The following morning, Nash had a lot on his mind. He’d met Shep and Chase for breakfast at Harper’s restaurant, getting his head right before meeting his mother at the bank. After that, he hadn’t stopped getting shit done until he met Megan at River Rock’s medical center. She was there for her monthly checkup, and Nash had gone quiet, his body still, the moment the female obstetrician placed the heartbeat monitor on Megan’s bare round belly.
Nash held Megan’s hand, his whole life changing in a single second at the steady thump, thump, thump on the monitor.
“That’s our baby,” Megan said, tears in her eyes.
Emotion clamped at his throat, and he kissed her hand to gather himself. Things just got real. That was his baby right there. Nash thought once he’d tasted happiness. Holding the championship belt in his hand had meant the world to him. But it couldn’t come close to how this made him feel. He smiled down at her, brushing his knuckles across her cheek. “Listen to our boy. He’s so strong.”
“Well, we won’t know the sex until your second-trimester ultrasound. You’ve got a few weeks before that,” the doctor said.
Megan laughed. “He’s suspects it’s a boy.”
“Not suspects.” Nash placed his hand on the side of Megan’s warm belly. “That’s my boy right there.”
He caught Megan’s sniff before he spotted her tears. Yeah, he got that too. Things were good. So damn good. He kissed her forehead, this woman who changed his life in ways he never would have thought possible.
Megan began updating the doctor about how she’d been feeling. Nash could only stare down at her and at his hand on her belly. After the accident he’d lost everything. Or so he thought. But he realized now that he’d lost one life, but he gained another entirely. Both lives had made Nash who he was, and he knew he wouldn’t have changed a damn thing. But he also knew if Megan had been in his life back then, he wouldn’t have been so reckless or taken so many risks.
He once thought fate screwed up. Turned out, fate got things right.
“What’s wrong?” Megan asked, dragging him from his thoughts.
Nash glanced up into her pretty, unique eyes, realizing the doctor had left and it was just the two of them. He cupped her face. “I love you, Freckles.”
Her eyes widened before she gave him a sweet smile that was the realest thing he’d ever known. “I love you too.” She reached for his shirt and tugged him closer. “Now get over here and kiss me.”
“So bossy.” He kissed her anyway.
Ten minutes later, they were back outside and striding down Main Street, since Nash had left his truck near Harper’s restaurant. He drew in the warm fresh air, taking in the fresh bread scents coming from the bakery across the road. Since the accident, he never planned a damn thing. It was easier that way. When he didn’t hope for something, he couldn’t taste failure again.
That life once worked for him.
It didn’t anymore.
When they finally reached the truck, Megan stepped forward to open the door, when Nash tugged her back close to him. “Can we walk a bit?”
“Sure.” She smiled.
They passed all the local shops that Nash had spent his childhood visiting while he led her down the road until they reached the entrance to the park. Farther down was the playground, but he took her to a quieter spot that overlooked the pond, where ducks floated on the murky, lily pad–covered water.
When they reached a bench, he gestured there. Once she sat, he joined her and stared out at the water. She smiled, her hands on her belly. His mind was on their baby too, but his thoughts had also been somewhere else this morning. He had made mistakes. It was time to make sure he didn’t make any more.
Nash had no clue how to start, so he began with the truth. “For a long time, I didn’t want to care,” he told her.
Megan glanced at him with her soft eyes.
He focused on the water, not sure he could get through this staring at her. “I didn’t want to think or feel because I felt pathetic when I did. For my entire life, pain made me fight harder. Push on. It reminded me to keep reaching for my dreams. But after the accident, pain weakened me. And I hated that. I was ashamed of how weak I had become.”
Sudden warmth carried over him as she slid her fingers around his and squeezed tight. “Nash . . .”
He dropped his head, looking at their held hands, telling her his truth. A truth that he hadn’t told a single person. A truth that Megan needed to know, because she had found her way into a place inside of him where he didn’t need to hide. “I gave up after the accident because I didn’t want to face that my career was over. I had nothing if I didn’t have that. I was nothing without being Nash Blackshaw, the champion bull rider.”
“That’s not true.”
He glanced sideways at her and saw the tenderness in her eyes. “Now, I see that, but back then, that was a harder truth to find.” He tucked her hair behind her ear, caressing her soft cheek with his thumb. “Being with you, Megan . . . you make me believe in things that I thought I could never believe in again. And because of that . . .” He let her hand go to reach into his pocket and grabbed the warm metal. “I did this.”
