46. Dani
46
dani
I was dang near bursting with joy.
It was a few days after Christmas, and we were celebrating with Quinn, Graham, and Alex. Christmas Day, they had a wedding they were in, and everyone agreed to shift the holiday to allow them time to spend the special occasion with their friends.
Cade and I had spent Christmas Day with my folks and Cal, keeping it small and casual.
Today was the real celebration. Along with Graham and his little family, my parents were here at the ranch along with my aunt, my cousins, Cal, and Quinn’s parents, Penny and John, we were all together under one roof, and it was pure chaos and, to me, pure joy.
It’s been about three weeks since Cade and I got back together, and every moment since has been nothing but blissful. We sat in the middle of that rectangle that represented our future home, talking about the things we wanted in it, how we wanted it to look, what we would do with extra rooms.
I was excited about that bit.
Then we spent some time christening the area, which was fun too, if not cold.
For the first time in a long time, we had talked about our issues, about where we came up short. We talked about his therapy, something I was honestly so surprised that he was willing to do, but when I looked into his eyes and he spoke on it, I could tell he was genuinely ready to work on what held him back, on what haunted him.
It solidified that I made the right choice in forgiving his mistakes.
Now, we sit side by side after dinner and listen to our family talk around us. We already exchanged gifts with everyone, and we all were more interested in who topped whom getting Alex the best gift. I managed to wrangle up an art kit for her, something that had good reviews online, and Quinn was so appreciative to me for thinking of her daughter, but I just wanted to get her something she could use on the plane when the three of them took off to London to visit Alex’s dad.
I got Cade some custom spur straps; they were stamped with the new brand for the ranch. He’d been shocked that I was able to get them so quickly, but our friend Amy does them on the side for a little extra cash, and she was happy to do them.
Truth be told, I had them done before our little break.
They arrived at my parents’ house the day after we made up. Talk about fate.
Since we’ve made up, I’ve all but moved into the apartment with Cade. We talked and decided it was what we both wanted while we waited for the house to be built.
Cade clears his throat beside me, pulling me out of a conversation with Quinn and my mom about spring and the kind of gardens they would start. Quinn wants my help in planting a pumpkin patch again on the ranch, bringing the festival to life all over again this fall, and I was excited to do something that we did when we were young with Donna. It would mean a lot to me to be able to be a part of something that was for her legacy.
Turning to me, Cade catches my eye. I smile at him. “What’s up?”
He smirks back, shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck. “I know it’s not technically Christmas,” he starts. “But I wanted to wait until everyone was here for this.”
I frown and glance around at our family. Almost everyone is looking on at us with grins on their faces. “What’s going on?” I laugh uncomfortably, shifting in my seat.
Cade stands from the love seat we’re sharing, and I see out of the corner of my eye Quinn getting her phone out. He positions himself in front of me, reaching into his front pocket, he produces a small box, and my heart starts hammering in my chest, my right hand coming to my mouth.
“Dani West,” he starts, placing one leg back and lowering himself down to his knee. “You are…everything.” He shrugs, biting one lip and fighting back emotion that I don’t normally see from Cade. I smile broadly at him, excitement flowing through me, and I bite my tongue from blurting out the answer I want to scream. “Everything to me, honey.” He nods his head, sure of what he’s saying and making my chest ache with the love I feel for him. “I’ve loved you since I was just a boy, and you stuck with me through every struggle I’ve had to go through. You’ve forgiven my transgressions. You’ve put up with my stubborn ass.” I hear some chuckles throughout th e room. “The most important part, though, is you’ve loved me the whole time.”
I nod my head, placing a hand on his forearm, scooting closer to him in an impatient scoot. I hear more chuckles.
Cade smiles at me, glancing around shyly for a moment before turning back to me and saying, “What I want to know is…”
I can feel the rush of adrenaline in my chest, pushing through my throat, waiting to finally say it.
“Will you marry me?”
