Her Cowboy Billionaire Butler

by Liz Isaacson

  “And I did that. I learned that I really didn’t want to be alone. I wanted to talk to my mother and father. I wanted to heal. I wanted you.”

  “It’s true,” Dad said. “I did hear that a lot. ‘I want Wes’.”

  “And I really am a child of God, and He loves me, and he wanted me to be the kind of woman you already loved. So I’ve been working on that. It’s slow, I’ll admit.”

  “It’s fine,” Wes murmured, his eyes down and his head down, his cowboy hat concealing his face.

  “And I just have to tell you what I’ve done, and I pray you’ll understand.” Jitters romped through her, because this still wasn’t over.

  “He will,” Mom said. “I get a good feeling from this one.”

  Wes lifted his eyes to her mother’s, and before she knew it, her mom stepped forward and hugged Wes. He embraced her back, and she whispered something in his ear. He nodded, and when he looked at Bree again, he nodded toward the doorway that led away from the chaos still happening with the stockings.

  “Don’t forget your gift,” Dad said, handing it to her. Bree took it and went with Wes down the hall toward the master suite. Amanda and Finn stayed in there during the holidays, but she’d already spoken with them about using the room if she needed to speak to Wes privately.

  With the door closed and locked behind them, she handed him the gift again. “Please open it.”

  He did, taking his time with the ribbons and wrappings, finally getting to the cylindrical container. “You didn’t.” He lifted his eyes to hers, and they glowed with an inner fire. “I love this ice cream cake.”

  “I know you do. Colton’s told me about fifty times.”

  “Ah, so he annoys you too.”

  Bree burst out laughing, and she didn’t deny it. “He just wants us to be happy.” She nodded to the squat, wide tube. “There’s more in there.”

  “There is?” He opened the top and pulled out the envelope she’d had to fold in half to get it inside. He unfolded it and smoothed it out before opening the flap. He took out the paper she’d placed inside, his eyes scanning, reading, absorbing.

  “You’re going to take me to Hawaii.” He looked at her, and Bree found all the desire, all the love, the entire world, in Wes’s expression.

  “Yep,” she said, grinning. “State number fifty. Your quest won’t be complete if we don’t go.”

  “I can’t wait.” He set the ice cream cake down and drew her into another hug. “I really do love you, Bree. So much.”

  “I love you too.” She kissed him, and this time, because there was no audience, she didn’t have to stop any time soon.

  A couple of hours later, they sat on her front porch, in the swing that used to rest on the back patio at the lodge. He kept them gently rocking back and forth by touching his toe to the ground every so often. They’d talked through almost everything that had happened over the last three months. He’d told her about his adventures in the nine states he’d visited.

  She only had one more thing to tell him.

  “Okay,” she said. “Are you ready?”

  “If you are.” He pressed his lips to her forehead.

  “I’m ready.” Bree leaned into his body and told herself this was what she’d been working for. This moment, right here. To put her complete faith and trust in Wes, the man she loved.

  “When I was fifteen years old, I disobeyed my mother,” she started. “It was wintertime—February—and very cold outside. Or so I thought, because it was always cold in Vermont in February. But my mom watched the news, and she knew we’d had a week or so of warmer-than-usual temperatures. And in Vermont, where there are a lot of lakes and rivers, warm temperatures means the ice starts to melt.”

  She worked not to let her voice slip into a monotone. Her therapist had asked her to be present when she told the story, especially for Wes. Let herself feel. Relive what had happened.

  “I didn’t know any of this, of course. My mom told me and my brother—I have a brother—not to go on the ice. But I wanted to cross the river and get over to the beaver dam, because the baby beavers had just been born. So Bronson, who was thirteen years old, and I left the house and ran through the yard and the orchards to the river, which goes right behind our house.”

  She looked at Wes, but he had his gaze out in front of him, focused in the darkness.

