Page 55 of Blazing Hot Nights
I motioned down the hall for him to go, and he gave me a smile that always melted me into a puddle. I hated that my heart still reacted to him so immediately even when he’d shattered it.
Remember the bigger picture, Heaven. You’ve only seen half of it.
I sighed heavily and plopped down on the couch. Fine, I’d stay and see what Blaze wanted to show me, but there was no way what he had to say was going to paint a picture of us together forever. When he strode back down the hallway, he had two file folders in his hands.
“How much of my phone conversation did you hear?” he asked when he sat beside me.
“Does it matter?” I asked, my voice still hoarse. “I heard enough. You told Ash you’d made plans to take the ranch when it went into bankruptcy, but since I was able to cover my debts, he should just be happy you got the lower pasture from me. You said maybe one day you’d get the rest of it from me. I left after that.”
He laid the folders on my lap and went about massaging my shoulder like he always did. “Open those and read through them,” he said, his chin thrusting toward the folders while his hands massaged.
“I don’t remember giving you permission to touch me, Blaze McAwley,” I hissed. “I’m still mad at you.”
“I know, angel,” he said, his admission honest and pained. “But your arm is twitching, which means that ride was hard on you. I can’t stand to see you in pain, so let me help? You can still be mad at me.”
“Fine,” I whispered as I opened the first file, and it held paperwork sent by his father to make a bid on Heavenly Lane once it was in default.
“If you'll notice, only my father's name is on that set.”
I nodded and opened the second file folder. The paper shook in my hand because this time, it was only Blaze’s name on the paperwork.
I glanced at him, confused. “Why do you have two sets of paperwork to buy my ranch?”
“Keep reading.”
I did, and when I got to the last page, I gasped, my mouth hanging open as I shuffled through more sheets of paper. “Blaze, you were going to outbid your father and buy my ranch? Why would you do that?”
His hands stilled on my shoulder, and he took the papers, shuffling them until he found what he was looking for in the file. He put it on top and lowered the papers back to my lap. His hands went back to my shoulder while I read the document in front of me. “You were going to buy the ranch, take one pasture, and deed the rest back to me? Why?”
“Because I love you, and I’m not the kind of man you think I am right now. All I need is one pasture, Heaven. My plan was to buy the whole ranch when you went into default and then deed the rest back to you. It would have bailed you out of the situation you were in and still kept your ranch mostly intact. My mistake was counting you out. When you offered me the pasture, I can’t even explain how proud I was of you, angel,” he said, his voice choking for a moment. “You could have folded one hundred different times and one hundred different ways, but you kept fighting to find a way to keep Heavenly Lane. While I had plans to expand my ranch, I had no plans to steal yours. I’m not about taking what isn’t mine. I don’t want to ruin someone’s legacy. My father might, but I’m not my father.”
I closed my eyes and swallowed around the lump in my throat. “I know you aren’t, but I heard you say on the phone that you’d get my ranch eventually.”
Blaze wiped away a tear from my cheek. “I did say that,” he agreed, kneeling in front of me and taking my hand in his. “See, Wisconsin is a community property state.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, confused.
“It means that when two people are married, they own everything fifty-fifty.”
“But we aren’t married.”
“Yet,” he said, moving up onto one knee and brushing a kiss across my knuckles. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a diamond and sapphire ring. “I also grabbed this when I was in my office, just in case I needed to prove to you how much I love you. I was going to wait to ask you this question, but now feels like the right time.”
I started to shake when the truth behind his earlier statement dawned on me. He would get my ranch eventually … when he married me. Oh my God, he wanted to marry me?
“I love you, Heaven, not your ranch. I want you by my side no matter what ranch we live on or where we make our home. See, if you agree to be my wife, angel, you’ll own half of my land too. Then we’ll be even. I love you, Heaven Marie Lane, and I don’t want to live without you any longer. I’ve spent five long years in the dark, and when you let your light shine on me, suddenly, I could see the future. I couldn’t see it before. You did that for me, and I’ll forever be grateful for your forgiving, generous, and willing heart. Together, we can do anything, but we fall apart when we aren’t together. I know you might say no, but I’m all in on this adventure with you. I love you, Heaven. I know I don’t deserve you, but I promise I will take care of you until my dying day. You are my reason for walking this earth now. Will you stand by my side in the dark times and the light? Will you be here to give me a swift kick when I need it, and passionate kisses the rest of the time? Heaven, will you be my wife?”
The ring sparkled in the light from the lamp, but it blurred in my vision when tears filled my eyes. I stroked his cheek for too long before I pulled his lips down to mine for a kiss. “I love you, Blaze McAwley,” I whispered. “You do deserve me, and I deserve you. We deserve happiness together.”
“That’s why I’m holding up this ring, Heaven. I want us to be together forever.”
I struggled with the tremble of my chin before I could speak. “I … I can’t wear a ring on my left hand.”
Blaze’s smile faltered but he nodded and tenderly cupped my cheek. “I know, but you can wear it on your right hand. I don’t care what hand you wear it on, as long as you’re wearing it. We’ve never been traditional, so why start now?”
A smile tipped my lips up, and I nodded. “You’re right there, Blaze McAwley,” I agreed, laughter filling my voice.
“So, again, I ask you, marry me, Heaven? Forget about land, ranches, money, and profits. Think about what makes you the happiest before you answer.”
