I watched as a boat glided over the blue waters of the lake. It was fall in Texas, but still warm enough to be enjoying the day on the water. I sighed. The fall festival was in one week. How could I face everyone? Rumors had to be running rampant. I pulled my knees into my chest and rested my chin on them. I closed my eyes and felt my resolve slip away.
One tear. Then another. And another. Until I was crying like a baby. I squeezed my eyes shut even harder and let out a scream.
“Ahhhh!”
I had promised myself I wouldn’t do this again. I swore I wouldn’t let Miles Warner break my heart, and here I was, heartbroken and hiding in a stupid cabin.
Using my sleeve, I wiped my nose, then I palmed my cheeks and wiped away the tears. Maybe I could move to Austin. Or Dallas. Or maybe even somewhere up north where the weather was cooler. Anywhere but Hunt. I couldn’t live in the same town as Miles. If I had to see him every day I knew it would destroy me all over again. I’d eventually be a shell of a human being, simply walking around for the sake of it.
I dropped my legs down, cleared my throat and stood.
“Enough of this bullshit, Kynslee.”
A run. I needed to go for a good, long, hard run.
Slipping on the pair of tennis shoes I had bought the first day here, along with a few outfits and some food, I grabbed the key to the cabin, opened the door, and ran straight into a hard body. I didn’t even need to look up to know who it was.
Miles.
Kynslee
I FROZE IN place. The smell of his cologne and soap assaulted my senses in the most delicious way. I didn’t want to move because if I looked at him I would cry again.
“How did you find out where I was?” I asked, keeping my eyes focused on the ground.
“Your father told me.”
“My father told you where I was?” My eyes widened in surprise.
“Yes, and I know why you ran, Kynslee.”
“I didn’t run, Miles,” I said angrily.
“You did run. And you had every reason to run, but what he said wasn’t true, Kyns.”
Narrowing my eyes, I asked, “So you don’t have to get married in order to save the farm?”
He looked down and then back into my eyes. “Can we talk, please? Will you at least let me explain everything? We promised we would always talk to one another.”
I swallowed hard; we had promised that. “Answer the question, Miles.”
“I found out about that condition four days ago, Kynslee. I swear to you.”
I wasn’t sure how I should be feeling. Relieved or confused. Maybe both?
Stepping back, I motioned for him to come in. Miles looked around, taking in the small, but nice house my parents had bought a few years back. Daddy loved to fish and had always wanted a house on the lake.
“I bet your dad loves coming up here, with how much he loves fishing and all.”
My chin wobbled. “You remembered.”
He sat down on the sofa. I sat in the chair on the complete opposite side of the room.
“He always said he wanted a place on the lake. I’m glad to see he made that dream a reality.”
“Miles, can we not small talk, please.”
He swallowed, and I watched his throat bob. “Right. When I paid off the farm, I had Dalton Adams look into getting the title transferred into my name. He needed to find my father first to make that happen, unfortunately.”
I nodded, but I didn’t say anything, which prompted Miles to keep talking.
“I offered my father a fair market price for the farm.”
“But you paid it off. Why would you need to buy it from him?”
“He is technically still the owner. Mom’s name isn’t on the paperwork anywhere since the farm has always been on my father’s side. I needed a bill of sale in order to get the title put in my name. He was the missing link.”
I didn’t respond, so he kept talking. I used the brief pause to let my eyes take him in. He looked like shit, and I hadn’t really noticed since he walked in. His blue eyes were bloodshot, his face unshaven, and he looked like he’d been in the same clothes for the last few days.
“Anyway, Dalton didn’t have any luck finding my father. Once I knew I was getting close to getting out of the Marines, I hired a private investigator to find him. The sooner I got his name off the farm, the better. I knew if he found out it was paid for, he could try and sell it.”
“Sell it? You don’t think he would do that do you?”
“Kyns, he left his family high and dry, so yeah, I do. So does my mother. He left us without two pennies to rub together. He’d sell and not think twice. Anyway, he sought you out and purposely made you think I was using you. He overheard me and my mother talking about the promise, and how I had showed up trying to get you to fulfill it. He wanted you gone because he gave me fifteen days to get married, or he wasn’t accepting the offer.”
“What?” I gasped, not really sure I heard him right. “Why would he want you to get married?”
“Because he thinks I’m afraid of commitment, and at one time he would have been right. But not anymore.”
“If he didn’t think you would marry me, then why deceive me?”
He shrugged. “Insurance, maybe? Just in case I did marry you.”
“So you want me to marry you so the farm sale goes through and your dad’s name is off of the title?”
“No.”
“No?”
He took in a deep breath and blew it out. “Kynslee, I’d married you right now if you told me you wanted to get married. But I know you want to do this the right way. Take things slow. I told you I would do that. I won’t use my farm as a bargaining chip. This isn’t going to be about money between us ever again.”
“But the farm, Miles.”
“My father doesn’t want the farm, Kynslee. He wants to make my life a living hell because I’m not his son.”
I was positive my mouth dropped to the floor. “Come again?” I said. Had I heard that right?
