by Liz Isaacson
She’d never seen her father help around the house. He’d never driven her to school or picked her up. He worked the ranch, plain and simple. Her mother did everything else.
“I guess you’re right,” Felicity said. “I can work the ranch and be a mom.”
“I don’t see why not,” Dwayne said, finally nudging his horse closer to hers. “It would be a partnership, Felicity. I might be better at laundry than you anyway.”
Her eyes flew to his, and she found love and laughter there. “I know I’m better at cookin’.”
“You are not.”
“Name one thing you can make better than I can.”
“Uh, just about everything, Mister. Remember that pasta salad I made for the block party?”
“Did you really just say your pasta salad is better than my family recipe, which has won at three Family Festivals?”
She burst out laughing. “I forgot about the prize-winning salad.”
“I don’t see how that’s even possible.”
Her heart soared with love for Dwayne. She’d never said the words, so she let them loose now. “I love you, Dwayne.”
He pulled his horse in front of hers and dismounted in one fluid movement. His right hand shook twice as hard as she’d ever seen it when he stepped to her side and took her left hand in his.
“I love you too.” He kissed her wrist. “I want you to marry me and be my wife, my partner, my everything on this ranch.” He gazed up at her with adoration, hope, and anxiety.
“I want that too.” A twinge of fear still stuck in her throat. “I do have to go back to Marysville and help my family, though.”
“Of course.”
“And I want to make sure I know what you’ll do and what I’ll do within our family.”
“We’ll talk about it all and decide everything together.”
Felicity grinned down and him and slipped from the saddle and into his arms. “All right then.”
“All right then,” he said just before matching his mouth to hers for the most wonderful kiss of her life. Because she wouldn’t have to be trapped inside the homestead when she wanted to be free in the wilderness. Because she loved Dwayne Carver and had told him. Because she’d listened to the Lord when He prompted her to come back here and make things right.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Felicity found she could endure more household tasks and curb her cravings to work outside after her reconciliation with Dwayne. If she was frustrated about something, she called him. She told him about how she and Gordon had agreed that she’d only make dinner on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Sundays, but then he acted put out where there wasn’t anything to eat on Friday.
He’d ordered pizza—problem solved. “And not my problem,” she’d ranted to Dwayne, who’d taken it all and offered nothing but support in return.
Her mother’s thyroid came out in mid-November, and she started to feel a bit better after that. The medication she’d have to take for the rest of her life actually provided what her thyroid should’ve been giving her all this time, so there was definitely some improvement.
Felicity began to feel like every day was another day closer to when she could return to Grape Seed Falls, return to Dwayne.
When her mother’s blood work all came back within the right range for the next step of the treatment—swallowing a radiation pill—she called Dwayne again.
“Hey, there,” he answered easily. “I just finished brushing down Lucy.”
“Oh yeah? How is she?” A pang of homesickness hit Felicity, which didn’t make a lot of sense to her. But maybe Gordon had been right. This ranch wasn’t her home anymore. Her heart had left it the day her father died.
“Doin’ great. I think you might have to convince her you own her when you get back.” He chuckled. “Chadwell’s taken a liking to her, and she follows him all over the ranch on the weekends.”
“You tell Chadwell he can get himself a dog for company. He’s already got my cat.”
Dwayne laughed, and Felicity basked in the sound of it, wishing she was with him so she could kiss him and snuggle into his strong chest and smell the masculine scent of his cologne. Tears pricked her eyes. How much longer do I need to be here, Lord? she wondered.
“So I’m calling,” she said once he’d quieted. “Because Momma’s cleared to take her radiation pill next Thursday.”
“That’s great news.”
“Yeah, it is.” For a few days there, Felicity was sure her mother would break her iodine-free diet. It was really hard to only eat chicken and broccoli for every meal. No bananas. No raisins. No dairy. No bread. “Honestly, it’s a miracle any of us survived the iodine diet.”
Felicity had wanted to offer as much support as she could, and she’d found a few bread recipes that didn’t use wheat. But her baking skills weren’t as vast as she’d thought, and the bread hadn’t turned out.
She and her brothers had stockpiled forbidden foods in the barn and eaten them with the doors locked.
“Anyway, she can’t be around any kids for seven days. We can’t use the same bathroom as her. My uncle is going to drive her home after she takes the pill, because he has a mini-van and she has to ride in the very back. We’ve bought every sour candy in the county.”
“Sounds like you’re ready.”
Felicity felt tired just thinking about everything she’d done to get ready. “She should be okay to eat Christmas dinner with us. You’re still comin’, right?”
“I’ll be there.”
She exhaled, her chest loosening as if she’d expected him to say he wasn’t coming anymore. She’d gone to the ranch a couple of times over the past two months, but their visits were always too short and made her too sad.
“And then I’d like to be here for another month or so just to make sure she’s really doing okay.”
“So we’re still thinking end of January before you move back here.”
“Yep.”
He remained silent for several seconds, and she wondered what he could possibly be working out in his mind.
“All right,” he drawled. “Well, I love you, Felicity. I’m real glad about your mom.”
