Page 125 of Somewhere We Belong

“It was a formal proposal.” She ran her hands through her hair, not looking at me.

“Oh, Izz.” I grabbed her hand. “I’m gonna say it again, is it worth it?”

“Yeah, it will be,” she murmured.

“I’m gonna assume it's the worst brother? The Bronc rider?”

“Yeah, it's that asshole and it's not just him, it was the entire family. They didn't let me meet them at the farm, it was done in Lubbock,” she said, biting her lips. “They… It's stupid, but it has to be done. It will be worth it.”

“Izz,” I said, squeezing her hand trying to find another way for her to understand that she was more important than her family’s farm.

“I’ll be fine, I promise,” she said, finally looking at me.

She was visibly sad, and it hurt to see her like this. I wished I could say something to her brother who might be able to knock some sense into her.

“Well, if you need anything, please let me know,” I said, pulling her in for a hug. “I’m sure if you said something to Camila and Genevieve, they could probably whip that family into shape.”

“Thank you,” she chuckled. “God, I would love to see those men on their knees.”

“Make him suffer,” I said, pulling away. “Maybe take one of Genevieve’s classes and whip him into shape.”

She laughed and it made me feel better.

“I should take her class,” she grinned. “Come on, let's finish your list and figure out what we have to do for the little princess tomorrow.”

Colt brought out drinks for everyone on a big tray as Theo brought out some meat to grill.

The Malone siblings had been getting closer, and I was loving that they were coming together again. We had a trip planned for Denver in the summer and we even talked about going to the beach sometime as a big family.

“Hey, Webber, is Jude coming?” Luke asked.

“He said he was going to have to stay on the overnight shift,” Webber said, looking a little sad.

“Mmmm… Do we need to kidnap him?” Luke joked.

“Maybe, he said he didn’t know if he was going to be able to make it tomorrow,” Webber said, and I knew something was wrong.

It didn’t take a genius to see that Jude was in love with Webber, but he was completely oblivious. I wondered if there was trouble in paradise?

“Seriously?” Theo snapped.

Webber shrugged. “Call him, maybe he will say something different to you.”

“I’ll call him,” Luke said, walking away.

Izz and I exchanged looks and when we looked at Genevieve and Camila, it seemed like we were all on the same page. Jude and Webber were fighting.

“Forest said he’s stopping by, I’ll ask him if he’s talked to Jude,” Theo said as Webber scowled.

The girls and I exchanged a look. The plot thickened.

We spent the rest of the night eating and playing games with Sol. I had never seen her so happy and when it was time for her to go to sleep, she gave everyone her pouty face and it almost worked. After a shower, I tucked her in and sang the song I had sung to her since she was a baby.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are gray. You’ll never know just how much I love you. Please don’t take my sunshine away.” We sang it together.

“I love you, My Sunshine,” I said, kissing her forehead.

“I love you, Momma,” she said, wrapping her little arms around my neck.

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