Drifting my gaze to the band, I grinned. “So she gave you one?”
He chuckled as he lifted my hand up. He slipped the band next to the promise ring I wore on my left hand. “I’ll just leave this here for right now.”
Burying my face into his chest, I broke down crying. Again.
“Shhh…baby, it’s okay. Please don’t cry.”
Before I knew it, we were on the bed, and I was snuggled into Steed’s side. Contentment wrapped around me like a perfectly fitted glove.
Pressing his lips to my forehead, Steed whispered, “Sleep, baby. Get some sleep.”
I walked into my father’s office and stopped when I saw Trevor shaking his head and cursing.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Fucking hogs got in the north pasture and tore it to shit.”
I panicked. “What? When?”
“Must have been yesterday. It almost looks like a damn pattern.”
My hand clutched my chest as I fell back into one of the chairs in front of my father’s desk. “Thank fuck,” I breathed.
“What?” my father asked, giving me a confused look. “What in the hell do we have to be thankful for, Steed? I don’t want that many hogs on our ranch.”
Before I had a chance to say anything, Chloe came running into the office. “Granddaddy! I’m ready for our date!”
My father all but melted into a puddle when Chloe jumped into his arms.
“Our movie date! It’s time?” he asked with a huge grin.
“Yep! Grammy’s ready, so come on!” Chloe grabbed his hand and pulled at him. “Come on! Come on! We don’t want to be late.”
Glancing back at us, Dad smiled. “We’ll figure this out tomorrow.”
“You want me to go plow up the rest of the field?” Trevor asked.
“Why don’t we go tomorrow and take a closer look?” I suggested.
“That sounds good. Excuse me boys, I’ve got a date with my granddaughter.”
Trevor and I stood and watched Chloe drag Dad out of his office. He stopped to grab his cowboy hat off the hat rack before he was tugged out the door.
“Damn, she’s cute as hell, Steed. She’s got Dad and Mom wrapped around her finger. Not to mention Mitchell, Cord, and Amelia. Tripp’s never around long enough.”
I laughed. “Yeah, she has us all wrapped around her finger.”
Trevor slapped my back. “That’s the gods honest truth right there. All right, I’m calling it a damn day and taking the rest of the afternoon off. You still going flying?”
“Yeah. Hey Trev, before you leave let me ask you something.”
He stopped and motioned for me to talk with a jerk of his head. “Has Tripp mentioned anything to you about Corina?”
He shrugged. “Not really. I mean I know he called dibs on her and that pissed Mitchell off, but then I’m pretty sure Mitchell and Corina hooked up the night you came to the bar to chase off the accountant. I mean as the night went on they were all over each other and Mitchell took her home. Or she took him home. I don’t know.”
“You ever tell Tripp about it?”
He shook his head. “Nah. That shit’s between them. If you ask me though, Tripp’s only dating her because he knows Mitchell has a thing for her. Which is fucking weird cause I didn’t think either one of them were looking for a relationship.”
I scrubbed my hand over my rough chin. “Yeah, well something’s going on. Paxton wants to invite Corina over for Thanksgiving, and I told her she should. Tripp didn’t bother to.”
“Why not? No sense in the poor girl being home alone. And I thought Tripp said she was going out of town?”
I shrugged. “I guess he misunderstood her. Plus, I don’t think they’re that serious with this whole dating. I think it’s more of a causal thing.”
“Then invite her. What harm could come of it?”
Nodding, I agreed. “Yeah, I’ll make sure Paxton does.”
“Make sure I do what?”
We both turned. Paxton stood in the doorway dressed in jeans, converse sneakers, and a light blue sweater that made her eyes stand out all the way across the room.
“Invite Corina for Thanksgiving.”
She smiled. “I didn’t have to. I guess Tripp realized she wasn’t leaving and he invited her.”
Trevor slapped my arm and winked. “There ya go. I’m out of here. Later y’all.”
