Page 40 of One Wild Texas Night
“You look gorgeous,” he said, his voice lowering a notch.
“It’s a dress I don’t wear often—not much need for it on the ranch, and it isn’t exactly a church dress,” she said, glancing down at her black sleeveless dress that had a straight skirt and a plunging neckline. She looked up at him.
“Jake, I had a long talk with Regina, and she made me see how important it was to them that you didn’t tell anyone about them. She was grateful for your secrecy and made me understand. I told you I never wanted to see you again, but that’s not true at all. Even when I was angry at you, I missed you so much. The thought of us not being together...” she trailed off.
Jake grabbed her hands. “The important thing is we’re here now, and I’m glad. I missed you. And, I promise I won’t keep something like that from you again. We’re in this together now.”
“I’ve missed you so much,” she said.
He pulled her to him, his arm going around her waist as he leaned down to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, stood on tiptoe and kissed him in return, her heart racing as she lost herself in his fabulous sexy kiss.
Suddenly, he stepped away slightly, taking her hand in his. He gazed at her intently. “Claire, I know you don’t think I’m the marrying type, but I think I was just waiting for the right woman. I love you, and I want to marry you. Will you marry me?”
Stunned, she stared at him. “Oh, Jake. I love you. I’ve loved you despite our families.” She stared at him and couldn’t get words. Tears stung her eyes. “I want to say yes, but I can’t. We can’t marry. I can’t live the way Regina and Sam live.”
She hurt badly. She loved him and suspected she always would, but she couldn’t see any way they could marry. “We have that feud, and you know what that means.”
He framed her face with his hands. “Listen to me. I’ve talked this over with Sam. We both think it’s time to end that old feud. What I think we should do is have a big church wedding and invite both families.”
“Oh, Jake,” she said, shaking her head and wiping her eyes before the tears could fall. “My brothers—I can’t imagine what they would do.”
“I’ll tell you what they’ll do,” he said. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “I’ve already had a talk with Clyde with Les. I took the Persimmon sheriff with me, but he stayed in the waiting rooms of their respective offices until I finished talking to them first, and then I called him in, and he talked to them. We’re not going to have any trouble from Clyde or Les. I didn’t bother talking to Laird, because I don’t think he ever was the cause of trouble.”
“I don’t think so, either,” she responded. But she couldn’t get her mind around everything he’d said. “You talked to my brothers?”
“I did. They’re businessmen now, and they don’t want to get in trouble with the law or with their customers. They don’t scare me, and they never have. They may have given us trouble in the past, but they won’t now. Clyde has his own real estate company, and Les is a builder, and they’re both doing well. They are definitely interested in keeping things that way. They won’t give anybody any trouble. We have an understanding.”
“Jake, they can be so sneaky—”
“So can I. They don’t want trouble, believe me. Don’t worry about your brothers. You’ll see.”
“They’re not the only ones who live by that feud. A lot of the older people have strong feelings about it.”
“Sam and I talked about that. That’s why he and Regina and their family will come. They will be present with their four kids. Those four kids are Reeds and they are Blakes—they have both families’ blood in their veins. They have relatives in both clans, and Regina is going to contact some of the Blakes and let them meet her kids, and Sam is going to contact some of the Reeds and let them meet the kids. Maybe then everyone will see how ridiculous this old feud is.”
“I hadn’t thought about the kids. And I never even considered that Regina and Sam would come here.”
“Now back to what’s important. In case you forgot, I asked you if you’d marry me, and I’ve told you we can work things out and stay right here in Dallas and on our ranches. So, Claire Blake, will you marry me and become Mrs. Jake Reed?”
She stared at him. “Oh yes! Yes, I will. I love you, Jake, with all my heart,” she said, smiling and standing on tiptoe to throw her arms around his neck and kiss him while joy bubbled in her.
Instantly, his arm banded her waist, and he pulled her tightly against him as he leaned down to kiss her.
“Ahh, darlin’, how I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you, Jake,” she whispered, and then he kissed her again. She didn’t know how long they stood there in each other’s embrace, bodies pressed against each other, lips together. Her heart raced with happiness. She was going to accept his offer—all of it. She would marry him, and she would stop worrying about the feud. Jake would have to work miracles to make the feud go away, but this would be a start. It might be a very big start.
Sam and Regina’s kids might make a giant difference in how people felt about the feud.
When she finally could think clearly about more than the feud, she pulled back and looked up at him. “Are we still going to run two separate ranches?”
“We’ll do whatever you want to do,” he answered. “I’m open for anything as long as you’re in my bed at night.”
She laughed and put her arms around his neck again. “We’ll have fun, Jake,” she said.
“Hey, wait. I forgot—I didn’t do this right. I brought you a present.” He reached into his hip pocket and brought out a box tied with a pink ribbon. “I got this for you.”
She took it from him and unfastened the bow. Her heart raced because she was filled with happiness. She was going to marry Jake, the man she loved, and she would get to keep her ranch. And maybe the sister she loved would be back in her life now.
