Chapter 15
Almost a year after Kaycee’s return to the saddle, Miranda carried a cake from the bakery toward the table where Justin and Kaycee sat with the ranch hands in the kitchen. Davie set down the vanilla ice cream. A pile of plates and stack of silverware were already on the table.
Miranda set the cake on the table and everyone cheered when they saw, It’s a girl! written in pink icing across the surface.
Justin hugged Kaycee, who then hugged Miranda. “Congrats on everything being official,” Miranda said to two of the people she loved more than anything.
Kaycee grinned ear-to-ear and Justin looked like the proud dad he was. They’d just come back from court and the adoption was official: Justin was legally Kaycee’s adopted father.
Miranda served the cake with ice cream, and everyone laughed and talked as they enjoyed the dessert.
Justin stood and John clinked his iced tea glass with his dessert fork to get everyone’s attention.
“I just want to say how proud I am of my daughter.” Justin looked at Kaycee. “A dad couldn’t be prouder than I am of my girl.”
More cheers rang out and everyone clinked iced tea glasses to the toast. Justin sat next to Kaycee and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You’ve always been my little girl,” he said.
“I know.” A thirteen-year-old Kaycee smiled at her father. “I couldn’t ask for a better dad.”
Miranda thought she saw Justin’s eyes glisten for a moment. She’d been wiping her eyes with her napkin every now and then for the past twenty minutes.
The men helped clear the table, then headed out to get back to work. Justin stayed with Miranda and Kaycee, who helped clean up.
“Andi will be here soon,” Kaycee said.
“Miranda and I are going out to dinner this evening,” he said. “You know you’re welcome to come with us.”
Kaycee smiled at Justin. “Andi and I have to study for our algebra test, or we would.”
As Kaycee left the room, Miranda took Justin’s hand. “Congratulations, Dad.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.” He kissed her.
“I’m going home to get ready for tonight.” Miranda smiled. “You promised me a fancy evening, so I’m wearing a fancy dress.”
He flashed her a sensual grin. “Sexy?”
She gave him a teasing look. “You’ll just have to see.”
Miranda slid out of her chair of the Fountain Hills restaurant as Justin scooted her chair out. She looked up and smiled at him. She was so damned beautiful and sexy she took his breath away.
His fingers itched to touch her. He could never get over how much he needed her and wanted her. They’d had a little hiccup in their relationship a year ago, but that was all it had been, a hiccup. Things had worked out more than fine, and it hadn’t been long before she’d had the piece of paper she’d needed. That they’d needed to make things work.
“Thank you for dinner,” she said as they walked out of the restaurant. “I have to admit, the baked banana pudding was my favorite.”
He laughed and took her hand. “You have a big sweet tooth.”
She nodded emphatically. “You aren’t kidding.”
He inclined his head in the direction of the Fountain that helped give Fountain Hills its name. “Up for a little walk?”
She nodded. “It’s a beautiful night.”
He couldn’t help but admire the way her little red dress hugged her figure in all the best places. He hadn’t seen her in this dress, and it was sexy as hell.
They strolled on the sidewalk with a view of the lake that held the fountain that was scheduled to erupt every fifteen minutes. Once the tallest fountain in the world, at peak times it would reach as high as over five-hundred-fifty feet.
At that moment, water shot up from the center of the illuminated concrete water lily fountain. He glanced at Miranda to see her watching the spectacle as the water plume cooled the air. Miranda’s hair stirred around her shoulders in the breeze, and she glanced at him to see him watching her. She gave him a sensual look, clearly knowing how she affected him.
They walked along the sidewalk with the fountain in the background. They reached an area with statues of influential U.S. Presidents. Justin guided her to a bench and sat next to her on it.
He cleared his throat as he looked at her. “I want you to know how much you mean to me and how much I love you. God, I’ve never loved anyone the way I love you.”
She smiled. “You know I feel the same way.”
“I do.” He took her hand in his. “One thing I can always rest assured of is your love.”
He couldn’t get over what an amazing woman she was, in so many ways. He dug in his jacket pocket and brought out a small box. She continued to look into his eyes, not noticing what he had removed from his jacket.
Justin slid off the bench and got to one knee in front of Miranda. For a second, she looked puzzled, but then her eyes widened as she looked at what he was holding. He opened the box and the solitaire diamond glittered in the low lighting.
Her jaw dropped and she looked from the ring and met his gaze, her expression shocked.
“Miranda,” he smiled as he watched her, “will you marry me?”
Her lips parted, but for a long moment she didn’t speak, as if she was trying to make sense of what he was asking her.
“You’re making me nervous,” Justin teased.
Miranda seemed to come back to her senses. “I—l.” She took a deep breath. “Yes, Justin. Absolutely, yes.”
He slid the ring on her finger, and it fit perfectly. He’d enlisted Kaycee’s help in getting her ring sized, so he’d been fairly confident it would.
Justin gripped both her hands. “I don’t want to wait. With my big family, they’ll want a big wedding like Kit and Carter had. Would you mind if we had something small and intimate?”
“We could always elope,” she said, and he laughed.
“I might get disowned if we don’t at least let my parents, grandparents, and siblings come. It goes without saying that Kaycee will want to be there.”
She grinned. “That’s half of King Creek.”
He shook his head and laughed as he slid onto the seat next to her. “What do you say about two weeks from now. Will that give your mom and dad enough time to plan a trip here?”
“Plenty of time.” In the moonlight her features were slightly shadowed, but her beautiful smile was easy to see. “I’m all for it.”
He studied her. “What do you think about starting right away to work on a little brother or sister for Kaycee to spoil, like she spoils her baby cousin?”
Miranda gave him another beautiful smile. “That’s a wonderful idea. I can’t wait for us to have children together.”
“Are you still thinking three or four?” he asked.
She looked thoughtful. “I’m an only child, and I don’t want to do that. Yes, I’m still thinking three or four.”
He nodded. “Sure you don’t want eight like my family?”
She burst into laughter. “Eight kids? I’m no saint like your mom.”
“Neither one of us are.” His laughter joined hers. “I’m with you on three or four.”
“I can’t even imagine my parents being around eight grandkids.” Miranda was still laughing. “They won’t even know what to do with more than one.”
“Good thing we will.” He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her softly. “At least I hope I will.”
She smiled against his lips. “Lucky you have me to help you find out.”
“I certainly am,” he said, before kissing her again.