her head toward him. “I don’t miss the old mattress.”
“I think you know where I stand on that topic.” Liam reached for the remote control and clicked off the TV, which she had on mute.
Her husband leaned over, slipped his hand under her shirt, the palm of his hand on her stomach, his head resting on her thigh.
Kate began to rub his head, something she had discovered early on that he liked for her to do.
“Are you happy, Mrs. Brand?”
“Yes,” she said on a sigh. She was happy. For the first time in a long time, she felt happy at her core. Oddly, she hadn’t known that she was unhappy until she had a chance to know what it felt like to be loved by Liam.
“Are you?” she countered.
He kissed her thigh. “Yes. I am.”
“Was it strange leaving Sugar Creek? I tried to imagine what it would be like to move away from here, and I couldn’t.”
“It was strange,” he acknowledged. “A little sad. I never imagined my life anywhere else. Until now.”
Kate’s breath caught—she had been worried about Liam all day. How would he feel once he moved from his family’s ranch? Would he genuinely feel that their marriage was worth that sacrifice? Much like the Triple K was to her, Sugar Creek was Liam’s lifeblood. It was his heart.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“No.” Liam lifted his head so he could look at her. “I don’t want you to apologize. I don’t want you to worry that I have any regrets, because I don’t. Not one. This is what I want. You. Callie. Our future here at the Triple K. That’s what matters to me. Yes, I was sad to leave my home, but that sadness doesn’t compare with the happiness I feel being your husband.”
Liam moved so he was next to her on the bed, so he could take her into his arms and kiss her. They pressed their bodies together, legs intertwined.
“I’m worried you’re going to not like it here.”
He looked into her eyes. “Hey. Listen to me, Kate. I’m happy wherever you are.”
Wanting to feel her naked flesh pressed against his, Kate broke the embrace to take off her T-shirt and panties. She couldn’t wait to get back into his arms.
“You feel good, baby.” Liam kissed her neck.
“So do you.”
He rolled her onto her back so he could kiss her between her thighs. He enjoyed loving her this way, and she had gotten used to just receiving it. He kissed her and licked her until she was squirming and tugging on his arm to relieve the ache he had created.
“You taste as sweet as a sugar cookie.” Liam covered her body with his.
She was so wet, so ready, that he slipped inside her until he was so deep that it made her gasp. Liam looked down at her, admiring her. He didn’t move, not an inch. Her husband loved to tease her, to toy with her in a playful way.
“How do you want it, baby?” He nipped at her neck.
“Slow.” She pushed her hips up against him. “Give it to me slow.”
Every inch of Liam’s body gave her pleasure. He loved her slowly, passionately, taking his time, massaging her breasts, kissing her lips, building her up until she was panting and straining and biting down on her lip to stop herself from making too much noise.
“Yes, baby.”
Liam already knew her body so well that he could feel her getting ready to climax. She dug her nails into his back and bit down on his shoulder. Her orgasms with Liam were stronger, longer, more powerful than ever before. Usually Liam didn’t come at the same time, but tonight, as she shuddered in his arms, her husband buried his face in her neck and groaned. She held on to him, holding him as he held her.
“Oh my God.” Kate laughed quietly. “I hope it’s always this good between us.”
Liam separated their bodies and covered them both with the covers.
“It will be,” he said with certainty. “We love each other.”
Kate curled up with her back pressed against Liam’s warm body. Her husband curled his body behind her like a spoon, his hand on her stomach.
“Good night, baby. Tomorrow is going to be a great day.”
The day for the adoption had arrived. Tomorrow, Liam would legally become Callie’s father. It would be the first time in her daughter’s life that she truly had an active, loving father. And, for her, it would be the first time that she wasn’t a single parent. Liam had come in, on his figurative white horse, and fixed parts of her life she didn’t even realize were all that broken.
“I’m nervous,” she admitted. “But so excited. Good night.”
* * *
The lead up to this day had weighed on Liam heavily. Ever since it was in his heart to become Callie’s father, knocking down all of the barriers in his way had become an obsession. The first hurdle was getting Lloyd to relinquish his parental rights, then he had to settle the back child support. Next, he needed to marry her mother—that wasn’t a hurdle, it was a highlight. Now the final hurdle was about to be leaped—he would sit before the judge, answer questions posed by his attorney and Callie would be his.
“How do I look?” Kate was more nervous than he’d ever seen her before. “I don’t know what happened. These pants shrunk, and now they look like high-waters.”
“How about putting on your knee-high boots. I like those.”
Her features were pinched, eyes worried. “Do you think they’re appropriate?”
“Sure. Your feet are going to be under the table.”
“Are you being serious or funny right now? If you’re being funny, I don’t appreciate it. I feel like we’re running late.”
“Come here, baby.” Liam hugged her. “It’s going to be okay. We aren’t running late. You look great, as always. Just calm down. I’m right here, and everything’s fine.”
Kate wiggled free of the hug. “I don’t even know why I feel so stressed out.”
“Because—” he tried to reassure her “—this is a big deal. It’s not every day your daughter gets adopted.”
His wife disappeared into the closet.
“Any doubts?”
She came out with her knee-high boots in hand, dumped them on the floor and sat down on the bed so she could put them on.
“No.” Kate stood and stomped her feet so her toes went down farther into the boots. “I don’t have one single doubt. You are the best thing that’s happened to Callie in a long time.”
His wife came over and gave him a brief “apology” hug.
“I’m sorry I’ve been a bit off.”
He rubbed her shoulders. “Don’t worry about it. You’re doing great.”
Kate watched him carefully when she asked, “Do you have any doubts?”
He smiled at her. “Baby, I’ve got a few of best days in m
y life.” He held up his fingers so he could count them as he went. “The day I graduated from vet school, the days my children were born, the day I married you and today.”
They piled into Kate’s truck, with him behind the wheel. Callie was with them, wearing a new dress just for the occasion. They had debated for quite a while about whether Callie should be in attendance; in the end, Kate didn’t want this to be something that just “happened” to her daughter. It had taken weeks of preparation to get Callie to a place where she understood, on a basic level, what the adoption meant. Her first worry, which they expected, was that she already had a dad. But once they got Lloyd on the phone, and he assured her that he would always be her dad, and that nothing in the world would change that, Callie began the process of making sense of her changing reality.
Liam had to give Lloyd credit—the man had stepped up, better late than never, and was acting in Callie’s best interest.
“Do you remember why we’re going to the courthouse today, Callie?” Kate looked over her shoulder into the backseat.
“Yes,” Callie said with a smile. “Adoption.”
“That’s exactly right, kiddo.” Her mother smiled back at her daughter. “Today you are going to get a bonus dad.”
“Are you still good with that idea, Calico?” Liam glanced at his daughter-to-be in the review mirror.
“Yes.” She nodded thoughtfully. “I—I like the i-idea.”
“So do I.” Kate put her hand on her husband’s leg.
They arrived early and took a seat at the back of the courtroom. Callie sat between them, holding one of her mother’s hands and one of Liam’s. Callie didn’t always understand the gravity or complexity of a situation, but she could feel the tension in their bodies, the anxiety in their voices, and now she was tense.
Liam looked over his shoulder every couple of minutes, anticipating his attorney’s arrival. Finally, he saw Brad Williams walk through the door. He stood and shook the man’s hand.
“Are we ready?” Liam asked, after Brad had taken a moment to greet Kate and Callie.
His attorney leaned forward and addressed all of them. “This is mainly procedural. The judge will swear you in, you’ll spell your names for the record and state your address. We’ve got everything filed with the court. I don’t anticipate any hiccups.”