by Taylor Hart
Ryan laughed with them. Then, a thought struck him. “So partners, I think it’s time to take matters into our own hands.”
Chapter 36
“Dinner was great.” Ryan sat at the Talon table. He’d sat here many times before many, many years ago.
Sara stood and gathered plates. “Oh, it’s nice to cook for people once in awhile. I really don’t cook that much these days.” She winked at Sam. “Except when my favorite grandson comes over and wants something special.
Sam grinned that grin all boys have when they know they have their grandmother wrapped around their finger. “And she cooks good, too.”
Ryan winked at him. “You speak the truth, kid.”
Sam stood. “You said you would go to the tree house and look at the stars if I got my math done. I think I’ve found a whole new solar system. Can I show you?”
Ryan peered at Charlotte. “I will in a bit. Will you let me talk to your mama and grandma for a few minutes?”
“I’ll be waiting.” Sam scampered off out the back door and ran down the steps.
Ryan sighed, thinking of the times that he and Charlotte had done just that after dinner to get away from the adults, or to go on a ride to the falls.
Charlotte drummed the table with her fingers. “What’s on your mind, Ryan?”
He stood and picked up his dishes.
Sara shooed him back down. “No, no, you know that I do the dishes in my kitchen.” She went back and forth between the table and sink: emptying food, rinsing dishes, sorting and stacking them into the dishwasher.
The side of Charlotte’s lip went up, and she lazily sat there, twirling a piece of her brilliant red hair. “You know how she is.”
Ryan grinned and relaxed. It was perfect. Being here with them at this table was perfect. He didn’t want to tell them how completely content he felt at this moment. He didn’t want it to end. He cleared his throat. “So, I’ve been talking with Richard. Breaking the land trust doesn’t look like a possibility.”
Her mother stopped moving. “Really?”
Ryan turned to Charlotte. “But there is a way.”
Charlotte quit drumming and sat up straight. “What?”
Ryan hated the way the back of his throat had gone dry. He hated how he almost hadn’t brought up this option because of their past, but after much discussion with his brothers, he knew he had to. “Look, my brothers and I don’t want to see this land go to the government. You’ve been our neighbors, our friends. You’ve stuck by us.”
Her mother crossed her arms. “Get to the point, Ryan.”
He sucked in a breath and looked at Charlotte. “Nathan was right about something, and I confirmed it with Richard. You can still agree to take on partners to help you out of this bind. They could be limited partners, too, so once you’re in the clear, once the partner is paid off, your partnership could dissolve.” He waited, hesitated, not wanting to finish.
Charlotte lifted her hands. “Well?”
He stood. “We want to become partners with you. We think if we all work together we can combine our two ranches. Heck, Beau was telling me the farming side of the organic vegetables could be increased by two-fold, and he’d have more land to graze our cows. I was also thinking about what the development company wanted to do. It wouldn’t have to be big, but we could make a fancy path up to some rich, snobby, luxury condos—limited condos that would offer retreats. Not used all year. Only when we wanted to rent them. We wouldn’t develop any type of community up there and the tourists would have to take day trips into the town and support the local economy.”
He knew he was talking fast, but this idea felt better every time he talked about it. He had started to see this really grow.
Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows. “But there’s still that little snafu about the million dollars we owe for taxes.”
Ryan put some dishes on the counter. “I know.”
Charlotte took some dishes and followed him to the counter. “Well.”
He stopped in front of her. Their eyes locked. Even though he was almost a foot taller, the distance had never felt that far. “I got it.”
The inside of her chest began to squeeze, and she couldn’t breathe.
He put his hands on her shoulders. “Char, are you okay?”
She pulled in some air. “What do you mean—you got it?”
He let out a breath. “I’m selling my partnership in Vincere Real Estate and investing all the money into this project.”
“Ryan?” Sara gulped in a high-pitched noise. “You can’t do that.”
Ryan shook his head. “Richard wants my partnership. He agreed to front us the million until we get the paperwork put together. He confided that he thought of the solution, but was waiting for me to see it.” He grinned. “That’s Richard.”
“What about the fact your company needed to sell this land to survive?”
Ryan shrugged. “Now that Richard’s on board, it gives Vincere Real Estate more time. I just got off the phone with Alan before I got here and he’s thrilled, to say the least, with the fact that Richard will provide some cash flow relief.” He cocked his head to the side. “I guess they’re much better off without me.”
Every part of Charlotte felt upturned and jittery. Her mother’s words flashed through her mind ‘he’s come back for you.’ It was too much for her. She stumbled back.
He helped her sit back down. “What’s wrong, Charlotte?” He looked concerned, but happy. In fact, he looked really happy.
“What about your life in L.A.?”
Ryan grinned. “I think I want to come home. Permanently.”
She couldn’t wrap her mind around this. “Just like that?”
He nodded and tapped his boot for punctuation. “If you’ll have me.”
Suddenly, Charlotte realized why the intensity in his eyes overwhelmed her. Why he had so eagerly agreed to come to dinner. Why her mother kept giving her sideline glances through dinner. He did want her. Them. This.
