Page 21 of Loving the Mountain Man - Thickwood CO

“Okay.” I’m not going to fight with him. He needs this right now. I can see the underlying worry in his eyes.

“That was too easy. Something tells me I’ll be eating those words later on.”

“Probably, but it’ll be fun to see how it plays out.” I wink and settle back beside him until Dr. Smith comes back with my discharge papers.

27

Hudson

One week later

I walk inside and hear Jules huff and puff. She promised she’d sit her ass still and recover this week, but every single time I have to leave the house to stop at her shop for a customer or a delivery, I come back to her organizing something or making a meal big enough to feed the entire town. Not to mention, her god awful music is blaring through the house. I smile to myself. I swear she does it just to annoy me. The joke is on her, though. Coming home while she’s belting out Gun’s N Roses is the highlight of my day. Hell, she even has a fake microphone and is singing off-key, shaking her hips with the beat of the music. How someone can’t hold a tune but has rhythm, I’ll never understand.

“Jules,” I say out loud, trying to figure out where she’s at in the house.

“Up here, in the master.”

I take the stairs two at a time to get to her. I clear the landing, round the corner, and find Beau waiting for me. “What did your momma get into today, huh?” I ask him as I bend down to pet him. He prances on his hind legs, wanting me to pick him up. I give in to his command, his little body dwarfed by my own, and Beau yips his content at being in my arms as we head to where Jules is.

The other day, I had the construction crew help me disassemble and reassemble our bed in the master. Now, it looks like Jules has decorated and put everything away. Clothes were littered everywhere when I left this morning, along with toiletries from moving rooms around.

“Someone’s been busy today. How are you feeling?” I ask, walking toward her. I drop Beau off on the bed, where he curls into a ball with a puff of annoyed breath.

“That dog has more attitude than I do. I’m doing a lot better now that you’re home.” Jules laughs, and I bring her into my arms. “Well, I was bored and couldn’t stand to look at our junk lying around when we have this beautiful place finally completed.” Earlier this week, when the dining room table was brought in from my shop, tears glistened in her eyes. I hated seeing her cry. Really, any time I see her cry, it’s a sucker punch, hitting me right in the heart, but this time it gave me an idea.

“It looks great. How about I grill dinner tonight, give you a break? Maybe I’ll even take you into town tomorrow. I know you mentioned grabbing a few pieces from the shop to bring home. How does that sound?”

“Can we eat steak? I’m dying for it tonight. Maybe with some potatoes on the grill, and a wedge salad? And, yes, I need to get back to the shop, but not only for our home. We really do need some wall art, but I just hate not being there. It feels like I’m missing a piece of my soul not being there.” Jules’ eyes are pleading with me.

“Okay, baby. We’ll go tomorrow. First, I have something I need to give to you. Stay right there while I grab it.” I go to my nightstand drawer, where I hid the ring I bought for her online a few weeks ago. It wasn’t easy to find, but I stumbled upon a vintage ring site, looking for something unique, and found a sapphire square-cut stone with filigree diamonds surrounding it on a platinum band.

“What could you possibly need to show me?” Jules must be starving. Here lately, she’s not one to wait when she’s hungry. It makes me think, more and more, that there’s a little boy inside of her.

I make my way back to her, kiss her until she’s breathless, and then say, “I want you to have my baby, my last name, and my heart. Will you marry me?”

Her knees buckle, but I swoop her up in my arms before she can fall again.

“Yes! God, Hudson, I never dreamed I’d fall in love like I am with you. Every day, my life gets sweeter, brighter, and you give me all of that. Of course, I’ll marry you.”

“Then I guess I should put your ring on,” I tell her.

“I don’t care about the ring. All I care about is you.” Jules’ voice has taken on this breathless quality. I know I could take her right here, right now, but I won’t. Not yet, at least. I have two people and a dog that need me to feed them more so now than ever.

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