Page 132 of This Time Around
“I love you.You’ll always be the most important, and the best part of me.”
Blush stained her cheeks and before she could say anything, I continued with my plans.“We stay as long as we can and help with clean up.We call your insurance immediately and get that ball rolling.Then, we hire someone to take care of the animals while we’re gone.You said yourself once the fair is done, your work slows down and the fall becomes about maintaining and the calves birthing.”
I waited for her rebuttal and took a bite of my steak, washing it down with iced tea.The sweetness made me cringe, and in my lap, Rebecca laughed.A beautiful, soft sound that went straight to my dick and my heart.“Okay.”
I grabbed her bowl of fruit from across the table and pulled it closer so she could reach it.
She let that one word linger and when she didn’t say more but took a bite of more fruit, I continued.“It’s ten weeks.Whoever we hire can stay in the guesthouse.By the time we leave, electricity will be back up, I’ll make certain of it.Whoever you trust, we’ll find someone.”
“Kelly and Ryan,” she said, nodding once.“She’d do it, I know she would.Plus, they’re close enough to town they can both get to work easily and keep an eye on their own house.And I’d trust them.Or Jordan, but he has the resort.And I’m sure the Whitman’s will be okay with Tomas still doing a lot of work.”
A tight band that had been wrapped around my chest while I came up with this idea loosened.She wasn’t fighting me on it.Instead, she almost looked excited about it.
“We’ll only be gone ten weeks.Twelve at most.And while we’re gone, we can start rebuilding the house.”
Her fingers pressed against her forehead.“God.I hadn’t even thought…it’s so much to think about.I don’t have the money—”
“I do.”And she’d take it even if I had to force her to.
“But—”
“Are you going to someday be my wife?Make a family with me?Love me until we no longer walk this earth?”
She jerked in my lap and tilted her head.One corner of her lips lifted.“Are you proposing?”
“No.”I popped a kiss on her crooked smile.“When I do that you won’t have to ask.Now answer the question.You going to do those things with me?”
Her smile disappeared and something soft took its place, muting all the expression on her face.She looked at me like she’d never been more certain of anything in her life.“Yeah.Yes, of course I am.”
“Then it’s your money.We’ll make the plans together.I pony it up, you need to give it back, we’ll do that once insurance comes in.But this isn’t a difficult decision, Rebecca.It’s just us, moving on with life.”
Her eyes turned dreamy and she pressed her hand to my chest, leaning in so her lips were almost on mine.Whispering, she repeated my words.“It’s us.Moving on with life.”
And this time around, I had no doubt it was going to surpass all the dreams either of us ever had.
