Loving You (Love Wanted in Texas) (25 page)

A tear slowly made its way down my cheek as I held my breath.

“Will you marry me, Taylor?”

A sob slipped from my lips as I pulled back and looked into his beautiful blue eyes. My tears spilled out as Jase reached up and wiped them away.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! A million and one times yes!”

I’d never seen Jase smile so big before. “You have no idea how happy I am right now!”

“You?” I said with a giggle. “I’m pretty sure I have an idea.”

“Buckle up, I need to get going.”

Doing as he asked, I quickly buckled up. My heart was beating rapidly and I couldn’t contain my smile.

Jase asked me to marry him.

Marry him!

When he reached for my hand, butterflies danced around like mad.
I wonder if I’ll ever tire of his touch? Never.

Pulling up, Jase parked and jumped out of his truck. He ran over to my side, opened the door and pulled me out. Holding me in his arms, my feet dangled while he kissed me again.

“Don’t say anything to my mom!”

Nodding. “I won’t.”

“I’ve got to run.”

Running back around the truck, Jase jumped in and rolled the passenger side window down.

“I love you!”

“Wait!” I called. “Is your mom expecting me? Do I just walk in?”

He flashed his dimples and nodded. “Just walk in, sweetness.”

Putting the truck in drive, he started to take off slowly. “I love you too! Be careful!”

“Always!” he shouted and took off. I stood there like a silly girl who had just received her first kiss. Watching his truck until I couldn’t see it anymore, I wrapped my arms around my body and started running in place as I let out a squeal of delight.

“My . . . that must have been some kiss.”

I spun on my heels and looked at Whitley. “Oh . . . um . . . well.” I let out a soft chuckle. There was no way I could hide how happy I felt. My cheeks actually hurt from smiling so big.

Whitley walked down the front porch steps toward me. “That smile is the most brilliant smile I think I’ve ever seen.”

Covering my cheeks with my hands, I could feel my face on fire.

Stopping right in front of me, she tilted her head and examined me. My hands moved to my mouth where I tried like hell not to smile. The back of my throat ached as I attempted to hold it in. There were no words I could say. If I tried to talk I was surely going to laugh or cry.

“Oh my word,” Whitley whispered.

Wrapping her arm around my shoulders, she guided me up the stairs and into the house. She took my hand and pulled me quickly into the kitchen where she motioned for me to sit down. Whitley stood back and regarded me carefully before turning and getting two wine glasses down.

I’d never in my life experienced being this happy before. There could not have been any better way for Jase to ask me that than right at that moment. Straight from his heart.

Whitley poured wine into each glass and handed me one while she sat down and watched me carefully.

Taking a deep breath, I took a drink and set the glass down.

“Now . . . breathe in and slowly let it out.”

I did what she said.

With a wide grin, she lifted her brows and waited for me to talk.

“Sorry about that. Jase and I have just had a really wonderful day.”

“That’s obvious and I’m glad to see he makes you happy, Taylor. I hope you know how happy you make him.”

Nodding my head, I bit the inside of my cheek.

“You seem to be glowing. I take it something . . . magical happened today.”

Chewing on my thumbnail, I grinned. “Every day is magical with Jase.”

“Every mother wants to hear a woman talk about her son that way.”

I closed my eyes and sighed. “Oh, Whitley. You and Layton did an amazing job because Jase makes me feel so alive.”

Feeling my face heat, I shook my head and looked away. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be talking about your own son that way.”

Whitley reached for my hands. “Yes! You should.”

The excitement of the last few minutes grew more. Thinking about Jase asking me to marry him, I placed my hand on my stomach to calm the butterflies. “He says the sweetest things to me,” I gushed.

Scrunching her nose, she grinned. “Oh, he got that from his daddy. Layton has a way of making me feel so loved and special.”

“Yes!” I replied.

She chuckled and then winked as she said, “But he also has a way of bringing out another side of me that is . . . only for him.”

Feeling my face warm, I whispered, “Yes.”

It was as if a memory swept through her mind as she fell back against the chair and smiled even bigger. “I have so many wonderful memories with that man.”

“You both seem to be so in love still. My parents are the same way. The way my father looks at my mother gives me chills. I see Layton look at you the same way.”

“And I see Jase look at you that way.” She leaned forward and took my hands in hers. “Taylor, there are going to be ups and downs. More ups in the beginning for sure, but life is going to test your love for one another as well as your patience and trust. You’ll come across people who are jealous of what the two of you share and they will do whatever they can to try and rip it apart.”

I instantly thought of Jill and the stunt she had pulled.

“Don’t let them. The key is communicating. If you’re upset or angry about something, you have to talk to each other. The worse mistake you could ever make is holding it in because you think it will get better. Don’t hold things in . . . talk about it.”

I wasn’t sure what came over me, but it was as if I was bubbling with excitement and I had to tell someone right that very second.

“Jase just asked me to marry him!” Slamming my hands over my mouth, my eyes widened.

Whitley gasped. “I knew it! I could tell the moment I saw you jumping all around!”

Dropping my hands, I said, “I wasn’t supposed to say anything.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’re secret is safe with me. I won’t tell a soul until the two of you are ready.”

Moving my feet as if I was running in place, I let out another squeal. “I’m engaged!”

