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Hope nodded. What else could she do?
Drew took her hand and led her outside, where a beautiful palomino hitched to a sleigh awaited.
"What in the world?"
"What I want to show you is difficult to get to by vehicle and harder in the snow. A four-wheeler or snowmobile might be easier to navigate, but a sleigh ride seemed more romantic."
Hope's heart bloomed inside her chest. "I love it," she declared, her breath coming out in white puffs with each word.
Drew helped her into the sleigh before rounding the back and joining her on the red velvet bench seat. He tucked the afghan around her, then picked up the reins and gave them a gentle shake, which, along with a few clicks of his tongue, propelled the horse forward.
"Where did you get this?” Hope asked as the horse trotted through the snow under Drew's expert direction.
"My dad bought it for my mom when we were kids."
How cool. Hope snuggled closer to Drew. "So, where are you taking me?"
"You'll see," he teased with a wink. "Besides, I can’t do it justice with only a description.”
It took about ten minutes until they reached a vast clearing where a sparkling creek cut a wide, lazy path through the glistening carpet of white. A grove of trees stood sentinel on the far side perimeter of the stream, snow clinging to each branch as more started to lightly fall from the overcast sky.
Drew pulled on the reins, slowing the horse to a halt. Awestruck, Hope couldn't take her eyes away from the breathtaking winter wonderland stretching out in front of her. "It's absolutely gorgeous." And like the man beside her, the scene simply took her breath away.
He set the brake on the sleigh. "Even without the snow, it's still pretty impressive."
Hope turned her head to look at him. "I'm guessing it has special meaning for you." It must, or why would he have bothered to cart her all the way out here in the snow? Much less in a horse-drawn carriage in below-freezing temperatures.
Not that Hope minded. Truth be told, she'd have endured blizzard conditions to set her sights on this magnificent parcel of Lone Oaks. Especially since Drew obviously wanted her to see it.
"After Reese proposed to Olivia, my grandparents gave each of us a section of land." He inclined his head forward. "This is mine." Shifting, Drew took her hand in his and locked his beautiful eyes with hers. "I'd like it to be ours."
Hope's chest constricted on a barely audible gasp. "Oh, Drew." All other words failed her as her emotions ran amok, hitting hard and fast. Everything from shocking disbelief to abject fear to guarded happiness, each battling valiantly for supremacy over the other.
"I know it probably seems like I had this planned all along, but I didn't. In fact, when I asked you to come home with me, I had every intention of returning to Wakefield in January and accepting Neil's partnership offer. I only agreed to Pops' proposition to mollify him and spend time with my family. But only if you agreed to come with me, since there was no freaking way I could bear the thought of leaving you behind. Not for six days, let alone six weeks. And definitely not for your first Thanksgiving and Christmas without your father."
"So you've said." And he had. Repeatedly. Only this time, Hope didn't take any offense at his overprotective nature where she was concerned. How could she when it was one of the reasons she'd fallen for him so completely? "But thisiswhere you belong, Drew. Returning to your roots and working with your grandfather like the two of you planned all those years ago." She smiled up at him. "It's your destiny."
"No. You're my destiny, Hope. Because without you, nothing else matters. Not where I live or where I work." Drew shook his head. "Nothing."
Though Drew's words reached right in and curled around her heart, Hope found it impossible to shake her lingering companions of doubt and apprehension. She wanted to. God, how she wanted to, but something continued to hold her back. What the hell was it?
And then it hit her.
The baby. The real reason they were together in the first place. Because if they hadn't slept together, she wouldn't have gotten pregnant, and right now, their relationship would still be strictly platonic and professional.
Right?
"What about the baby?" The question tumbled out before she could stop it. But maybe that was a good thing.
"Of course, our little coconut matters, Hope. But please believe me when I say that in no way has he or she ever defined how I feel about you." He tapped his breastbone with his fist. "Not in here. Because since the first moment I saw you, my heart belonged to you. And it always will."
Drew trailed a gloved finger along the line of her jaw. "I love you, Hope. More than I ever thought it was possible to love anyone. And though coming back and working with Pops has convinced me I don't want to limit my practice but rather expand it to include animals of all sizes and breeds, it won't mean a thing without you as my partner—professionally, but most importantly, personally.”
Hope didn't think her heart could get any fuller. She was wrong. "Then I guess that means Wakefield is no longer an option."
"It doesn't rule out Louisville, though. Or even Kentucky."
"But Lone Oaks is your home."
