“Just do me a favor,” he said, as they neared the mile-long driveway leading up to the picture-perfect farmhouse. “Be nice, and go along with whatever they say.”
21
She wasn’t the least bit nervous for this surprise that Rosie had waiting for her. They had become quite close since the first week she’d been in the hospital. Rosie had made several trips to the hospital and had been successful at sneaking homemade snacks into Leah’s room. They had kept it their little secret among many other things.
Liam pushed open the front door once they made it up the steps. Entering the house, they were greeted by what appeared to be the whole town of Cedar Valley. People stood around the living room with huge smiles on their faces, and to her surprise, she recognized a few of them.
They hugged her and welcomed her back to Cedar Valley, and cleared a path for her to get through the crowd as she made her way to the kitchen. Leaving Liam to fend for himself, she entered the kitchen.
Rosie was spreading the last bit of icing on the cake when Leah approached the counter. She grabbed a stool, slid it closer, and sat down.
Rosie dropped the spatula and rushed around the counter, holding her arms out wide, she embraced Leah. “I’m so glad you came! I told Liam not to tell you about this because I knew you wouldn’t have come if you knew!”
The hug was inviting—full of love and a grandmotherly scent. She had grown very fond of Rosie over the last month. Rosie was hard not to love. She could be overbearing at first, with her opinions, like all grandmothers could be, but she was nothing but a sweet woman beaming with happiness and love for everyone.
Rosie picked up the spatula and spread more icing on the cake. If people weren’t diabetic before coming here tonight, they would be when they left. Leah watched her border the cake with swirls and flowers. She paid special attention to the words Rosie scrawled along the middle. Congratulations!
Congratulations for what? Leah wondered. Sure, she survived a horrific car accident, but that surely didn’t grant a congratulations. Maybe a thank God, but definitely not a congratulations.
“Hey, there’s the pretty young lady,” Wes’ voice echoed into the kitchen as he swung in through the doorway. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. “It’s nice to have you here again, young lady.”
“Thanks,” she said, smiling.
“Liam has a huge surprise planned for you tonight,” Wes said, as he made his way over to the cake and poked his finger in it. Pulling a finger full of frosting out, he licked it off.
Rosie glared at him; swatting at him she laughed and said, “Weston! You and your big mouth!”
Rosie shooed him from the kitchen and hurried back to fix the mess he had made in the corner of the cake. “That old man,” she said, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. “I’ll tell you what.”
Leah smiled, not too preoccupied by Wes and Rosie’s relationship to forget about what Wes had said. What surprise had Liam planned?
“Perfect!” Rosie said, clapping her hands together and pouring a glass of wine. She held the bottle up and asked, “Would you like a glass?”
Leah really didn’t like the taste of wine, but with her nerves creeping up on her, she accepted Rosie’s offer. She took the glass and tipped it back—chugging it down. She set the glass on the counter and smiled at Rosie’s expression.
Rosie held up the bottle again and asked, “More?”
Rosie mumbled something under her breath as she poured another glass from a half-empty bottle.
“Aye,” Rosie said, emptying the last of the wine from that bottle among a few more glasses. “I hope you’re not nervous. There’s nothing to be nervous about dear. We’re all family here.”
Before Leah had a chance to respond, she was ushered out of the kitchen, with Rosie’s arm intertwined with hers. They walked onto the back deck, where people had congregated from the living room. She stood near the railing as the stars of the night sky beamed bright, and the moon shone brighter.
Busy conversation hummed around her as she focused on Liam. Climbing the stairs to where she stood, Liam reached for her hand and smiled. There was no time for thoughts, nerves, or anything for that matter. She smiled back at him, and at that moment she realized that an insane amount of the conversation had dropped to a dull roar followed by silence—the crowd was now focused on them.
He stood next to her, looking out over the crowd of guests that filled his backyard. The crowd, as if they were cued, cheered and clapped. Her stomach flipped and her heart raced. She had no idea what was going on. This was too much celebration just for her to be here.