But Charlotte knew that it wouldn’t work out. It couldn’t. Ryan didn’t know it. Her mother didn’t know it. But she did. Sometimes the secrets of the past were too much. The past could not be rewritten with one cozy partnership. Charlotte bolted out of the house. “Sam, we’ve got to get home early tonight. You have school tomorrow.”
“But Mom, Ryan promised he would—”
“I don’t care.” Charlotte continued down the steps and toward the tree house. “You’re going to have to play with him another time.” It was all whirling around her. Past her. Inside of her. All the emotions. All the memories. All the lies.
“Charlotte.” Charlotte looked up into her mother’s confused face. “What are you doing?”
Charlotte ushered Sam toward her car. “I’m going to go home, Mother, and I’m going to take a minute and think.”
Ryan joined her mother on the porch. His eyes were vulnerable, glassy, and a little bit angry. “Charlotte?”
The rush of pain from seeing his confusion almost overwhelmed her. She pushed Sam into the back seat and didn’t meet his gaze. “I can’t. I can’t. I just have to think about this.”
Before she got into the car all the way, he was there, standing next to her. His fresh rain smell intoxicated and smothered her, driving her out of her mind.
“Char,” he said, and held the car door open.
She leaned back into the seat and put the key into the ignition.
“I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Scared. No. No. No. Something between mortified and completely humiliated and embarrassed.
Her first boyfriend was going to come back to town and risk his whole livelihood—for what? To make it so her ex-husband would lose.
No. It wasn’t weird, whacky, unnerving at all. It could never happen. He didn’t know that, but she did. She had been reminded of it today.
Ryan hunched down and touched her hand. “Just come back inside.”
She wanted to pull away, but she didn’t.
&nb
sp; He grinned.
“What?”
“What?” He lifted her chin softly, and she was caught in his eyes. The piercing blue managed to look soft. This close she could see the tiny gold that flecked them. He’d always had such beautiful eyes.
He leaned down. His lips brushed hers, and tingles shivered through her. “I think it’s time for us to move on.”
“But—”
He put his finger to her lips. “Shh. Just let it be. Just let this be for a minute, okay?”
But it wasn’t okay. It wasn’t okay at all. And it never would be. “Ryan.”
He was already standing and waving them off. “I’ll see you tomorrow. We’ll break the news to Nathan at the meeting in Joe’s office tomorrow.” His eyes lit up. “Now that’s something to look forward to.”
As she pulled onto the main road, Sam asked, “Is he going to be my new dad?”
By the time Charlotte had put Sam to bed, she knew by the crazy anxiety inside of her that sleep would evade her. She’d never been that great of a sleeper, and she knew she might as well tell him.
So she sat on the couch in the front of the bookstore, and she wondered what to do. She couldn’t keep it from him. Tears bubbled into her eyes, and she swiped at them—the traitors to her heart. How could she tell him after everything? But after the look in his eyes tonight, the truth would be the only thing that could deter him. So she texted him and asked if he would come over.
Of course he came. Twenty minutes later she heard the truck door shutting. She didn’t wait for him to knock at the back of the shop. She simply held open the screen door.
He looked good—fresh, like he’d taken a five minute shower just to meet her. His fresh rain smell was back, the one she couldn’t get out of her head, the one she wanted to roll around in.
He hesitated at the door. Charlotte instantly knew what he thought. What this would be.
Before she could tell him what it really was, he was two steps through the door and had his lips on hers. He pulled her to him. His arms were strong. His hunger was explosive.
She pushed him back. “Stop, Ryan. Stop.”
Ryan reared back, and his eyes swept the length of her.
The fact she was in her night gown had been inconsequential to her. She hadn’t even thought about it. Not really. She always put on the long, white cotton gown. It wasn’t sexy at all. In fact, it was quite modest.
Ryan closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. “You’re so beautiful. Do you know that? Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”
He didn’t wait for her to answer. He softly kissed her shoulder, so soft and tender and whispery it gave Charlotte tingles down her spine.
He whispered in her ear. “I’ve thought of you, Char.” He let out another sigh. “I’ve tortured myself to get you out of my head, but it didn’t work. I’ve tried to run, jump off cliffs, jump out of planes, scale mountains just to get your face to disappear.” He kissed her neck then inhaled next to her ear. “You’re like this part of me that’s always been there.” He laughed. “A made up fairytale that I think started clear back on the night of that prom.”
Charlotte had her eyes closed, and she let herself get wrapped up in the moment. The intoxicating, drug-induced feel of the moment. To be completely honest, it felt good to hear his admission—that he wanted her, that he thought of her, that he’d been tortured as much as her. “I know.” She whispered back.
His lips were pressed to her jawline, but he pulled back and stared into her eyes. “You know?”
Gently, Charlotte lifted her hand and touched his cheek. “It was always you, Ryan. My whole life was you.” Chills ran down her back. The truth of it covered them like a warm blanket.
The moment was tender and sweet and kind. It was something Charlotte hadn’t had in a long time.
His hands slid down her arms. He pulled her closer. His kisses turned more wanting.
