Page 144 of The Lilac River

“Lila,” I said again, softer now. “It’s not just a nickname. It’s who you are to me.”

She looked down at her hands, then back up at me. “No one’s ever given me a name before.”

“Well,” I said, scooting closer until our knees touched. “Now someone has.”

She smiled, slow and wide, and it lit up the whole world.

“You really think it suits me?”

“Sweetheart,” I said, leaning in. “It’s the only name that ever made sense.”

And then I kissed her. Right there in the lilac light, while the lavender fields swayed below us, and the sun disappeared behind the mountains. I kissed her like the world had narrowed down to just one name.

Lila.

Chapter 52

Marry Me - Train

Lily

Waiting was the worst thing in the world. Especially when it was to find out if the man you hated was finally about to be erased from your life.

"Stop pacing, honey," Mom suggested, gluing a tiny felt beak onto the woolen chick she and Bertie were making. Her tone was light, but I could hear the undercurrent of nerves behind it.

"Yeah, stop pacing, Miss. Lila," Bertie echoed sternly, glancing up at me with her serious, grown-up eyes. "You’re gonna wear the rug out. Just wait. It’s going to be a big surprise."

Grandma chuckled from the recliner she’d claimed in the Millers’ newly furnished living room. “And it’s a nice rug,” she added with a smirk, shifting her knitting needles with a soft click.

It had been six months since Nash, Gunner, and Wilder uncovered everything their father had done. Six months of rebuilding, healing, and falling deeper in love with Nash Miller every single day. Days that had passed like chapters, some quietand sweet, others louder and harder, but all of them had felt like moving forward.

Two months after we got back together, Nash asked me to move in with all the subtlety of a cowboy wrangling a cow.

We’d been clearing up after Thanksgiving dinner at the ranch, the house full of laughter and the smell of pumpkin pie, when he’d said, "I'll follow you home... we’ll need my truck for your stuff."

“My stuff?”

“Unless you want to use my shower gel and shampoo and only have back copies of Rancher Monthly to read forever, then yep, Lila. Yourstuff.”

My hands had frozen over a stack of plates. "Are you asking...?"

"Stating not asking,” he replied confidently, hands hanging from his hips. “It’s time to move in. No more nights apart. It’s time to start being a family, baby. You, me and Bertie."

There’d been no hesitation. No second-guessing. Just love. A love that had only grown with every Sunday dinner spent with Mom and Grandma, every nightfall tucked against Nash’s chest, every laughter-filled morning with Bertie, who, although she still called me 'Miss. Lila', was stitching herself tighter and tighter into my heart with every passing day.

Of course, it hadn’t been perfect. A tantrum here. A misunderstanding there. A meltdown over a lost glitter glue when I’d cleaned up her room. But we worked through every bump, every stumble, the way a real family did, with honesty, with hugs, with more love than we knew what to do with.

Now, I was pacing because today wasn’t just another day. Today, the boys were at the courthouse, hearing Michael Miller’s sentencing.

"Please sit down, honey," Mom urged gently. "They’ll be home soon."

"Miss. Ella," Bertie asked seriously, looking up from her half-finished chick, "is today when we find out if Grandpa’s been a bad man?"

Mom glanced at me. I nodded subtly. We’d agreed it was better to be honest, after all, this was a small town, and secrets didn’t stay secret for long. And besides, Bertie was no fool. She saw things, heard things. She deserved the truth, wrapped in kindness, but truth, nonetheless.

"Yes, sweetheart," Mom said gently. "Daddy, Uncle Gunner, and Uncle Wilder are finding out Grandpa’s punishment today."

Michael Miller had been found guilty, both for concealing his late wife's will and for criminal negligence with the poisoned creek. He faced prison time and massive fines, including compensation to all the affected ranchers. Today was judgement day as we found out how long he had to spend imprisoned for his cheating and lying.

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