by Peyton Banks
How had she thought she was better off without him?
She reached up and held his hand, the one holding her face.
Her heart still ached.
Hearing how they couldn’t rouse him had had so many scenarios running through her mind.
Wade’s thumb ran along her cheek as his gray eyes studied her.
“And that bothered you?” he asked softly.
“Of course it did,” she cried out. She pushed him with her hand, wanting to slap him. “I can’t lose you.”
His hand paused its motions.
“Joy—” He began, but she cut him off.
She’d had a lot of time to contemplate her decision, and now she understood that it was a stupid one. Her family was just going to have to accept that she was in love with Wade.
“I was stupid,” she muttered. Sitting up, she wiped her face and took a deep breath. “I thought if we took a break, the fighting between our families would lessen, and we could work on an agreement between them. But being away from you was torture. You were constantly on my mind. I can’t resist being with you, Wade.”
“Resist being with me?” His eyebrows shot up high.
A laugh escaped her.
“Sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”
There was a connection between them. She’d felt as if a piece of her was missing in just the short time they had been apart. When he’d walked away from her, he had taken that section of her heart with him.
He owned her heart.
She was just a shell of herself without him.
It was as if they were meant be, and there was a draw to Wade. Like a moth to a flame, she couldn’t stay away.
“No, not at all,” he replied. Wade’s eyes softened as his hand reached out and took hers, entwining their fingers together. “I’ve missed seeing your smile, the sound of your laughter, and the feel of you next to me.” He blew out a deep breath and brought her flush against him.
“I’ve missed your cologne,” she admitted, her gaze locked on their hands.
“I’ve missed feeling this soft skin on mine.” He raised her hands up to his lips and pressed a gentle kiss to her skin.
He turned his gray eyes on her, and her core clenched.
Just one look proved that she was his.
“I’ve missed running my fingers through your hair.” Her gaze moved to his thick hair. It was tangled, and stood up all over his head in every direction. “And your voice.”
She did.
When he’d whisper in her ear, the rumble of his voice was sure to send a shiver down her spine.
“I’ve missed hearing you call my name.” His crooked grin appeared. He released her hand and took her chin in his hand, pulling her closer to him as he lowered his head to hers.
Joy immediately slid her fingers up his neck and into his thick mop.
She paused, so caught up in his web that she had almost forgotten something that had plagued her.
“Who was that woman at the bar?”
As much as she’d wanted to ask Parker and Carson, she’d held off. She was going to be woman enough to ask Wade, and no one else.
Wade blinked.
“Stephanie?” Clearing his throat, he slid a hand to the back of her neck. “We dated a few years ago. Yesterday was the first time I’d seen her since we separated. I swear, there is nothing going on with her.”
Joy studied his eyes, and deep in her heart, she felt he was telling the truth.
Wade was an honorable man.
He’d never given her a reason not to trust him before.
She nodded, accepting his explanation. “Okay.”
“She’s not who I’ve been thinking of every minute of the day.” Wade tugged her close to where their lips were a hair’s breadth away from each other. “I’ve missed these soft lips.”
A chaste kiss.
She was hooked.
Her gaze dropped down to his lip. It looked excruciating, and she didn’t want to be the cause of more agony for him.
“Your lip.”
“The pain will be less than you leaving me again.”
Joy melted against him. Wade covered her mouth with his in a slow, passionate kiss. She clenched her hands, yanking the strands tight while his tongue took its time dueling with hers.
Wade pulled away from her. Both of them were breathing heavy as they stared at each other.
“Don’t leave me again,” he said. His hand moved down to her hip and held her to him. “Joy, you are my world. I love you so much. I won’t survive if you walk out that door.”
Joy froze in place. Fresh tears filled her eyes.
He loved her?
“You love me?” she croaked out.
“This was not the way I had planned to tell you,” he admitted. His smile widened. “But, Joy Whitaker, I love you.”
She cried out and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sobs racked her as a weight lifted off her shoulders.
“Joy, why are you crying now?” he asked, laughing. He squeezed her tight, and then released her.
Joy dragged in a deep breath, trying to control herself. Her lips spread out into a wide grin.
“Because I’m in love with you, and was scared you wouldn’t take me back.” She sniffed and wiped the trail of tears away.
She didn’t know when she got to be so sappy, but dammit, she was an emotional basket case lately.
“Honey, you’ve got me. This shit with our families, we’ll figure it out, but we’ll do it together. No more making rash decisions without speaking with me first,” he said.
“I promise.” She giggled. “I just want to be with you.”
As long as Wade was by her side, then they would figure out this crazy thing called life.
27
Wade sat on the steps of his porch with Joy nestled between his legs. The sun was still shining bright, and they were enjoying the beauty of the sun’s rays shining across the land.
