“And you don’t have anything more to say about that?” Sawyer asked menacingly.
“Quit it, you two.”
Ty almost fell over at Louise’s voice behind him.
She stepped around him. “Let him alone.”
“We’re not letting him get away with this again.” Palmer didn’t move and barely looked at his sister. “Tella said he didn’t call all week. I know the guy can use a phone. Apparently, he’s the type that’s out of sight, out of mind.”
Ty clenched his jaw. That’s not the way it was, but he couldn’t expect anyone here, least of all Louise, to believe him.
Silence descended.
Then Louise spoke, her voice quiet but strong. “You’re wrong. He’s not like that. There’s an explanation. You just need to give him a chance.”
Ty quit facing her brothers. His shoulders relaxed. Louise was defending him? After everything he’d done, and how he’d not managed to contact her all week, she was still defending him? He looked at her in wonder.
“Really? You believe that?” he asked.
She turned to him. “Am I wrong?”
He shook his head slowly. “I left my phone here, with Tella. She was looking at the pictures. My mom took it, and Tella didn’t realize that I never got it.”
“You didn’t have your phone all week?” Louise asked softly.
He shook his head. “It gets worse. I couldn’t remember anyone’s number, even my own. I couldn’t get a phone from the store, my agent’s been sick, and when my mom finally sent the phone, when my agent got it, he dropped it in the toilet as he was throwing up.”
Louise’s face scrunched up.
“That was the last straw, but I had to take him to the hospital because he was dehydrated from being so sick. I didn’t even tell the coach I was skipping practice Friday, I just left and caught the first plane out of Pittsburgh, which didn’t come directly to North Dakota but had a layover in Chicago. Then I had a two-day delay because of the storm. I just got in and drove straight from the airport to here.”
Her mouth hung open, but she wasn’t smiling.
He flexed his hands. “I’m sorry.” The knot in his throat made his words rough. “I was going crazy all week not being able to talk to you.” He searched her eyes. “I can’t do it again. If you won’t come to Pittsburgh with me, I’m retiring today. I’ve already made a deal with Mom to buy the ranch.” If only she would say something, but her expression hadn’t changed. “Will you take me if I’m a rancher, Louise?”
Her eyes widened.
Yeah. He might as well jump in with both feet. He took her hand. “I don’t have a ring. I don’t even have a phone right now. But marry me, Louise. Please?”
A sigh echoed through the church. Ty blinked and looked around. The entire congregation, including Pastor Houpe, stared at them. Sawyer’s face still looked serious, but Palmer had a twinkle in his eye.
“Say something, Louise.”
“Yes.” It was soft and low, but it was the right word.
His lips curved up as a cheer erupted from the watching congregation.
“Yes,” she said, louder and more clearly.
He put his arms around her, lifting and turning in a circle. Nothing that entire week had gone as he’d planned. But somehow, Louise was in his arms, and she’d just agreed to marry him. It made everything worthwhile.
He felt a light touch on his arm. Looking down, he saw Tella. She gave him a tentative smile. Keeping one arm around Louise, he put the other around his daughter. It wouldn’t be long before they would all be a real family.
Later that afternoon, after he’d gotten a shower and played a few games at the table with Tella and his mother and Louise, his mother took Tella into the kitchen to help make supper since Georgia and Ford were coming. Ty sat on the couch with Louise pressed close to his side.
“I was serious about quitting hockey.”
“I don’t want you to give up something like that for me. You love it.”
He dipped his head down so that their eyes met. “I love you more.”
Her eyes widened. He grinned because she hadn’t been expecting that.
“I love you, too,” she whispered.
“I know.” He knew he sounded cocky.
Sure enough, her eyes narrowed.
“I’m serious. As soon as you saw me sitting in your pew, and you hesitated, then you came and sat down beside me...I knew then that you loved me.”
She gave a short laugh.
