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Chapter Twenty-Two
Hannah slopped through the mud, glad she’d worn the rubber boots that covered her jeans all the way to her knees. Rain had hit the Coastal Bend hard the past few days, as it sometimes did in the winter, and she kept her head bent as she hurried into the stable.
Jill would not be happy about the weather, as she’d been setting up for the first week of the Howdy Holiday Festival she’d started last year. The straw bales were soaking wet, as was the back drop Jill had dragged out literally the morning of the first rainstorm.
She hadn’t been back out to put any of it away yet, because she was six months pregnant, and she’d told Hannah she didn’t do anything she didn’t want to do. “What’s the point of being pregnant if I can’t use it to get out of unsavory tasks?” she’d asked Hannah with a devilish glint in her eyes.
Hannah had laughed with her and agreed. Of course, now that Luke had returned to Hope Eternal Ranch, everything made Hannah happy. They’d been back together for a little over three months, and they’d been talking about getting married in the past few weeks.
He hadn’t asked her to marry him yet, though, and Hannah tamped down her impatience as she bent to get a bottle of water from the fridge just inside the door. The rain seemed relentless, but it would calm down in a few minutes, and she’d be able to get back to the house without getting soaked to the bone.
Her phone rang, and Luke’s name sat on the screen. “Hey,” she said, her voice bright.
“Where are you? You’re not out in this, are you?”
“I’m hunkered down in the stables,” she said. “I just finished with the goats and chickens.”
“Angel, it’s getting worse. I’ll come get you.”
“There’s no sense in both of us being soaked,” she said. “It’ll let up in a few minutes. It always does.”
“The weatherman is saying it’s going to rain for hours, and that the storm out in the gulf has just officially become a tropical storm.”
Hannah’s heart pounded. She’d lived through storms and hurricanes in the past, but they weren’t fun—especially with animals to tend to. “Maybe you should come get me.”
“I’ll be right there.” He hung up, and Hannah wished she’d made it out earlier to get her chores done. She moved over to the door and peered into the weather. It was raining harder now, and the pounding on the roof increased.
She couldn’t see more than a few feet, and she prayed for Luke to hurry. “And that goes for proposing too, Lord,” she muttered.
A few minutes later, his headlights cut through the rain and mist, and Hannah ran the moment she left the stables. He somehow got her door open, and she rounded it and climbed into his truck, soaking wet. “Whew,” she said, reaching up to push her wet hair out of her eyes. “It’s crazy out there.”
He grinned at her. “You look great.”
She gaped at him. “I’m dripping wet.”
“Yeah,” he said, licking his lips. She laughed, and he did too, and she sure did like this happier, more whole version of Luke Holt.
He’d told her about all he’d done in Beeville, and they’d discussed moving up there so he could work for his uncle. In the end, he’d come out and said he didn’t want to do that. He loved Hope Eternal Ranch, and if she was okay with him being a cowboy, that was what he wanted to keep doing.
“Of course it’s okay with me,” she said. “I just want you to be happy.” She’d grinned at him. “And keep wearing that sexy hat.”
He’d laughed, and he’d swept that hat off as he’d kissed her.
“I’m a little bit of a dreamer,” he said. “A wisher on stars.”
“That’s fine with me,” she’d said as they’d swayed together in the kitchen at the West Wing. “Just take me with you wherever you go.”
Now, she looked at him, as he hadn’t moved the truck yet. “Are we going back?” She reached over and turned up the heater. “I’m freezing. I want a hot shower and someone to make me a good cup of coffee.” She slid him a smile, the wetness of her clothes starting to seep into her skin.
“I can do that,” he said, but he still didn’t move. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“All right.” Hannah quieted her nerves, because she and Luke had had a lot of important conversations over the months.
“This wasn’t exactly how I wanted to do this, but I promised my mother I’d do this by today, and I’m afraid of what might happen if I don’t.”
Hannah sat very still, not sure what he was talking about. She had the quick thought that perhaps he was breaking up with her. Why else would his mother be involved?
“Will you open that glove box for me?” he asked.
