Chapter Thirty-Two Leo
Chapter Thirty-Two
Leo
ONE MONTH LATER.
“Ma, stop fussing over me,” I groaned, fending off my mother’s affectionate embrace.
“Never,” she declared and squeezed me, gently, once more.
I was so glad to be home after an extended hospital stay.
I was getting antsy stuck in that bed, frustrated at how long it was taking my body to recover from the injury.
The punctured lung had healed fairly quickly but the toll it had taken on my body meant I was dealing with exhaustion and weakness.
I still wasn’t one hundred percent, but I was well enough to come home to Reverence and rest up some more.
Maddy and Tori were the perfect caretakers.
One was sweet, one was sassy. I’ll let you figure out which was which.
Frank, reluctantly, agreed that I needed some time at home to rest and recuperate before we did it all again.
He figured I still had a couple more years left in me, and I figured he was right.
I wasn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet.
I’d been scared to tell Maddy I wanted to keep riding for another year or two.
I knew she was terrified of losing me, especially after my injury.
But when I finally worked up the courage to tell her I had a few more rodeos in me, she just shrugged her shoulder and said, “I expected nothing less, Cowboy.”
Which just made me fall in love with her even more.
She didn’t question whether it was the right thing to do. She knew I wasn’t one to sit idly by on the sidelines. She knew I wanted the adrenaline, the excitement, that fire in my belly to keep burning bright, and she certainly didn’t try to hold me back.
Ma on the other hand, well she was a different story. Luckily, she had Derek and their secret wedding to distract her.
“I’m still mad you didn’t tell me you were engaged, let alone planning a secret wedding!” I hissed, glancing around and smiling widely at the spectators.
“Because I knew you’d take over the planning and I didn’t want it to be a big deal,” she replied, pausing to link arms with me and smile for someone’s camera. I flinched slightly as the flash blinded us both.
“I would have given you the day you dreamed of!” My voice rose with indignation.
“This is the day I dreamed of. Me and Derek, you and our friends and family.”
I narrowed my stare at her but only saw truth in her eyes.
“Fine. I’ll stop pouting then.”
“Thank you, son. I appreciate that. Now go and say congratulations to your new stepfather,” she teased.
I shook my head, laughing. “I love you, Ma. You look beautiful today and I’m so happy for you both.”
Ma patted my cheek then flitted away to greet more guests, most of whom were locals from town along with some of her co-workers.
They had lured everyone to the ranch under the guise of Derek’s sixtieth birthday party when in actual fact it was a surprise wedding.
The moment my Ma appeared in her dress, I’d gone to pieces.
She was truly radiant, glowing with love and happiness like I’d never seen before.
Her white satin gown hit midcalf and swayed gracefully around her as she moved.
Her hair flowed behind her on the breeze, strands woven through a delicate flower crown.
Then she and Derek had stood under a wicker arch twined with ivy and wildflowers and said their vows. It had been nothing short of perfect.
On my way over to Derek, I bumped into Daisy.
“You!” I declared menacingly.
“What, bro?” Daisy replied.
“You kept my own mother’s wedding a secret from me?”
“Yeah, and?” she sassed, nonchalantly brushing her red hair over her shoulder, not giving two shits in typical Daisy fashion.
“I’m kinda proud of you. You planned an entire wedding at Redemption Ranch? Girl.” I raised my hand for a high five. A slow smile curled over her lips as she raised her hand to meet mine. Seconds before our palms met, I yanked my hand away.
“Too slow, dickhead!” I tugged her into my side, tousling her hair.
“Ugh, you’re such an asshole!” she groaned, shoving away from me.
“You deserved that. No one keeps a happily-ever-after a secret from me.”
“Some of us do,” she said and darted her eyes away.
Before I could probe any further, she changed the subject.
“I’ve set up a website for the ranch for various events we can host. Company retreats, ranch experiences, and now weddings.
Potentially something even bigger if all my plans pan out,” she added.
“Ooh, do tell?”
“Nah,” she said, pointing to my shirt. When I looked down to see what she was pointing at, she flicked the tip of my nose. I huffed in frustration at falling for that. “You’ll have to wait and see like everyone else.” She raised a brow at me and then was gone.
I shook my head and continued over to Derek who was talking with Kat and Jack.
“Sorry to interrupt, but just wondered if I could have a moment with the man himself?” I asked.
Derek shot me a sheepish glance before nodding and saying goodbye to my friends.
“You going to chew me out?” He puffed out a breath.
“No, of course not. Why would you think that?”
“Because I know how much you love weddings and love. Your mom talks about it a lot. And I knew it was going to be an issue keeping this a secret.”
I nodded. “But you did what she wanted you to do?”
Derek rocked forward on his dress shoes. “I did.”
I smiled. “Then I’m happy. I want you to give her everything she wants. It’s not about me. Especially today. It’s about celebrating you two, which I’m one hundred percent down to do. You make her happy and that’s all I care about.”
Derek gave me a rare smile.
“Dad,” I added.
The smile vanished and I laughed.
“You don’t need to call me dad,” Derek hastily stated.
“I don’t know, I kinda like it.”
Sensing I was teasing, Derek’s smile reappeared and he chucked me on the shoulder. “You’re a wiseass.”
“I am. A very happy one at seeing you and Ma so happy.” I hugged him tight, surprising him. “Thank you for giving her everything you have,” I said when I pulled back and patted him on the chest. Derek glanced over to my mom and his eyes grew a little misty.
He cleared his throat. “My pleasure.”
“There you are!”
I’d recognize that voice anywhere. Her arms wound round my waist gently and I turned my head to the side, pressing a kiss to her hair.
“I’m here, just chatting with my new dad,” I joked. Derek laughed and then shook his head before raising his glass to me and making his way over to my mom.
“Dance with me?” Maddy asked, tugging my hand.
“Always,” I replied, letting her lead me to the makeshift dancefloor under the white gazebo. Her arms circled my neck and my hands rested on her hips as we swayed to the slow romantic beat from the live band.
Maddy smiled up at me, her fingers twirling with the ends of my hair in a way that had little shivers dancing down my spine. The sly look on her face said she knew exactly what she was doing to me.
“Tell me about your wedding day?” she asked softly.
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, are you going to act like you haven’t been planning your wedding day since you were a little boy?” she teased.
I laughed. “Damn, I forgot you knew me so well.”
“Exactly, so spill.”
“Well, it’s pretty simple really.” I sniffed. “You, me, family, Redemption Ranch.”
She reared back, eyes wide. “Really?”
“Yep, always has been. Could never picture doing it with anyone else, anywhere else.”
She went on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “You’re such a softie.”
“Only for you.”
“Well, when the time comes, I’ll be ready.” A flush spread across her cheeks at her admission.
I raised a brow. “Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, I guess.” She shrugged one shoulder. The strap of her blue dress slipped down and I pulled it back up, smoothing it into place. I slid my arms around her, pulling her to me as we swayed.
“As glad as I am to hear that, only one month after I finally got an I love you out of you, the proposal isn’t coming that quickly. For now, I just want to be in love. I’ve spent so long pretending I wasn’t in love with you that I just want a minute to really, truly, be in love with you, out loud.”
There was silence as the seconds ticked away.
“How was it?” she whispered, resting her chin on my shoulder.
I smiled at her gorgeous hazel eyes, lit with amusement. So competitive, she actually timed my minute to love her.
“Exquisite.”