Cade’s heart sank. Why would she leave?
He let out a sigh as he peered down at his daughter. “I think I messed all that up. After you left yesterday, I was pretty down in the dumps, and I said some stuff to Nora that I wish I could take back.”
“Like what?”
“Like that she was better off without me, and she should just leave too.”
Allie’s eyes widened, then she slugged Cade in the arm. “You dummy. Why did you say that?”
“Because I’m an idiot.”
“Agreed. So did Nora leave?”
He nodded, the heaviness of her actions weighing down his chest.
“You are an idiot.” Allie accompanied her statement with one of her eye rolls. “But she still showed up here today, so she must still care about us. Which means it’s not too late.” She poked a finger into his chest. “You need to fix this.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Yes it is. Unless you don’t want to fix it.”
“I do. But I don’t know if Nora does.” He rubbed his hand over her good shoulder. “Besides, you’re my biggest priority right now. You and me and figuring out how we can be a family.”
“But I already told you, Nora is part of our family. We’re a team. And I already love her. Don’t you?”
He nodded as he tried to find his voice. “Yeah. I do.”
“Then you need to tell her.”
“Okay, okay. But first, there’s something else I have to tell you.”
“What?”
“There’s some money, I guess. For some reason, your mom named me the beneficiary on her life insurance policy, and that’s causing some problems.”
She waved his concern away. “Oh, I know. It’s all Grandpa and Aunt Di have been talking about.”
“Well, I don’t want it. Especially if it’s going to cause so much grief. They can have it. All I want is to have you with me. But you should know, they’re threatening to take me to court. So I was thinking maybe if I gave them the money, they’ll let that idea drop.”
“Forget that. Don’t listen to them. I’m old enough to have a say in who I live with. You’re my dad. And I choose you.”
One corner of his mouth lifted in a grin.
“I love them,” she said. “But I’ve been with them the last thirteen years. I want to live with you now. And we’re not giving that money back. I’m sure Mom chose you because she knew you’d spend the money on taking care of me. And we’re gonna need it to buy our dream house.”
“Dream house?”
She rolled her eyes again. “Yeah. Duh. The Larson ranch.”
Cade grinned and that feeling of hope burst through him again. “I’m way ahead of you, kid. I already talked to Pearl’s daughter yesterday morning. I put in a fair offer, and she said she’s willing to sell us the place.”
“You did? Yesterday?” Her eyes widened. “You mean before I left?”
“Yeah. I was going to talk to you and Nora about it at dinner. I wanted to show you that I was serious about you staying with me. I’m still learning all this dad stuff, but I swear, I’m not going anywhere this time. You’re my daughter and I love you, Allie-Cat.”
She threw her arms around him and buried her face in his neck. “I love you too, Dad. And I believe you that you’ve changed. And that you’ll stay.”
He hugged her tightly, her words meaning everything to him.
She hugged him back, then clapped her hand on his shoulder. “Now let’s go get Nora.”
“Good idea. But first, I have someone else in the truck who’s been missing you almost as much as I have.”
She inhaled a quick gasp, and her eyes lit with excitement. “You brought Scout?”
“I did.”
She let out a squeal as she threw her arms around him. “You’re the best dad ever.”
He grinned as he hugged her back, the words healing some of the hurt of the past several years. “I’m trying my best, kid.”
***
Cade knocked on the door, then took a quick glance back at the truck. After breaking the news to Diana and Ed, they’d swung by the apartment to pick up the rest of Allie’s things. The puppy sat on her lap and gave a small yip as Allie gave him an encouraging nod from the front seat.
The front door opened and Cade tipped his hat to the woman who answered. “Hello, ma’am. I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m looking for Nora Fisher.”
The woman smiled as she peered up at him, and he could see the resemblance to Nora. “You must be Cade.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Dang. No wonder it only took her an instant,” she muttered.
“Pardon me?”
“I’m Nora’s mom, Sheila.” She peered around him. “Is that Allie in the truck?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Nora’s told me so much about you all. I feel like I practically know you. Your daughter is beautiful.”
Cade face broke into a proud smile. “Yeah, she is.”
“Oh, and that must be Scout.” Sheila waved excitedly to the girl and the dog. “Mind if I go say hello?”
He chuckled, another spark of hope lighting in him that Nora had talked about them so much. “Suit yourself.”
“Nora’s in the basement.” She waved him in. “Go through the kitchen. The stairs are on the right.”
He walked through the house, grinning at the photos of Nora that lined the walls—Nora in a cheerleading uniform, holding up a fish, beaming at the camera from above a huge birthday cake. She looked young and fresh-faced in her senior portraits, but his favorites were the ones of her as a little girl, especially the goofy one where her front tooth was missing.
His feet carried him down the stairs and toward the sound of a familiar voice singing along to the radio. The song playing was bluesy and sad, and just hearing Nora’s voice had butterflies dive-bombing his stomach. What if she didn’t want to hear what he came to say? What if the reason she left the church was because she didn’t want to see him anymore?
He was excited but nervous to see her. He still wasn’t sure why she’d left the church. Maybe this whole thing between them was in his imagination.
Only one way to find out.
He leaned against the side of the door, his heart pounding as he watched Nora slide her dress onto a hanger. Her back was to him as she shifted clothes in the closet to make room. She’d changed into jeans, sneakers, and a teal top, and his gaze was drawn to the curve of her lush hips as she slowly swayed to the music. “Hey, beautiful.”
