Luke stopped talking altogether, nearly holding his breath with hope. Does he know how much I love Gabby? Does he know that I will do anything and everything to protect her and give her a good life?
Abuelo sat there, puffed on his pipe, and watched Luke closely. “Well, son, I’ve watched you, and you’ve put your newfound wisdom to use. Now, isn’t there something you want to ask me?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
The rounds had been made. Everyone had held Marisol and cooed to her, and then, gradually, everyone went in to see Olivia and praise her on the beautiful baby girl she had given birth to. And one by one, they all began to drift to their rooms, as none of them had slept the entire night.
Gabby, however, seemed to be having a hard time winding down, as Luke found her in the kitchen, carefully wrapping all of the pies that they had never had the chance to taste to preserve them to be eaten later in the day. Morning wasn’t far away, but fortunately it was Christmas Day, and they weren’t open for business.
Luke snuck up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, pulling her back against him and resting his chin on the top of her head. “You should get some sleep, Vixen.”
He could hear the smile in her voice as she replied. “Too many wonderful things have happened to be able to sleep.” Her arms wrapped around his, holding him tightly. “Marisol is gorgeous. And she is a miracle. You saved her life, you know.”
“If I remember correctly, she didn’t start crying until you gave her that smack on the backside.”
“But you gave her the air from your breath—you literally breathed life into her.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Then let us agree we saved her together.”
She leaned her head back against his shoulder. “Luke...the other night...”
“Shh,” he hushed her, then brought his lips down onto her neck. “I made a mistake,” he murmured between kisses. “I didn’t know what to say. Or at least, the right thing to say.”
Slowly he turned her around to face him and his eyes searched hers. “Gabby, I can’t remember what it is like to be loved. And to be honest with you, it scares me to death. But what frightened me even more was that I didn’t know if I could love you in return. Especially love you the way you deserve to be loved.”
“Luke, we’ll learn together. We can make it through anything as long as we are together.”
He smiled at her and took her face in his hands, dropping his head and capturing her lips in a tender kiss. He had to force himself to pull back before the kiss intensified to the passionate embrace he craved with her.
“I came to realize something very important,” he said softly. Her eyes searched his face, and once again he thought of how he could get lost in her eyes. “I realized that I can’t live without you. I can’t even make it a day without you. I need you in my life, Gabby. I will always need you in my life.”
“Oh, Luke,” she whispered, tears brimming at the corners of her eyes.
“So...” he cleared his throat “...that leaves me in a difficult position. It is either live a very sad and lonely existence without you, or convince you to become my wife and stay with me forever.”
Her face burst into a bright smile. “Oh, Luke!” She threw her arms around him and held him tightly. He chuckled and buried his face into her neck, breathing in her sweet aroma. “Yes. A thousand times, yes. I will be honored to be your wife.”
Something caught Luke’s eye out the window and he pulled free from her and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the back door. “Hurry,” he said. “I don’t want to miss this.”
She looked at him quizzically but followed him out the door and into the backyard. The sun was just barely beginning to shine faint rays in the distance, but most of the land was still in the dark. But in the faint light the tiny white flakes could just barely be seen.
“It’s snowing!” she gasped.
He grabbed her around the waist and twirled around with her, and she laughed out loud. He finally set her on the ground and she clung to him, watching him with eyes full of joy. “Merry Christmas, Gabby,” he whispered.
“Merry Christmas, Luke.”
That evening they had their Christmas dinner, though it was later than they had ever had it before. The house was full of joy, from Cade and Olivia’s bliss in their new daughter, to Luke and Gabby who were obviously happy, but had yet to share their news with the family. The children had spent the day in the front room playing with their new toys, while the rest of the family had relaxed and had coffee and pie until finally pulling out food for the dinner.
Olivia even made it out of her room to join them, and they were all laughing together as Trevor shared one of Serena’s latest endeavors that had ended in spectacular fashion. With the meal finished, they were all enjoying time as a family, and Luke had never felt more at home in his entire life. He finally belonged, and soon enough, it would be official.
With his chair scraping backwards, he stood and held up his glass, and everyone gave him their attention. “I’d like to make a toast to the proud mother and father in the house, and precious Marisol, who will bring even more warmth and joy to this already incredible family. And a toast to the entire family for taking in a stranger and giving him the home he has always wanted but never had.”
