Embracing Hope (Cowboys of Sagebrush Rose #5)

Chapter Seventeen

Two weeks later.

“Daddy, I was just getting ready to leave,” Hope said as she entered his office. She guessed he wanted to remind her that she only had two days to marry before she would no longer have a stake in the ranch.

She came to a dead stop when she saw Isaac sitting in the chair in front of the desk. The entire scenario ran through her mind. She knew now that he hadn’t had anything to do with the letter to the paper, but he’d pulled out of the merger. What bothered her the most was that he didn’t come to her first and let her know. She thought they’d meant something to each other. He’d saved her and Courtney’s life, and for that, she was grateful, but she’d been hurt by his actions regarding the merger. “What are you doing here?”

“We’ve come to sign the paperwork for the merger between Marcum Livestock and Sagebrush Rose Ranch.” It wasn’t Isaac who spoke. Hope then saw the man standing near Daddy’s desk. He looked a lot like Isaac, only slightly shorter and less muscular. “You must be Hope. I’m CJ Marcum.” He strolled over and shook her hand. “My brother had told me a lot about you. You’re the reason we decided to go ahead and make this deal happen.”

She swept her gaze from CJ to Isaac and then to her father. “Daddy?”

“I only just learned about this myself,” Sam said. “They have some stipulations which you’ll want to hear, and agree to before we sign.”

“I don’t understand.” She stood there staring. Two weeks had gone by in a painful blur. She’d missed Isaac, but pride had kept her from reaching out to him. If he cared for her then he would have to prove it to her.

“Have a seat and we’ll discuss them,” Sam said.

“I’d rather stand,” she said stubbornly.

Isaac had been silent until then. He stood. “Sam has agreed to the one stipulation I made. He puts you back in his will and allows you and me to head up the merger together. It’ll take a few months to work out the kinks.”

“I-I’m not married…” The words seemed to fall off her tongue.

“Under the circumstances, I agreed,” Sam added. “I have all the faith in the world that you two can make this merger run smoothly. However, once all the obstacles are worked out CJ and I will sign off.”

“I refuse to work with you,” she said directly to Isaac then stormed out of the room, her vision blurred by unshed tears.

He caught up to her as she ran outside, drawing in much-needed oxygen.

“Hope, wait!”

“I have nothing to say to you.” She quickly headed…where? She didn’t know..

“I have a lot to say to you.” He was next to her.

She swung around. “You think this changes anything?”

“Yes, I do. It changes everything. As you already know, I had nothing to do with the leaked information, and I needed some time to convince CJ that we should do this deal.”

“But…”

“But what?”

“What has changed between us?”

He rubbed his clean-shaven jaw. “What’s changed is I want you. I want us.”

She slanted her gaze. “What happened to you not wanting a relationship?”

“I was wrong. It took someone like you, with all your feistiness and strength, to show me what my future holds. I might had stipulated that Sam disregard the marital demands, but I did that because I want you to marry me, not because you’re forced to but because you choose for us to.”

She almost didn’t believe what she was hearing. “You want to marry me?”

“Yes. Tomorrow. Next week or next month. But I want it to be soon.”

“Are you sure you can handle me? Forever.” The tears she had been holding back slid down her cheeks.

He placed his hands on her hips and pulled her closer. “Baby, you might drive me crazy but I can’t do life without you. You’ve made me happier than I ever thought possible. You make me feel safe.”

She touched his solid jaw with her fingers, looking into his gaze. “I have a confession. I planned to marry you.”

He chuckled. “You did? To get back in the will?”

“Yes, and not just that, but because I love you.”

“That’s a good thing because I love you.”