Silence descended on the conference room, and Susan was finally the one to break it several seconds later. “So, what’s it going to be?”
She and I walked out of the conference room five minutes later with the signed agreement in hand.
“You know,” she started once we stopped at the elevators, “if that was you keeping your cool back there, I’m a little terrified to see what you’re like when you’re really pissed.”
The elevator doors opened, and I stepped into the car, hitting the button for the ground floor. I turned back to the sharply dressed woman and shot her a wink just before they slid closed on her bark of laughter.
Epilogue
Gypsy
Two and a half weeks later
Sunny’s sweet sixteen was an even bigger hit than I’d expected. The weather was beautiful, and the girls had helped me decorate, so Eden’s huge yard looked spectacular. The sun was just starting to set, so the twinkle lights and lanterns strung through the trees were lit, making the whole place look like a fairy wonderland. All of Sunny’s friends from school, plus the cheerleading squad and a bunch of the football players were in attendance.
My sister was having the time of her life. Meanwhile I was working myself up into the biggest freak-out in the history of the universe.
“Jeez, babe. You look like you’re about to throw up,” Rory said on a giggle.
“I should’ve gotten her a real gift,” I mumbled, chewing my thumbnail to the quick. Maybe a new dress or something.”
Nona looked at me with huge eyes. “Are you kidding? Doll, you’re giving her the best gift she’ll ever get until the day comes when she has kids of her own. She’d gonna love it.”
The need to puke only grew worse at that. “Can we not talk about her growing up and having her own kids? I’m still not prepared for Rhodes to graduate or leave for the Army next year. Thinking of Sunny like that might just kill me.”
My friends all laughed, and Eden—the godsend that she was—passed me a margarita, which I sucked back in just a few gulps. “Something tells me you’re not gonna run out of kids any time soon,” she giggled. “The way Marco looks at you, I see a future full of little rug rats, so even by the time Lee’s ready to move on, it’ll still be years before you guys have an empty nest.”
I didn’t say it out loud, but I kind of loved thinking about that.
“Just relax, Gypsy girl. This is gonna be great,” Tempie assure me.
I caught Marco’s eyes from across the yard. As if sensing my need for him, he broke away from where he and the other guys had congregated and started toward me.
As soon as I was within reach, he looped an arm around my waist, pulled me into him, and placed a kiss on my temple. “You ready?”
I wasn’t. I really wasn’t. But there was nothing to be done about it now. “I should’ve gotten her something else. Why didn’t we get her a car?” I whisper-yelled frantically.
His stupid, sexy lips curled up in a grin. “’Cause we agreed that Rhodes gets a car first.” He was right. We had agreed on that, but now I was starting to really regret it.
“It’s time, baby.” His hand landed on the small of my back and started moving me forward. “She’ll love it, I promise.”
We all joined the huge group of people gathered around Sunny as she opened the last present. She fawned over the pretty bracelet one of her friends gave her, and before I had a chance to chicken out, Odette spoke in a loud, commanding voice. “I think Gypsy’s got one more present, don’t you Gypsy girl?”
All eyes came to me and I felt the blood drain from my face as I moved toward my bright, smiling sister. I extended the hand holding the manila envelope and quietly said, “It wasn’t really something I could wrap.”
She eyed the envelope curiously before snatching it from me and ripping it open excitedly. I wrung my hands together while she pulled the court documents out and started reading over them.
“They’re custody papers,” I said when her silence went on for too long. “Marco and I hired an attorney a while back and she helped me get full custody of you guys.”
Susan had come through for me, getting my parents to agree to sign over their rights without a fight during their first meeting, so my brothers and sisters were officially mine. I’d already done the paperwork to get them added to the insurance I had through the salon, but I’d kept it secret until now, thinking this would have been the perfect time to tell them.
Sunny’s lips were parted as she looked up at me with wide, cloudy eyes.
“I know it doesn’t seem like much,” I added frantically when she still said nothing, “but if you want, I can take you to the mall next weekend, and we can get you a real present.”
“You got a lawyer to get custody of us?”
“I did,” I whispered. “I mean, you guys have always been mine, and that’s never going to change, but I wanted to make it official. For all of us.” Panic clawed at my throat when she remained motionless, staring up at me as if she was in shock. “I’m sorry, honey. I should have talked to you about this first to make sure it was what you wanted—”
Just then, she launched from the picnic chair and threw herself at me so fast I would have hit the ground had it not been for Marco’s steady frame standing behind me. She burst into tears a second later, squeezing me so tight my ribs creaked, but I didn’t mind one bit. I hugged her back just as tight.
“You’ve always been mine, sweet girl,” I whispered into Sunny’s hair. “Now nothing can ever change that.”
When she finally got ahold of herself and pulled from my grip, she smiled as she wiped at her cheeks. “We don’t need to go to the mall next weekend, you nut.” she said on a watery laugh. “This is the best present ever!”
“Does that mean you’re our mom now?” Holly chirped, jumping up and down beside us.