“Leah,” he said, his hand holding on tight to hers. “There’re a lot of things I’ve wanted in my last thirty years, but I’ve never wanted anything more than I want you.”
Tears stung her eyes as he softly spoke each word—his eyes never once leaving hers. “Ever since the day I met you, I knew I wanted you to be mine,” he said, pausing just long enough to collect his words. “I’ve lived in Cedar Valley all my life, and I’ve never, and I mean never, met a woman like you.” Before the crowd could interrupt him with their cheer, he continued, “You’ve had me from the moment I laid my eyes on you, and I don’t ever wanna let you go.”
Wearing his best—cowboy boots, jeans, plaid shirt, and cowboy hat—he knelt down on one knee in front of her. She brought her free hand to her mouth, realizing what was happening. He reached into the front pocket of his shirt and pulled out a little black box. Covering her mouth, tears stung her eyes as he opened the box. Perfectly nestled inside was a diamond ring. Looking up at her, he asked, “Leah, will you marry me?”
Without hesitation, she nodded quickly as tears fell from her eyes. She whispered, “Yes. Yes, I’ll marry you.”
The crowd applauded as Liam slid the ring onto her finger and lifted her up. Wrapping her legs around him, she kissed him without interruption. Hearing a loud holler, they looked in the direction it came from. With a huge smile across her face, Rachel was among the crowd as she stood next to Scott. Rachel bounced on her heels, squealing while she gave two thumbs up.
* * *
“That explains why he was so uptight on the way here,” she explained to Rosie when Liam left with Wes to round up the cattle.
“Men are rather different when they’re nervous about something,” Rosie said, as she poured a glass of lemonade from the glass pitcher. She set the glass in front of Leah. “I’m surprised he kept it from you as long as he did. I was pretty confident that he would spill the beans and have told you all about it before he got here.”
Leah smiled at the fresh-made memory she would never forget. “He almost did,” she said. “But he quieted down the rest of the way here. It was a long ride.”
“Well, either way, I’m glad you came,” Rosie said. She motioned to the decorations and cake, along with the cupcakes and the serving area half empty of food and drinks. “I wouldn’t have known what to do with all of this food if it had been cancelled.”
Leah watched Liam and his grandfather from the kitchen window. The pasture was crowded with more than twelve head of cattle. They were herding them east toward the open pasture Liam had taken her through on their first date.
She wondered about the engagement. It all happened rather quickly—not that she had a problem with it, because there was no doubt she was more than willing to spend the rest of her life with Liam. It was just the thought that it had happened so fast—friends, to dating, to a shiny diamond ring on her finger.
“What’s on your mind, dear?” Rosie asked, bringing a set of dirty dishes from last night to the sink. Rosie stood beside her, following her gaze to the men outside. Liam had changed into rugged old clothes. He had on an old muscle, plaid shirt, an old pair of Wranglers, and his favorite boots, which he would never part with—no matter how worn out they were.
“They’re some fine men, if I say so myself,” Rosie said, washing each dish as she kept her attention on the men. Rinsing the
dishes as Rosie handed them to her, she placed them in the drying rack. She had no intention of ignoring Rosie’s question, but at the same time, she wasn’t quite sure how to answer it without sounding silly. “So, are you going to answer my question, or am I going to have to figure it out on my own?”
Reaching for the last dish, she shrugged and rinsed it off. She placed it in the rack and grabbed the towel that hung from the oven door. She dried her hands and handed the towel to Rosie.
“If I had to guess,” Rosie said, motioning for Leah to sit down at the table. “I’d say you’re in shock from last night’s events.”
Leah ran her finger along the rim of her cup. It amazed her at how perceptive Rosie actually was. She could read anyone, and knew exactly what was going on within minutes. “In a way—”
Clapping her hands, she pointed a finger at Leah. “Ha! I knew it!”
Leah smiled, and took a drink of her French Vanilla flavored coffee. “Knew what?”
