He brought her hand to his lips. “If you want to say no, then I’ll understand.”
“I want to say yes, not no,” she whispered.
“But?” he asked.
“A wise woman told me once that there are no buts in a good relationship,” she said.
Jace pushed his chair back and pulled her to a standing position. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her closely. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder and looked down to see Tilly with her arms wide open.
“Does this mean we might be a real family someday?” she asked.
“Yes, it does.” Jace picked her up and included her in the hug.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Two weeks later
He’s not going to stand me up, is he?” Tilly touched the tiny tiara set in a bed of curls on top of her head. “Why didn’t he come home for supper? We have to be there in half an hour and he’s not even dressed. Mama, I told Maribel and all my friends that he was bringin’ me to the dance and I was having a real corsage.”
“Do you trust him?” Carlene asked.
“Of course I do. He said we’d be a family someday, but I wish someday was already here because then he wouldn’t forget my special night. Do I really look all right, Mama?”
“You just keep smiling and you’re absolutely beautiful,” Carlene said. “I’ve got a special present for you from Aunt Bee.” She brought out a lovely white faux fur cape with a hood and satin ribbons to tie at her throat.
Tilly squealed when Carlene draped it around her shoulders. “Take a picture so I can send it to Aunt Bee.” She struck a pose and Carlene snapped a photograph with her phone.
Before Tilly could even look at the outcome on her mother’s phone, someone knocked on the door and she frowned. “Nobody ever knocks. Who is it, Mama?”
“I have no idea. Why don’t you open the door and find out? It might be for you instead of me.”
“Aunt Bee?”
“Got to open the door to see,” Carlene said.
Tilly threw it open and Jace stepped inside. He wore a Western-cut suit with a tie and his boots were shined so well that Carlene could see the reflection of Tilly’s little pink leather shoes in them.
Jace held out a corsage box. “I’m all thumbs when it comes to things like that so I’d appreciate some help.”
“You came. You didn’t forget,” Tilly sighed.
“Of course I didn’t forget. I even shined up my truck so it would be nice enough for a princess to ride in. Reckon we could get a picture together before we leave. Your grandma and the whole family want to see you tonight, but I told them this was our date and they’d have to just be happy with pictures,” he said.
Carlene put the corsage on Tilly’s wrist while Jace got down on one knee and patted it for Tilly to sit on. She took her time arranging her cape and crossing her legs at the ankles before she nodded at Carlene to snap the pictures.
“Y’all better go on so you aren’t late,” she said. “Have a great evening.”
“Of course we’ll have a good night,” Tilly said. “My daddy and I are going to dance every single dance. I’m the happiest girl in the whole town tonight, Mama.”
“I’ll have her home by ten,” Jace said hoarsely.
“Nine forty-five.” Carlene tried to play the concerned parent, but she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.
Jace hugged her and whispered, “She called me daddy for the first time since the rodeo event.”
“That’s what I’ve been waiting on. I’m ready now for that next step in this relationship business, but we can talk about it when y’all get home.”
He kissed her on the forehead. “This is definitely a Pappy Van Winkle night. Are you going to say yes?”
“To the whiskey, yes.”
“To the question we both know I’ve been itchin’ to ask?”
“Ask and see. Right now you’ve got a daddy-daughter dance to go to.”
His lips found hers in a kiss so filled with love that it brought tears to her eyes.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Tilly chatted the whole way to the school cafeteria but her entire demeanor changed when she got out of the truck. She hung back, bit her lip, and frowned. Country music floated out every time the doors opened and little girls were practically dragging their fathers across the parking lot.
“I’m scared. I can’t dance,” she blurted out.
He tucked her small hand into his. “It’s easy. You put your feet on mine and learn the steps that way.”
“Really?” A tiny smile tickled the corners of her mouth.
“Yep. But haven’t you been to these with your mama?”
“Dancin’ with Mama is different than dancin’ with a daddy,” she whispered.
He opened the door for her and her grip tightened on his hand. “You know something?” he whispered. “This is my first daughter-daddy dance and I know you’ve been to one or two with your mama. So will you show me what to do?”
“I guess we’ll just have to help each other.” She marched through the door but didn’t let go of his hand. “Let’s get some cookies and punch first and then we’ll dance. Too bad they don’t have milk. I could use something with a little kick to it.”
“Me too,” Jace said, but he sure wasn’t thinking about chocolate milk.
Folding chairs were lined up around the wall but few of them were occupied. Little girls were either dancing with their dads out in the middle of the floor or they were gathered in groups whispering and giggling. The fathers who weren’t dancing were hanging around the refreshment tables, most likely talking about cows, hay, and calving season.
The DJ for the evening put on a slow song and Jace tossed his empty cup and napkin in the trash can. He held out his hand toward his daughter and smiled. “May I have this dance, Miz Tilly?”
Her smile lit up the whole room as she let him lead her out onto the dance floor. He put his hands on her shoulders and she slipped hers around his waist. “Now what?” she asked.
“Now you just take two steps back and one to the side, then two steps forward,” he whispered. “Keep time with the music.”