“It’s true. When you hesitated, I knew you were angry. And rightly so, but I gave you the chance to humiliate me in front of the whole church.” He paused and said softer, “Like I humiliated you.” He pulled a breath in through his nose. “Yet you didn’t. And if I wasn’t sure then, I was completely sure when you defended me to your brother without even knowing what had happened this week and why I didn’t call.”
“I can’t say I never doubted,” she said honestly, and he loved her for that. “But every time I doubted, I just couldn’t give up all hope.”
He kissed her forehead, and she turned her face up. He half-laughed, half-groaned. “Kissing you is hazardous to my sanity.”
“Mine too.” Her smile matched his.
He touched his lips gently to hers, pulling back almost immediately as sparks shot through him at the simple touch. “You said you’d marry me.” He looked in her eyes. “How soon?”
“As soon as you want to.”
“Tomorrow?”
He didn’t expect her whispered, “Okay.”
“No, it takes a good nine or twelve months to plan a nice wedding. We can have something grand with all the bells and whistles.”
“I’m not a bells and whistles kind of girl.”
He pressed his lips together, nodding. She wasn’t. Not for herself, anyway.
Pressure pushed in. Pressure because he was supposed to be at training camp early tomorrow morning, and he’d already missed Friday without even telling Coach he wouldn’t be there. If he were going to play, if he were going to get the contract, he needed to get back. But he didn’t want to leave Louise.
“I can retire from hockey. If you don’t want to be in Pittsburgh, we’ll get married and take over the ranch. Mom hasn’t offered a contract renewal to the guys who are renting our land. We can start in the spring.”
“What do you want?”
“I have a season left on my contract, and I actually have my new contract lying around here somewhere.”
“So, you want to keep doing hockey?” she asked with a lift of her brow.
He pulled her a little closer, knowing that she was way more than hockey to him, and if he had to choose, he’d choose her. But in his heart, he loved the game and knew it was a rare privilege to be where he was.
“Yeah.”
Her head moved up and down firmly.
A car pulled in.
“That must be Georgia and Ford.” He pursed his lips. “Can we look at my contract after dinner?”
“Of course.”
Georgia showed up alone. Ty supposed he should have figured, since Ford rarely, if ever, left his ranch, although their mother insisted he’d been to her house to eat a few times.
He supposed it didn’t matter, but he was on the top of the world and wanted to share his news with everyone.
They started out talking about Georgia’s month-long trip to Europe. “How soon do you leave?” Ty asked.
“In two weeks.” Georgia’s face was shining. “I’ve always wanted to see the castles and old buildings and visit Norway. I’ve been told all my life I’m such a Norwegian, but I’ve never even been to Norway. I want to see the land of my ancestors.”
As tiny and dark as she was, she was definitely a throwback, but he didn’t rub it in. “You should have told me. I could have helped you out with a trip like that.”
“It’s better that I’ve saved the money myself.” Georgia grinned. “Plus, it’s not easy dealing with Ford every day. Maybe the desire to go to Europe has gotten
stronger, the more time I’ve spent with him.”
Ty laughed a little. His eyes were on Tella. “I was just curious when you were going to be gone because Louise and I are going to get married.”
Tella’s head jerked up from her plate of fried potatoes and hamburger. Her eyes, the same eyes that stared back at him in the bathroom mirror every morning, were bright. She looked first to Louise, who sat beside him at the table. He had his arm around her and ate with one hand, like he just couldn’t bear to stop touching her. After the week he’d had, it was the honest truth.
Then Tella looked at him. “You did it.”
“Told you I was going to.”
“What’s that about?” Louise asked.
“He told me he wanted to marry you, but he needed some time to talk you into it.”
“You two were conspiring against me?”
“Nope,” Ty said. “It was for you, since I’m such a catch.”
His sister snorted, and Louise rolled her eyes. After what he’d put her through, it was a wonder she didn’t dump her plate on his head for that smart comment, but she didn’t.
His mother beamed.