I followed him and stopped in front of Paxton.
“Hey,” I said, kissing her on the lips.
“Hey. Your mom said you were back here. So what’s the emergency? You broke me away from helping my mother decided between Antique White, Simple White, or Dover White.”
With a chuckle, I replied, “Sounds like I saved you.”
“You did! I was about to pull my hair out. Who knew there were so many shades of white!”
I took her in my arms. “Do you want to go up in the plane with me?”
Her eyes lit up like the Fourth of July. “Seriously? I’d love to! Are you just flying around for fun?”
“Yeah, but Dad needs me to check out a few things as well.”
She did a little jump and clapped her hands. “How exciting! The last time I was up in a plane was when your dad took us to see the Christmas lights that one year.”
“That’s right. You haven’t been anywhere? No vacations or anything?”
She shrugged. “Nope.”
Hell, I was going to have to fix that little problem. I made a mental note to plan a trip for us. Maybe over spring break or something.
Placing my hand on her hips, I motioned for her to walk out of the office. “Come on. Let’s go. Rob is waiting for me.”
My father had a hanger and a small runway adjacent to the ranch. He’d bought the property years ago when he was going for his own pilot’s license. He knew he would want to keep a plane here since the closet airport was a couple hours away in San Antonio.
The drive over to the hanger was filled with Paxton talking about what she was making for Thanksgiving. She had a cooking date planned the day before with my mother, Amelia, and Chloe. My heart ached when my sister Waylynn called. I could hear in her voice that she wanted to come home. But her asshole husband Jack had some fucking fundraiser and he needed Waylynn there. I swear the asshole was keeping her away from her family. I’d flown out twice with Chloe to visit my older sister. I could see the longing in Waylynn’s eyes for a child of her own. Dickhead wasn’t ready.
“Your dad got a new plane?” Paxton asked, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Yeah. He bought it about a year ago. It seats six.”
Looking over at me, Paxton wore a nervous expression, wringing her hands in her lap.
“You okay?” I asked.
“I think so. You’re sure you know how to fly it?”
I reached for her hand. “I wouldn’t take you up in this plane if I wasn’t sure I could fly it. I’ve flown bigger planes before.”
Her brows lifted. “Really? That’s kind of hot.”
Drawing my head back, I stared at her. “That turns you on?”
She nodded and chewed her bottom lip.
“Well, let’s see how you feel after we land,” I said.
Nervously giggling, she nodded.
Jumping out of the truck, I waved to Rob as I jogged around to open Paxton’s door. With her hand in mine, we headed to the plane. I hadn’t been the least bit nervous taking her up, but now anxiety swirled in the pit of my stomach.
I had to admit this was amazing. My hands still shook a bit, but Steed really did know what he was doing. We flew around, and he pointed out different places.
“Everything looks so different from up here!” I said into the microphone that hung from the giant headphones I wore.
“It really does. It’s amazing. I want to take you up during sunset. It’s beautiful.”
I smiled, loving the excitement in Steed’s voice. He really enjoyed this, and I loved being a part of it. “I’d love that. Would you take Chl
oe up too?”
“Hell yeah! She’s already seen the sun setting over the Pacific Ocean numerous times.”
The urge to ask him if Kim ever went up gnawed at the back of my mind. I wasn’t sure why; I hardly ever thought of that dreadful woman.
My internal battle with the question volleyed back and forth before I finally caved. “Did Kim ever go up with y’all?”
He laughed. “Hell no. She was never interested, and I never invited her.”
A small part of me fist pumped internally. “Is that your parents’ place?” I asked.
“Yep. I’ll fly over the guest house.”
“When are you going to stop calling it that?” I asked with a chuckle. “It’s your house now.”
“Yeah, I know. It feels weird living there, though. I’ve talked to my parents about paying something for living there. At first they said no, but finally came around when I said I would move into town. I never would…but they don’t know that. Damn place is huge though.”
