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Cal threw all his clothes into a duffel bag. “Damn, I hate this hotel room.”
Nathan laughed and the two of them headed out the door.
CHAPTER 18
Lillian wore her favorite sundress tonight. She’d fixed chicken alfredo, and the French bread was in the oven, toasting. She hadn’t made garlic bread because she didn’t want them sharing garlic breath tonight.
That was if they both showed up. She was so afraid that Cal would not come, and if he didn’t, then her bags were packed, and she’d be out of here tonight. No need to wait till morning.
With a sigh, she set the table, lighting candles. The last butt plug was stuffed inside her, and she hoped that tonight if they both came, they would take her at the same time.
She’d never forget the look on Nathan’s face when she ran out the door. But she wanted to speak to them both at the same time. Going to Nathan was only because she had no idea where Cal was staying. And she wanted him to realize how much she wanted him to be happy.
After tonight, she never wanted to talk about Ron Thomas again. It was over, and she knew how big a role Cal had played in catching his grandfather. That had to hurt.
The man adored his grandfather and she hoped in time, they could all come to accept that he’d made some major mistakes that had hurt a lot of people. They could forgive, but they would never forget.
But first, they had to show up. She’d told Nathan to arrive at six and it was now five after six.
What if they didn’t come? What if she had to spend the night here one last time alone?
She heard a car door slam and peeked out the window. They were both here.
She ran to the door and threw it open.
“Hi,” she said suddenly feeling nervous.
A grin spread across Nathan’s face, but Cal seemed a little more reserved.
“We need to talk,” he said.
Nathan handed her flowers, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her like he never wanted to let her go. When they broke apart, she saw Cal was pacing the floor.
“Why did you sign the deed to the ranch back over to me?”
“Because you love this place as much as I do and I want you to be happy. What your grandfather did was not your fault. In fact, you brought him to justice,” she said.
“But you’ve been dreaming of owning this place again since you were a child,” he said walking over to her.
Everything was going to be all right. She smiled. “You’re right. I have. But I realized that I could never change the past. You helped me clear my grandfather’s name and I’m so thankful. You healed my family, and in the process, I fell in love with you. I can’t live here without you and Nathan by my side. And the only way I knew how to show you how much I love you was to give you the place that we both love.”
Tears welled in Cal’s eyes and he pulled her into his arms. “I loved you before what went down with my grandfather. But I feared saying anything because I didn’t want you to think I just loved you because of the ranch. We could leave here tomorrow, and as long as you were by my side, I’d be happy.”
Oh, how she loved this man.
“No, my grandmother said we are the next generation to live here. To make this house into a happy home. She said she wanted us to fill this house with love and laughter and cleanse the evil from this home and make it a happy place once again. That can only happen with the three of us here together. I love you, Cal. I love you, Nathan. I can only stay here if you are with me,” she said.
Cal leaned down and kissed her thoroughly. Then he dropped to one knee and Nathan joined him. “I have two conditions.”
She’d thought he was going to ask her to marry them. He was down on one knee and yet he still had conditions.
“What?”
“The ranch deed should be in all of our names. Yours and mine and Nathan’s. And that you’ll marry us. I want to be the legal husband since it will be the merging of our families, and Nathan will be husband number two. I love you, Lillian. I have almost from the time we met and I’ve been devastated because I didn’t think you would want me after what my grandfather did. Please marry me and let’s put the past behind us.”
Love filled her, and she pulled her men to their feet.
“Yes,” she said. “I love the both of you. Let’s make the Sweet B our family home where we start our life together. Where we raise a family and give the next generation a ranch they love.”