When he opened his hand, she gasped. “How did you . . . ?”
He moved his hand closer, offering the ring from her grandmother that she’d pawned. “Harper and Emma told me”—he paused and chuckled—“while glaring at me, as a matter of fact, and explained that you sold the ring to get the down payment for the house.”
Megan frowned. “They shouldn’t have done that.”
“Yeah, actually they should have.” He put the ring in her hand then closed her palm. “This ring is yours. It belongs to you. I know how much it means to you.”
Her chin quivered. “How did you pay for this?”
“That’s not important,” he told her.
“Nash,” she said firmly.
That fire in her eyes told him she’d never let this go, needing to understand. “Ma lent me the money.”
She held his stare for a long-loaded moment then slowly shook her head. “I know what this ring cost. You shouldn’t have done this. How can you pay this back?”
At that, he cocked his head, regarding her. She obviously thought he was going back to his old ways. Not thinking things through. Living on the edge. Making rash decisions. Before, he would’ve let her believe that. Not anymore. He stroked her fingers in his, enraptured by the warmth she made him feel. “I’m going to sell my house.”
She blinked. Twice. “But that’s Blackshaw land. You would never do that.”
“You’re right—before I never would have sold Blackshaw land.” He squeezed her hand tighter, aware people around them were watching them now. He didn’t care. Megan mattered. Only her. “But now, there’s you, and what this ring meant to you.”
Tears welled in her eyes. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”
“I should have done something like this for you a long time ago,” he retorted. “I’m making up for that now.” He released her hand, and when she opened her fingers, he took the ring again. “It’s not the only thing I should have done either.” He slid off the bench, watching her teary eyes widen as he went down onto one knee. “You told me that this ring was a symbol for what love should be. Real love. True love. You’ve shown me that kind of love is possible. And damn if I won’t love you the rest of my life for it.” He paused. Then, knowing he was doing things exactly right, he said, “This ring first told the love story of your grandparents. Now this ring will tell our story. I love you, Megan. Will you marry me?”
“Yes. Yes, of course, I’ll marry you.” She threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, Nash. I love you so much.”
He held her tight until he needed more. She cupped his face, pressing her lips against his. It was a perfect kiss in a perfect moment that he’d never forget.
Hoots and hollers, as well as clapping, suddenly surrounded them. Megan broke the kiss with a gasp. That was when he noticed the group of people around them. Some were River Rock residents. Others Nash didn’t know personally. He appreciated the congratulations, nonetheless.
Turning away from them, he slid the ring onto her left ring finger.
Megan stared down at the ring with smile that made him know he’d made the right choice. He always fought to protect the Blackshaw name and his family’s land. But none of it mattered without Megan in his life.
She laughed softly and glanced up, tears on her cheeks. “We seem to keep giving the town something to talk about.”
Heat consumed him when he slid his hand over her nape. “Then let’s really give them something to talk about.” His mouth met hers, and for once in his life, Nash knew he’d gotten this perfectly right.
* * *
After making the rounds of phone calls to spill the news to family on both sides, which took longer than expected since both Jenny and her mom spent a while crying in joy and then talking wedding plans, Megan called Jannie. Megan wasn’t sure how Dad would feel about it all, but she decided to think of herself from here on out and enjoy the fact that she was blissfully happy.
That was until she followed Nash through the kitchen and the dining room of the new house. Gus squeezed his way past them, entering each room first and taking up a lot of space. God, he was a big dog. She supposed that’s why Nash had an open-concept house.
Once they were in the living room, Nash examined the space and then stared out the big front window. Megan had been quiet, trying to let him absorb the new house that he would be moving into that he had no say in.
“We’re going to have to downsize our furniture,” he said, glancing at the small space. “Not a bad thing. We can sell my stuff and use the money for baby furniture.”
She hadn’t thought of that, and she shrugged. “That’s actually a really good idea. It’ll help for sure.” Hell, when she picked this place, it was only going to be her and the baby. Now, looking around, she realized he was right—none of Nash’s furniture would fit into the new house. His log home had space for large couches and tables. None of that would fit in here.
Megan’s chest got a little heavy at that, as she followed Nash up the stairs.
“Isn’t this staircase incredible?” she said.
He ran his hand up the shiny wood. “Gorgeous.”
When they reached the landing, he entered the smallest room first. “Good office.”
“I thought that too.”