“Peter is not my father. My parents were separated before I was born. My mother had actually filed for divorce because Peter had cheated on her. While she was living at home with her folks, she hooked up with an old high school flame and got pregnant. Then Peter showed up, begging her to take him back. He had been cheating on her the entire time they were together.”
“What!” My head was spinning with all this information.
“Mom felt guilty, like she had cheated on him, even though she had been separated. Anyway, looks like Peter has resented me all these years, and when he found out I was looking for him, his curiosity got the better of him. He’s been in town for some time. He’s been watching you and me together. He saw I was happy and decided he was going to fuck around with my life in some sick attempt at getting back at my mother and me.”
“You? How is any of this your fault! You were an innocent child. And he cheated on your mother!”
I shrugged. “I’m done trying to figure this all out. I told him last night he could have the farm, but that I would sue him in court for repayment and that he better be ready because I could afford a very good lawyer. I also told him I had no intention of getting married yet, that when I dropped down on my knee to ask you to marry me, it wasn’t going to be because of a promise or a bribe. You mean too much to me, Kynslee. I love you more than life itself, and the only thing I care about in this world is making sure you know how much I love you.”
“Miles…” His name came out in whisper.
“I can buy more land. Rich and I can start over. We’ve been down on our luck worse than this before, and we survived. We can do it again.”
“That farm has been in your family for generations, Miles.”
“Not my family. Rich and Lana’s.”
Shaking my head, I walked over and sat down next to him. “Did he sign anything that said he’d take the offer?”
Miles shrugged. “I’m not sure. Dalton said Peter came back with this offer in writing
.”
Smiling, I took Miles hand and pulled him up. “We need to get back to Hunt.”
“Why?” Miles asked.
Glancing over my shoulder, I replied, “Because we have a wedding to plan and only eleven days to plan it.”
My father and mother sat across from me and Miles, stunned looks on their faces.
“Married? In eleven days?” my mother asked as she looked between me and Miles.
“And you’re not pregnant?” Daddy asked.
“No, Daddy, I’m not pregnant. It’s exactly how we told it. “I’m not willing to let Miles walk away from something he and his family have worked so hard to make successful simply because Peter wants to be a vindictive ass.” My parents had to understand the reasons why I couldn’t let him do this. He’d already sacrificed so much for me and his family and I wouldn’t budge on this.
“Marriage is such a big move, Kynslee,” my mother said.
I reached for Miles’s hand. “I know, Mom. And I know we said we were going to take things slow, but I need to do this for Miles, even though he is against it, just like y’all.”
Miles nodded. “I think I can find another way, I just need to find it quickly.”
My father looked at Miles. “Do you love my daughter?”
With a smile as big as the sun, Miles answered him. “Yes, sir. I love her very much. I have for as long as I can remember.”
Daddy faced me. “Do you love Miles?”
“Yes. Very much so.”
My father and mother exchanged looks, then faced us. “Then we have a wedding to plan.”
I jumped up and hugged them both.
“Wait, I still think—”
“Do you not want to marry my daughter?” Daddy asked Miles.
“Yes! I mean, I’ll marry her right here, even with the damn rooster as my best man.”
Placing his hand on Miles’s shoulder, my father said, “Then you have our blessings. Now, I have no earthly idea what Rowdy has to do with this, but I’m pretty sure Rich will stand in as your best man.”
I smiled as I fought back tears. I was getting married. Holy shit.
“I need to call Heather and Patty. I don’t even know where to start,” I said.
“Well, for starters, where do the two of you want to get married?”
Miles and I exchanged a look. “I know where I want the wedding to be,” he said with a wink.
“The barn?” I asked with a chuckle.
“The barn.”
“Well, I’m glad we had it remodeled,” Daddy said, clapping his hands. “Let’s get the planning going.”
“There’s one more thing I need to do,” Miles said. We all turned and looked at him. He dropped down onto one knee and pulled the same worn-out, blue velvet pouch out of his pocket. I gasped when he took the ring out.
“Kynslee, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife? I truly love you with all my heart and want nothing more than to be your husband. To be yours forever.”
Tears streamed down my face as I held out my shaking hand for Miles to put the ring on.
“Yes,” I said, my voice barely audible through my sobs.
Miles slipped on the ring and stood, wrapping his arms around my waist to hug me.
“I’ve been carrying that ring around with me for four years. I was so afraid I was going to lose it.”
I buried my face into his neck and laughed.
I loved this man more than life itself, and there was nothing I wouldn’t do for him.
Miles
TEN DAYS UNTIL the wedding.
I sat in the lawyer’s office, Dalton on one side, my mother on the other. Across from me sat my dick ass father, or as I now lovingly called him, Peter, the pecker head eater. Childish, I know, but I didn’t give two shits. This man was trying to fuck with my family and the woman I loved.
The judge sat at the other end of the table, clearly not happy we had interrupted whatever he had planned.