Georgia’s mouth hung open. “You’re giving up hockey?”
“I can be married and still play hockey. I’ve got a contract around here somewhere for another six years.” He looked around, wondering where he’d set it. “Not to brag, sis, but it’s one of the biggest contracts ever offered in the history of hockey.”
“A billion dollars?” Georgia asked skeptically.
Under his hand, Louise stiffened. His head jerked around to her, but she was staring at her plate, pushing the food around with her fork.
“No. Of course not.” His answer was for Georgia, but he was staring at Louise. Why had Georgia’s question caused her distress?
“What’s up with the billion dollars?” His eyes lasered in on his sister.
She lifted a shoulder. “Louise doesn’t get it if you don’t live here in North Dakota.” She stated it matter-of-factly, like it was something he should know.
Louise’s head was still down, but his mom looked as confused as he felt.
Georgia paused with a spoonful of potatoes halfway to her mouth. Her gaze took in Louise then him. His puzzled look. “Oh,” she said. “I’m sorry, Louise. I assumed you’d told him.”
“No.”
“It’s kind of a big deal,” Georgia said. “I never thought you wouldn’t tell him.”
“Tell me what?” Ty asked, starting to get frustrated.
Louise looked up but still didn’t meet his gaze. “I got a letter a few months ago. Palmer got the same thing, and it’s legit.”
“And?” he prompted, feeling the back of his neck tighten. He hated it when it did that. It always meant bad news.
“And it said that I was to inherit a billion dollars.”
Ty sat stunned. “I had no idea. That’s fantastic.” But she wasn’t smiling.
“There were a few stipulations.”
“Like?”
“Like I had to get married.”
He got it immediately. “That’s why you were with Paul.”
She nodded. “A little.”
“But you’ll still get it if we get married?”
“It doesn’t matter who I marry, but I have to be married by Christmas, and we have to settle in North Dakota in order for me to inherit the money. If we ever move out of the state, barring a doctor’s order, we forfeit the money and have to pay it back.” Louise finally met his gaze.
Ty’s lungs pushed out all the air that was in them. “You didn’t think to mention this to me?” he asked slowly.
“I did. But I didn’t want you to have to choose between hockey and me getting money.”
“You were going to give up a billion dollars so I could keep playing hockey?”
“You’re good at what you do, and you love it.”
He couldn’t quite comprehend the magnitude of what Louise had been willing to do.
She tilted her head. “There’s a contract lying around here.” She smiled a little at using his words. “It’s one of the biggest in hockey history. And it’s yours. You earned it, and I don’t want to take that away.”
“But you could have a billion dollars.”
“It’d be about half that once they took the taxes out.”
He rolled his eyes. “Five hundred million is nothing to sneeze at.”
Uncertainty crept into her eyes. “I’d rather be with you.”
He couldn’t doubt it. Not with the fact staring him right in the face that she’d been willing to give up a fortune for him. Literally.
It was then that he knew what he had to do.
Chapter 25
“You realized we’ve never actually been out on a date?” Ty asked his new wife.
The wedding ceremony had gone beautifully. Both of Louise’s brothers had stood up with them along with Georgia and Tella. Ford hadn’t come. They were going to visit him Monday when they went back to Sweet Water and picked up Tella from his mother’s place in town and headed out on their honeymoon.
They were going to see the Grand Canyon and figured they wanted Tella with them.
They were spending the next three nights on Ty’s new ranch, his old home. It’s where Louise wanted to stay.
“Does that make us less married?” Louise asked with a little smile from the passenger side of his truck he’d bought in the last week.
“No.” Their clasped hands sat on the console between them. As far as he knew, the wedding ceremony was going strong back in Sweet Water. They’d stayed an hour. Which was an hour longer than either of them wanted to. He was sure about this because after the wedding Louise had whispered that she was ready to go. His heart hadn’t stopped its frantic pumping since her breath had tickled his ear.