Rosie brought the coffee pot to the table and topped off their cups. “There’re no worries, dear. It’s a normal feeling once it happens.” She set the pot down on the pot holder and said, “No matter if it happened yesterday or five years from now, you’d still have the same thoughts.”
Leah ran a hand through her hair and twirled it around her finger as she listened to Rosie. This conversation reminded her of one that she would’ve had with her grandmother if she was still here. Conversations like this came easy with Rosie. Rosie had that motherly personality that most people would love.
“My first husband was sent from the devil himself,” Rosie said, cracking a smile, even though she was dead serious. “Once I divorced, I told myself I’d never fall in love again.” She got up and placed her plate from breakfast the sink and looked out the window. “That was, until I fell in love with Weston.”
Leah filled her cup and stirred creamer in as she listened. She always enjoyed hearing love stories—especially this one, because Wes and Rosie had a special relationship.
“Why don’t you tell him?” Leah questioned. Of all the times Rosie had visited her at the hospital, and talked to her in depth about love and what makes and breaks a relationship, she had never questioned why she had never told Wes.
Rosie motioned Leah to stand up and follow her through the hallway which lead to the living room. Rosie pointed to the walls crowded with pictures. She smiled softly, but her eyes told another story.
“Wes really loved this woman,” Rosie said. “When we were younger, he always told everyone that he’d marry her someday.”
Leah remembered the pain she had seen in Wes’ face that day at Levy’s, when he had told her about his wife. That was true love—a love that was hard to find nowadays.
“We were always great friends,” Rosie explained. “When they got married, I was happy for them, but at the same time…”
She let her words trail off as she stared at the picture of the happily married couple. Tears welled in her eyes and overflowed, creating streaks of makeup down her face. She grabbed a Kleenex from her apron and wiped away the tears. Leah rested a hand on Rosie’s back. She couldn’t imagine the mix of emotions that would’ve created.
Rosie fanned a hand at her face. She motioned Leah to follow her back to the dining area. “Anyway,” she said, pulling the glass pitcher of lemonade from the fridge, she poured each of them a glass. “I’m not sure how to tell him.”
She carefully carried the glasses to the table and set them down. She took a long drink from hers and refilled it before she put the pitcher back in the fridge.
“You’ve known him this long,” Leah said. “Plus, you’ve been a maid here for how long?”
“Quite some time.”
“I’m sure he’s caught on by now,” Leah said, finishing her coffee. “I mean, you two flirt and act like a couple, as it is. You might as well make it official.”
Rosie shook her head. “That’d be too awkward.”
Leah raised a brow. “How so? It isn’t awkward now is it?”
“I don’t think it is, but I just know how much he loves his wife, and I’m sure if we make anything official…” Rosie’s eyes widened. “You know how small towns are. Word gets around like a wildfire.”
The back door opened and the guys walked in. Rosie greeted them with a cup full of ice-cold lemonade. Leah watched Liam as he chugged his and placed the glass by the sink.
“Would you like something to eat? I’m sure you two worked up an appetite.”
“I hate to run, but I need to get up to Levy’s,” he explained. He stood close to Leah and said, “We have a lot of things to go over and discuss.”
“Well, then, I won’t keep you,” Rosie said, ushering them out of the kitchen. She hollered over her shoulder to Wes, “Stay out of the junk food, I’ll fix you somethin’ in a minute!”
Leah chuckled at Wes’ expression—busted. Rosie wrapped her heavy arms around Leah and gave her a peck on the cheek. She followed suit with Liam. “You two run along, and when you get hungry, you come back home.” She shook a finger at Liam. “I mean it. Don’t let this pretty girl starve.”
She winked at Leah and Leah smiled. Liam took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair, wiping sweat back with it. Leah could tell he was a bit embarrassed, which made her smile. “I won’t, Rose. We might be back later for supper if you’re making my favorite meal.”
“If that’s what you want, I’ll make it,” Rosie said with a smile. “I’ll have it done around six.”