Felicity said, “Love you too,” hung up, and pressed the phone over her heart. The end of January. She could make it to the end of January.
Dwayne paced from the back door of his parents’ house to the front. Of his house. “This is your house now,” he muttered to himself. The homestead still didn’t quite feel like home—and he knew why.
It wouldn’t feel complete without Felicity here. Nothing did.
A lot had been happening in the months Felicity had been gone, and he hadn’t told her about any of it. How would she react when she found out his parents had moved into her bungalow on Bartlett Street?
What would she do when she discovered that Dwayne lived in the big house now, and that he’d just hired a service to come clean out the property where he used to live on the edge of the grass so that she could live there?
Heather had assured him it was the most romantic thing he could possibly do—providing a place for her to live until they got married. Putting all the pieces in place so that all she had to do was work with horses and show up on their wedding day. But Dwayne wondered if everything he’d done to make her life as easy as possible would make her feel caged instead. Forced into the life he wanted her to have, not the one she wanted for herself.
After all, he’d promised her they’d talk about everything, make every decision together.
On his next pass through the kitchen, his eyes caught on the black ring box sitting on the single sheet of paper. He’d labored over both, spending long hours at the jewelry store here in Grape Seed Falls, and then driving to Austin to look in the bigger ring shops there. It had taken every ounce of his willpower to stay on the right highway and not head out to Marysville and ask Felicity what kind of diamond she liked.
Again, Heather had assured him that he’d done fine with the marquis cut, the thick gold band, th
e row of extra diamonds along the top of the ring.
Still, Dwayne couldn’t help feeling a little sick to his stomach. He picked up the ring box and cracked the lid, the sight of the diamond slightly soothing. He set the ring down and picked up the list he’d been working on. With every phone call Felicity made, he learned more and more about what kind of chores she liked, and which ones she’d probably rather have him do. He’d redone the list at least half a dozen times, but he was starting to feeling like he was getting pretty close to something he could present to her.
His mind raced, his emotions spiraled, and he picked up his phone. After it went to his sister’s voicemail, he said, “Tell me again why I can’t propose while I’m in Marysville for Christmas.”
Heather didn’t call him back once school ended. Oh, no. She appeared out at the ranch, darkening the doorway of the barn where he was putting away Stockton, the horse he’d been breaking since he’d finished with Payday.
“Proposing to her at Christmas is a bad idea, because it’ll forever pollute the holiday.”
Dwayne frowned and unlatched the cinch. “Pollute? Getting engaged is a good thing.” He was practically salivating to do it. “That makes it sound dirty.”
“Have you two discussed an engagement?” She took a step into the barn and held up one finger as if checking off a list. “No. Have you told her you’ve already bought a ring?” Another finger went up. “No. Have you so much as mentioned that you have The Loft reserved for September?”
Dwayne flinched and lifted his eyes from the saddle. “How did you find out about The Loft?”
“Please,” she said. “I work in an all-female building. When The Loft gets reserved, we all know about it.”
“Too presumptuous?”
“Definitely.” Heather grinned at him and crossed her arms. “Just talk to her already. You can discuss an engagement over the phone. Or in a text. You’re not breaking up with her.”
Dwayne shook his head. For some reason, he wanted the proposal to be a surprise. Probably because then Felicity couldn’t freak out, back out, and break his heart.
Christmas came, and Dwayne drove to Marysville, the ring box in his glove compartment. His nerves felt like someone had put them through a tree shredder—one he’d just used a couple of days ago to get rid of some debris around the ranch.
Heather had warned him not to propose at Christmas, but Dwayne wanted to bring the ring just in case. In case of what, he wasn’t sure.
He wiped his palms down his thighs as he walked toward the front door, and when Felicity opened the door and stepped onto the front porch, all his fears and doubts disappeared. “You’re more beautiful than I remember.” He swept her into his arms and lifted her right off her feet. “It’s so good to see you.”
She held onto his shoulders, tipped her head back, and laughed. “I’m so glad you made it.”
“How’s your mom feeling?”
“So much better,” Felicity said. “She’s got some sores in her mouth and nose, but that’s normal.” She leaned in closer. “She complains about the sour candy, but we all know she loves it.” The teasing sparkle in her dark eyes sent heat right through Dwayne.
He couldn’t wait another moment to kiss her, so he didn’t. She melted into him, matched the tempo of his mouth, and fisted her fingers in his jacket to bring him even closer.
“Felicity,” he whispered, his lips catching against hers. “I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“Right now?” She pressed into him again and kissed him like she hadn’t seen him in months, which of course, she hadn’t.
“Yes.” He put a couple of inches between them, his brain firing on all cylinders just to keep up with the conversation.
He had beautiful words rehearsed. All lined up. But all he could think of now when faced with the woman he loved was, “I want to get married as soon as possible after you return to Grape Seed Falls.”
Surprise paraded across Felicity’s face. She obviously hadn’t been expecting marriage to be the topic, and Dwayne mentally kicked himself for bringing it up. His sister had been right, blast it.
“Married?”
“We’ve talked about a family,” he said. “We need to get married to do that.”