“This is easy,” she said after a few seconds. “And it’s fun. When there’s a fast song, can you teach me how to do that too?”
“You bet I can.” His heart doubled in size.
Seconds took hours; minutes took days that evening as Carlene busied herself with school papers. She finally took a long bath and read a few chapters of a romance book. Still, it seemed like they’d been gone a week when she finally heard the sound of the truck pulling up in front of the house. Then all quiet ended.
“Guess what, Mama? Daddy and I danced fast dances and slow dances and we had cookies and punch and then we danced some more and my daddy was the best one there tonight.” Tilly bounced around like a windup toy. “It was epic, Mama. It really was.”
“Epic?” Jace helped Tilly remove her jacket and then hung his beside hers.
“That’s the new awesome or fabulous,” Carlene informed him.
“Then it was the most epic evening ever.” He slid down on the sofa beside Carlene.
“I’m going to go change out of my pretty dress and call Aunt Bee. Is that okay, Mama? And then I’ll come back down and have a glass of milk with a kick in it. Next year at the dance I want you to be one of the mamas who helps serve the ’freshments and you need to make a big punch bowl of chocolate milk, okay?”
“Sounds like a great idea to me.” Carlene smiled.
“Talk?” Jace asked after Tilly raced up the steps.
“Yes,” she said.
“Okay, I can’t bear the thought of you leaving. I can’t even imagine living in this house without you. I love you so much, Carlene,” he said.
“Yes,” she said again.
He cocked his head to one side.
“Yes.” Her eyes danced with happiness.
“You’re tellin’ me that you won’t move out and that you love me too?”
&n
bsp; “Yes.” She cupped his cheeks in her hands.
He leaned forward and kissed her with so much passion and love that it sent tingles all the way to her toes.
“Aunt Bee ain’t home.” Tilly stopped at the doorway and stared at both of them. “You kissed my mama, Daddy.”
“I did because she just said that she’d live here and not move away. How are you with that idea?” Jace asked.
“Does that mean that we’re a family?” Tilly asked.
“What do you think of that idea?” Carlene asked her.
She bounded across the floor and landed in their laps. “I love it. Do I get to be a real Dawson?”
“If you want to be.” Jace wrapped his arms around both of them in a three-way hug.
“I do, Mama. I really do want to be a Dawson.”
“Then I guess that’s decided too,” she said.
“And the other question?” Jace asked.
“You have to ask?” Carlene said.
Leaving them both sitting on the sofa, he dropped down on one knee and took Carlene’s hand in his. “I don’t have a ring tonight, but we can pick one out tomorrow. I love you, Carlene. I loved you when we were kids and I still do. Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she said.
He leaned in and brushed a sweet kiss across her lips that held the promise of a better one later that evening. Keeping Tilly’s hand in his other one, he shifted his gaze to her. “Tilly, I didn’t even know about you until a few weeks ago but I love having you for a daughter and I especially like it when you call me daddy, so will you let me marry your mama and will you be my daughter?”
“Do I get a ring too?”
“No, that honor is saved for the boy who comes along who will treat you right, respect you, and who can get past my judgment.”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
“I am the luckiest cowboy in the whole state of Texas.” He gathered them together for another hug.
Epilogue
One year later
There wasn’t a cloud in the sky when Hope and Henry stepped out of the airport in Amarillo that February afternoon. While he went for their rental car, Hope sat on the bench out front with their luggage at her feet.
Flashes of the past year crossed her mind as she waited alone, the brisk north wind chilling her face and hands. She’d thought she’d have a heart attack when Henry first showed up at the ranch—mercy, could that have been fourteen months ago? It seemed like it was only yesterday. After a summer and fall of courting and flying back and forth so they could spend time together, she and Henry had gobirthtten married at the courthouse with only the family surrounding them the day before Thanksgiving. That was three months ago and the honeymoon hadn’t ended. And if she had anything to do with it, it never would.
She closed her eyes and thought about their Florida house located right on the beach. She could feel the warm sand on her bare feet, smell the warm winter rains, and almost hear the sound of the ocean. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t even hear the car come to a stop beside the curb. She blinked and there was Henry getting out, with a big smile on his face.
“Hey, sweetheart, you ready to go surprise this family you brought me into?” Henry opened the door for her.
“Darlin’, I believe that it’s the other way around. Nash is your nephew, so you brought me into your family,” she teased as she stood and kissed him on the cheek.
“We’ll call it a joint venture.” He drew her close and tipped her chin up.
“We’re in public, Henry,” she whispered.
“I don’t give a damn. I’m in love with you.” And then he kissed her right there in front of the terminal.
When it ended, her heart was thumping. “Think we’ll have time to go by the house before the party?”
“I don’t reckon we will but we’ll make up for it afterward.”
Nash jerked off his dirty work clothes, took a quick shower, and hurriedly dressed for the party. Then he rushed to help Kasey, who was struggling with Silas that afternoon. He was having a difficult time getting through the terrible twos. Hopefully when he had his birthday in May and moved on to the three-year-old stage, it would be better.