He looked over the paperwork, sighed a number of times as he read countless statements from local folks that my father had left when I was a sophomore in high school. He looked over my mother’s bank account, the deposits made by me, the checks I had written as payments on the mortgage. He looked at it all. The entire time, Peter sat there, glaring at me and my mother.
Finally, the judge spoke. “Why the marriage thing, Mr. Warner?”
Turning to face the judge, my father spoke. “He needs to show responsibility before I trust him with my family legacy.”
Instantly, my father knew that that had been the wrong response. The judge leaned back in his seat and stared at Peter with a look of pure disgust on his face. “So, running a farm, going to high school, working a job, and trying to help support his two younger siblings doesn’t show responsibility?”
Peter cleared his throat. “Well, um, I suppose it shows some.”
The judge nodded. “How about joining the armed forces and sending money home? Paying off the family farm at the age of twenty-six? Coming home at the age of thirty and helping his brother run the farm? I’m sorry, Mr. Warner, but it seems your son has gone above and beyond showing he is responsible enough.”
“He’s not blood,” Peter spat out.
The judge slid a piece of paper across the table. I glanced down and saw what it was. Adoption papers. “You wanted him to have your name legally, remember?” my mother said.
I could hear the bitterness in her voice.
My father swallowed hard.
The judge looked directly at Peter as he spoke. “My suggestion would be to sign the real-estate transaction and take the money your son has offered you. Otherwise, you can go to court. Let’s see how they feel about your claim.”
Peter whispered something to his lawyer, who whispered something back. I glanced at the clock. I needed to meet Kynslee at the bakery in an hour, so I was hoping this shit would just move on to the next phase. But Peter Warner shocked us all again.
“My client will accept the monetary value for the farm and agrees to sign the deed over to Mr. Miles Warner.”
I didn’t show any reaction. Neither did my lawyer. My mother, on the other hand, sniffled ever so slightly.
Dalton slid a piece of paper across the table. Peter’s lawyer read it and motioned for Peter to sign it.
“We can head on over to the title company now.”
“Now? You can get the mortgage loan now?” Peter asked with a smug look.
“I’ll be paying cash, so it can be wired to your bank account today if we get down there by three,” I stated dryly.
Peter stared at me, a look of utter hate all over his face. “You little punk, you think you’re all that. What is it, drug money?”
I stood and smiled at him. “Something like that.”
I looked to the judge next and extended my hand. “Thank you, Judge Winston.”
He returned the handshake. “Thank you for your service, son.”
Dalton clapped me on the back. “The title company has the paperwork ready to go. All I need is for you to sign a few things, then authorize the wire transfer.”
Peter and his lawyer left the conference room after the judge walked out. Before we exited, I pulled Dalton back.
“How in the hell did that just happen?”
Dalton looked around and then leaned in so only I could hear him. “Did I mention I went to law school with Judge Winston? And as far as Peter’s lawyer goes, I play golf every Saturday with him. Our wives are best friends, as well.”
I smiled and shook my head. “You sneaky son-of-a-bitch.”
He winked. “Come on. Let’s get this over and done with.”
I walked into the bakery and stopped inside the door. Kynslee, Heather, and my sister Lana were all tasting a cake that they clearly loved. Kynslee let out a moan that went straight to my dick.
“That is to die for!” Lana said. “The baby is going to be on a sugar high later this afternoon after I breastfeed her.”
They all laughed.
“Sorry I’m late, but looks like you had a good stand in for me.” I pointed to Lana and Heather. “Where’s Patty?”
“She couldn’t make it,” Kynslee said, a mouth full of wedding cake so her words sounded more muffled than normal.
“Is it good?” I asked with a laugh.
Standing, Kynslee pushed the spoon into the cake and then shoved it into my mouth. I had to admit, it was amazing. She grinned like a fool as she watched me raise my brows.
“That’s delicious.”
“I know! I’ve narrowed it down to this cake or the vanilla strawberry filled.”
I glanced at everyone and then looked back Kynslee. “Can we step outside and talk a minute?”
“Yeah, sure.” She turned back to the baker. “Um, excuse me just one second.”
Placing my hand on her lower back, I tried to ignore the familiar tingle that raced up my arm and through my body.
We stepped outside and Kynslee turned to me. “How did it go? When you said you would be late, I got worried he might be causing issues. I mean, he agreed that if we got married…”
I pressed my mouth to hers and kissed her. I could feel her body relax as she leaned into me. God, I loved this woman.
Drawing back, I rested my forehead to hers and whispered, “It’s over.”
“It’s over? What do you mean?”
“He sold me the land, it’s mine. The title is in my name.”
Kynslee took a step back. “But we’re not married yet.”
I placed my hand on the side of her face. “The judge convinced him it would behoove Peter to take the offer, or he might risk losing it all. He agreed to the price I offered without the contingency of the marriage.”
“What? That’s amazing!” she said, throwing herself into my arms. My heart sank a little knowing she was that excited she didn’t have to marry me right now.
Pushing that all out of my mind, I held her tighter. I was going to enjoy and cherish whatever Kynslee gave me. I’d wait for her, for as long as it took.
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