Chapter 20
“Jesse, I swear I’m going to throw up if you don’t take this blindfold off me.”
Jesse glanced over at Liberty sitting on the truck seat right next to him and couldn’t help grinning. Her eyes were covered with his bandana and her mouth was turned down in a mean-looking scowl.
“Hold on, darlin’. We’re almost there.” He took her chin and turned her face toward him so he could brush a kiss on her lips. The way she melted into the kiss, disrupted the fat pug sleeping on her lap. Buck Owens snuffled his annoyance and Jesse drew back to find the dog glared at him with buggy eyes.
Liberty blindly petted the dog. “See, even Buck is over it. Aren’t you, baby?”
The pug sent Jesse a smug look and Jesse rolled his eyes. “I’m not sure how I ended up with a feisty dog and a feisty woman.”
Liberty looked as smug as Buck. “Just lucky I guess.”
He grinned. “I guess I am.”
When the old mansion came into view, Jesse felt even luckier. There had always been something about the house that tugged on his heartstrings. Now he knew why.
The house had been put thorough a lot and was more than a little rough around the edges. But if you could look past the fake fa?ade and the tarnished past, the house was sturdy and well built and had heart. With a little love and a lot of work, it was going to be something special.
Just like Jesse.
Because of his tarnished past, he had viewed himself as a dilapidated old house that didn’t deserve love. Shirlene and Billy had tried to make him see his worth. But it had taken a sassy, dark-haired beauty who challenged him at every turn for him to realize that he was worth saving. He deserved to be loved. He deserved to be happy.
And damned if he wasn’t.
The last couple weeks had been heaven on earth. Liberty had agreed to go back to Bramble with him to meet his family. If he hadn’t known Liberty was right for him before, he figured it out in Bramble. She and his sisters, Mia and Adeline, took to each other like ducks to water. She wasn’t starstruck by Mia’s husband, Austin, who had played quarterback for the San Diego Chargers and Dallas Cowboys, and was now a sportscaster for Fox Network. She didn’t flinch at Billy’s brashness or blush at Brody’s teasing or get shocked by Shirlene’s bluntness.
His tough girl fit right in.
“I love your family,” she’d whispered later that night when they were tucked beneath the sheets of his childhood bed. “I’m glad you found them.”
“I’m glad I found them too.” He’d kissed the top of her head. “But I’m even more glad I found you.”
She’d looked up at him with a wicked smile. “Care to prove it?”
He’d proven it.
In fact, he was going to prove it for the rest of his life.
He pulled into the circle drive in front the boardinghouse and jumped out. He smiled when he saw what the construction crew he’d hired had accomplished in just two weeks—of course, money talked and he was paying them double what they usually earned.
The crumbling columns had been replaced and the old ones stripped of old paint and vines before being repainted. The windows had been cleaned, panes replaced, and the trim painted a crisp white to match the columns and upstairs balcony railing. The front door had been sanded and painted a deep forest green and an engraved brass plate had been affixed to the center of it.
Jesse had ordered the plate himself. He hoped it would not only gain him points with Liberty, but also her sisters. Hank, Darla, and Mimi had accepted him, but the Holiday sisters were still skeptical of his and Liberty’s relationship. Especially Belle. He had only talked to her once via Zoom, but he’d gotten the Don’t-Mess-With-My-Sister vibe loud and clear.
Of course, Corbin wasn’t real happy about Jesse dating Liberty either. He hadn’t tried to talk Jesse out of being with her—that wasn’t Corbin’s style—but his silence spoke louder than words. Jesse knew he was still holding a grudge against Liberty and her family, but Jesse figured he’d get over it soon enough. The Holidays were impossible to resist.
Especially since Corbin was going to be living with Hank, Darla, and Mimi.
His agreement to let the Holidays stay in the two-story farmhouse wasn’t because of Hank listing everything that needed to be done on the ranch, or Darla’s home cooking, or Jesse mentioning that any smart CEO always kept the previous employees of a purchased company on to help with the transition. It was because Sunny had fallen in love with Mimi and refused to kick her out of her house.
Corbin couldn’t refuse Sunny anything. Although he’d only agreed to let them stay until the end of June.
Jesse would have thought Sunny’s attachment to Mimi was all part of their plan if he hadn’t seen the two women together. They had hit it off immediately. Mimi said it was because Sunny reminded her of herself.
“Jesse Cates!” Liberty hollered from the truck. “What the heck are you doing? Buck and I are burning up in this truck!”
Realizing he’d been woolgathering, he quickly reached into the truck and got Buck before he took Liberty’s hand to help her out. “Sorry, darlin’. We’re here.” He took off the blindfold.
She blinked in the bright sunlight. “Don’t you sorry me. It’s one thing to blindfold someone in the privacy of a bedroom. It’s quite another to blindfold them in broad daylight and drive them to Lord knows—” She stopped blinking and stared at the house before she glanced back at him. “Did you do this?”
“I wish I could say yes. I would have loved to be part of the transformation.” He winked at her. “But it’s hard to renovate a house and keep an extremely high-maintenance woman happy at the same time.”
She swatted his arm. “I am not high maintenance.”
“Of course you aren’t, darlin’.” He shifted Buck and held out his arm. “You want to go in, low-maintenance woman, and see the rest of the surprise or do you want to stay out here and yell at me?”
She shot him an annoyed look, but took his arm. Before they had even reached the door, she froze and stared at the engraved brass plate. “Holiday Bed and Breakfast?”
“I thought it had a better ring to it than Fanny Fields’ Bed and Breakfast.”