She let out a shriek and sent the dress flying as she jumped. “Holy moly,” she said, pressing her hand to her heart. “You scared the crud out of me.”
Hmm. Not exactly the warm welcome he was hoping for. “Sorry.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see you.” He shook his head. “No, I didn’t just come to see you. I came to tell you that I worked things out with Allie and she’s coming back to the ranch. And we want you to come back with us.”
She narrowed her eyes. “You mean to finish Allie’s therapy?”
“Well, yeah, I guess, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” He raked his hand through his hair. “Damn it. I’m totally blowing this. I’m here for you. To tell you how I feel and convince you to come back. I don’t know, I guess I was trying to come in here and sweep you off your feet.”
She sank down onto the side of the bed. “What? Like in one of Allie’s books? Like some fairy tale where the handsome prince comes to find the princess?”
He offered her a roguish grin. “Are you saying you think I’m handsome?” He frowned. “I am the handsome prince in this story, right?”
She laughed. It was a small one, but it was still a laugh. His hopes lifted. “Yes, you dope. But I can’t just jump on your horse with you and ride off into the sunset to your castle on the moors.”
“Sure you can. Except I’m not exactly sure what a moor is, and I didn’t bring my horse. But I can still ride you off in my pickup to my castle, if you consider a castle to be a slightly rundown farmhouse with a cozy reading nook in the mountains.”
She let out a small gasp. “You mean the Larson farm?”
He couldn’t help but smile. “Yep. Pearl’s daughter agreed to sell it to me, and Allie is all in. She wants to use the insurance money to help us buy it.”
“Us?”
Cade reached for her hand and pulled her up to stand in front of him. She peered up at him, and he felt that click of connection again. “See, darlin’, the thing about a fairy tale is that with one kiss from the handsome prince’s lips, the beautiful princess falls in love with him and they live happily ever after. I don’t know if it happened with our very first kiss, but I am in love with you.” He pressed her hand to his heart. “I can’t promise we’ll always be happy—I can be a real idiot sometimes. But I can promise the ever after because I’m staying this time. For good.”
“Oh, Cade.” She let out a shuddering breath, but her eyes looked sad, her expression pained.
He rested his hand on her cheek, trying to pour all of his feelings into his touch. “Nora, I’m in love with you. Allie loves you too. So how about it? You ready to come back to the ranch with us?”
Instead of throwing herself into his arms, she took a step back. “I just…” She chewed on her lip as she stared at the floor. Not a good sign. She wrapped her arms around her stomach. “I can’t. After everything that’s happened, I just need some time to think about it.”
Oh.
He hadn’t seen a Mack Truck coming, but it sure felt like one had just hit him in the chest. He swallowed. “Then I guess that’s my answer. Let me know what you think. But know that I’ll still be here, no matter what you decide.” He turned and strode from the room.
His heart ached as he pushed through the front door, not just from Nora’s rejection, but from the thought of what he was going to tell Allie.
He’d failed her. And himself.
Nora’s mom must have gone back inside because it was just Allie sitting in the truck. She leaned her head out the window. “Where is she? Where’s Nora?”
He shook his head. “She’s not coming. It’s just you and me, kid.”
***
Nora flung herself onto her bed and buried her face in her pillow. She’d done it. She’d stopped to think before jumping headlong into a crazy situation. She’d placed herself back on the sidelines, taken herself out of the fight until she had time to plan, to strategize her next move.
And it felt…terrible.
What the hell had she done?
Cade had come to her, offering her his love and a chance at building a life and a family together. And she’d told him she needed to think about it?
She’d made plenty of impulsive decisions in her life, and some had gloriously and spectacularly failed, but others had worked out great and taken her to places she’d never have gone if she hadn’t been willing to jump in and take some chances.
Aunt Sassy’s words came back to her. You can’t live your life in fear of making another mistake…for goodness sakes, if you get another chance to fall in love, take it.
She was being offered another chance—a handsome cowboy prince chance—and she’d just let him walk out the door.
Maybe it wasn’t too late. She pushed off the bed and raced up the stairs. Sprinting through the house, she burst through the front door. “Cade! Wait!”
He was standing next to the truck, looking so tall and gorgeous it almost hurt to look at him. He turned around, and she ran to him and jumped one more time as she launched herself into his arms.
Clinging to him, her words came out in a rush. “I’m sorry. That was so stupid. I don’t need time to think about it. I love you too.” She peered up at him. “I was just afraid of getting hurt again. But I don’t care if I get hurt. It’s worth the risk of being with you.”
The smile that spread across his face sent her heart soaring. “You sure?” he asked.
“Yes, one hundred percent. It did happen quickly, but it still happened.” This time she reached up to touch his cheek. “I am completely in love with you. And I want to build a life, and a home, with you and Allie. So what if it’s impulsive? I love you and something tells me you are the best impulse I’ve ever had.” She pushed up on her toes and kissed him.
He lifted her off her feet, pulling her close as he kissed her back—a kiss filled with promise and possibility.
He set her down as the truck door opened, and Scout jumped out and raced around their feet. Allie slid out of the truck, tears on her cheeks as she hopped the few steps into Cade’s and Nora’s arms.
Nora kissed the top of her head as she hugged them close. In her arms, she held everything she’d ever wanted, ever dreamed of—her family.
Scout yipped at their feet and Nora swooped him up as she beamed at Cade and Allie. “Let’s go home.”
The End…
…and just the beginning…