“Well, no, honey. Not exactly. But it means you’ll be mine forever and ever, and no one can ever take that away from us.”
Ray spoke next. “But... when you and Marco get married, can he like, adopt us so we can still all have the same last name?”
I looked to Marco with a fresh wave of tears in my eyes and found him looking down at my brother with pure, unadulterated love as he answered, “If that’s what you want, bud, I’d be honored for you guys to have my last name.”
Just like that, my man gave me even more.
Ray glanced off like he was deep in thought. “I think I’d be cool with that.”
“Me too!” Holly shouted.
“Yeah, me too,” Sunny added on a whimper as more tears leaked from her eyes.
Rhodes came over just then with a sleepy Raleigh in his arms. He gave Marco a cheeky smile and declared, “Then I guess you need to move fast, huh? Since I’ll be turning eighteen soon, and all.”
When I turned to look over at my friends, I saw Odette and the rest of my girls standing around with tears in their eyes as they watched us. I lost hold of my own and began to cry right along with.
I’d officially cleared that last hurdle.
Now it was smooth sailing.
* * *
Marco
One month later
Gypsy was in the passenger seat, chattering away on her phone as I guided the Cherokee through Hope Valley, oblivious to the panic clawing at my chest. “Of course we’re gonna be there Mac,” she said into the line. “It’s you and Bruce’s housewarming party. Marco and I wouldn’t miss it. You need me to bring anything?”
Over the past month and a half, McKenna and Bruce had made full recovers from that terrible day, and true to her word, Gypsy had done everything she could to help her friend past her insecurities so she could see herself for the amazing person she was.
It was still a work in progress, but my woman was determined. As was Bruce.
Nothing showed a person how short life could be like a near death experience, and once he was out of the hospital, he’d begun to take a battering ram to McKenna’s walls. Hers weren’t as tall or thick
as Gypsy’s, so he’d gotten in easily enough, and now the two of them were officially moving in together.
“All right, hon,” Gypsy said as I turned into the neighborhood. “We’ll see you then. Love you.” She disconnected and dropped the phone back into her purse.
“How’s she doing?”
“Good,” she replied with a happy smile as she turned to look at me. “We need to bring wine tomorrow night.”
“I’ll pick it up on my way home from work,” I replied, trying my best to keep my voice level. My palms began to sweat as I turned onto Magnolia Drive. I’d taken a huge risk keeping this from Gypsy, but I wanted it to be a surprise. “We’re here.”
“Oh wow,” she breathed, looking out the passenger window at the big house as I parked at the curb. “Marco, this place is gorgeous, but it’s a little big, isn’t it? You need to tell your realtor to find something smaller. You don’t need all this space.”
Killing the engine, I pulled the keys out and pushed the driver side door open. “We’re already here, so why not at least check it out?”
She shrugged and climbed out of the car, meeting me at the front of the hood. We walked hand and hand up the long front walk to the massive wraparound porch. I unlocked the front door and pushed it open, letting her in before me.
I’d already seen the house earlier that week, then again a few days ago when I brought Odette and the kids for their opinion. I didn’t need to look around again, I needed to see her reaction.
Her mouth hung open as she took in the high vaulted ceilings in the entryway before moving into the spacious family room and turning in a circle. There was a big fire place and a kickass chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The huge windows allowed a ton of natural light in, and the sun bounced off the crystals, shooting prisms of colorful light all over the room.
“Let’s check out the kitchen,” I said, taking her hand and pulling her deeper into the house.
“Oh my god,” she gasped as soon as we entered. A huge island sat in the center, covered in a butcherblock top. The rest of the counters were made of a sealed concrete that kept the white and glass fronted cabinets and big ceramic farmhouse sink from looking too girly. “This kitchen is a dream!” she exclaimed, running over to massive french door refrigerator. “You should buy the house for this room alone!”
“What happened to the place being too big?” I asked on a laugh.
“Whatever.” She waved me off, already won over by the magic of the kitchen. “Forget everything I said before.”
“So you like it?”
She looked at me with that smile that brightened my whole world. “It’s beautiful, honey. But you shouldn’t buy a house based on my opinion alone.”
If only she knew. Putting my hand at the small of her back, I moved her to the doors leading to the back yard. “There’s something else I want you to see.”
I took her through the sprawling back yard, toward the structure at the back just before the woods that butted up to the property line. Entering the code on the digital panel, the deadbolt clicked, and I pushed the door open.
“No way!” she cried excitedly spinning back around to me. “It’s a cute little apartment!”
“The realtor said it’s called an in-law suite or something.”
Placing her hands on my chest, Gypsy tipped her head back and looked up at me. “It’s awesome, but what do you need with a ginormous house and an in-law suite?”
I wrapped her in my arms, holding her close so I could look right into those gorgeous honey eyes as I said, “The house only has four bedrooms, but the basement’s been finished with another living area and a separate bedroom. I figured we could put Rhodes down there, that way he’d have his privacy. Ray and Lee can have their own rooms, and before you say it, I know Sunny and Holly sharing a room isn’t ideal, but Sunny can have the basement room when Rhodes leaves for the Army. And we could put a nice foldout couch down there for when he comes home to visit. As for this place,” she looked around again when I waved my arm out, “this would be where Odette lives.”