We both jumped up and grabbed hands as we jumped all around until we hugged. I knew in that moment Whitley was going to be so much more to me than just a mother-in-law. I already felt like I could tell her anything. I had just gained someone amazing in my life.

The day couldn’t get any better . . . that was until Whitley pushed me back at arm’s length and said, “Welcome to the family, Taylor.”

Jase

Rounding up the last cow, I led her back onto our property as my father whistled for Reed and Walker to bring them on up while we worked on repairing the fence.

I grabbed the fence pulls and headed over to where my father was working.

“So, are you going to tell me why you can’t wipe that shit-eating grin off your face?”

Thinking back to Taylor saying yes, my damn stomach fluttered like a pansy ass.

I had no clue why I did it, but I blurted it out. “I asked Taylor to marry me and she said yes.”

My father stopped what he was doing and looked up at me. All I could see was his blue eyes set off from the black cowboy hat he was wearing. When a smile slowly moved across his face and his hand reached out for mine, I let myself breathe.

“Well, congratulations are in order then.”

Nodding and feeling like a damn schoolboy who just got his first kiss, I replied, “Thanks, Dad.”

“Oh hell,” he said as he pulled me into his arms. He slapped me three times on the back and said, “Your mother is going to be a crying mess when she finds out.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “I feel like I’m about to be a crying mess.”

“And that’s okay if you do. Love does crazy things to us. I once washed with women’s fragrance soap then kicked one of my best friend’s asses all before a huge business meeting.”

Furrowing my brows, I asked, “Why?”

He shrugged and said, “Because of love. Your mother had me in knots in the beginning. Half the time I didn’t know which way was up and which way was down. Shit . . . she still does.”

Letting out a gruff laugh, I agreed. “Sounds familiar.”

“Did you make it special for her?”

Looking away, I sighed. “Nope. I kind of blurted it out in the truck at the end of our driveway. It’s weird, Dad. It was like I had to ask her right that second or I was going to explode.”

“Sometimes it’s the spur of the moment things we do that they love the most. There have been times when I had every intention of planning the most elaborate romantic evening ever, only to have it fall apart and I have to take her on a moonlight picnic. It never fails . . . she falls apart in a crying mess and proclaims me to be the most romantic man in the world.”

My mouth fell open. “Holy fuck, Dad. I’d hate to see what an elaborate romantic evening would be because I’d have never thought about a moonlight picnic.”

He smiled and winked. “You can use it, son. I don’t mind.”

Laughing, I clipped the fence pullers onto the fence.

“I just want to make her happy.”

My father attached the clips as he looked up at me. “It’s not that hard. Make sure you always make her feel special. Even if she is sick as a dog and her nose is all red from blowing it all day and her hair looks a mess and she’s talking like Fran Drescher . . . tell her she’s beautiful.”

Looking at him with a confused expression, I asked, “Who’s Fran Drescher?”

He rolled his eyes and twisted the clip. “Never mind. The point is, never lose an opportunity to let her know how special she is to you. Remind her every day that you love her more than life itself. Surprise her with little things like a single rose.” He stood up, took off his hat and wiped the sweat away with his shirt sleeve. “Better yet, pay attention when she says she likes something. Your mother once went on and on about this book she loved so much. With the help of Courtney, I contacted the author and got her a signed book.”

He wiggled his eyebrows and said, “Nine months later Liza was born.”

I made a gagging motion and held up my hand. “TMI, Dad. Way too much.”

“The bottom line, Jase, is treat her like a princess. Be the reason she smiles . . . not cries. And most of all, be faithful to her.”

We finished the fence repairs in silence as I let everything he said sink in. I tossed the tools into the back of the ranch truck as my father climbed in. Walking up to his door, I cleared my throat.

“Um . . . don’t say anything yet about me asking Taylor to marry me. I’m not sure when she’ll want to tell everyone.”

“Sure. Your secret is safe with me.”

With a slap on his shoulder, I flashed him a smile. “Thanks, Dad. For the advice and for listening.”

“Anytime, Jase. I’m always here if you need me. For anything.”

Taking a step back, I shut the door and watched him drive off.

Making my way back to the truck, I sent Taylor a text.

Me: Finished and heading back.

Taylor: Okay! Talking with your mom! We’re having fun making fudge so take your time.

My heart felt full and content as I read her text again. I couldn’t wait for my mother to find out that Taylor and I were getting married. The look on her face would be priceless.

Walker and I fed the herd while my father and Reed went over some information Ryder had sent them regarding converting fully over to organic. I was meeting Nate in two days in Austin to fly out and tour an organic cattle ranch in Wyoming. Since I’d be handling most of the cattle ranch and Walker focused on the breeding of the horses, it only made sense that I would be the one to go.

“All right, dude. I’m heading home to my wife and son. You got this?” Walker asked.

“Yeah, I’ll finish up, you go on. Taylor is back at the house with my mom so no worries.”

Walker tipped his hat and headed out of the barn. “Tell Liza I said hey.”

He held up his hand and waved. “Will do.”

“And give my nephew a high five!”

Calling over his shoulder, he said, “Got it!”

After finishing everything up, I checked in on Bell. She was a new mare I had bought for Taylor who was expecting a foal in the next week or so. Taylor was beyond excited.