Nate threw his cowboy hat into the air along with the other people wearing hats as the cheers went up and the clock clicked to midnight. “Happy New Year!” chorused through the West Wing, and Nate raised his voice along with the others.
He slipped his arm around Ginger’s waist and pulled her into his body before he kissed her. They laughed together, and the kiss was pretty sloppy. But it didn’t matter. Nate finally felt like his future held more than sleeping in a dormitory with a bunch of other men.
This year, he’d be free.
This year, he could start a new life.
This year, he would learn how to be a better father—and hopefully a husband.
He hugged Nick and wished him a Happy New Year. Everyone went around, laughing and talking and embracing. Nate had never been part of such a tight-knit community, and he sure did like it. He didn’t want to leave Hope Eternal, and he and Ginger had started talking about life after February seventeenth.
The date felt impossibly far away but also very, very close. He had no diamond ring to give to Ginger. He wasn’t sure where they’d live, as they both currently had a room in a house filled with other people. He wanted to talk to Connor and find out how he felt about Ginger being his stepmother.
He wanted to go visit his parents and his sister in White Lake, and he wanted to be more involved in their lives. He wanted Connor to have them in his life.
He needed a vehicle of his own, and he wanted to go through Ward’s house and see what had been left there. All of Nate’s personal property from his life before should be at Ward’s. He wasn’t even sure he’d want any of it, but he wanted to see what there was.
Ward had once gone through Nate’s apartment and boxed up what he deemed important. Now Nate would have to do the same for his older brother, his hero.
If he thought too hard about it, his chest started to collapse, and Nate couldn’t quite remember how to breathe.
His smile faltered, and he suddenly felt so tired. Cowboys didn’t stay up until midnight, that was for dang sure. Not when their chores started by six the next morning.
So he kissed Ginger again, this time not as sloppily, and went down the hall to the front room, where the girls had a piano and a small loveseat. Connor slept there, his face smashed into the upholstery. Nate smiled down at him, slipped the little boy into his arms, and disappeared out the front door to the quiet night beyond.
In the Annex, he took Connor into their bedroom and laid him on his side of the bed. Nate went to brush his teeth and change into his pajamas, and as he looked at himself in the mirror, he hardly recognized the man looking back at him. His skin had tanned in the months he’d been working on the ranch. His eyes almost seemed electric, because they possessed a quality he hadn’t been sure he’d ever feel again.
Happiness.
No, joy.
He had gone into prison as one man, and he’d come out a different one. A better one. “A hopeful one,” he said to his reflection. He reached up and ran his hand through his hair, which had just started to grow out from his cut from a couple of weeks ago.
He couldn’t believe how much his life had changed in the last six months. Heck, in the last six years, Nate had grown more than he thought possible.
He was sure he was going to make stupid decisions again, but he hoped they wouldn’t have such devastating consequences. “I’m going to do my best, Ward,” he said. “I am. I’m going to do my best with Connor.”
The sweetest feeling of peace moved through him, and Nate turned and went back into the bedroom. He lay down on the other side of the bed from Connor, a powerful sense of relief moving through him. He listened to Connor’s steady, deep breathing, a smile dancing through his soul, before he fell asleep.
“All right,” Nate said, stepping into the jewelry store and stopping immediately. “We only have a few minutes. Have you got that list?” He looked down at Connor as a salesman came toward them. Thankfully.
“Yep.” Connor held up the lined, yellow paper Nate had scrawled a few notes on. He and Connor had been slipping questions into normal conversation with Ginger for the past few weeks to find out what kind of ring she might like.
He’d learned she didn’t like anything too big or gaudy. Connor had learned she liked gold more than silver. Nate had asked Emma about the cut on the diamond, and learned that Ginger liked the sparkliest things.
Nate could use the Internet, and he’d learned about a brilliant diamond with the most shiny facets—the Gassan diamond. He wanted that one, and he wanted it to be simple.
“Good morning,” the salesman said. “My name is Chandler. What are you looking for today?”
