I felt anticipation of what he had planned. Dalton wasn’t the type of man who did grand gestures. He was to the point, couldn’t keep a secret, so when birthdays or holidays came around, I usually found out what he got me before the actual day. It was cute and endearing, and so the fact that he kept a secret made me think it was pretty special to him.
After a few moments of driving up a rocky path, he pulled the car to a stop. The window was open, and I felt the breeze waft in, smelled the summer air move in and out of the truck. It felt nice, relaxing. I always loved the summer months, the dry heat that was a constant.
“Dalton?” I looked in his direction even though I couldn’t see him, trying not to smile as excitement moved through me. “Are you going to show me now?” He took my hand in his and gave it a squeeze before leaning in to place a kiss on my cheek. But he still hadn’t responded.
And then he was out of the truck, the door shutting, the vehicle shaking slightly from the motion. A moment later, he opened the passenger door and helped me out, taking hold of my hand once more, shutting my door, and then leading me a few steps forward.
I felt the gravel underneath my sandals, the warm sun beating down on me. We came to a stop, and for just a moment, we stood there. My heart was beating with anticipation, and I felt him finally reach up and undo the knot of the blindfold before pulling the material away. My eyes were closed, the sun bright. I opened them slowly and blinked a few times to clear my vision.
At first, I was confused, but then shock settled in. I felt tears start to build in my eyes and tried to blink them away.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
I was staring at my father’s house. I was staring at the house I’d grown up in.
I couldn’t find words as I slowly turned around and took in the property. It had been years since my father passed away and I’d been up here. I knew from public record that the ranch had been sold a few times over the years, and because of that and becoming private property, I hadn’t been able to come up here and just look around, to reminisce.
Things looked pretty overgrown and rundown, clearly not being kept up with. But I could see the red barn my father and the ranch hands had built one summer off in the distance, could see the pheasant run I’d helped build when I was only ten years old.
The tears slowly tracked down my cheeks, and I wiped them away. I turned to face Dalton. He looked a little bit sheepish, his hands shoved in the front pockets of his jeans, this big smile on his face.
“Please tell me those are happy tears, baby,” he said and was in front of me a second later, his hands now out of his pockets as he curled his fingers around my upper arms gently, holding me.
I nodded but couldn’t find any words. After a few moments, I cleared my throat and wiped the remaining tears away. “How did you get permission to come on the property?” I looked around again, so many memories flashing through my mind. “I’ve only been able to drive by.” I shifted on my feet so I could look around the yard. I remembered racing with my Australian Shepard and Blue Heeler mix dog, Aussie, in this yard. I never won. “I haven’t been able to get on the property for years.” My voice was soft, as I mainly talked to myself.
I felt his hand on my lower back and turned fully to face him. I felt so thankful, even if we could only be here for a short time.
“You can come here any time you want, baby.”
I felt my brows lower in confusion at his words. I looked at the house. It was deteriorating big time. Hell, it was a century home and had been old as hell when I lived here. It was clear whoever had purchased the property over the years hadn’t tried repairing anything.
“I don’t know what you mean.” I stared at Dalton, the sun behind me, so I had an unobstructed view of him.
“I bought the property, baby. I bought your ranch. It’s ours. It’s yours again.”
The air left me almost violently, and I lifted my hand to place it over my heart. My chest hurt as shock settled in. “You did what?” I whispered. There I went again, unable to stop from crying.
He cupped my cheek and smoothed his thumb over my skin. “I know what this means to you. I know how you wish things had been different, that the ranch could have stayed with you after your dad died.” He smiled gently. “It took time, some fine negotiating with the bank, but I got it for you, baby. Happy anniversary.”
I threw myself in his arms, kissing him all over his face, crying uncontrollably. “Oh my God, Dalton.” I sobbed wildly as I kissed him over and over again. His deep chuckle had me backing off, realizing I was acting like a fool.
I pulled away, grinning ear-to-ear.
“That’s what I wanted to see.” He wiped a stray tear away.
“What?” I asked softly, my voice shaky from my emotions.
“That smile, that happiness pouring off of you. That’s what I wanted to see when I brought you here.” He leaned in and kissed me. “I can’t wait to have babies with you, to have our kids come here and have you tell them stories.”
God, I loved this man.
“We can fix up the house, make it a second home. And when we are old and gray, we can sit on that very porch and watch our grandkids run around. You can tell them about this ranch and your dad.”
I didn’t want to cry again, but he was making those happy tears spring forth all over again.
“That sounds perfect,” I whispered.
He pulled me in for a hug, and I rested my head on his chest. He cupped the back of my head, and I didn’t think I could love him more. I didn’t think he could make me any happier, but here we were, standing on the property of my childhood home, the future and possibilities endless.
And I was looking forward to fully exploring all of that with the man I loved and the family we’d create.
Epilogue Two
Macey
One year later
God, I needed to have this baby already.
I held onto my lower back and breathed out as my stomach tightened from the false contraction. I’d been having Braxton Hicks for the last two months, and even though I was only eight months along, I’d been checked to make sure it wasn’t early labor. Thank goodness it wasn’t, but having these false contractions was starting to wear me out.
As soon as the contraction ended, our son decided to kick me right under my ribs.
“Easy, little Lane,” I said softly and rubbed my huge belly. I didn’t know how much more my belly could stretch, but I was already told from the ultrasound I had last week that Dalton’s son was a big boy and would be over nine pounds once born.
Dalton came up behind me, gently moved my hand away, and started rubbing my back, easing the pain and discomfort. I closed my eyes and moaned.
“That feels incredible,” I breathed.
He chuckled and kept massaging my back.
“Are you ready for this, for the chaos that will happen once this little rascal is here?”
I smiled. “He can’t make our life anymore hectic than it already is.”
He laughed softly. “This is true, baby.”
Once the contractions ended, I turned around and looked at Dalton. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him.
“I love you,” I murmured against his lips and pulled back to look in his eyes. “You sure you’re ready for this already rowdy little boy?”