Now it was my turn to laugh. It was a huge house. I imagined it filled with more kids. Lots of noise, a few dogs. Maybe even a cat or two. Chloe’s conversation with Steed a couple nights ago took center stage in my mind. I was soon staring out the window and not even paying attention to what was there. Steed turned the plane so all I could see was blue sky.
“Look over here. The cows.”
I leaned over to see out his side of the plane. “Where are the cows?” I asked.
“Hold on. There’re coming up.”
Stretching my neck more, I was beginning to feel a little nauseous, and I wasn’t sure if it was because Steed was tipping the plane or if it was from lunch.
“Can you straighten the plane out? I’m feeling sick.”
“Yeah, let me make this one turn.” He straightened out the plane then pointed out my window. “Take a peek out your window, and you’ll see it.”
I did as he asked, while my hand came up to my mouth. I focused on the plowed pasture out the window. The black dirt was a sharp contrast to the brown grass.
The words MARRY ME were spelled out across the pasture. I wasn’t sure how long I stared at it, but now it was moving behind the plane. I tried to keep looking before it was finally gone from my view. When I turned back to Steed, he was holding an open ring box that contained a beautiful princess cut diamond, along with a brilliant smile covering his beautiful face.
“I lost our love once before. I vow never to lose it again. Paxton Lynn Monroe, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
The nausea in my stomach was instantly replaced by butterflies circling deep in my belly. My hands shook as I brought them to my mouth again. Steed was proposing. He was asking me to be his wife in the most romantic way I could ever have imagined. Tears pricked the back of my eyes as I tried to find my voice.
My chest felt light, my heart floating on a cloud of utter bliss, while my body trembled with pure happiness.
Dropping my hands, I smiled and nodded. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you!”
His smile grew even wider, and the threat of his own tears were evident in the glistening of his eyes.
“I love you, Pax.”
My mouth rose up at the corners even bigger. “You have to land this plane, Steed, because all I want is to throw myself into your arms. Oh, and I love you too!”
He laughed. “Does that mean you want to wait until we land for me to put the ring on?”
“Yes! Hurry! Land!”
He snapped the ring box shut, took the plane off auto pilot, and got busy with getting us back to the ground safely. My leg bounced the entire time as he lined the plane up with the runway. I glanced every other second to the ring box. Peeking at Steed, I was positive his expression of happiness matched mine.
We landed and I let out the breath I didn’t know I had been holding. The moment the plane came to a stop, I unbuckled and so did Steed. My arms wrapped around his neck, and I let my emotions free.
He held onto me tightly as he whispered, “You’ve made me the happiest man alive, Pax.”
Through my unlady-like sniffles, I replied, “You’ve made me the happiest woman alive!”
He pulled back and ran the back of his hand down the side of my cheek before opening the ring box again.
I got a good look at it and gasped. “Oh my God.” Lifting my eyes to meet his, I asked, “Is that…”
He nodded. “The ring you pointed to the day we picked up my mother’s necklace. Yes.”
My heart hammered, the memory coming back.
“It will only take a second to run in and pick up the necklace my father bought for Mom’s birthday.”
I nodded and let the warm rays from the sunroof him me. It was the summer before our senior year. Steed and I had been down at the river all morning with friends, but the one hundred degree temperatures drove Steed and me to leave.
Pulling up to the jewelry store, Steed parked and rushed over to my side of the truck to open my door. He smiled and my stomach did that silly dip it always did whenever he flashed that sexy grin.
We stepped inside, and as Steed walked up to the saleslady, I wandered around the store. I soon found myself in front of the engagement rings staring at the most breathtaking ring I’d ever seen.
“Want to see it?”
My eyes snapped up to see Judy Pinhouse. Her daddy owned the jewelry store.
With a quick glance at Steed, I noticed he was in a deep conversation with Mr. Pinhouse.
I shrugged. “Sure! Why not.”