When he reached her lips, he paused. He stared into her eyes. “I’m thinking we should do this right, Char. I’m thinking we get married and do a big wedding out at the ranches like we always talked about.” He grinned, and her heart hurt. “I could have Beau and Sean and Kent as my best men. Alan and his family and Richard could come. Your mom and your friends, even the witch would be there.”
She jerked back and laughed despite the fact it was painful. His words rained down on her life like sharp, pelting ice cubes in a storm. “Wait. I have to tell you something.”
Ryan blinked and took in her reaction. Then he got down on one knee.
Her heart rate spiked.
He kept her hand firmly between his. “After the past couple of days, I finally feel like I know. I know my purpose, my place, the reason the Lord kept me alive. To be here. With you. To have a family. To be a part of a family. It was how it should have been. Charlotte Talon, will you marry me?”
Chapter 37
Ryan didn’t know how he had gotten to this point. But he was here, and if he had learned anything from his time fighting in Afghanistan, it was that time was precious. Today when Nathan swooped in and tried to take her away again, he knew he couldn’t have that. He couldn’t have the woman he loved manipulated by that piece of trash.
If anybody was going to save her, it better be him. This time, it had to be him.
So here he was. Waiting. Watching the emotions ripple across her face like a tumultuous ocean on a stormy night. “Marry me.”
She lightly tugged her hand away. “I—”
He was still teetering on the edge, and, even though he’d been through the emotional wreckage of a terrorist organization that hadn’t succeeded in breaking him, he knew that this was different. She could break him with one word. One look. One truth. “Charlotte?”
She wiped her hands down her clothes and then focused back on him. “Did you regret it, Ryan?”
“Did I regret what?”
“Leaving?”
“Charlotte.”
“Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Evade the question.”
Ryan gazed into her eyes. All pretenses fell away. “Every day.”
Her face scrunched into misery.
He stood. “Every second. Every moment. A whole lifetime. I regret so many things, so many things that I can’t even talk about, but, yes, Charlotte, even with all the other things, I regret leaving you the most.”
Tears filled her eyes. This could not be happening.
The center of his chest tried to push shut the gaping need for her. “Charlotte.” He leaned forward and their lips met. This time it was sweet and passionate and painful.
She pulled back and her face contorted into a look Ryan didn’t know if he could ever recover from. Her lip trembled. A tear fell down her cheek. “I’m so sorry.”
He took her into his arms and held her like he’d imagined he would have if things had been different. “What’s wrong? What—”
She broke into a sob. “You were supposed to come back.”
Ryan tried to clear his head. “I thought we could get passed this.”
“When you left—“
He grabbed her shoulders. “I was a dumb, stupid kid that thought doing something for the greater good would make things right. I—I didn’t know that concepts like that aren’t real. Only this is real.”
She bit into the bottom of her lip. “I can’t do this.”
He shook her. “This is all there is. Look, I’ve been fighting it too—the past, the misery—but I’ve realized that the only ones that can change our lives are us. C’mon, Charlotte, let’s do this. Let’s just let go and be happy. Let’s just start over. Let’s choose to have our own happily ever after.”
Her lip trembled.
He watched her. This wasn’t her. She looked more than shaken, stirred up, out of sorts—she looked like she would never come back together. “Charlotte, what is going on?”
Charlotte glared at him. “I loved you. I loved you so much, for so long, and then you didn’t co
me back. And I knew you weren’t coming back. I knew it.”
“Charlotte—”
“He’s your son.”
Every part of him froze.
Tears streamed down her cheeks. She squeezed her eyes shut for a second. “He’s your son.”
All the breath went out of him. Sam.
She gently touched his cheek. “I couldn’t ask you to come back here.”
He stepped back. She’d kept this from him. He had a son? The shock of it all lit him up like an electrical wire. He fell back then caught himself.
“The night before you left.”
He shook his head and looked at her. The last night. It had been the memory that had kept him going. Of her and their desperation that had filled that last night.
She shook her head. “I realize now that I had a choice. I didn’t have to marry someone to have a baby, but I didn’t realize it then. You had left, my parents had separated, and you weren’t coming back. I didn’t think I could do it on my own.”
He didn’t hear all her words. Everything started to mesh together. “That’s why you married him?”
She stopped talking and tears filled her eyes. “I wanted my baby to have a father, a family. I wanted him to have a place where he would belong.”
The inside of Ryan’s mouth suddenly felt cottony and rough. “You didn’t even give me a chance.”
She blinked. “I couldn’t. Not the way you were so messed up after your father. Not … It was bad, Ry.”
He didn’t think he’d ever known what it meant to have an out of body experience, but now he was having one. “And Nathan knows he’s not the real father.”
She glared at him, but tears flowed freely down her cheeks. “Yes. He came to me at a very vulnerable time and I told him the truth. He asked me to marry him.” She turned away from him, trembling. “He is the father because I put his name down on the birth certificate. I can’t do the deal with you. Nathan told me he would take Sam away from me if I didn’t convince my mother to be his partner. And he will. I know he will.”