“But just mark down that I owe you. I can’t believe I’m married to a woman who has never been on a date.”
“Maybe that’s because the man I wanted to date was busy elsewhere.” She grinned at him as she said it, and he knew she wasn’t holding that against him, but it still sent pangs of guilt up his arm.
He’d announced his retirement from hockey this past week. It hadn’t been as hard as he’d thought it might be. He would always love the game. But it wasn’t even a choice that he’d agonized about. Louise was more important. The first week of training camp, when he couldn’t talk to her, had shown him that. And she’d given up so much for him, had been willing to give up so much more. A billion dollars. She’d rather have him than a billion dollars. Hockey was easy to give up when he considered what Louise was willing to do. Had done. Maybe they’d have some boys who would play.
That thought made his chest squeeze and he looked at Louise as the truck pulled to a stop in front of their new home. The papers for the house weren’t signed, but they were scheduled to go to the lawyer’s in two weeks and take care of it.
“What?” she asked.
“I want a boy,” he said.
Her eyes widened and her cheeks got a little red, but she didn’t drop her eyes. “Four boys.”
He blinked. “Think I’m gonna need to add on to the house.”
“And four girls.”
“Never mind, we’ll just live in the barn.”
She laughed. If she were nervous about tonight, it didn’t show. He had the feeling she wasn’t nervous, she was eager.
He, on the other hand, was extremely nervous. He hadn’t had a butterfly revolt of this magnitude in his stomach since his first professional hockey game. And even then it wasn’t this bad.
“Why am I so nervous?” he asked, glancing at Louise, before opening his door and walking around. His hand shook as he pulled the latch on her side and opened her door.
“You don’t need to be nervous. We can lock my brothers out tonight.” She took his hand and he helped her down.
The air had a definite chill, so they hurried into the house.
In the past week, they’d redone his parents�
� bedroom. They’d also gotten Tella’s room ready for her.
He thought his dad would be mostly happy about how things had turned out. He’d gotten his degree, which had been so important to his father. And his dad would have approved of Louise. More than approved. He would have loved Tella, too.
Louise hadn’t bothered with the whole big, white dress. She’d worn a pretty blue one that was fitted around the waist and had a skirt that flirted with her legs with every step she took.
He hung his coat up and helped Louise take hers off. His trembling hands would barely allow him to hand it up. It didn’t help that she stood right beside him and waited.
“Hungry?” he asked. She hadn’t eaten much at the reception.
She shook her head.
He allowed his hands to slide around her waist. “I’ve wanted to hold you since I saw you walking down the aisle.”
Her hands slid up his chest and out his shoulders. He hadn’t bothered with a suit or tie. He only wore a button up and her hand trailed heat right through it.
“You definitely have broader shoulders than you did in high school.” She leaned forward and placed her lips on his shoulder through the material of his shirt. “I like them.” Her voice was soft and breathy.
“Come here.” He pulled her closer. She lay her head on his chest and they swayed slowly together, like they were dancing, but there was no music.
“I’m sorry we missed so much.” He could have spent the last nine years with her.
“Let’s don’t look back.”
Her curves fit perfectly against his body. He couldn’t help running his hands up and down her back, feeling the flare of her hips, the dip of her waist.
“I think that’s a good idea.” He ran his fingers up her slender neck. “Am I allowed to take this down.” He touched her hair.
Her fingers left his shoulders. He slid his hands down and held her waist to him while she pulled out whatever was holding it up and shook it out. It tumbled around her shoulders and down her back, releasing the scent of flowers and vanilla.
He buried his nose and a hand in it. “Pretty,” he murmured. “Soft, too.”
Her hands slid around his waist. He closed his eyes.
They’d been slowly moving, just a little more than swaying, really, and he hadn’t been paying attention. So when his leg bumped the couch, he wasn’t expecting it and lost his balance. He managed to twist and they landed together, him on his back, her lying on top of him.
Cowboys Don't Have a Secret Baby Page 19
