Chapter Fifteen
Aaron spent most of the day helping to round up the cattle and get them back to the barns.
He wanted to make sure that no animals were in the way of the burn.
He surveyed the land to decide what fields were ready to be burned and what fields he wouldn’t touch.
Clint helped lend a hand by showing him around.
The thought that Reid was somewhere out there, possibly watching him, made his skin crawl.
They had the main house heavily guarded, leaving just a few men to accompany them for the day.
Reid was too smart to pull anything with everyone watching, but Aaron still felt restless.
He wished that his old captain would just turn himself in, but he also knew that Reid was determined to finish the job.
That was why he needed to send Sunny and the baby back home.
He couldn’t let Reid get to them— the thought of that happening made him half-crazy.
“You’re doing the right thing, sending Sunny and the baby home.
” Tag was quietly walking the land with him.
Sometimes, his best friend was so quiet that Aaron often forgot that he was there.
“I know, man. I just hated seeing the hurt in her eyes when I told her that she and Sadie needed to go back home. It was as if she thought that I was sending her away because I didn’t want her.
And that couldn’t be further from the truth.
” Aaron stopped walking to look down at the tiny dots of the buildings on the ranch.
This far up the mountain, even the giant main house looked like a child’s toy.
All he wanted to do was march back down that mountain and show Sunny that he never wanted to lose her.
Hell, he would never push her away again, but judging from the pain he saw in her eyes, he needed to prove that to her.
He gladly spent the rest of his days proving to Sunny that he wanted and needed her—forever.
“I want to ask her to marry me, I’m just waiting for the right time.” Tag laughed and clapped Aaron’s shoulder. “I don’t find any of this funny, Tag.” Aaron felt stone-cold sober about asking her to be his wife, and Tag seemed to think he was joking around.
“I’m not laughing at the fact that you want to marry Sunny.
I find it funny that you think there is ever a right time to bring that kind of question up.
Hell, you two have a kid together—I’m pretty sure the right time was months ago.
If you don’t do it soon, you’re going to push her out of your life.
She needs to hear the words from you, Aaron.
Tell her what you want. Maybe she’ll want the same thing.
” Aaron could always count on Tag to give it to him straight.
He was the closest thing that Aaron ever had to a brother. He considered Tag family.
“I think a little romantic dinner for two should do the trick. When we get back to the ranch, I’ll ask Sunny to have dinner with me, just the two of us. Will you and Piper watch Sadie?” Tag’s smile lit up his whole face.
“We would love to babysit. It will give us practice for our kid,” Tag said.
“Wait, I don’t want you practicing on my daughter.
Mess up your kid and leave mine alone,” Aaron grumbled.
They both laughed and started heading back down the mountain to the rest of the crew.
Tonight, Aaron was going to ask Sunny to be his wife, and hopefully, she would say yes.
He couldn’t think of his future without her and Sadie.
Tonight would be his “right time," he would make sure of it.
Travis watched as Aaron and his friend walked along the ranch’s perimeters.
He knew exactly what his old buddy was up to, and it was a good plan.
But he was smarter than Aaron, and Travis had the same training as him.
He knew just where to stay to avoid the fire, and he had a hunch that Aaron was going to be sending his little girlfriend away to do the same.
It’s what he would have done to protect his family if he still had one.
He was ready to stop playing games. Aaron needed to pay for everything that happened to him, just like his two friends did.
The satisfaction that he got from watching Ted and then Billy’s homes burn to the ground wasn’t anything compared to how he would feel about watching all of Aaron’s dreams go up in smoke—literally.
He knew that if he waited Aaron out, he would be the one caught in a trap.
He decided that he needed to stay one step ahead of his old friend if he wanted to end this game of cat and mouse that they were playing.
He would make sure that Aaron would lose his family, and then Travis would finish the job he started.
If only Aaron knew how close he was, he could have won the game today.
But his friend was distracted by his hot little girlfriend and new baby.
Travis would use Aaron’s lack of attention to his advantage, and Aaron wouldn’t even know what hit him.
Sunny waited for Aaron at the little cabin that they shared before moving into the main house yesterday.
Piper promised to send him over just as soon as they all got back.
Sunny had just enough time to take a quick bath and pull herself together.
Piper was supposed to give Aaron strict directions to shower and change into the jeans and comfy flannel shirt that Sunny loved.
She decided to go for casual also, slipping on her favorite jeans and tank top with an unbuttoned flannel over top.
If she was going to spill her guts and tell Aaron that she wanted forever with him, she might as well be comfortable doing it.
Norma Jeane was kind enough to prepare a picnic dinner for them, and Sunny planned on surprising him with it.
She spread an old quilt on the hardwood floor and lit just enough candles to set the mood.
When she heard Aaron’s boots on the front porch, she felt like a giddy schoolgirl, complete with butterflies in her stomach.
He gently knocked and she couldn’t help her giggle.
“You can just come in, Aaron—you don’t have to be so formal.
” She crossed the room to open the door and found him down on one knee, holding a ring box in one hand and a bouquet in the other.
Sunny gasped, “Wh-what are you doing?” she stuttered, covering her mouth with her shaking hand.
“Aaron, I don’t understand.” The last thing she wanted to do was start crying like a baby, but she couldn’t help it.
He opened the ring box, revealing a stunning cushion-cut diamond surrounded by blue sapphires.
“Sunshine Francis, you are everything that is right in my world. I love you, and I love the family that we’ve made together. Will you be my wife?” Sunny sank to her knees and threw her arms around Aaron’s neck, practically knocking him over.