  Bree blinked, and she could see Bronson standing on the riverbank, his eyes wide and hopeful. “Bronson didn’t want to cross the river. I’d already started across, and I told him it was fine. The ice was strong. Mom didn’t know what she was talking about.”

  She saw him hesitate.

  “I saw him struggling to make a decision, and I called back to him, ‘don’t be a baby. Come on. The beavers had their pups,’ and I kept going. When I was only a few feet away from the opposite bank, I heard the first, terrible cracking sound. It’s awful. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. Almost like a whip, and it echoes in the surrounding silence.”

  Bree shuddered, and Wes kneaded her closer to his chest. “I can still hear it to this day. I spun around, and the ice was breaking. I had a few feet to go, and I jumped with everything I had. Behind me, I heard Bronson yelp. I heard the tell-tale splash of water. I knew he’d gone into the river of ice.”

  “Bree,” Wes said softly.

  “I have to finish,” she said, her tears burning the backs of her eyes. She’d made it farther in the story than ever before without crying. So that was something. “I was on my hands and knees, and I turned around, screaming his name. I saw him go under once, then twice. He came back up one more time, his hair plastered to his forehead. He sucked at the air and sputtered, trying to find something to grab onto.” She stared out into the darkness now too, so glad it wasn’t inside her anymore. She had no idea how she’d carried it for so long.

  “And then he went under for the last time. I screamed and screamed, sobbed and sobbed. I got a branch and tried to go out to help him.” She shrugged like she’d lost something that didn’t matter. “He was gone. No one could help him. My parents came, and so did two neighbors, because they heard me screaming. We found his body four days later, down the river about half a mile.”

  She let her tears fall then, because while she had never been allowed to see Bronson’s body, she almost thought it would’ve been better if she had. Then she wouldn’t have to try to imagine what he’d looked like.

  “I killed him. At least that’s what I thought. I’ve carried this huge weight my whole life, hating myself for what I did. For taking him from my parents. For not listening to my mom. His death was my fault, and I’m learning to deal with that now.”

  “Bree, sweetheart,” Wes said, folding her into his arms. “It’s not your fault.”

  “I thought everyone would hate me as much as I hated myself,” she whispered into his coat. “So I left Marble Falls the moment I could, and I didn’t go back. I barely spoke to my parents, and I thought I could make a life for myself with the door closed solidly on my past.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Wes whispered. “I didn’t mean to make you open that door.”

  “I’m glad you made me open that door,” she said, inching back and settling back into his side. “Please don’t hate me.”

  “Of course I don’t hate you.”

  “I did not think anyone could love me until you said you did,” she whispered. “That moment changed everything for me. It devastated me and gave me hope at the same time.”

  “I do love you.”

  “Even now?” Bree’s tears tracked down her face as she tipped her head back to look into Wes’s eyes.

  “Especially now,” he said, dipping his head to kiss her. “I will always love you, Bree. Always.”

  “Thank you, Wes,” she whispered, and then she kissed him again, her gratitude and faith in the Lord strengthened by his good soul, his kind spirit.

  And thank you, she said to the Lord. She knew without Him, she wouldn’t be where she was today. She wo
uldn’t have Wes. And she wouldn’t be the woman He needed her to be.

  Thank you.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Wes rolled over, the light coming through his blinds bright enough to tell him morning had arrived. He took his time opening his eyes, and he’d just sat up when he heard a door in his house slam.

  “It’s me,” Colton yelled, and Wes whistled between his teeth to call his brother’s dog. Sparky came trotting into the bedroom, as it wasn’t his first time in the house. He jumped up on the bed and Wes lifted his arm as he chuckled. Sparky had soft, semi-curly fur, and Wes had learned he was a labradoodle, and a smart one at that.

  “You’re still in bed?”

  “Yes,” Wes said. “Technically.” He stood up and faced the dog. “Now I’m not.” He scrubbed Sparky, and the dog flopped on his back and stretched out his front legs so Wes could scratch his belly and chest. He grinned at the dog, because Sparky was just so lovable.

