Chapter Twelve
One Week Later
“You want to do what?” Blake asked.
“In town. You know for ... a late Valentine’s day.”
“Dude, we’re nearly in April. This is far from Valentine’s Day.”
“Then Easter,” Lord said.
Blake frowned at him.
“What?” Lord asked.
“You know, Astrid is kind of like you and has never been much of a people person, and I think something like this, you can do without the whole town looking on.”
Lord looked down at the ring he had purchased. He had already gotten her parents’ blessing, and he’d even met her two brothers on a rare trip to No Wolves Road. They were gone now, but her parents stopped by from time to time. He was getting used to their visits.
The snow had long since gone. The ranchers were back here, every day apart from Sunday.
Astrid continued to sleep in his bed every night.
She still had her own room, and she refused to move her clothes into his closet.
Lord wondered if she was aware of the change in her body.
His woman was pregnant. There had been no menstrual cycle in the past couple of months.
Also, her breasts were getting larger, and he saw the thickening of her waist. He loved the changes he saw, but he didn’t know if she was going to be as happy with them.
Lord loved her. He had nearly lost her, and since then, he had done everything he could to make it up to her. Lord was there for every breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He took her around the ranch as much as possible.
The snow had caused some damage. Fences needed to be repaired, along with some of the storage sheds fixed, and he had no choice but to also repair the roof on the ranch house. It was due for a change, but it was all work that had added up because of the snow.
Sundays were spent naked with Astrid. Where they didn’t have to worry about any of the ranchers stumbling upon them as they ran around completely naked.
“I want her to know that I want everyone to know she is the love of my life,” Lord said.
Blake’s mouth dropped open. “Wow.”
“What?”
“You really are open to all of this, aren’t you?”
“I love her and I want to be with her.”
Blake smiled at him. “And you don’t need the whole town staring at the two of you while you declare that. Trust me, I think that will freak her out more if you do that.”
Lord looked down at the ring. “Do you think she is going to like it?”
“She’s going to love it.” Blake stared at him. “You’re nervous, aren’t you?”
“I’m not nervous.”
Blake put his hands on his hips and didn’t look away.
“I’m not.”
“Every man when he proposes is scared.”
“He is?” Lord asked.
“Yeah, signals could be lost, and you can misread the whole situation. Trust me, we all know what this feels like. But I think you would be making a big mistake if you went the whole town route. You don’t see Astrid rushing off to every town event, do you?”
Now that he thought about it, she didn’t.
She was happy to stay around the ranch and not venture back into town. Astrid was the one who made excuses not to visit her parents all the time.
“I’m just trying to help,” Blake said, and tossed in the tools they had been using to fix the fence.
Lord pocketed the ring and got to work helping. It was nearly dinnertime, and he wanted to see his woman. He’d not seen her since lunchtime, and that already felt like too much time had passed. He was smitten and wasn’t afraid to admit it. Astrid was his whole focus.
When the doctor had told him that the twenty-four hours she was sick was crucial, he had known there was a slight chance she might deteriorate.
All night he had sat beside her bed and watched her, not daring to take his gaze from her, for fear of losing her.
He couldn’t stand the thought of losing her.
It was in that very moment he realized he wasn’t going to hold back. There were no more games to be played.
Astrid belonged to him, just as he belonged to her. He didn’t know how it had happened, but they were now mates. There was no turning back. Just moving forward together.
They arrived back at the house, and he saw the table outside had been set. The days were getting warmer, with the sun heating everything up.
He glanced back toward the table to see most of the ranch hands sitting around it, and food was already being dished. There was no sign of Astrid.
The ranch hands greeted him, and he nodded in their direction, but his only focus was on his woman.
Stepping into the back of the kitchen, he saw her at the sink, elbows-deep in soapsuds. He hadn’t told her she was pregnant. Lord didn’t know how to tell her. He had picked up the ring before he even realized she was pregnant.
He couldn’t resist stepping right up to her, wrapping his arms around her, placing his face against her neck, and kissing her. She let out a little yelp.
“You startled me.”
“How come you’re in here washing up, rather than outside eating?” he asked. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her she was eating for two, but he didn’t say anything.
“I burnt the bottom of this pan and wanted to get started on it pronto. Also, you weren’t here, and I kind of like waiting for you.” She leaned back against him.
Blake’s warning ran in his ear. He was waiting for the perfect time but hadn’t the last few months told him there was never a perfect time? There was always a great time to fuck up, which is what he had nearly done, and cost himself this.
“Marry me,” Lord said.
Astrid tensed in his arms, and then slowly turned around to look at him. “What?”
“I love you, Astrid. I’ve loved you for a long time.
” He stroked some of her hair out of her face.
“I don’t want to say the wrong thing, or mess this up.
I’m not good at saying the right thing. I love you.
I’m not a people person and the truth is, I can’t stand crowds, but I want to be around you all the time.
You’re all I think about. You’re all I want. Just you. No one else. Marry me.”
He saw that he’d surprised her.
Lord waited and it felt like a millennium, but then the smile filled her face and she threw her arms around his neck, screaming yes repeatedly.
He heard the ranchers move from where they were sitting, and he quickly grabbed her face, kissed her, and stared into her eyes.
“You’re pregnant,” he said.
“I know. I took a test this morning. Are you happy about this?”
“Thrilled. Are you?”
She laughed. “Yes.”
They didn’t get much chance to say anything else, as the ranch hands filled the kitchen, wanting to know if everything was okay.
It was not in front of the town, or her parents, but it was in front of their friends and the ranch hands as he slipped the ring he had gotten for her right onto her finger. The applause rang out, but to Lord, it faded as he pulled Astrid into his arms.
The future was uncertain, but he knew it was going to be the best one he could have ever hoped for, as he had his woman.