Chapter 9
Beggin’ On My Knees
I’ve been stuck in limbo for the past two weeks, and it’s been absolute hell.
I’ve given Charlie space, and I’d hoped she’d have come around by now.
Since becoming aware of her money troubles, it’s killing me that I can’t intervene unless she asks.
Sure, I could get her account details and clear her debts in a heartbeat, but she’d eventually trace it back to me, and her pride would never allow her to accept what felt like charity.
Aside from responding to my check-in texts, she’s been radio silent. She didn’t even make a snarky remark when we bumped into each other in town. She was out running errands, and I was meeting with my property broker to close on the two hundred acres bordering my east pasture.
It’s a good thing I couldn’t reschedule, or I would have blown it off entirely to chase Charlie. Before her, the ranch consumed me. Now all I can think about is her and the possibility of building a real family together.
Briar has already left me several voicemails threatening that if I don’t do right by her friend, she’ll castrate me and feed my balls to the pigs on Mr. Grady’s farm.
Based on my sister’s rather aggressive messages, Charlie must have conveniently left out the part where I asked her to marry me.
I can’t decide whether I should be offended or grateful she didn’t share that detail.
No doubt, Briar would side with her and think I overstepped by pushing for us to get hitched instead of co-parenting and living separate lives.
I’ve just gotten out of the shower when I hear a knock on my front door. The only person who ever shows up unannounced is Ma, and she’s at the elementary school preparing for parent-teacher conferences. As the principal, she makes a point of arriving early to keep things running smoothly.
Another insistent round of knocking has me yanking on a pair of Wranglers and jogging down the stairs to see who it is.
I open the door, stunned to find Charlie standing on my porch. She’s out of breath, her chest heaving as though she ran the entire way here.
“Finally, I found you,” she pants. “I’ve been all over the ranch looking for you.”
I grip her shoulders, scanning her for injuries. “What’s wrong?”
What if something happened to her or the baby? The thought hits me like a punch to the gut. My mind instantly spirals into every terrifying possibility, and I curse myself for ever thinking giving her space was a good idea.
Charlie’s voice breaks through the initial panic. “Heath, are you listening?”
I swallow hard. “Yeah, of course. Are you and the baby okay?”
She nods, her hand drifting to rest over her stomach. She might not be showing yet, but knowing she’s carrying my baby sends every protective instinct I have roaring to life.
“We’re fine.” She blows a piece of hair from her face. “I just had to hunt you down, and your guys were totally useless since you didn’t tell them where you disappeared to.”
I lean against the doorframe, smirking. “Tell me, hellcat, you weren’t actually worried about me, were you?”
Charlie snorts, waving me off. “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m upset I wasted time searching for you when I could’ve kept the shop open for another hour.”
I don’t buy it. If that’s all she cared about, she would have given up when she found out the guys didn’t know where I was. No, she had to track me down, and I suspect I know why.
“Right. Well, sorry for the wild goose chase. I was elbow-deep in tractor repairs earlier and swung by the loft for a shower.”
Her eyes drift downward to my exposed chest, fixated on the lingering water droplets that still cling to my skin. Whatever cutting retort she’d planned dissolves as she stares, transfixed.
“I’m starting to think I should ditch my shirt permanently,” I muse.
Charlie’s eyes snap to mine. “Why?”
“It’s one of the only two things I’ve found that leave you speechless,” I reply with a wink.
“What’s the other one?” she questions, curiosity getting the best of her.
I lean in closer, my voice dropping to a whisper. “When I was buried inside you and you were moaning my name.”
Charlie draws in a sharp breath that catches in her throat, then quickly steadies herself and narrows her eyes. “You’re impossible. Screw it, I’ve changed my mind about wanting to find you.”
She pivots to leave, but I gently catch her wrist. A wave of déjà vu hits me, flashing back to the afternoon she told me about the baby. We obviously don’t have the best track record of effective communication, but I’m not letting history repeat itself.
“Charlie, don’t go. Please,” I murmur. “You came out here for a reason. Tell me what you need.”
She turns back around, and for a long moment, she simply stares at me, her lips pressed into a tight line. Whatever she has to say has her visibly torn, a deep flush climbing up her neck as she wrestles with it.
“I’m probably going to regret this,” she mutters before clearing her throat. “I came to tell you I’ve changed my mind.”