  “Your plane leaves in five hours.”

  “Yeah,” Wes said, looking up. “I own a clock.”

  “You have to leave in an hour.” Colton glanced around, his eyes landing on the suitcase Wes had started packing last night. “Oh, good. You’re packed.”

  “Almost, Mom,” Wes said, chuckling. “I’m getting in the shower. Why are you here?” He rounded the bed and started for the bathroom, knowing his brother would just follow him.

  “We need to talk about Gray.”

  “No, we don’t,” Wes said, pulling his shirt over his head. But Colton would talk anyway. Wes grabbed his toothbrush from the shelf in the shower and slid some paste on it before stepping back inside the stall. He let the hot water pour over his head as he scrubbed his teeth clean, as Colton talked.

  “He’s miserable in Denver. He doesn’t have anything to do but run, and honestly, who can do that twenty-four-seven? He should move up here. I keep telling him we have schools with the seventh grade in them.”

  “Mm,” Wes said, his mouth full of foam.

  Colton took that as agreement and kept going. “I’m going to talk to Mom and Dad too. They’re too old to keep that farm, and it’s time to sell.”

  That was never going to happen, and Colton knew it. They both did. Wes spat and rinsed, finally saying, “They’re not going to sell it.”

  “I know.” Colton sighed so loud, Wes could hear him above the spray of the shower. “Maybe Ames will buy it. Keep it in the family.”

  “Maybe,” Wes said. “Any of us could buy it if it’s a matter of keeping the house and land in the family. Heck, Mom and Dad could keep it if that’s the case. They don’t owe any money on it.”

  “True.” Colton fell silent for a minute. “Would you talk to them about it?”

  “Maybe when I get back from Maui,” Wes said, moving onto his hair. “Why do you want them up here?”

  “Because I think we’re all going to live here anyway,” Colt said. “They can’t take care of those animals. They need to sell them and come up here. Get a nice house they can take care of. Be by me and Annie and you and Bree.”

  “Sounds nice, actually,” Wes said. He soaped up, waiting for Colt to keep going.

  “So you’ll talk to them, and I’ll try to get Gray to tell me what really happened with Elise.”

  “She won’t tell you?” Wes finished bathing and turned off the shower. He opened the door and reached for a towel, running it through his hair and across his shoulders before cinching it around his waist.

  “No,” Colton said quite crossly. “Neither one of them will say.”

  “Well, they’re still talking,” Wes said. “Not everyone falls in love in eight days, Colt.”

  His brother shot him a death glare, but Wes just shrugged one shoulder and stepped over to the mirror. “I don’t want to shave.”

  “Then don’t. You’re just going to be lying on the beach.”

  “I’m not going to.” Wes stepped into his closet and picked up the clothes he’d reserved to wear today. He dressed while Colton continued to muse about Gray and Elise and if they were talking or not.

  “And I just don’t know. I have this feeling like he’s sabotaging again, and you know how I am when I get a feeling.”

  “Yes, I do,” Wes said, finally looking fully at his brother. “Listen, Colt. You’re an amazing brother, and it is pretty special how you have these gut feelings about us. But Gray is a grown man, with a son, and he knows what he’s doing.”

  “Does he, though?”

  “Better than you,” Wes said. “Please don’t say anything to him while I’m gone.”

  “But—”

  “Colton.”

  “Okay,” Colton said, but he didn’t look happy about it.

  “We’ll talk when I get back, and we can decide if an intervention is needed then.”

  Colton folded his arms. “Fine.”

  Wes didn’t doubt Colton. If he said he wouldn’t say anything, he wouldn’t. Wes put the toiletries he’d just used to get ready for the day in his suitcase, rolled up his phone charger and added that to the bag, and stood there, trying to remember what else he needed.

  Nothing.

  He was ready to visit the fiftieth state in the United States of America, and the trip was extra-special because he was going with Bree.

  “Do you have the ring?” Colton asked, as if Wes had lost his mind and couldn’t do anything without Colton’s constant reminders.