It was peaceful, with just the two of them. Only the sound of nature surrounded them.
Joy had been a staple in his home since he was discharged from the hospital two days ago.
He had to admit, it felt damn good to have her in his home day and night.
No leaving late at night, or first thing in the morning.
Joy’s beauty was the last thing he saw before he went to sleep, and was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes.
He could get used to it.
His body was sore, and he looked as bad as he felt. The bruises would get worse before they would heal.
It wasn’t his first bar fight, but hopefully, it would be the last against Junior Whitaker.
This evening, he was executing a plan.
Something that should have been done years ago.
Joy was unaware of what he had arranged. He glanced down at his watch. They should be arriving any minute.
“I don’t understand why we cooked so much food. It’s only you and me,” Joy said. She turned slightly to glance up at him.
“I’m starving. I told you while you were gone, I couldn’t eat. I need to gain back the weight I lost,” he teased. He rubbed his washboard stomach. The smells of the food floated out the screen door.
“Boy, please,” she muttered, turning back around. She leaned back into his embrace.
He rested his chin on the top of her head and breathed in her scent.
He squeezed her with his legs. “I could get used to you being here all the time.”
“Wade, what are you saying?” she asked. This time, she faced him fully.
He shrugged. “Well, you know you don’t want to leave, and I don’t want you to. Why don’t you move in with me?” He wasn’t going to beat around the bush. It didn’t make sense for her to continue to go back and forth between her parents’ house and his.
He had a big enough house for an entire family. She could change whatever she wanted to make it feel like a true home for her.
He just wanted her there.
“That’
s a big step. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
“I am.”
She stood from her perch on the stair and straddled his legs.
He brought her flush against him. “So, what do you say?”
Wade was met with Joy’s beautiful smile. Circling her arms around his neck, she leaned in close.
“Well, if you think you can tolerate me around the clock, then yes, I’ll move in with you.” She pressed a kiss to his lips.
She tried to move away, but he held her close to him, forcing her lips open. He kissed her deeply, excited that they would make his house a home together.
Wheels traveling along the gravel sounded.
They broke apart, breathing hard.
“Who is that?” Joy muttered. She climbed off his lap and sat next to him on the stairs.
Two separate trucks were driving up to his house.
“Company,” he replied.
“Wait, is that my dad?” She squinted and held up a hand so she could see.
It was. Wade had called Davis Senior and invited him to his house, as well as his own father.
Tonight, the Whitakers and Brookses were going to have dinner together.
A neighborly dinner.
“And who is in the other truck?” she asked.
Wade pushed off the stairs and stood. “My father.”
“Are you crazy?” she asked, standing next to him.
“Nope. We are settling this once and for all.” He took her hand in his and brought her close to him. “I spoke to my father, and that story about last year played out differently.”
“But how do we know—”
“That’s why we are going to make them hash this shit out. If we are going to have a future together, they are going to have to compromise.”
Joy bit her lip and eyed the trucks drawing closer to them. “You are crazy, Wade Brooks.”
He held her close while they waited.
Jonah had stubbornly demanded to drive his own vehicle, refusing to have Carson bring him.
He parked in front of the attached garage, and Davis pulled in behind him.
Wade glanced down at Joy and squeezed her shoulder.
“It will be okay,” he murmured against her head.
Jonah exited his truck first. Reaching inside, he took out his cane.
Joy’s father stepped from his truck and closed the door.
Joy’s muscles grew tense as the two men turned to each other.
Jonah nodded. “Davis.”
“Jonah,” Davis replied.
They walked over to where Wade and Joy stood. Tense greetings were shared amongst them.
“Thanks for coming today. I appreciate it,” Wade said. “Dinner is ready. Let’s go inside where we can eat and chat.”
“Something smells good,” Jonah muttered. He slowly made his way up the few stairs, with Davis following behind him, and disappeared into the house.
Wade took Joy’s hand and pulled her up the stairs. She paused by the door and forced him to turn around.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” she asked.
“No, but we are going to go in there and have dinner with our fathers, and see how this plays out.”
He leaned down and kissed her softly. Doubt was apparent in her eyes.
“Do you trust me, Joy?”
She nodded.
“Then come on. It’s just dinner with two stubborn old men. We can handle them together.”
Joy was a nervous wreck. She didn’t know how the men sitting at the table could wolf down food like they weren’t in the middle of a neighborly war.
The only sound that filled the room was the clinking of silverware against the plates.
“What’s wrong, Joy?” her father asked. He looked up from his plate and peeked across the table at her.
Joy put down her fork and glanced at them. All eyes were on her.
“I’m sorry. You’re not curious as to why you were invited here?” She was having a hard time believing that Wade had called them over just to eat, and that was it.