Connor looked at Nate, and Nate looked at Connor. “An engagement ring,” he said, a smile immediately following the words. “And we have a list.” He nodded to the boy, and Connor handed it to Chandler.
“Oh, okay.” Chandler grinned at Connor, and then he focused on the list. “Something small, but expensive. Princess or brilliant cut. Gold band. Simple. Gassan diamond.” He lifted his eyes to Nate’s, his eyebrows going right up too. “A Gassan diamond is very expensive, sir.”
“And I want it to be very white,” Nate said with a smile. “Do you have something like that, or do I need to special order it?” He knew the Gassan diamonds came from the Netherlands, but he assumed he’d be able to talk to a good jeweler and get some answers.
Ginger had agreed to give him twenty minutes in the mall alone with Connor, though Nate wouldn’t tell her what they wanted to shop for without her. She had to know, though.
“We have a catalog,” the man said. “If you’ll come over here, I’m sure we can find you something, and I’ll make a call.”
“Let’s go look at the catalog,” Nate said to Connor, though he knew the child wouldn’t be any help. Nate wasn’t one to beat around the bush, and he knew what he wanted. The salesman probably studied this catalog in his spare time, because he flipped straight to the section with the gold banded, brilliant-cut rings with all the facets that made them the shiniest diamonds in the world.
Ginger was going to love her ring.
He found the one he wanted—a chunkier band, with the stone set down in but also raised up because of its size—on the third page. He pointed to it. “That one. Can we get that one?”
“Let me find out.” He took the catalog through a back door and into an office, and Nate glanced at his phone to judge the time. They had maybe ten minutes, and then Nate needed to get out of this store. Thankfully, Chandler came back within a couple of minutes and said, “I can get you this one. It’s thirteen thousand dollars.”
“How long?”
“They’ll put it in the mail this evening, and it’ll be here by Friday.”
As it was Tuesday already, Nate thought Friday was fairly fast. Quite fast, in fact. “Perfect,” he said, reaching for his wallet. “If I know the size, can I call and get it sized before I pick it up?”
“Of course.”
“Okay, I’ll work on that.” He handed Chandler his credit card, and the transaction only took a few moments. Chandler took down all of Nate’s information, and he herded Connor out into the busyness of the mall, glancing around to see if Ginger had come in yet.
He didn’t see her, so he hurried Connor across the way to a smoothie shop. He’d ordered and had all three treats before turning around to look for the woman he loved again. This time, she raised her hand from over by the indoor fountain, and Nate said, “Over there, bud. Go on, now.”
Connor skipped through the people to where Ginger sat on a bench, and she grinned at him and took him right onto her lap. Nate walked at a much slower pace, the noise and chaos around him fading to nothing as he looked at Ginger and Connor. No, they didn’t look like they came from one another, but that didn’t matter. Connor’s shocking white hair reminded him of himself and Ward as children, and Ginger, with her auburn hair and those dark, hazel eyes, took his breath away every time he caught a glimpse of her.
“Hey, beautiful.” Nate handed her the Styrofoam cup with her mango and orange smoothie and sat beside her.
“So, did you get your shopping done?” she asked, making a show of looking for a bag. “You don’t have anything with you.”
“Couldn’t really find anything,” Nate said casually. “We’ll have to come back this weekend.” He sipped his smoothie like he loved hanging out at the mall, and for how often he’d come here, an outsider would probably think he did.
“Mm hm,” Ginger said, sipping her smoothie too.
“Ginger?” Connor asked. “You got any coins?”
“Sure thing, baby,” she said, dipping down to get her wallet out of her purse. She handed him a quarter and a penny, and he went to toss them into the fountain.
“Thank you for loving him,” Nate said quietly, and Ginger whipped her attention back to him.
Her wide eyes drank him in, and he just smiled at Connor before looking at Ginger. “He’s a great kid,” she said.
“Yeah,” Nate said. “He is. And his dad was great too.”
“Missing Ward today?” Ginger linked her arm through Nate’s.
“Every day,” he said. “Some days are worse than others.”