Hope surges through me so sharply I almost forget to breathe. “About what?”
She hesitates for another beat, squaring her shoulders. “I accept your proposal.”
“I didn’t quite hear you,” I say, fighting to keep the smile off my face.
“I’ll marry you,” she states boldly, her voice ringing with conviction.
I lean back against the doorframe, fighting to appear unaffected while my heart hammers violently in my chest. Charlie’s just given me the one answer I was starting to believe I’d never get, and it takes every ounce of willpower not to pull her in my arms and kiss her senseless.
She’s not here because she wants this… or me. No, I’m pretty sure it’s at least partly because of those overdue bills I saw at the shop. She’s agreeing out of necessity. I wouldn’t expect any less since she’s told me on multiple occasions that I’m far from her favorite person.
I might not be able to change the past, but I can find a way to remind her there’s more between us than clipped conversations and veiled insults. And give her a reason to stay even after the necessity fades.
That doesn’t mean I’ll make this easy for her. She put me through the wringer twice and would absolutely shy away if I accepted too quickly, assuming it was out of pity—which it most certainly is not.
I cup my hand around my ear. “Hmm? I couldn’t quite catch that. Can you repeat it?”
Charlie shoots me a withering glare. “I said I’ll marry you.”
I hold her gaze, my expression unreadable. “No.”
She blinks, gaping at me. “What the hell do you mean, no?”
“You can’t accept a proposal that you turned down… twice.”
She starts pacing, running a hand through her hair. “What happened to not letting it go until I said yes?” she demands, letting out an exasperated huff. “Don’t you want to gloat that you were right?”
I shake my head. “Not nearly as much as I want something else.”
She comes to a halt in front of me, growing suspicious. “What’s that?”
“Tell me what changed your mind.”
“You were right,” she admits reluctantly. “We’re having a baby, and I think it’s best if we raise it together like you said.”
“You didn’t think that the other two times we’ve talked about it,” I counter.
She nibbles on her bottom lip, averting her gaze.
“If you must know, I need better health insurance. I’m self-employed, and my diabetes already makes my premiums insanely expensive.
Adding a pregnancy on top of that is going to skyrocket the costs and complicate everything more than I can handle alone. ”
I saw other overdue bills that weren’t medical, but we have plenty of time to deal with them later. At least she felt comfortable enough to share some of what she was going through and ask for my help. It’s more progress than I could have hoped for a week ago.
I lift her chin so she’s looking at me. “We’ll add you to my health insurance the day after we get married. I have a good plan with low deductibles, so you won’t have to worry about that anymore.”
“This mean you accept my answer?” Charlie asks tentatively.
The corners of my mouth curve up. “Not quite. You haven’t asked me properly yet.”
“What do you mean by—” Her eyes fly wide open, and she shakes her head vigorously. “No, Heath, absolutely not.”
“I told you if you turned me down again, you’d be the one down on one knee if you ever changed your mind. Seems only fair, all things considered, don’t you think?”
Charlie throws her hands in the air. “How else should I have responded when you sprang a marriage proposal on me with zero warning!”
I shrug but don’t offer a verbal response.
She can pretend to be indifferent, but the flush in her cheeks and her eyes drifting to my bare chest every few seconds tell a different story. She definitely enjoys challenging me, and it’s obvious it’s as much of a turn-on for her as it is for me.
Charlie growls low in her throat, no doubt imagining all the creative ways to end me, and I’m half expecting her to storm off. Instead, she glances around to make sure we’re alone before slowly sinking to her knees. I swallow hard, struggling to stay focused with her in such a tempting position.
“Marry me, Heath… please,” Charlie grits out, her tone painfully monotone.
I shoot her a leveled look, lips twitching. “You can do better than that. I’ve heard more enthusiasm when you’re yelling at me.”
She beams up at me with mock sincerity as she takes my hand between her two smaller ones. “Heath, the absolute light of my life,” she declares with exaggerated gusto. “Will you do me the greatest honor of my entire existence and marry me? There’s nothing I want more than to become Mrs. Halstead.”
I stare down at her, letting the question linger in the heavy silence.
I’m barely containing how much I like hearing her refer to herself as Mrs. Halstead and would drag her down to the courthouse right now to make it official if I wouldn’t look like a lovesick idiot.
I’m playing the long game, and I have to be patient, no matter how badly I want to claim her right this second.