Chapter 37
Nash
I walk out of the kitchen, where I’ve been making dinner, and almost run into Grandpa, who’s coming down the hall.
“I thought Magnolia was still here.” Grandpa looks around like I’ve hidden her somewhere. “Where is she?”
“She was just here. But she might have stepped out to take a call. I think her mom called earlier.”
Grandpa looks at me sharply. “Really? That’s strange. I thought I’d heard a man’s voice. Have you been in the kitchen for a while?”
“The last thirty minutes. Magnolia stepped out only a few minutes ago.”
Grandpa shakes his head. “I could have sworn I’d heard another voice when I was coming down the stairs.”
His eyes are clear, and he looks healthy as can be, so I have no reason to assume he’s confused. “We’ll go find her,” I assure him.
Together, we walk down the hall toward the living room and front entrance.
The front door opens, and Harper hurries inside, a frown on her face. “Where’s Dad?”
“Kevin’s here?” I ask a little sharply.
Harper looks at me with wide eyes. “Nash, I’ve never seen him like that.
He came home ranting. He was irrational.
I mean, more than usual. We went on home ahead of him from the ranch today.
And when he met us at the house, he didn’t even bother coming inside.
He left again. Mom’s worried he’s going to make a scene, so she sent me to make sure he wasn’t here. ”
They live five minutes down the road, so it’s not like a big event to turn around and come back. But it does make me wonder what kind of scene Kevin could make. If he doesn’t mind pulling fire alarms and trying to manipulate attorneys…what else would he do?
“Where’s Magnolia?” Harper asks quietly.
Magnolia. The person who Kevin would probably point all his anger at if he had a chance.
“I didn’t see him come in,” I say.
“He was really mad.” She looks down at the floor and says quietly, “The real reason we’re back is Max kicked us all out after he saw what Dad did to the house.”
I rub a hand over my face. If Kevin threw a tantrum bad enough to get a rise out of Max…it must be bad.
Harper shoves her hands into her coat pockets. “I don’t know if I’m just overly anxious or—”
Grandpa cuts in, “He called me earlier, but he didn’t say anything about coming here.”
A knot forms in the middle of my stomach. Something is wrong. I know it.
That’s when I hear it.
A scream. It’s so loud that it doesn’t sound human. But I know who it is.
Magnolia.
It’s coming from just down the hall.
I sprint toward the sound and find the study door closed. The scream is quiet now, but I know she must be in here. The door is locked.
“Magnolia!” I roar as I bang on the door.
I don’t wait for an answer. I kick just below the door handle, and the door flies inward.
I immediately spot Magnolia, standing with her back pressed against the wall between the two windows that overlook the backyard.
Kevin is in the room, too, standing far too close to her. He looks at me, fear in his eyes as he backs away from her frantically. But it’s not enough. I can see the red handprint on her arm. Either he hit her, or he grabbed her hard enough to bruise.
Magnolia looks at me and smiles. “I knew you’d hear me. He locked the door, and I didn’t like that.”
“What the hell are you doing with her? Did you touch her?” I demand as I step toward Kevin.
He’s a couple of inches shorter than me and backs away rapidly as I walk steadily toward him.
“I was just trying to talk some sense into her! She doesn’t need all of that money. It’s obvious she manipulated Alexander into giving it to her. I just wanted a chance to talk to her.”
“He wanted me to sign everything over to him,” Magnolia supplies.
“So, you laid your hands on her?!”
I glance over my shoulder to look at Magnolia, who’s looking at me with glittering eyes. I can’t quite recognize what emotion is on her face. But then my eyes go to the mark on her arm, and I pivot back to Kevin.
“Get out of this house.”
“She refused to listen. I was just trying to talk with her.”
“You left handprints on her arm,” I growl.
“You can’t make me—”
I launch a quick punch to his right eye. It’s enough to knock him to the ground, but I purposefully hit him with my weaker arm. “Now get out.”
He stands up and scurries out of the room.