“Oh my gosh, finally! Yes!” I tackle him, cast and all, to the floor, and we hear cheering and laughing in the room while I cover his face in kisses. When I’m satisfied, I pull myself up, and Cade helps, setting us upright again. I don’t know whose smile is bigger, his or mine, but I hold out a shaking hand for him to place the ring on my hand. I thank God that my cast doesn’t cover my fingers.
I don’t even look at it while he places it, but when I do, my eyes widen. “Holy shit!”
“Danielle!” my mom scolds, coming to grab me in a hug. She grabs my hand and looks at the ring. “Oh, holy shit,” she mumbles in shock, her eyes wide.
The ring is custom, to be sure. It’s got a copper band with leather-inspired engravings, and placed on top is a diamond. A large diamond.
We laugh, and I turn back to Cade. “How in the world did you get this ring?”
He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “You sure you wanna know?”
“Yeah,” I say, looking at it again. Quinn joins the group, and her eyes widen at the size of it.
“Damn…” she says, drawing out the word.
“When I was twenty-two, you remember when I won that championship purse?”
I frown, thinking back. “Oh, yeah. You paid off your truck.”
“No,” he answers with a small grin. “I bought that ring.”
“You…” I look from him to the ring, to my mom, my dad, and his dad. Tears spring to my eyes, and I turn back to Cade again, doing the math in my head. “You bought me a ring eight years ago?”
He looks around the room, clearly embarrassed that everyone is looking at us. “I always knew it was you, honey.”
I’m shocked, speechless, so I pull him into me and kiss him once, turning and accepting hugs from the family with every intention of getting back to our place as soon as we can. Logan comes over with the rest of my cousins and hugs us, shaking Cade’s hand.
I catch Quinn looking at Graham and shaking her head quickly. I frown. Quinn and I may be new friends, but the months we’ve spent together have meant a lot to me, and now we were going to be sisters, in a sense. “What’s wrong?”
She turns to me, surprise on her face. “Huh? Oh, nothing.”
“Mom, pleeease,” Alex whines, pleading with her with puppy-dog eyes.
Graham chuckles and says, “I don’t think they’ll mind, babe. We didn’t know.”
“What’s going on?” Cade asks, a crease of worry between his brows.
Quinn sighs, though there’s a content smile on her face. “Well, okay.” She wrings her hands together, and her grin grows. “We’re pregnant!”
My mouth drops as Quinn’s mom and my mom and aunt squeal together and cheers go all around. We take turns hugging the three of them, and Alex tells everyone how excited she is to be a big sister. Quinn’s mom pulls her into a tight hug, tears streaming down her face, and John shakes Graham’s hand, talking to him in a low voice. I lean back into Cade, looking up at him and smiling, taking the kiss he gives me.
It takes another hour before we can sneak out, and I practically run to his truck. Even though it’s only about a mile from the apartment, it’s too cold to walk.
I’ve never been more grateful that we took a faster mode of transportation.
Rushing up the stairs, Cade picks up on my intentions and is with me every step. When we step into the apartment, I turn, and he picks me up, our lips colliding with passion and love.
I take his hat and toss it on the table. I pull his button-down shirt off him, his skin warm under my hands.
He tosses me on the bed and pulls off my boots, rolling down my socks and revealing my Christmas-red-painted toes. His hand runs up the side of my leg and reaches under my hips, pulling my panties down and looking down at me with heat in his eyes.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Dani.”
I swallow hard, emotion overwhelming my senses. The night has been a whirlwind. I’ve felt every emotion there is to feel, and I didn’t know how I was going to top this day.
“I can’t wait to call you Dani Trevors.”
Okay, yeah, that day might top it .
“Me either,” I reply.
Cade strips us both down, and we hold each other again. Through love and adrenaline, and passion, we come together in a state of absolute ecstasy. We make love to each other all night, taking breaks to talk about our future, the babies that will come, and the business we’ll build and the love we’ll share.
It’s one of the best nights of my life, and it may only be beginning. It may end sooner than we would like or last for decades to come, but I would take every moment and cherish it.
I would never let myself take a second of it for granted.