Wade chuckled. He took a sip of his iced tea before responding. “Well, since Joy brought it up, I might as well take over.” He glanced at them both and leaned back. “There’s been tension between our families for years, and it’s time it stops. Now.”
The room was silent.
Joy was surprised they couldn’t hear her heart pounding.
“What are you saying, boy?” Jonah asked.
“I’m saying that this feud between our families is ridiculous. I brought you two here so we can work out a deal so that Joy and I don’t have this over our heads.” He glanced over at her.
She smiled softly. He was crazy, but she loved him.
She took his hand in hers and turned to face their fathers. “Wade knows how much family means to me, and it’s important to him too. We want to be together, but we don’t want our families at each other’s necks.”
Jonah and Davis shared a look.
“You are not leaving until a deal is struck between the two of you,” Wade said. “A fair one.”
The room grew silent again.
“The land this very house sits on is Whitaker land,” Davis began.
Joy stiffened. She didn’t know where her father was going with this.
“But seeing how you’ve made a home for yourself on it, I know it wouldn’t make sense to sell this.”
Joy couldn’t relax. When they’d heard Wade had built his house on their former land, her father had just about lost his mind.
“In my anger, I may have fibbed slightly to your brother last year.” Her father glanced at her before turning back to Jonah. “It would seem something I said in anger got my son riled up, so I feel somewhat responsible for it. Not that Junior isn’t fully responsible for his part, but I do want to apologize.”
Joy’s mouth dropped open.
“Well, we have all said and done things we didn’t mean to in anger. We can’t tell what the future holds,” Jonah noted, “but the offer I made to you last year still stands. It’s not the exact land, but it is comparable. It’s plush, and would be good for sheep.”
Joy peered at Wade, and he nodded. Were the two stubborn men about to strike a deal?
Davis stared at Jonah for a moment, then held out his hand. Jonah took it in a firm shake.
“You have yourself a deal,” Davis said.
Tears welled up in Joy’s eyes. Was the feud finally over?
“I’ll call my lawyer on Monday and have him draw up the contract,” Jonah offered.
“That would be perfect,” Davis replied. Picking up his fork, he dug back into his food. “This pot roast is so tender.”
Joy sat in awe.
That was it?
“Close your mouth, honey. Don’t wanna catch any flies,” her father said.
Joy hesitantly took a bite. It was unbelievable that everything was over, just like that.
“So, I hear that oldest boy of yours is getting married soon,” Davis said.
“That he is,” Jonah replied. “Got another grandbaby on the way too.”
Joy’s eyebrows jumped up. Was that a hint of pride in Jonah’s voice?
A smile formed on her face. Maybe Wade was right. The older generation could learn something from them by breaking bread together.
Wade pushed back his chair and stood, removing her fork from her hand.
“What are you doing?” She laughed. She finished chewing, and almost choked on her food as she watched him kneel down beside her.
He twisted her chair around so she could face him. His crooked grin appeared. Even with the bruising, he was still devilishly handsome.
“Joy Whitaker…”
Her gaze dropped down to the velvet box that had somehow appeared in his hand.
“Oh my God,” she breathed.
Wade took her hand in his. Butterflies appeared in her stomach, and she waited for him to continue.
She peered at their fathers, who leaned bac
k with pleased looks on their faces.
“You are the light of my life, and I can’t see myself without you. I need you by my side always. You mean the world to me, and I just have to ask…” He paused and opened up the box, displaying the massive diamond ring nestled inside.
“Wade…” Her voice ended on a hitch.
“Joy, will you marry me?”
“Yes, Wade. Yes, I will marry you,” she cried out. The tears spilled out and ran down her face.
He took the ring from the box and slid it on her finger.
She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, sealing the promise to love him forever.
She pulled back and gazed down at the flawless ring. It was a perfect fit, and it was going to take some getting used to, having something this heavy on her finger.
Glancing at her father, she had to ask, “Did you know about this?”
Her father smiled. “Yes, baby. Wade came over to the house yesterday. We had a long conversation, and I certainly approve.”
Wade stood from where he was kneeling and helped her to her feet. “I wasn’t taking any chances, and wanted to do this right. If we are going to have a future together, then I wanted to do the honorable thing and ask for your father for your hand.”
Her heart fluttered at the lengths he was willing to go to, to ensure they got started off on the right foot.
He laughed, wiping her cheeks with his hands. “Why the tears?”
“I don’t know. This is all so much, but I’m just so happy.”
Wade wrapped his arms around her, and she never wanted to leave them.
He was just too sneaky.
She figured he was testing the waters by asking her to move in with him earlier.
But that was okay.
She was right where she belonged, and had no plans of ever leaving again.
Epilogue
The sun beat down on Wade’s back as he ran along the yard.
He cut left, trying to get away from Carson. He spun in a different direction, and the football landed right in his hands.
“Yes!” Tyler hollered.