I’m scared to look at Magnolia. I’ve never ever punched someone out of anger before. But when he admitted to cornering her…there was no more reasoning with him.
Magnolia steps beside me, resting a hand on my arm. I turn to look down at her.
“Are you all right?” I ask as I gently grab her arm.
When my eyes land on the red fingerprints Kevin left there, a new wave of anger washes over me.
“Well, I’d like to see a team of lawyers keep that creep away from me. They’d probably have to pause and confer before taking action,” Magnolia says as she wraps her arms around me, stepping in front of me and laying her head against my chest.
“You two, don’t worry about this. I’m going to handle it,” Grandpa says darkly, and then he and Harper disappear down the hall.
“We’ll use the team of lawyers to get a restraining order at least,” I grumble.
Magnolia reaches up and grasps my face. “You’re not going to be grumpy the rest of the night, are you?”
“I shouldn’t have let you out of my sight.”
“What are you going to do, be by my side twenty-four/seven?”
I grin down at her. “Yes. Yes, I think so. Until we’re back in Pine Ridge, I don’t think I’m going to let you leave my sight.”
I bend down and lift her up. I adjust my hold, and she wraps her legs around me and throws her head back and laughs.
“You can’t just carry me everywhere.”
“Watch me. It’s one of my favorite things to do with you.” I lean forward and kiss her neck.
She squeaks. “That’s sensitive.”
“Hmm, interesting.” I kiss higher up on her neck, just below her ear. “Better?”
Magnolia sighs. “Better.”
“Are you going to let me protect you?”
“Maybe.”
I kiss her again on the ticklish part of her neck, and she tries to dodge unsuccessfully.
“Okay, fine, you can protect me.”
“It’s only fair. You’ve been protecting me ever since I met you,” I tell her as I carry her out of the study and down the hall.
“I’ve done no such thing,” she protests as I stop at the end of the hall and let her stand on her feet but keep my hands on her waist.
“But you have.” I reach up and gently brush a thumb against her cheek.
“You’ve protected my heart and given me a chance to love again.
At every turn, you’ve made sure that I’m protected.
Even today, when you came into the house, it was to take care of me.
To protect my happiness. I know I didn’t do anything to deserve you.
But I will spend every day of my life loving you. ”
Magnolia fists my shirt. “I love you, Nash Whitlock.”
“You’re my favorite fiancée,” I whisper.
Magnolia tips her head back and laughs, and I realize it’s a sound I’ll be happy to listen to for the rest of my life.
“When are we going home?” she asks.
“To your apartment?”
She shakes her head. “Pine Ridge. I have a bakery to run and a man to date.”
I roll my eyes. “You don’t have to make it sound so transactional.”
“Well, you see, turns out I have a thing for cowboys with dimples. I never knew until I met you.”
“I better be the only cowboy with dimples you have a thing for,” I mutter.
She grins and steps out of my hold. “Turns out I have a thing for Nash Whitlock. He’s the only man for me.”
I reach for her, but she steps back, a bright twinkle in her eye and a mischievous smile on her face. “Just what are you doing?”
“Going to pack our bags. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve just lived through four seasons of a soap opera.”
I choke on a laugh. “I know you’re excited to go, but I think we have to get at least a few things straightened away.”
Magnolia’s face falls. “That’s no fun.”
“I know, but when I move to Pine Ridge with you, it’s going to be to stay. Oh, and you’re going to be Mrs. Whitlock then.”
Her eyebrows shoot up at that. “Mrs?”
This time I catch her hand before she can dodge me. “Mrs.”
“I like the sound of that. But can we get married at the ranch?”
“Anything you want.”
“Hmm, I think those are my three favorite words.”
“Really? I thought they were ‘I love you.’”
She smirks at me as she steps closer. “Same thing.”
“I really don’t think so,” I muse.
“We’re going to have fun bickering, aren’t we?”
Leaning down, I press a long kiss against her lips. She leans into me, kissing me back and says, “Is this how you’re going to end every argument?”
“Why yes, it is, Mrs. Magnolia.”