Her eyes were confused. “But I don’t understand. I thought you didn’t want to be the proprietor of a bed-and-breakfast.”
“I thought a lot of things.” He smiled. “But sometimes you just have to go with your gut. My gut says this is a good idea. The town of Wilder needs a place for folks to stay. And I was thinking . . . if Corbin won’t let your family keep the ranch, we could always build ourselves a big red barn out back. It makes perfect sense to have one on the same property as yours and Belle’s event-planning business.” He hesitated. “And I figured since it was your idea, you’d might want to help me run it . . . when you’re not planning events.”
She stared at him. “But you don’t know anything about running a bed-and-breakfast. Neither do I.”
“True. But we didn’t know anything about falling in love either. And look at us now.” He gave her a quick kiss before he took two keys out of his pocket. Buck started wiggling with excitement thinking it was a treat and he set the dog down before he slipped his hand into the open collar of Liberty’s shirt and dropped one key into her bra. “For safekeeping.” Then he used the other to open the door.
Buck waddled in before them. Jesse slipped the key back in his pocket before he scooped up Liberty in his arms and carried her in.
“What are you doin’, Jesse Cates?”
“Just going with my gut.”
The foyer still looked as pathetic as it had before. Although the floor had been swept clean and there were no chunks of fallen ceiling he had to step over.
“It still needs a lot of work,” he said as he carried her up the stairs. “But I think it’s going to be something when we’re finished. For now, all we need is a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.”
She stared at him. “You want to live here?”
He set her down at the top of the stairs. “Did you have a better idea? Wouldn’t it make sense that we have a place of our own?”
She opened her mouth, then closed it. Then opened it again. “Are you asking me to move in with you, Jesse Cates?”
He nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m asking, Libby Lou. I want to wake up every morning and see your sleep-creased face and bed head.” She swatted him and he laughed. “I do. I got used to waking up with you when we were in Bramble. But I don’t think your daddy is gonna go for me moving into your bedroom with you. And now that Corbin and Sunny are moving in, there won’t be enough room, anyway.” He took her hand. “Now come on and I’ll show you our room.” He whistled for Buck who was still investigating the downstairs. “Come on, Buckaroo!”
Once the pug had joined them, he drew Liberty down the hallway to the only door that had been refinished. It was the same room they’d shared before. The corner room with all the windows. Except now, those windows had panes.
When he opened the door, it was like stepping onto a sunlit explosion of color. The walls were a deep blue and everything else—the comforter, pillows, upholstery, and curtains—was done in a variety of different bright colors.
As Liberty looked around in stunned shock, he explained. “I know you were thinking about naming each room after desserts, but since we’re using the Holiday name, I figured we should name each room after a Holiday sister.”
“And which sister’s room is this one?”
He pulled her into his arms. “That’s a good question, Libby Lou. It’s not the Sweetheart Room because that will be done in shades of pink. The Clover Room will be done in greens. The Belle Room will be done in red, white, and blue. The Halloween Room in black and orange. The Noelle Room in red and green.”
Liberty glanced around at all the color. “This is the Liberty Room? Shouldn’t it be done in red, white, and blue too?”
Jesse shook his head. “Nope. Because three colors could never define you, Liberty Holiday. You’re an explosive firework bursting into the night sky in a shower of color. You’re loud, fiery, heart pounding, and breathtaking.”
She slowly took the room in before she looked back at him. Tears glistened in her beautiful green eyes. He knew they were happy tears by the soft smile on her lips.
“I think I can live here with a cocky cowboy.”
He grinned. “Well, that’s real good, darlin’, because my only other plan was living in Corbin’s trailer or Bubba’s truck.”
She hooked her arms around his neck. “I wouldn’t mind either. As long as I get to sleep on top.”
Desire settled deep and low. He wanted to lead her right over to that big ol’ bed and let her have complete control. But they had some unfinished business. “I’ll make you a deal. You can be on top whenever you want, Libby Lou, if you win the next challenge.”
“And what challenge would that be?”
He got down on one knee and pulled the ring box out of his pocket. “Spending the rest of your life with me.” He opened the box and Buck came over to investigate. When he discovered it wasn’t food, he waddled off to continue exploring the room. Jesse laughed before he glanced up at Liberty.
She looked stunned and beautiful. His heart swelled with love.
“That’s a pretty big challenge,” she whispered with tears glimmering in her eyes.
“Believe me, I know. I’m not easy to live with. But, then again, neither are you.”
She scowled. “You really are bad at love declarations.”
He grinned. “But you still love me.” He was glad she didn’t even hesitate to answer.
“I do, you ornery man.”
“So what do you say, Libby Lou?” He took the ring out of the box. For his fiery girl, he had chosen an engagement ring with a large ruby in the center and diamonds encircling it. “You up for the challenge?”
She hesitated. “Are you? Even if I can’t have kids?”
He got to his feet and looked into those beloved green eyes. “I don’t care if you can or can’t have kids, Liberty. What I care about is making you happy. If you don’t want kids, we won’t have kids. If you do, we will. Because if I’ve learned anything in my life it’s that being able to have children doesn’t make you a mama. Being willing to love a child with all your heart does.”
She flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. “How did I find you, Jesse Cates?”
“I believe I found you, Lib.” He drew back and held up the ring. “Now are you going to say yes?’”
“Yes! I accept the challenge of marrying you, Jesse Cates. And you know what?”
He slipped the ring on her finger before he pulled her back into his arms. “What, my love?”
She smiled the kind of smile he wanted to see every day for the rest of his life. “I think we’re both gonna win this one.”
He did too.
He damn well did too.
THE END