Page 140 of Opposites (Never) Attract
“No, darlin. I did. I’ll go if you tell me, because I’m not one to get in the way of someone’s dreams. But, it occurred to me, during all our time together, I didn’t ever ask if you wanted to stay.”
“So, you came all this way to New York just to ask?”
“I did,” he said, then walked over and cupped both my cheeks in his hands. “Sunshine Calloway, I like your big brain. I like the way you sit a horse. I love how you let my dad beat you at chess. Don’t think I don’t know you did that on purpose. And I love seeing your hair on my pillow at night. We started something, something good, and I want to see where it goes. So, I’m asking if you would like to come home to Last Hope Gulch, where I can court you properly.”
“I’ll go,” someone said behind me. “I’ll let you court me.”
“Sorry, ladies,” I told them. “This cowboy is mine.”
“Enough!” Mr. Berkley shouted. “Kaitlyn, I don’t know if you realize what this meeting was about, but we were going to offer you a partnership. The very first female to have a seat at thetable!”
“Sorry, Mr. Berkley,” I said, not taking my eyes off Tag. “Got somewhere better I want to be.”
“Is that a yes?” he asked me.
I nodded.
“You sure?”
“I was already trying to sneak out of the room before you showed up,” I told him. “This isn’t a choice I’m making. This is a decision that’s already been made.”
“Well, then, let’s get to it.” Tag bent down and scooped me up under my legs in a traditional bridal carry. And the second he did, the entire conference room burst into applause.
Someone opened the door for us, and that is how Tag Durham carried me out of Berkley and Brothers for the last time.
EPILOGUE
SUNSHINE
“I can’t believewe’re here again,” Ethan muttered.
“I’m actually kind of excited,” I said. “This is my first time.”
All of us were huddled in the study on the first floor of the Lodge. I was sitting on Tag’s lap…to save space in case someone else wanted a chair. Mom, Amity and Bliss were on the couch. Mac and Seth stood by the back window. Carter and Ethan sat in the two chairs on the opposite side of the desk, while Mr. Prescott sat on the other side. Harmony was the only one missing, as she’d volunteered, (i.e. drew the short straw) to watch Carter’s kids.
“As you know, Leroy McGraw’s will was not simple.”
“Get on with it, Prescott,” Carter barked. “Tell us what impossible task my father has laid out for us next.”
“Well, to be technical, none of the tasks he proposed were impossible. The Calloways and McGraws are now united by marriage. The Feud Day Festival won the state’s Blue Ribbon for Excellence, and the Swinging D is back on solid financial ground.”
“Well done by you, babe,” Tag murmured in my ear.
“Thanks, baby,” I said, kissing him on the cheek. Once this meeting was over, he was going to take me on another horse riding lesson with Shirley. Then, it was back to his cabin for dinner and some fun, since his dad was still in Florida. I was all but living at the cabin these days. Although, I did insist on keeping some clothes at Mom’s house, just because he hadn’t actually asked me to move in with him.
Yet.
He told me when he officially started courting me, he wanted to enjoy the process.
He’d made me go on three proper dates before he’d fucked me senseless behind my mom’s barn.
Was it possible to die from such happiness? I think that was a question Jane Austen once asked. Answer: no. You could just be this happy and still live.
“So, we’ve done it all?” Ethan asked. “That’s it?”
“Not quite,” Gordon said. “Mr. McGraw believed very much in the concept of family. He expressed his sadness at the loss of his daughter-in-law, Lilly.”
“What about Lilly?” Carter said, going full alert.