“Hear, hear!” Raphael cheered and the others joined him.
“And finally,” Luke said, glancing down at Gabby who nodded her support to him. “I’d like to announce that Gabby has agreed to become my wife.”
There were gasps of excitement from all the women around the table, then squeals of delight as they congratulated Luke and Gabby. Luke sat down and grinned at Gabby, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. He had never felt so happy in his entire life.
“It will need to be a spring wedding. Oh, just imagine, Gabby! We can use the bluebonnets in your hair, and we can—”
“Bluebonnets! The roses will be blooming by then. Remember the beautiful yellow rosebush we have? That yellow in her hair will be exquisite.”
“As would the bluebonnets...”
The banter between Angie and Serena was interrupted when Raphael pushed back his chair and stood. “Congratulations to Luke and Gabby!”
Everyone raised their cups and toasted them. But Raphael wasn’t done. He shuffled his feet for a few moments, then continued. “I suppose I have a bit of an announcement of my own,” he said slowly, obviously picking his words carefully, and the table fell silent. “Trevor and I have spent a lot of time together, as you know, and I’ve learned a great deal about the Texas Rangers. Gabby, you won’t be the only one who doesn’t return to the ranch. At the start of the year I’ll be signing up to join them.”
“And a welcome addition you will be,” Trevor said, raising his cup while the rest of the table sat in stunned silence.
“Raphael,” Gabby began, but he interrupted her.
“I know you will be worried about me. I know all of you will. But this is what I want. I suppose I’m getting married, too. Just to the Rangers, and not to a lovely young lady.”
“To Raphael.” Luke raised his cup, and the rest of the family enthusiastically joined in.
Abuela spoke up. “Well, there is only one more thing we need now.”
“What’s that?” Lorenzo asked, but Abuela merely winked as Trevor slowly stood and raised his cup.
“With all the excitement, I nearly forgot,” he said, then winced when Serena kicked him under the table. “Of course, I could never forget this. It is my pleasure to share with the family that...well, that...”
“Spit it out, Trevor,” Lorenzo prodded him.
“I’m pregnant,” Serena said.
The gasps and squeals commenced again, and Trevor finished the toast amongst much laughter. Luke looked around at all of the happy faces and then over at Gabby, whose smile made his heart skip a beat. Thank you, God, for answering my prayers.
The End
If you enjoyed Texas Desire, you’ll love the next book in..
.
The Texas Legacy Series
Book 1: Texas Conquest
Book 2: Texas Desire
Book 3: Texas Heat
Book 4: Texas Christmas
If you love Texas historicals, don’t miss...
Scandal with the Rancher by Julia Justiss
After building a trading empire, establishing Whiskey River, and charming most of the females south of the Pedernales, Ronan “Booze” Kelly finds himself restless. Until his idea to start a ranch leads him to widowed rancher Marguerite McMasters. The Tejana beauty claims she’ll never sell her land—or succumb to the fiery connection between them.
Marguerite will let nothing stop her from realizing her dream of running a horse-breeding ranch—not lack of money, and certainly not her strong attraction to Booze Kelly. Much as she misses a man’s embrace, a schoolmarm can’t risk everything she has for him.
But there’s nothing Booze loves more than a challenge, whether it’s a new enterprise to begin—or a lady to beguile. Despite her convictions, can Marguerite continue to resist Booze—or will Booze be exactly what she never knew she was missing?
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About the Author
Holly grew up spending many lazy summer days racing her horses bareback in the Texas sun. But whenever Holly wasn’t riding her horses or competing in horse shows, she was found with pen and paper in hand, writing out romantic love stories of the wild west.
Later, in her professional life, Holly worked just blocks from the Alamo in a unique setting where the buildings were connected with basements and tunnels. The exciting history of Texas, the Alamo, and working in a historic building dating back to the 1800’s inspired Holly to write about the Texas Revolution, and has evolved into a series all about Texas becoming the great State it is.
Today, Holly lives in a small community just south of San Antonio, with her husband and two children. On the family’s 80 acre ranch, surrounded by cattle during the day and hearing the howl of coyotes by night, Holly has endless inspiration for her writing.
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