Page 44 of Cowboy's Christmas Wife

“These are plans to build a treehouse in the backyard here. It resembles the old one as best as I could manage, working from memory. I know how much you loved yours, so I thought we could build this for Lily so that she has a hangout for her and her friends.”

“Are you…planning on living here?”

Daryl nodded. “If that’s what you want, I will. You deserve to have your family’s house, and I wouldn’t want to keep you from that. The ranch doesn’t really need me there every night. We hired a new man, and Kyle really likes him. They’ll both be on-site if any emergencies come up. I might need to stay at the ranch a few times a year when things are really busy, but I think I’ll be able to work my schedule to give you the time and attention that you and Lily deserve and come home to you nearly every night.”

Laura could hardly believe what she was hearing. It had to be some sort of dream, right? “I love you too,” she said, just in case it was a dream. She wanted those words out and on the record. “I think I’m scared of how much I love you somedays.” Daryl leaned in and kissed her then. Although he probably meant it to be soft and sweet, it was like throwing a match on a powder keg. She threw her arms around him and nearly climbed into his lap trying to get closer to him. They kissed for a long while until he eased back so that he could press kisses all over her face.

“Let me show you something,” he said and pulled her up to her feet. She followed him into Lily’s room and, steering her forward, pointed to the molding around the closet.

Laura didn’t understand for a split second, but then she saw the marks from her growth chart. “Where did you find it?” she breathed.

Daryl rubbed at the back of his neck. “I went dumpster diving out front.”

When she turned, Laura gasped out loud: Daryl had dropped to one knee and had a ring box in his hand. “I never got you an engagement ring,” he said and opened the box. It was a beautiful diamond on a simple platinum band. “I want you to keep wearing my Mama’s ring,” he told her, “but it would be my honor if you would wear this one as well. Laura Jo, would you be my wife? For real this time? I don’t want to lose you.”

Tears flooded her gaze. “I don’t want to lose you either,” she said.

He laughed, joyous. “Is that a yes?”

She held up her hand. “Yes,” she said. “yes, yes!” Daryl, only fumbling slightly, put the ring on the same finger that she still wore his mother’s wedding band, and then stood to pull her into his arms. They stood that way for a long while, murmuring soft words of love to one another.

When he finally let her go, he gestured for them to return to the living room. “A few more surprises,” he said.

Laura laughed. “I don’t think I can handle anymore tonight.”Please never stop. They sat back on their picnic blanket again, and he pulled out two chocolate cupcakes from the basket. “Are those—?”

“Cupcakes from the bakery downtown,” he said. “We have a good tradition for bad news, but I felt like we needed one for celebrations, too. So, from now on, cupcakes for good news, okay? These are double chocolate, chocolate chip.”

Laura laughed and shook her head. “Oh, you’re good.”

“Only for you, wife,” he said, and his tone made her shiver. She leaned in to kiss him again—ready to maybe take advantage of their privacy—but he put a hand up to stop her. “There is just one more thing tonight, and you may never get this again, so please enjoy it.” He handed her one of the cupcakes before he pulled out his phone. With a few taps, the opening bars toAll I Want for Christmas Is Youstarted playing. It was her favorite Christmas song, hands down, and while she shouldn’t be surprised that he would remember such a thing, she was certainly impressed.

But then, the most magnificent thing happened: it must have been the karaoke version, because when Daryl began singing, it was only his voice alone. She had always loved his voice—he was the type to sing along with the radio if he didn’t think you were listening—but he was always too shy to sing for her without singing over someone else. This was just Daryl and his lovely baritone, and if it were possible, she fell in love with him all over again.

When the last of the song tapered off, Laura laughed when he hauled her into his arms. He was shaking slightly, and she held him tighter. “You have a beautiful voice,” she told him.

“Never again,” he muttered to her.

“Sure thing.” She didn’t need it to happen again—she knew she’d never forget it.

TWENTY-SEVEN

She kissed his lips, his cheeks, his nose, his chin, and then his lips again. “By the way,” she said, “you got some of those plans wrong.”

Daryl stared at the woman in his lap—at his wife, thank the Lord—and blinked. “What could I have possibly gotten wrong?” He had planned this night to be perfect. What could he possibly have messed up?

Laura smirked. “While I am so glad you found my growth chart, I think it would really look better in the closet of our room at the ranch.” She tapped her chin. “Come to think of it, a treehouse would look better there too.”

“Laura Jo—”

She put a finger on his lips, and he grudgingly fell silent. “I have been holding on to the past for so long,” she said. “I thought I would find everything I would ever need here in this house, in the remnants of my childhood.” She shook her head. “But all I’ve done is stop myself from embracing my future.” She leaned in and kissed him again. “Our future,” she murmured against his lips. “The ranch is our home, and that’s where I want to be. That’s where I want to raise Lily.”

Daryl felt like he might vibrate out of his very skin. The words that he’d been thinking pressed to the roof of his mouth, and he couldn’t hold them back. “I want to adopt her,” he said. “I want her to be our little girl.”

A soft, overwhelmingly fond look crossed over her face and then she was pulling him in for even more kisses. “Yes,” she murmured against his skin.

“Now, Mrs. Rivers,” he said and grinned because he loved how that sounded, “you need to behave. I think we’re in the middle of dinner.”

She glanced to the cupcake crumbs on the picnic blanket. “I’m pretty sure we’ve already had dessert,” she pointed out. “So why do I have to behave?”

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