Claire McEwen Convincing the Rancher [HS 1970

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.I haven’t checked much off my to-do list these past four weeks.”“Yes, but you’ve checked a lot off mine.” Tess lowered her voice, making sure Devin wouldn’t overhear, in case he was nearby.“Let’s see, there’s sex, and more sex, and teaching me to ski, and then.sex.”Slaid silenced her with a kiss that promised he’d keep working on her to-do list later that evening.Then he went to the stove to stir the soup they’d made together earlier in the afternoon.Tess sipped her cocoa and looked out the window as the last light left the sky.The past few weeks had been amazing, and despite what she’d just said to Slaid, it hadn’t all been sex and skiing.She’d also spent time just hanging out with Devin and Slaid, and she’d visited Samantha frequently.Her friend was due any day now.She was also getting to know Samantha’s business.It looked as if Tess would be taking over all the public relations accounts Samantha had established in the year since she’d moved to Benson.Samantha intended to be a full-time mommy for at least the first year of her little boy’s life.And Tess had finally written to Adam’s parents and thanked them for the years of letters.With their permission, she’d written to Adam, too, and now there was a plan afoot for all of them to meet in Los Angeles this summer.Slaid and Devin were going with her to Disneyland, and there, in the happiest place on earth, they’d meet up with Adam and his family.Both boys were excited for the trip and had connected via email.They’d found common ground in being adopted and in having spent years wondering about their birth mothers.Of course Devin was still wondering, and Tess worried that maybe he always would.His birth mother had several more years on her prison sentence, and his letters were always returned unopened.“Either you find your reflection in that window as beautiful as I do, or you’re deep in thought.You’ve been staring out there for a while.”“I was thinking about everything.You, Devin, Samantha, Adam.So much has fallen into place for me this past month.”“It’s because you’re happy here,” Slaid said, turning her to face him.He kissed her lightly.“It’s because the three of us are a family.” He kissed her again while she relished his words.“And because you and I are amazing together.”A small shiver went over her as his mouth closed on her neck and worked its way down to her shoulder and back up to her ear.“If we get any more amazing we’ll have to send Devin to bed early.” She laughed.“Rain check?” he asked hopefully.“Snow check,” she corrected.“Definitely.”And suddenly Tess knew it was the perfect time for the surprise she’d been planning for the past week, with Devin’s help.She still couldn’t believe she was brave enough to do what she was about to do.She went into the living room, where Devin was curled on the couch with a book.“Remember what we talked about the other day?” she asked him in a low voice.His face lit up.“The Plan?” he whispered.“Do you still have the ring?”“Of course! It’s in my sock drawer.”“And you still think this is a good idea?” She’d asked his permission to marry his dad.Devin had dealt with too much relationship upheaval—Tess wanted him to have a say in this next part of his future.To her huge relief, he’d been ecstatic about the idea and had been walking around ever since with a huge, mischievous smile on his face.It had been making Slaid crazy trying to figure out what his son was up to.“Yeah, of course! I’ll go get the ring.”He bounded off the couch and ran to his room, returning with the small velvet box.“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Tess whispered.She put the box under the tree.“Okay, now go sit on the couch and act normal.”Devin’s grin was Cheshire-cat huge.He hopped back on the couch, holding his book up in front of his face at an awkward angle.He didn’t look the slightest bit normal.Tess went back into the kitchen and kissed Slaid on the cheek.“Hey, by the way,” she said casually.“There’s something under the Christmas tree for you.An early present.”“Really? Santa showed up today?” Slaid looked excited, and it struck Tess suddenly that this holiday thing was kind of new for him, too.As a single dad, he probably wasn’t used to surprises under the tree.“Go check it out.” Her heart was pounding—she was far more nervous than she thought she’d be.Slaid went into the living room and Tess followed.Devin looked up from his book.“Tess said I have an early present,” Slaid said, walking toward the tree they’d decorated together.Her first Christmas tree—she couldn’t get enough of its sweet pine scent and its twinkling lights.“Tess, does Devin get one, too?”“Sort of,” Devin answered.Tess watched Devin, looking for signs of worry or doubt, but there was none [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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