“I know I don’t have a ring. I’m just a poor ranch hand, but Maisie, I swear I’ll give you everything in this world. I’ll work as hard as I have to, I’ll do whatever I can to make you happy,” he adds roughly. “Just give me a chance, baby, give me a chance.”
And that was going too far, because I love this man. He was promising his heart, and that was more than enough.
“Tyler,” comes my soft cry. “I don’t care about a ring. I don’t care about a diamond or any of that materialistic stuff. Because we love each other, and that’s what matters. Of course I’ll marry you,” I breathe before pressing my lips to his, imbuing it with feeling, happiness overflowing my heart.
He kisses me back ravenously, devouring my mouth with his, that hardness pressed against my hip this time.
“Shit honey, you make me the luckiest man in the world,” comes his rasp after we break apart. “But Maisie baby,” he starts and pauses while looking into my eyes.
“What?” I ask and I know there’s something he doesn’t want to say. “What is it?”
Smiling, I try to make him feel comfortable. There’s nothing Tyler could do to change my mind, and I want him to know he can tell me anything.
He bites his lip, looking troubled for the first time in our relationship.
“What if we skipped the big wedding and just went to the courthouse? Would that ruin everything? You can tell me, I know a lot of girls want the huge shebang,” he tries to sound reassuring, and I actually giggle.
“Tyler, I don’t care about that stuff,” comes my soft reply. “You know that. I’m just a simple girl, and love is all that matters to me. You can always tell me everything Tyler, I’ll never judge you. But I always want you to be honest with me, okay? We’re honest with each other.”
My words seem to hit him like a ton of bricks, but I can’t be sure why. For a second I think he might tell me something, darkness clouding those eyes. But instead he just kisses me intensely one last time before grabbing my hand.
“So the courthouse it is?” he asks hoarsely again, those blue eyes seizing mine. “Once and for all, til death do us part?”
I melt right then. With our hands clasped, foreheads almost touching, it feels like we’re saying our marriage vows now, in the privacy of our home.
“Yes, City Hall is fine. The courthouse it is, until forever,” are my soft words.
And Tyler takes my mouth again, first gently, softly, like a caring lover, before the kiss becomes deep and all-encompassing. Because this is my alpha. He started as an injured ranch hand in a barn stall, but he’s become so much more than that. Tyler runs my farm now, he’s the man making sure this operation chugs along, and I can’t wait to marry him as part of the bargain. I can’t live without this cowboy, and neither can my farm. But now, that won’t be a problem … because we’ll be husband and wife, united forever, our hearts touching, our minds one.
CHAPTER NINE
Tyler
Jacob smirks evilly.
“It’s so good to have you back, Ty. I hope you’re ready to handle business.”
My brother’s all fake, because actually Jake’s upset about my return. For the last decade he’s been the top dog at the house while I’ve been away at school. Yeah, my presence grates on him. Bad.
It’s a weird story, or maybe not so weird when you think about it. Because someone at the Lazy Q has got to be good with numbers. Someone’s gotta know the accounting shit, the legal tangles, the building codes and farming laws. And that person was me, I was the only one even remotely good with books.
So my dad sent me away to the academy years ago. I haven’t shown my face at the ranch for years, and I think most people forgot there was a fourth Morgan brother altogether. But I’m back now, and it doesn’t exactly make my bros happy. If anything, it scares them shitless, my presence a threat to the old way of doing things.
“I’m always ready for business,” I respond to Jacob with the direct gaze that has made him nervous since childhood.
He sneers.
“Sure, you fancy schoolboys always say you’re ready, but we’ll see,” he grins, voice rising to a high, nervous pitch. “We’ll see.”
I shrug, unintimidated.
To Jacob I’m some spoiled city kid, but to me he’s a dumb ranch hand. I’ll love my brother always, but still, his ignorance and mean streak are fucking annoying as hell.
“We got all the farms to sell just like you asked,” comes his whiny complaint. “I told you it wouldn’t be a problem for us. You may know business, but we know this neighborhood.”