AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You sure you’re okay with this?”
“I’m getting married without the usual hassles—of course, I’m sure.”
“Good answer.” He grinned as they stepped into the house.
––––––––
By eight o’clock theywere all gathered in the dining room. The table was beautifully laid with Charlie’s best china, and Christmas decorations. In the corner, the huge Christmas tree was lit up, giving the big room that special warm-and-fuzzy Christmas feeling.
Lindsay sighed and caught Charlie and Gavin’s eyes. They were all thinking of Christmas days past when their parents had been still alive.
But Charlie patted her eyes with a tissue and smiled. “No tears tonight—we have so much to be thankful for and to celebrate.”
Logan got up and cleared his throat. “We have several announcements to make before we eat.”
“Really?” Eleanor called out. “Does it have to be now with the food in front of us? I don’t know about the rest of you but I’m hungry.”
“One of the announcements concerns you, Mom.” Logan grinned.
Warily, she looked first at Logan and then at Brooke. “You’re not going to put me in an old age home, are you?”
Everyone burst out laughing and Logan shook his head. “They’ll send you back. I won’t dare,” he joked. “Besides, we want you close to us, and I’ll get to that in a little while. But first things first. We’ve decided on a name for our baby girl.”
Eleanor’s eyes immediately filled with tears. “Yes?” she breathed.
“She’s going to have her grandma’s name!” Charlie called out just as Logan opened his mouth.
He tried to look sternly at his wife, but she got up and kissed him. “You were taking way too long. She’ll be Eleanor, but we’ll call her Ellie.”
Eleanor clutched her chest with both hands. “Oh, how wonderful,” she sniffed. “I’m so happy. Ellie. What a beautiful name.”
“It means ‘shining light,’” Charlie said. “Like her grandma.”
While Eleanor looked for a tissue in her bag, Brooke smiled. “So what other announcements do you have?”
“Well,” Logan said, taking Charlie’s hand. “Charlie and I have been talking. We have this big ranch and we’d like to share it with you. That is, of course, if you want to. Blake has already agreed—part of his surprise for you, Lindsay, so I’ll leave it to him to explain. But Mom and Brooke, and of course, Gavin, we’d like all of you to come and stay on the ranch. Everyone would have his or her own house, of course. But we’ll be together and this way, Mom, you can see your granddaughter whenever you like.”
“Think about it,” Charlie said. “You don’t have to decide right now, but I can’t think of anything nicer than to have all of you close by. But now, let’s eat!”
By this time, Lindsay’s head was reeling.
Blake took her hand. “Say something? Will you be okay with living here on the ranch close to your sister and brother?”
Still stunned, Lindsay nodded. “I can’t think of anything more wonderful, but how? And when? I...I don’t...”
Smiling, Blake kissed her. “Logan reached out with the suggestion that we build our own house on the ranch. I know how close you and Charlie are...”
“But what about you? Are you okay with the idea of staying on Logan’s farm?”
“I simply want to be where you are. Besides, thanks to Miss Betty, I was able to invest in the ranch, so now we own part of it.”
“Really?”
“Really. Our house isn’t finished, though, but we have a bedroom for tonight, and tomorrow night before I whisk you away on our honeymoon, we’ll spend the night there together.”
Shaking her head, Lindsay laughed. “Well, my head is spinning. It’s a good thing I love surprises, isn’t it?”
“A very good thing.” He grinned and took her hand. “You sure about marrying me?”
