A Moment To Love (26 page)

If only her broken heart could be so easily restored. Even though it felt ripped in half, it still beat out Cord’s name. She couldn’t imagine that ever changing, no matter how far she traveled or how much time passed.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

W
ith a brown paper bag gripped in one hand, Cord took a deep breath and rapped on Lexi’s motel room door. His body tensed as the seconds ticked by. He sensed her standing on the other side of the door with stubbornness written all over her adorable face.

He knocked again, louder this time. “Lexi, open up. I’m not leaving here until I see you. I’m prepared to stand here all night if that’s what it takes.”

When she at last opened the door, he made sure to prop his boot in the doorjamb.

She frowned at him. “Do you have to yell?”

“I had to make sure you heard me.”

“Well, we have nothing left to say to each other. Now go away.” When she pushed the door to close it, the door came to a halt against his boot. “Move.”

“Not until you give me a chance to explain.”

“Save it. I’m not interested. Now go away.”

“Not yet.”

She let go of the door handle and crossed her arms. “Talk fast. I have to check out in a few minutes.”

He glanced over his shoulder. The couple in the next room who were loading up their white minivan kept shooting him strange looks. This wasn’t the right place for this conversation.

“Please let me inside.”

Her lips pursed in contemplation as her gaze strayed to the nosy couple. When she retreated into the dimly lit room, he followed. She stopped next to the bed where her suitcase was propped open. She kept her back to him as she folded a pile of colorful tops and placed them neatly in the already-full case.

“Lexi, stop packing and look at me.”

She sighed but turned. “Time’s ticking.”

Her cool tone added to the nervous tension plaguing him. “I need you to listen and believe me.”

“Believe you about what? Are you going to try and tell me that my eyes were playing tricks on me and that wasn’t your signature I saw on the sales agreement? Or that my father twisted your arm and made you sign it?”

“No. I’m not going to tell you any of that. You’re the reason I came to my senses about the sale. The honest-to-goodness truth is I signed those papers before your father pulled in. If you don’t believe me, ask him.”

A flash of surprise lit up her eyes.

He’d made his first chip at her steely resistance. He couldn’t let up now. Time to break out the first tool he planned to use to make cracks in the reinforced wall surrounding her heart. He moved to the bed and dumped the contents of the paper bag. Choconut Bars showered down all over the blanket.

“What in the world?”

“It’s a peace offering.”

When their gazes collided, her eyes dimmed and she pursed her lips. “Chocolate can’t fix this problem. We’re over. You’ve got the money to save the Brazen H, and it’s time for me to head back to New York.”

“Whistle Stop could be your home, if you wanted it to be. Or…or I could give New York a try.”

“What are you saying?” The rigid line of her shoulders eased.

He took a deep breath. “I don’t want you to leave…not without me. I’ve gotten used to having you around. And when you aren’t there, it’s lonely. I…I miss you when you’re not there.”

“You miss me?” Her eyes rounded as the thought settled in.

“It’s true. I can’t imagine my life going back to its solitary existence.” He stepped toward her. His fingers slid around her arms. His thumbs stroked her smooth skin. “Don’t you understand what I’m trying to tell you?”

She took a moment and then shook her head, but her gaze never broke with his.

“I love you, Lexi. I think I lost my heart to you the day we visited Haggerty. And then when you started having a reaction to the scorpion sting, you scared the life out of me.” Remembering the ring in his pocket, he yanked it out. Not giving her a chance to say anything, he dropped to one knee. He opened the box and held it out to her.

Her mouth gaped. “Cord…I…”

“Shh…just let me say this before I get too nervous and forget.” He swallowed and tried to gather his jumbled thoughts. “Lexi, I love you and I want you to share my life, my home, and my future. Will you consider being my best friend for life?”

Her eyes shimmered, and a tear splashed onto her cheek. Her gaze went from his face to the box and back to him.

Her trembling fingers grasped his hand. “You’re sure about this?”

“I’ve never been more sure in my life. If you think you could be happy with this cowboy, please wear my ring.”

She started shaking her head.

No? She was saying no?

His gut twisted into a painful knot. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. He sensed her working hard to rebuild the wall between them, but he refused to give up. They’d come too far to let their future slip away. She loved him. He knew it. She just had to admit it.

He got to his feet. “If it’s your father, you don’t have to worry. He gave us his blessing before he left.”

“My father…he knows you were going to propose?”

“Yes. He encouraged me.”

Her fingers reached out to Cord’s face. They traced down over his jaw, and he waited, wondering what she was about to do. His heart hammered. His muscles tensed. He forced himself not to pull her to him. This had to be at her pace. He couldn’t rush her.