  “Yes,” Wes said. The diamond engagement ring he’d bought for Bree was one of the first things Wes had packed. He’d had it for two weeks now, and Colton had done some very clever sleuthing to get her ring size so Wes could get the engagement band perfect before he asked her to be his forever.

  He’d had the ring back for a couple of days now, and he reached into his bag and past his T-shirts just to quadruple-check that he had the ring. He did.

  He zipped his bag closed, added his tablet to his backpack, and took everything out to the truck. Colton followed him and loaded Sparky in the back of his truck.

  The two brothers faced one another, and Wes found he had nothing to say. He embraced Colton and just hugged him tight.

  “Have fun,” Colton said. “Ask her tonight when you get there. Then it’s over with.”

  “We’ll see,” Wes said as he stepped back. He loved Bree, and he wanted to get married with his whole heart and soul. But it was almost February, which he now knew was a very hard month for Bree. They’d be in Hawaii for seventeen days, through the start of the month, and he’d been hoping and praying he could give her new memories for the month of February.

  They’d talked about marriage and family, and Bree would be thirty-seven in a couple of months. Plenty of time to have kids, she’d told him, but Wes wanted to get started right away. He didn’t want to be seventy years old before his kids started graduating from high school.

  You already will be, he told himself, not for the first time. He sat on the front steps while Colton drove away, and he only waited a couple of minutes before Bree’s black sedan pulled into his driveway.

  He got up to help her with her baggage and kiss her hello, and he wondered if he could ask her to be his wife right there in the garage. No, he wasn’t going to do that.

  “Ready?” she asked.

  “Sure am. You?”

  “I’ve been looking forward to this for weeks.” She gave him a bright smile, the happiness pouring off her.

  Wes basked in it, because he loved how strongly she felt things now. “It’s a long flight,” he said. “I hope they let me stand up on the plane.”

  “We’re flying first class,” she said. “They let you do what you want up there.”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “All right, let’s go do what we want, then.”

  Hours and hours later, they’d flown from Wyoming to Hawaii, across the wide, beautiful Pacific Ocean, landed, and gotten their rental car. Wes turned where his phone told him to, and a charming cottage came into view.

  “Oh, this is nice,�
� Bree said.

  “The reviews were good.” Wes peered out the windshield at the cottage. “It’s not huge, but we’ll have our own room and own bathroom.”

  Bree just pushed her fingers through her hair and smiled, and Wes pulled up to the house. He got out, the air filled with humidity he wasn’t used to. “Wow, it’s hot, yeah?”

  “It’s not cold,” she said. “It’s so weird it’s not cold.” She giggled and took her smaller bag toward the house. “How do we get in?”

  “There’s a code,” he said, pulling the rest of the luggage from the back of the SUV. “Just a sec.” He swiped and tapped on his phone to find the email, and then he read the code to her. She got the lock open and entered the cottage first.

  “Hot in here too,” she said.

  “No air conditioning,” he said, following her. “Just fans.” He went inside too, and while the space was small, it was clean. A living room expanded in front of him, with just enough room for one couch and one chair. To his right sat the kitchen, complete with a quaint round table with two chairs. Perfect for him and Bree.

  A hall ran down the middle of the house, with two bedrooms at the end of it, one on each side. One had a bathroom attached; the other bathroom sat in the hall. Wes put Bree’s bag in the bedroom with the attached bathroom, despite her protests.

  He couldn’t help thinking that if they were married, he could be in that bedroom with her. He kept his back to the door as he unzipped his bag and dug for the diamond. Colton had been right; Wes needed to do this immediately.

  Not only that, but a crazy idea had occurred to him just now, and he couldn’t shake it.

  “Getting your swim trunks on already?” Bree asked, her hands snaking around him as she pressed into his back.

  “Not quite yet,” he said, his fingers meeting the velvety box that held the ring. He pulled it out and took a steeling breath. “I wanted to ask you something first.”