Ushering them out onto the front porch, she hugged Leah one last time and whispered, “Thanks for the company today. I enjoyed it.”
Once Leah climbed in, he turned the key in the ignition and the truck grumbled to life. He steered the truck to the end of the driveway and took a sharp left.
“Did you have a nice visit with Rosie?” he asked.
“Of course,” she said, turning toward him on the seat. She adjusted the seatbelt and focused on his tan. She was ready for long days in the sun while sitting on the back deck next to him. She couldn’t wait to see what the room above the bar looked like.
“Where am I going to stay?”
“With me of course,” Liam said with a grin.
If that didn’t put everything in perspective, she didn’t know what would have. Just over the last month or so they had been discussing where she’d stay when she started working here—now she was going to stay with him. She wasn’t complaining by any means, but if she had to be honest, this whole thing had happened way too fast. Her head was spinning at the thought of it.
“Unless you don’t want to,” Liam stated. “You don’t have to.”
She chuckled nervously. She held up her hands in defense and said, “It’s not that at all. I just…”
Words caught in her throat at the sight in front of them. Levy’s was fully engulfed in flames. Liam slammed on the brakes, causing Leah to jerk forward in her seat. He hopped out of the truck and fumbled with his phone. People crowded the street nearby while others carried hoses and buckets of water. There was no use, no matter how much water they used, the flames ripped and roared throughout the entire building.
Leah’s heart sank at the expression she saw on Liam’s face as he hollered into his phone, “Get down here! It’s on fire!”
Sirens echoed through the mountains in the distance as they neared Cedar Valley. Cars crowded the intersections and main street while people hurried over, trying to help put out the fire.
Liam hollered, “Leah! Tell these people to make room for the trucks!”
Waving her arms, she hollered to each section of people, asking them to move their vehicles out of the way. She tried to be as patient and polite as she could be, but some of them weren’t budging.
“Get back!” She hollered, shoving into them. “We have to make room for the fire trucks!”
For a small town, she expected a lot more people to be helpful. Instead, most of them were a hindrance, refusing to get the hell out of the way.
>
Sirens and horns blared as the trucks rolled in. Firemen carried their hoses as close to Levy’s as they could. Large amounts of water sprayed onto the building at once. She counted a total of five firemen fighting the fire, while the other four scrambled with equipment.
“Get back! Stay back!” A firefighter shouted behind her. He pointed to the crowd of people in front of her. He approached with a disapproving expression on his face. He pointed at the crowd and told them to get in their cars and to get the hell out of the way.
The county deputies drove up, managing to make enough of a threat that people finally moved their cars and parked quite a ways down the road.
Liam ran up to Leah. Sweat poured off his face and soaked through his shirt. She wasn’t too distracted by the fire to notice how hot he was at the moment. “How’d it start?”
Flames belched ashes into the wind. The fire was out of control and Leah knew there was no saving the building. Their main focus was to put the fire out and that was it.
“Chief says he thinks it’s fishy, so he’s calling in the fire marshal,” Liam said, pointing to the south side of the bar with the river behind it. “He said that he wants the Marshal here to rule out any foul play.”
Leah raised an eyebrow. “How does he think the fire was started?”
“Won’t know for sure until the Marshal investigates it.”
The south side of the bar was out of view from the road. Anyone could’ve been back there messing around, and no one would’ve known any different. She wondered who would’ve started the fire, and their reason for doing so.
She heard Wes’ old truck pull up next to Liam’s. Rosie climbed out and walked over to Leah. “I’ve got bottled water in the back of the truck. Will you help me hand them out to the boys?”
Without hesitation, Leah grabbed as many bottles as she could carry and handed them to each of the guys. For a small town, there were quite a few of them, as they took turns fighting the fire.
“This isn’t how I expected the day to go,” Rosie said in shock. “I cannot believe this is happening.”
All She Ever Wanted (Cedar Valley Novel Book 1) Page 18