“Yes,” she sobbed. “I will marry you. I love you so much.” He pulled her into his body, dropping the flowers to the porch, and kissed her senseless.
“I’m so happy that you said yes, baby,” he said breathlessly. “I was worried that you’d changed your mind about us after I wanted to send you back home,” Aaron admitted.
Sunny shook her head. “None of that matters now. All I want is right in front of me,” Sunny said. He slipped the ring onto her finger, and they both admired it. “Wow, Aaron, it’s beautiful. But when did you have time to find it?”
Aaron chuckled, pulled her up to stand with him, and retrieved the flowers from the porch.
“The day Sadie was born, I ran out while Piper was visiting with you. I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. I planned on asking you to marry me that day, but then all this shit happened with Reid, and it never seemed to be the right time. Tag convinced me today that if I kept waiting for the right time, I’d never ask you.
He told me that I needed to make the right time happen for us. ”
“Well, Tag is a very smart man, but don’t tell him I said that.
It will go straight to his head, and nobody wants that,” Sunny giggled.
“Piper told me that I needed to sit you down and have a talk about what I wanted for our future. That’s what all this is.
” She pointed to the picnic dinner she had laid out.
“So, I guess we had the same idea for tonight,” Aaron said. “What were you going to tell me you wanted for our future?” Aaron sat down on the quilt and pulled her down on top of his lap.
“I was going to tell you that I wanted a family, a real family. I was going to ask you to marry me,” Sunny admitted.
Aaron looked a little stunned. “You know it is the twenty-first century, Aaron. A woman can ask a man to marry her. You should be used to bossy women by now—you’re surrounded by them.
” Aaron pulled her in for another kiss, and she melted into his arms.
“I wouldn’t want it any other way, either. And, for the record, baby, I would have said yes to your marriage proposal. See, I’m a forward-thinking man,” he teased.
Sunny giggled, “So if I were the one to demand you take off your shirt, you wouldn’t mind a little objectification?
” She bobbed her eyebrows and straddled his lap to help him unbutton his shirt.
“As long as you objectifying me leads to us having sex, I’m good.
” Aaron pulled her flannel shirt off and pinned her underneath his body, unbuttoning her jeans.
“So much for letting me be in control,” she pouted. He pulled her jeans down her legs, leaving her in her see-through lace panties and a tank top. He hissed out his breath, and she could tell that he was losing some of his self-control.
“If you only knew how much control you have over me, honey.” He snaked his hands under her tank, inching it up her body.
She couldn’t help but squirm underneath him.
She felt so alive; her body felt like it was humming with all the pleasure that his kisses were promising her.
He smiled down at her when he realized that she wasn’t wearing a bra.
“I like it when you forgo undergarments, honey.” He kissed and gently sucked each nipple into his hot mouth, and all she could think about was him naked on top of her, thrusting into her needy core.
“Please, Aaron,” she sighed. “I need you.”
His voice sounded like gravel, “I know, baby, I feel the same way.” He stripped out of his jeans and boxers and slowly pulled her panties down her legs.
He was taking his time, and it was excruciating to wait.
Aaron seemed to like making her beg, and hell, she would if it would get her what she needed.
Aaron sat, his back against the sofa, and pulled her on top of his lap.
His erection jutted between them, and she couldn’t help but run her hands all over him.
He bucked, thrusting into her hands, and she giggled.
“See, it’s not fun to have someone teasing you, is it?” she asked.
Aaron shook his head and swallowed. “I’m giving you control, baby. Just don’t tease me.”
By the sound of his voice, she knew that he was on edge just as much as she was.
Sunny guided his cock into her drenched folds, and they both moaned as she fully seated herself onto his lap.
He held her body close, kissing her lips until they were swollen from his attention.
His rough, calloused hands ran over her sensitive nipples, and she just about came with the new sensation.
“Move for me, Sunny,” Aaron ordered, and she threw her head back and started to ride his cock. He thrust into her, and she took all of him, over and over. It felt so good to have him inside of her again, like she was finally home.
“Aaron, I’m close.” He grunted as he thrust into her again and reached between their bodies to circle her clit with his fingers. Within seconds, she was shouting his name, finding her release. He followed her over, and they collapsed onto the floor, tangled up together.
“You’re going to marry me, honey?” Sunny couldn’t catch her breath long enough to find her words.
She just nodded against his chest. Aaron kissed the top of her head and pulled her in tighter.
“Well then, how about tomorrow?” Sunny froze, not sure that her brain cells were working yet, or if she had heard Aaron ask if she wanted to get married tomorrow.
“You mean as in when the sun rises again tomorrow?” Sunny squeaked.
Aaron laughed, “Yep, that’s what I mean. All our friends are already here, and I can’t imagine a prettier place to get hitched.” Sunny gasped and tried to get up, but Aaron pulled her into his hold, not letting her go.
“How did you plan all of this without me knowing?” Sunny asked, surprised.
“Well, I told you I took Tag’s advice and I’m making today, and well, tomorrow is the right time.
I’m done waiting for our lives together to begin.
I’m just going to make it happen. That is, as long as you still want to get married.
” Sunny rolled on top of Aaron’s muscular body and pulled him up for a kiss.
“Yes, I will marry you, and yes, tomorrow works for me.” He smiled up at her, and Sunny couldn’t believe that this was all happening. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world, and tomorrow she would become Aaron’s wife, and she couldn’t wait.