Judy giggled as she unlocked the glass door and reached in. She placed a blue velvet pad in front of me and set the ring on it.
“It’s a princess cut diamond that my daddy personally designed. It’s one of my favorites.”
Picking it up, I smiled. “It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah, the girl who gets this will be lucky.”
I nodded. “She sure will.”
My body came to life as I felt him next to me. “Whatcha looking at?” Steed asked as Mr. Pinhouse walked over.
“Aw, you’re admiring the princess cut I designed.”
“It’s beautiful. I love it so much.”
He smiled, glanced over to Steed, and gave him a wink. “She’s got good taste.”
Steed’s arm wrapped around my waist, and he looked at me with so much love. I was sort of freaking out inside as his eyes searched mine. I didn’t want to give him the wrong idea. After all, we were only seniors in high school.
“Well, Judy and I were just having fun looking at rings. This one caught my eye. It’s truly stunning.”
Mr. Pinhouse thanked me as I handed the ring back. “I’m glad you liked it, Paxton.”
Liked it? I loved it.
Steed’s voice pulled me from the memory. “After you told Mr. Pinhouse you loved the ring, I went back later that day and worked out a plan with him to buy it. After working on the ranch that summer and doing some extra work for Dad and Pete Moss, I earned enough to buy it a few days before Christmas.”
I covered my mouth as shock and realization hit me.
“You’ve had this ring since our senior year of high school?”
He nodded as he gazed into my eyes. “I’ve never let go of the dream to marry you, Pax. Never.”
Focusing on the ring, he took it out of the box and slipped it on my finger. “It’s always been you. It will forever be you.”
I threw myself at his body again, which was hard to do in the small cockpit of this plane.
“It’s beautiful! This is beautiful!” I uttered as he pulled me close.
“Now let me take you home so I can make love to you.”
Drawing back, I wiped my tears away and chuckled. “I like that plan.”
I laid contently in Steed’s arms and stared out the large picture window in his bedroom, my fingers moving mindlessly over his chest. Every now and then I would look at the beautiful ring on my finger and a rush of overwhelming happiness would hit me. Steed’s soft breathing told me he was
sleeping.
This moment couldn’t have been any more wonderful. Everything about it was perfect.
Then a wave of nausea rushed through me. I quickly sat up, jolting Steed awake. My hand covered my mouth, and I flew out of bed to rush to the bathroom. Dropping to the ground before the toilet, I threw up.
Wave after wave hit me, and it took me a moment to realize Steed was behind me, holding my hair back. After I had nothing left to throw up, dry heaves decided to make their appearance.
Finally, it stopped.
My stomach muscles ached, and my throat felt raw.
I groaned, and Steed handed me a hot washcloth. It felt so good when I pressed my face into it. Standing, I turned to see him leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom. The pleased expression he wore made my brows pinch together.
“I’m glad to see me getting sick has made you happy.”
He slowly shook his head before he pushed off and stepped close. Placing his hand over my stomach, I inhaled sharply. I didn’t want to get overly excited, but now I knew why he had been standing there with a goofy grin on his face.
“You don’t think?” I asked.
He shrugged. “It only takes one time.”
My hand covered his. Had we conceived a child that day at the cabin? The same cabin where we made love for the first time? The thought alone was so damn romantic it made my body tremble.
Steed lowered his mouth to mine, kissing me gently. His soft kisses moved to my jaw, along my neck, and to that sensitive area under my ear. “If you’re pregnant, do you realize what that means?”
My head dropped back as his lips moved back across my neck. “W-what? Does that mean?”
“We made this little miracle at the cabin, where we first made love.”
I grinned. “I thought the same thing only moments ago.”
His hands slipped behind my neck, pulling me close.
“You know what we have to do right now?”
With a giggle, I replied, “Drive into town for a pregnancy test?”
“Fuck yes!”
He pulled back, turned, and raced into the bedroom. “Paxton! Get dressed!”