“Only a month until release.”
Nate nodded, wondering how on Earth he was going to conceal a thirteen-thousand-dollar diamond ring from her for a month. “Listen,” he said. “I wanted to ask you something.” He hesitated, because he really didn’t want to ask her to marry him while they sat on a bench in the mall.
“Yeah?”
“You hungry? I hear there’s a great Chinese place around here somewhere.”
Ginger giggled and laid her head against his bicep. Nate liked how she made him feel strong. He liked how she made him feel necessary. He simply liked being with her.
“Let’s go,” he said, standing up. “Come on, Connor. We’re gonna go get noodles.”
Connor skipped back over to them, and Nate took one of his hands while Ginger took the other. They went back to her truck, and she drove through the parking lot to the Chinese restaurant.
“Hey, Laura,” Nate said as he walked in.
“Oh, my favorite family.” She grinned at them and didn’t bother with menus. Nate wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. She led them to a table out of the way, and said, “I’ll send over Kiki.”
“Sounds good.” Nate helped Connor sit, and then he handed the boy his phone. “You can do the airplanes or the teddy bears.”
“Do you have that snake game?”
“Snake game?” Nate shook his head. “No, I deleted that one.”
“Why?”
“Because I couldn’t download something else I needed.”
Connor stabbed unhappily at the phone, and Nate had half a mind to take it from him and say he couldn’t use it at all. Instead, he turned his attention to Ginger, who sat across from him.
His heart pounded in his chest, getting louder and more violent with every passing second. He could propose here, and then Ginger would love this restaurant even more than she already did. But he couldn’t get the words out.
Kiki appeared at the end of the table and said, “Drinks?”
“Diet Coke,” Ginger said.
“Same,” Nate said. He didn’t particularly enjoy soda, but it would be better than the rose water they served here. “And he wants Sprite.”
“Sounds good. Do you know what you want?” She looked at the table. “You don’t have menus.”
“We don’t need them,” Ginger said. “I’ll have the pork fried rice and the teriyaki noodles.”
“Sweet and sour chicken,” Connor said. “Please.”
Nate grinned at him, glad he’d remembered his manners. “And I’ll have the steak and shrimp stir fry.”
“Be right back with the drinks.”
Connor was already absorbed back into the phone, and Nate didn’t have anything to distract him. He looked at Ginger and decided to just blurt out what was in his head.
“I love you, Ginger,” he said. “And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Today, Connor and I looked at engagement rings, and we bought one for you. It’ll be here on Friday.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “You’re kidding.”
“I am not,” he said, ducking his head and smiling. “It’s really pretty, and I just know you’re going to love it.” He looked at her again. “What I’m wondering is if you love me enough to marry me?”
Tears filled her eyes, but she was already nodding. “Yes,” she said. “Yes, I love you, Nate.”
He got up and rounded the table, meeting her as she stood too. He kissed her, not caring about anyone or anything else in the restaurant. He cradled her face in both of his hands. “I love you so much,” he said. “Thank you for taking a chance on me.”
“I love you too,” she said, resting her cheek against his. “I love you and your big, beautiful, hopeful heart.” She kissed him again, and Nate hoped he could be the kind of man she wanted, needed, and deserved.
“Diet Coke,” the waitress said, and Ginger pulled away from him.
“Sorry,” she said, giggling as she sat down. “But we just got engaged!”
Kiki gasped, looking between the two of them. “Really?”
“Really,” Nate said. “The ring is coming from Amsterdam.”
“It is?” both women asked together, and Nate felt like he’d done a very good thing with his engagement ring choice.
“It is,” Nate said.
Kiki grinned at both of them and said, “I’ll be right back with your food.”
He reached across the table and took Ginger’s hand in his. “I really think you’re going to love it.”
“I’m sure I will,” Ginger said.
“I love you, Ginger,” he said.
“I love you too, Nate,” she said, which were the best words in the whole world.
Read on for a sneak peek at the next book in the series, OVERPROTECTIVE COWBOY!
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