Her head shot back to me, her eyes big with surprise. “Odette?”
“She’s our family, isn’t she?”
“Are you... do you... Are you saying you want us to move in with you?”
“No, Gypsy.” Her face fell immediately, but I wasn’t finished yet. Letting her go, I lowered onto one knee, pulling the ring I’d been carrying around for the past three weeks from my pocket. “I’m asking you to marry me.”
She sucked in such a deep gasp it was a wonder there was any air left in the room. “Oh my god.”
“I didn’t realize it at the time, but I had nothing before I met you. You gave me purpose. You gave me strength. You and those kids gave me everything I could ever want or dream for. I already bought this house. And I bought for us. For our family. But it’s not my home, girasol. My home is wherever you are. It could be here or in the trailer, it doesn’t matter to me, just as long as we’re all together.”
“Oh my god,” she repeated on a breath, tears welling up in her eyes as she covered her mouth with both her hands.
“I already got the kids’ permission to ask you to marry me. They’ve seen the house and fell in love with it. All that’s left is for you to say yes so we can officially start our lives together.
“Oh my god!” she said for a third time. Then she pulled me to my feet and threw herself into my arms. “Marco, you bought me a house!”
“Does that mean yes?” I asked on a laugh.
“Yes! Of course I’ll marry you!” She began peppering my face with kisses as tears streamed down hers. “You’re the love of my life, Marco. I can’t imagine a single day where you’re not with me.”
My heart nearly burst from my chest as I slipped the ring on her finger. I slammed my mouth down on hers and poured every single ounce of love I felt for her into that kiss.
“Our great life starts now, girasol,” I whispered against her lips.
“That’s where you’re, wrong.” I felt her smile before pulling back to look down at all the beauty that was her. “Our great life started a while ago. This right here is the start of our brilliant life.” Christ, but I loved this woman with everything I was.
Glancing quickly at the watch on her wrist, she shifted her gaze back to me as a sexy grin spread across her face. “I have an hour before I have to be back at the salon. How many rooms do you think we can christen in that time.”
I started growing hard in an instant. “Why don’t we find out?” She let out a yelp when I bent at the waist, threw her over my shoulder, and started out of the in-law suite and across the back yard.
“We’re starting with the kitchen,” she said over her laughter. And at the sound of it, as it always did, the sun came out, lighting my whole world in a beautiful golden glow.
Let the brilliant life begin.
The End.
Thank you so much for reading, and don’t forget to leave a review.
Keep reading for a sneak peek of Cord and Rory’s story
Stay With Me
Sneak Peek of Stay With Me
Prologue
Rory
My body ached from spending hours upon hours curled up in that uncomfortable chair, either sleeping or watching the steady rise and fall of Cord’s chest the whole time. The arid hospital room had dried out my sinuses, making it difficult to breathe, but still, I refused to budge. Not until he woke up and I could see for myself that he was going to be okay.
As I sat in that cold room, sterile, memories of the past bombarded me.
I could still remember the exact moment I first met cord Paulson with such perfect clarity, it was as if it were only yesterday
I could recall exactly what he was wearing the first time he walked into The Tap Room as if it were just yesterday. The jeans, the faded black tee with a picture of a Harley Fat Boy on the front, the unbuttoned flannel he wore over it. There was nothing special about what he wore, but how he was wearing made my belly
heat and my skin grow tight and tingly.
I could still remember how I’d watched with rapt fascination as he moved through the thick crowd with the kind of confidence that couldn’t be learned or faked. He walked with a self-assuredness that had to be ingrained in a person from birth. I hadn’t met many people with that brand of confidence, but this man had it in spades.
The first words he’d spoken to me were still stuck in my head. “Dig the shirt, babe,” he’d teased, eyeing my cherry red t-shirt with the words “Tap It Real Good” stretched along the front in big white bubble letters.
“What can I say?” I grinned playfully. “It’s excellent marketing.”
He’d turned to take in the bar. It was only a Wednesday evening, but we were still hopping. “Don’t doubt that for a second.”
I even remembered the very first beer he ordered, and how his gaze felt like a physical touch as he watched me pour his Guinness.
But the most potent memory I carried with me, the one I went back to every night when I curled up in bed alone, was the very first thought I had when he stepped into my life.
Dear Lord, I want this one. Please, please let me have him.
He was it. I didn’t know how or why I knew that. I just did.
My life changed in that moment.
It was the start of something unexplainable, something that felt important and all-consuming, and I knew I’d never be the same.
I didn’t have a single doubt I’d just met the man of my dreams, the one meant just for me, the guy I’d been waiting on for most of my life.
Those were the memories that had plagued me for the past three days as I waited for him to wake up, fear clutching my heart in a vice grip the entire time.
Wrong Side of the Tracks: a Hope Valley novel Page 25