“Daddy, you better get on in there. You’re the only one that can do anything with him.” Four-year-old Emma sighed from the top step of the staircase. “Silas is a brat. You better help.”
“On my way.” Nash blew her a kiss.
She caught it and stuffed it inside the pocket of her cute little skirt.
When Nash made it to the boy’s bedroom door, Silas was squirming against Kasey, who was trying to put on his boots.
“Daddy.” Silas held up his arms.
Nash held him close and whispered, “There’s going to be cake and cookies and ice cream and maybe even pony rides at the party. Why don’t you want to go?”
“Need boots,” he said simply.
“I’ve got your boots right here.” Kasey held them up.
“Need workin’ boots.”
“Why?” Nash asked. “I’m wearin’ my good boots.”
Silas leaned back far enough he could look down. “Ohhh…kay. Need good boots.”
Nash set him on the edge of the bed and Kasey handed Nash the boots. He slipped them on Silas’s feet and put him on the floor. “You ready for cake?”
“All ready now!” His smile lit up the whole room.
“Looks just like Adam,” Nash said.
“Maybe so,” Kasey told him, “but he’s definitely your child.”
Nash pulled her close to him and laid his hand on her pregnant belly. “I can’t believe we’re getting two for one on the first try.”
“Can you imagine two boys in the terrible twos?” she said.
“I’m here and we’ll get through every phase together.” He bent and kissed her belly. “I never thought I’d ever be this happy, Kasey.”
“Me neither. God sure blessed me when he put you into my life.”
Nash rose to his full height. “Not as much as he did me.”
Kasey took his hand. “It’s party time.”
“Are we still talkin’ about a birthday party?” He wiggled his dark eyebrows.
“For now, but one never knows about later,” she whispered seductively into his ear.
Brody hurried back to the house from a rodeo meeting, getting there just as Lila was dressing the baby, Daisy Hope, in a pink dress. He leaned against the nursery door for a second, taking in the scene. His emotions were overwhelming to the point that they almost brought him to his knees. He’d thought that he could never be happier than he was the day that Lila said she’d marry him, but that was barely the tip of the iceberg.
She looked up and smiled and he crossed the room in a couple of long strides, slipped his arms around her waist, and kissed her on the neck. “The princess is almost as beautiful as the queen of my heart. Let me help.”
“All that’s left is putting her socks and shoes on.” Lila whipped around, moistened her lips, and rolled up on her toes for a long, steamy kiss. “And the princess outshines the queen. She can wrap a tough old cowboy right around her little finger.”
He chuckled. “Yes, she can and there no words to tell you what you and this baby mean to me, darlin’.” He started a string of steamy kisses that went from her neck, across her cheek, and ended at her lips.
Breathless, she took a step back. “We have to stop now or we’ll never get to the party.”
His blue eyes glimmered. “We might have a party of our own, but you’re right. This is Miz Daisy’s first party and it’s liable to cause her to be a rebellious teenager if we don’t get her there on time.”
“Oh, honey!” Lila handed him the pink satin shoes, both of which fit in her palm. “There’s nothing we can do or not do that will prevent that from happening. Look at who her mama and daddy are. There’s not a snowball’s chance in hell of her being anything but rebellious.”
“I have a set of rules that we will follow. Number
one is that she can date when she’s sixteen, but I’ll be sitting in the front seat with her until she’s thirty.” He kissed each tiny toe before he put her shoes on. His voice rose several octaves when he talked to her. “You got your mama’s pretty dark hair and her nose and her pretty lips. Yes, you do, darlin’ daughter.”
Lila laid a hand on his shoulder. “But she got your gorgeous Dawson blue eyes.”
“I had to give you something, didn’t I, princess?” Brody crooned in a high-pitched baby-talk voice. “Now she’s all ready, Mama. I’ve got her baby seat in the chariot and her adoring family is waiting to see her.”
“Is the red carpet rolled out?” Lila teased.
“Always and forever, wherever we go—for you and her both,” Brody answered.
Jace draped an arm around Tilly’s shoulders as they watched out the window for the first guests to arrive for her tenth birthday party. Her red hair was braided and her gray eyes, so much like his own, glittered in anticipation of the family all gathering for her special day.
“A watched window never produces people.” Carlene came up beside him and he drew her close with his other arm.
“Yes, it does. There’s the first ones.” Tilly took off in a run toward the door to greet them.
Jace took that opportunity to spin Carlene around to face him. “I love you to Pluto and back, Mrs. Dawson.”
“Pluto?” She only got out one word before his lips were on hers in a searing kiss.
“Yes, darlin’, Pluto. That’s a lot farther out there than the plain old moon.”
“Aunt Bee!” Tilly’s squeals filled the house.
“Oh. My. Goodness!” Carlene whispered. “Did you know?”
“Can’t lie to you. And believe me it’s been hard for me to keep the secret.” He turned her around to face the door and held to her waist in case she fainted. “And there’s more.”
“I hear there’s a birthday going on here,” Belinda said. “And look who I brought with me.” She pushed her mother and father into the living room ahead of her.
Luckiest Cowboy of All--Two full books for the price of one Page 27