Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
PRESLEY
“Iwant to tell Poppy.”
“What?”
“I want her to know. Now that everything is settled, I feel like we’re in the right place to tell her.”
Kade pops up, the sheet slipping down his chest. We’re lying together in the same room as always—complete with renovations—having just made love together.
“You’re sure?”
I nod.
Divorce papers have already been signed, and the lawyer is currently working on Poppy’s birth certificate as we speak. Now that things are settling down, the anxiety about the future is slipping away. Things are set in stone.
The company is no longer mine. Paul is out of the picture. And Kade? Kade is here to stay.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life,” I say. “I want us to be a family. A real family. We’ve been through a lot together, Kade, and I don’t want to lose what we have.”
“Is it bad I’m nervous to tell her?”
“Do you not want to?” I sit up, covering my chest.
“No, it’s just…what if it goes badly?” he asks, voicing his concern.
I smile at him, patting his cheek. “Why don’t we take her out on Lollipop and tell her? That might soften the blow.”
“She loves that horse more than either one of us.”
“At least she’s a good horse. But I have a feeling she’ll be okay with the news.”
Poppy talks nonstop about Kade, the ranch, and her time here. It’s why I know it’s going to be okay when we break the news to her.
“Then if we’re telling each other things, can I show you something?”
“What is it?”
Kade kisses me before hopping out of bed. I miss what he says entirely because I’m too busy ogling his ass.
“Did you hear me?” he asks again.
“Sorry, your ass is a very hard distraction.”
“Get dressed, Pres. I’m taking you somewhere.”
I don’t miss the way Kade’s eyes trail over my body as I get out of bed and throw on my clothes, stealing his sweatshirt. It smells like him—the pine and woodsy scent from working outdoors.
I love it.
“Come on.”
Linking his fingers with mine, we head down the back stairs and out the door, past the offices as we follow one of the older trails on the ranch.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been out this way.”
“I only realized where it leads a few weeks ago. This has been my secret project.”
“You have an entire ranch, Kade. Do you really need another project?”
He looks back at me, ducking under a low hanging pine branch. “I have a feeling you’ll like this one.”
When the trees clear, an old house sits in front of us. The white paint has seen better days, and the black shutters are hanging on by a thread.
“What is this?” I ask.
“You’ll see.”
The boards of the wraparound porch creak under my feet. “Is it safe for us to be in here?”
Kade pushes open the front door. Dust mites hang in the air. “It’s fine.”
“Whose place is this?”
“It used to be Verne’s,” Kade says. “It’s mine now.”
“Yours?”
I spin on my heel, taking everything in. Old furniture is covered in the living room. A half-wall separates the kitchen and living room. Stairs at the back of the room lead to the second floor, and a hallway in the back no doubt leads to more rooms down here.
“Well, I’m hoping ours.”
“Wait, what?”
Kade takes my hand and leads me down the hallway. A wide open room, in good condition, looks out to the mountains at the back of the ranch.
“Look, I know it’s not much,” Kade says.
“But I’m working on it. That day in the office?
When you found the old pictures? Verne had plans to fix this place up.
I want to bring his vision to life. Make this place ours.
There’s a few rooms upstairs. Poppy can do whatever she wants in her room, but I’ve painted it pink for her.
There’s a great space for a nursery. Even a play room. ”
“You want to live here with us?” I ask, stunned.
“Only if you want to. I love you, Presley. You and Poppy, and if we’re going to tell her I’m her father, I want us to be together. Not me at the ranch and you in town. I want all of us to live here together.”
“Wow.”
I head back down the hallway, peeking in every room. I take the stairs carefully and find the room that looks the best, ready for our daughter. With three rooms upstairs, we have room to grow.
It’s everything I always wanted with Kade.
“Say something, Pres.”
“I love it.”
“You do?” He stops short of the rickety staircase.
“I mean, it needs a lot of work, but there’s room for all of us.”
“I—”
“And there’s a front porch.”
He smiles, wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling me into him. “Did you happen to notice the porch swing?”
I smile at him. “I did.”
“I made sure I fixed that up first thing. It’s what you always wanted.”
“You remembered.” Tears well in my eyes as I drop my forehead to his.
This is why I’ve always loved this man. An offhand comment about what I wanted in life in high school and he still remembered.
“How could I ever forget? We always talked about reading to our kids on the swing. Then I’d put them to sleep while you got to rest and then I’d come back and rub your feet.”
“It’s perfect, Kade. I can’t believe you’re going to do this for us.”
“I would give you anything you ask for.”
“I want the moon.”
He laughs. “Within reason. But I’ll paint you a moon wherever you want it in here.”
“I love you, Bubs.”
“We might have to change that Bubs to hubs soon.”
I kiss him. One that is so full of love, it’s threatening to burst out of me. “One thing at a time, okay? Let’s get settled here with Poppy and then we’ll cross that bridge.”
“You want to get married, right?” he asks.
“Yes. But why don’t we let the ink dry on my divorce papers first.”
“Okay,” he sighs. “But make no mistake, I will be popping the question to you.”
“You better. Because I want to marry you and fill this house with kids.”
“That sounds like a great plan.”
One that I can’t wait to put into action. Because I’m finally getting the life I always wanted with Kade. A house, a couple of kids, and him.
What more could a girl ever need?