He turned down the hallway and passed the bathroom, glancing inside, but didn’t comment and moved on. Gus charged into the master bedroom first. Megan looked on in slight horror as Gus walked between the bed and the wall, then realized he couldn’t turn around and had to back up out of the space.
Nash glanced back at Megan. She smiled and shrugged. “It’s a little small.”
“He’ll get used to it,” Nash said gently, then moved on down the hallway. When he entered the nursery, he walked into the center of the room. He studied the space with his normal intensity, his expression showing very little.
“So . . .” she finally asked, fiddling her fingers, unable to stand the silence. “Now that you’ve seen it all, what do you think?”
“I really like this room.” He smiled.
She melted a little and moved closer. “I fell in love with it too. Maybe it’s the soft lighting or the crib?”
He slid his hand across her belly. “It’s the who that’s going in this room that matters the most, I imagine.”
He dropped his chin, and she gave him a quick kiss. “Maybe you’re right.” Perhaps it wasn’t the space at all that made this room so special, but how emotional she felt being in a room with a crib and knowing that this would be their baby’s safe place.
Without much more than that to show he liked the house, he headed back down the stairs to the backyard. Megan studied him, watching his every move, trying to gauge his reaction as he took a good look at the patio.
“I doubt my grill will fit back here,” he said. “We’ll need to sell that too and grab a smaller one.”
Megan searched for disappointment in his voice or his expression, but there wasn’t any. He was simply dealing with the hand he had been given and finding ways to make it work.
Her shoulders began to sag as he moved to the edge of the deck, examining the grassy part of the backyard. He was getting rid of everything that was his. His house, his furniture . . . and his massive truck didn’t even fit in the driveway when they arrived, so that would likely have to go too. She cleared her throat, trying to push past the emotion. “I was thinking we could put a swing set over there.”
Nash nodded. “Yeah, and maybe a sandbox too.” He grabbed the railing on the deck and gave it a good shake. “You weren’t kidding about the builder. This work is solid.” Again, Nash glanced from left to right, taking it all in before looking back at Megan again. “You made a good choice. It’s a fine house.”
A fine house. When did Nash ever live in a fine house? No, he lived in a rugged log house that didn’t have neighbors. She couldn’t hold it in any longer. “Are you really okay with this?” she blurted out.
The side of his mouth curved. He moved closer, taking her hand. “It’s a little tight, but we’ll get used to it.”
Her chest tightened even more. He settled, all to make her happy. But this wasn’t making her happy at all. “We don’t have to get this place. There are still conditions on the offer that haven’t been met.”
He gathered her in his arms, glancing down at her. His eyes were warm and soft. “You fell in love with this house. You put in an offer. I’m okay with staying here.”
Megan glanced at Gus who sat in the middle of the backyard, looking utterly confused at the fences. She’d been originally so excited about the house. But now suddenly she felt less excited. It still was a great house. Beautiful and charming. But it felt like her house, not theirs. Nash was a country boy. Hell, she was a country girl at heart too. “I don’t think Gus agrees with you.”
Nash followed her gaze and chuckled. Gus lay down, head on his paws, ears back, with the saddest look on his face. “He’s only sad because there are no more kittens for him to love all over. But soon”—he placed a hand on her belly—“this little one will be here, and Gus will be in his glory.”
She stared into the strength of Nash’s eyes. “I want you to be happy.”
“I am happy.” He dropped his mouth to hers and grinned. “I have you.”
She parted her lips to dig deeper, but Jannie came into the backyard. “We’ll have to head out soon,” she said. “I have another appointment in fifteen minutes.”
Megan frowned. She wanted more time to show Nash the house and get a feel for how he truly felt. That might have happened if Jannie hadn’t rambled when they first arrived. From “Oh, you had me so fooled, Megan. I thought you wanted to get a bigger place,” to “Everyone knew you two would eventually get together,” to “How do your parents feel about the baby?” Jannie had tried desperately to get the goods for her gossiping train, but Nash had expertly deflected the questions.
“It’s a really cute place, isn’t it?” Jannie asked, sidling up to Nash.
Megan cringed. Cute. This place didn’t suit Nash at all.
He nodded, his arm wrapping around Megan’s shoulder. “It’s perfect.”
Jannie began chatting his ear off about all the house’s features. Nash winked at Megan before following Jannie.
Megan sighed and dropped down on the patio steps. Gus climbed the steps then rested his head onto her lap and whined. “Yeah, I know, buddy,” she said softly, stroking his soft head.
This house wasn’t perfect. Not anymore. And the only one not hiding that fact was Gus.