“Yeah, I know, sure.” She stepped away from him and slicked her hair back with her palm. “How soon after I come back?”
“How long will it take you to plan a wedding?”
Pure panic poured across her face now, and Dwayne could only appreciate that she wasn’t hiding it from him. She sputtered and seemed to fold into herself when she hugged her arms around her middle.
“Forget it,” Dwayne said. “Let’s go inside. It smells like chocolate.” He moved to step past her, but she blocked him.
“I can’t forget it.” She gazed up at him, her fear fading. “I want to get married. I do. I just…need some time to wrap my head around it.” She tipped up on her toes and grazed her mouth across his. “You understand that, don’t you?”
If anyone did, it was him. He nodded, forced a smile to his lips, and said, “Of course, Felicity. Whatever you need.” But something writhed inside him. Something that demanded to know what he needed, and how he could get it without pushing her away.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Dwayne enjoyed Christmas with Felicity and her family. The food was good, and it turned out that he was really good at hearts, a card game she and her brothers took very seriously. Parker had pouted about his loss all through pie and ice cream—until Dwayne told him about King and that he should come ride the bay at the ranch.
Felicity took him shopping on Boxing Day, and they laughed and held hands and wandered the streets. Near the end of the day, she squeezed his hand and said, “There’s a jewelry store right there. You wanna go in?”
Dwayne couldn’t find the words to tell her that he’d already bought a ring. “Sure.” He let her lead him into the store, already well-versed with the display cases, the diamond cuts, and the ring sizes.
But Felicity wasn’t, and she asked a lot of questions and even tried on a few rings. Dwayne was relieved to see her asking for “more traditional gold,” and that she didn’t seem to prefer one cut above the other.
He did learn that she needed a size eight, and he vowed to get her ring ready for her as soon as he got home. They left the store without buying anything, and Dwayne pulled her into his side. “That was fun.”
“You know what? It was.” She giggled and leaned further into him. “I’ll admit I was scared when you said married yesterday.”
“Why?”
“It just hasn’t been on my mind. That’s all.”
Dwayne approached his truck and paused. “I have more to tell you,” he said. “A lot has changed around Grape Seed Ranch since you left.”
Her eyebrows lifted and she said, “It has?”
“I’ll start with the easy stuff.” He opened the door and gestured for her to climb in.
“Start talkin’,” she said as she boosted herself into the cab.
He leaned into the truck and put his hand on her knee. “My parents moved out of the homestead, and I moved into it.”
Felicity watched as Dwayne grinned, closed the door, and went around the front of the truck to get behind the steering wheel.
“You’re pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you?” She gave him a mock glare. “Moving without telling me.”
He lifted one strong shoulder in a sexy half-shrug and started the truck.
“Who’s livin’ in your house?” she asked.
He cleared his throat and wouldn’t look at her.
“Dwayne,” she said, a healthy amount of warning in her voice. That familiar fear struck her right between the ribs again, and she was really starting to dislike it.
He drove a block in silence, then another.
“Dwayne.” She didn’t mean to whine, but there was a definitely upper pitch in her voice.
“I was hopin’ you’d be moving into my house.”
<
br /> She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out.
“You know, before we get married. Then, of course, you’ll be livin’ in the homestead too.” He spoke in a low voice she’d never heard him use before. A flush crawled up his neck and stained his cheeks.
Felicity found him adorable, and she reminded herself that he was everything she wanted, the man she loved. She slid across the bench seat and laced her arm in his.
“And for full disclosure,” he said in that same, strange voice. “My parents, uh….” He coughed though he was nowhere near sick. Felicity’s nerves jumped like oil in a hot pan.
“My parents are living in your house on Bartlett Street.”
Whatever Felicity had been thinking he’d say, that wasn’t it. “What?”
“They bought it.”
“They bought it?”
“Levi helped me and my dad move your stuff over to my old house. Capri got it cleaned up before my parents moved in.”
Felicity couldn’t believe her best friend in Grape Seed Falls hadn’t said a word about this. “How long ago?”
“Oh, a few weeks now.” He glanced at her as he pulled onto the road leading out to her ranch. “The owners wanted to sell the house, and this solved a lot of problems. Are you upset?”
“No….” Upset wasn’t the right word. Much like yesterday, she simply needed more time to absorb everything he’d said. Think about what it would be like to live a hundred yards from his back door. “Just processing.”
He pulled under the bluebonnet arch and into the driveway. “So now probably isn’t a great time to talk about this list I’ve been working on….”
“List?” Feliticy was tired of asking questions. “Not more horses.”
He flashed a quick smile. “Oh, honey, there will always be more horses.” He laughed, and she certainly wasn’t upset with the prospect of more horses in her life.
“But this is about splitting up our household tasks.”
Felicity gaped at him. Sure, she’d been taking care of her mother, some things in the house, and a lot on the ranch. But she honestly hadn’t given much thought to what she could handle once she and Dwayne started a family. The concept of it felt very far away, and yet, here he sat, perfectly serious about this topic—and having spent a great deal of time thinking about it and preparing a list.