Stefanie
Stefanie couldn’t breathe.
The tightness in her chest was like Drake had wrapped his arms around her chest, but not in an unpleasant way.
Loves me? Had he just claimed to love me? Was it an offhand way of saying that he cared, like a brother?
Stefanie spoke like she didn’t hear him. She spoke like he hadn’t just declared that. Because he hadn’t, not in a direct way. And her embarrassment if she was wrong would drowned her.
He couldn’t love her anyway. Who would love her? She had too much baggage piled on top of her. Bankruptcy combined with Bella Acres’ potential foreclosure and even the auction date was gone, too.
How would she ever be able to hide anything from Nate?
If she talked about Emma right then, she could cover her embarrassment over his comment. “I can’t handle losing Emma right now. I can’t drop all of this-” She spread her arms across the desk and Drake leaned back, moving to stand and lean against the desk. “-on Nate right now. I know he’s worried about Emma. I could really use your advice. As a business person. I think I can do this with your help. Can you tell me what to do?”
Drake pressed his lips together and clenched his jaw. He sat back, crossing his ankles and folding his arms over his chest. “Look, I might not be making the best choices with Emma, sitting in silence and letting her do this to herself, her family, her marriage. But I need you to say something. I know I’m right about us. I just told you I love you. You need to say something. Acknowledge what I said. Don’t make this about Bella Acres. Make this about us.” He punctured her façade with his concern and passion. “I know you feel something for me. I’ve known since the day I met you in high school. In junior high, even as I watched you and never really spoke to you. I know that you feel something for me. I need you to tell me what it is.”
Stefanie broke from the hold his words had on her. “What do you want to hear? That I’m broken? I am. I’m bringing a brand-new loan with me that I can’t afford. I can’t afford anything. I won’t let you take on my debts. I don’t have anything going for me. You’re so far out of my league. Like always.”
She rubbed at her eyes. “I have nothing to offer you. So what, if I love you? So what, if you’re the thing I’ve thought about for so long? So what, if every guy I’ve ever thought about dating never even compared because he wasn’t Drake Benson? None of that matters. You’re out of my league. And all of this is just...” She clamped her lips shut. She was too raw, too vulnerable. She couldn’t go any further.
Drake stopped her from losing control. “Can you love me? You’re stubborn, but I’m worse. Let me help you with the land. I’ll buy it for you. I’m Mr. Burns’ financial advisor. I was planning on taking over the loan in a few months anyway. I told him to back you. He didn’t even ask you for any information, because he didn’t need any more information.”
He held up his hand as if he sensed the angry disbelief mounting in Stefanie. “Don’t get mad. Please. Mr. Burns knows we’re connected through Cyan. He knows the whole story. I suggested he back you. I will reinvest in the land for you. Let’s work the ranch together. I really believe we can make it profitable. There are some brothers outside of Colby with a dude ranch. We could do something like that, similar but simpler.”
The possibilities as Drake spoke warmed her. She could move past the way he’d cornered her into accepting his help. She wasn’t easy to help. She could appreciate the efforts he took to help her.
Could he love her? Enough to take on the entire Montana Trails family?
Enough to be a part of the family?
“You realize you would be related to my brother, if anything serious happened between us. You and my brother...” Stefanie couldn’t think past the thought of anything serious happening between them. He’d declared his love for her. Wasn’t that serious enough?
Drake’s eyes softened. “I’m already connected to your brother. He’s my brother. He and I just need to get past the fact that a woman we love is dying. It’s not something that is difficult to understand or even difficult to do. It’s just that we are both having our hearts ripped out right now. So it’s safe to take out our anger and pain on each other. I love your brother, even as I hate him.” He offered his hand to her. The good-natured humor shaded from his face.
She couldn’t help but ask. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m getting what I want even while my sister is... dying, she’s shackled. And yet she isn’t. She will be free from all the pain of her life, but lost from her husband. And I have you. But... All the good is blanketed with impending loss. I’m not sure I want everything I got. I’m not sure I got everything I wanted. I know I want you, though. I couldn’t be happier for that.” His tender fingers wrapped around the nape of her neck as he drew her closer.
Stefanie wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up into his eyes. She didn’t have anything to add to his declaration. She watched as he lowered his lips to hers. And closed her eyes.
The connection was instant, more so than when she kissed him in the yard. More so than when he kissed her at that pond.
It was their real first kiss. Their first connection and it warmed her down to her toes and sizzled along her scalp.
Tenderness and hope filled their kiss. The salty remnants of her tears kept the contact slightly bittersweet as a cry for the loss of Emma.
But it wasn’t hidden. Nothing was. Not the sadness, not the happiness, not the jubilation or the devastation.
Stefanie curled her fingers into Drake’s and leaned her head on his shoulder. There were a lot of things ahead of them. Together, they’d be able to face it.
Together had a nice ring to it.