“You’re so sweet.” She shook her head again and backed up. “But I can’t accept this. Not like this. It won’t work.”

“It can if you’ll just believe in us as much as I do.”

She swiped at her cheeks. “I’ve got to go.”

Her words slugged him in the gut, knocking the wind from him. He’d put himself out there, put his feelings on the line, and she’d rejected his proposal—she’d rejected him.

His chest ached as though his heart had been ripped from it and lay bleeding on the floor. The searing pain of loss surpassed anything he’d ever endured.

“Don’t let me stop you.” He strode out the door.

Unable to believe it was truly ending this way, he paused at the door and turned back. Lexi closed her suitcase and lowered it to the floor. The finality of her with her bag in hand drove home the reality of the situation.

He’d lost the thing he loved most—Lexi.

♥♥♥

Alexis passed through the airport’s security checkpoint. She had a plan, a way to make things work for her and Cord, but as things stood, she couldn’t accept his proposal. He’d sacrificed too much to make it work between them. And some day he’d realize this, and he would grow to resent her. She wouldn’t be able to bear losing him.

Before that happened, she needed to fix this for him, for herself—for them. The first thing she had to do was catch up to her father. As soon as she’d arrived at the airport, she’d called his cell phone, but it went to voice mail. Then she’d had him paged. She’d waited, but he didn’t respond. Her heart pitter-pattered as her gaze scanned the multitude of people. He had to be here somewhere. But where?

Her mind was still busy ironing out the details of her plan. She was certain withdrawing her trust fund was the right decision. This was most certainly an emergency, but she needed to do one more thing.

She braced herself for the argument of her life once she located her father.

“Alexis?”

She turned, and her gaze landed on her father. In the end, he’d been the one to find her. He strode up to her. Before she could say a word, he enveloped her in his arms, and the tension melted away. This was her father. The man who’d always been there when she needed him.

He released her and stepped back. “Before you say anything. I want you to know that I didn’t fly here to undercut you. In fact, Cord had those papers signed before I got to the ranch.”

“He told me.”

Her father’s brows rose. “So he caught up with you, yet you’re here. What happened?”

She bit down on her bottom lip to keep control of her emotions. This was her chance to make everything right—or as right as they could ever be. She had to hold it together until she got it all out.

“He proposed.”

“You’re here, so I’m guessing you turned him down. Why, Alexis? I know you care about him. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have stalled on this project and defended him countless times. That’s why I came here, to make sure the man who stole away my little girl is good enough.”

The air trapped in her lungs. Had she heard him correctly? It took her a moment to breathe again. “You came all this way for me?”

Her father nodded. “Cord’s a good guy. He’ll do right by you. So if you turned him down because you don’t love him, that I can accept. But if you turned him down because people you’ve loved in the past have let you down, then you aren’t being fair to yourself or him.”

Alexis shook her head. “It’s not that. I love him, but I have to make things right between us, or else we won’t have a chance for a happy future.”

The crowd of people thickened, making it harder to talk. Her father grabbed her hand and led her off to the side where black-cushioned seats lined the wall.

Once they were seated, he held her hand. “And what will it take to set things right?”

Alexis sucked in a deep breath and blew it out. She launched into the biggest, most important negotiation of her life—one that would dictate the terms of her future.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

A
lexis hadn’t even been gone a day, and Cord was utterly miserable.

None of the ranch hands would get near him—not even Manny. He couldn’t blame them. He was in a foul mood, and everything grated on his frayed nerves.

Being absolutely no help to anyone or anything, he’d taken off on horseback. He’d hoped riding astride Midnight Star with the wind in his face would lessen the sting of Lexi’s rejection. It hadn’t worked. If anything, the silence had him missing her even more.

Now back at the barn, it was long past dinnertime. With his horse tended to, he headed back to the house. He was partway up the porch steps when he thought he heard an approaching vehicle. He refused to give in to another one of his deluded fantasies that Lexi had changed her mind and come looking for him. He assured himself he was hearing things…again. Even if it was a vehicle, it wouldn’t be Lexi. She was on a plane by now, jetting across the country.

He’d reached the front door and grabbed for the doorknob when the sound of the engine was so close he was certain it wasn’t his imagination. Whoever it was, he was in no mood to talk to them. He didn’t care if it was rude, he started inside.

“Aren’t you even going to hear me out?” a familiar voice called out.

Lexi? Hope and anticipation swelled in his chest. He spun around, finding her standing in the driveway. She’d returned. He blew out a long-held breath. He refused to get his hopes up too high. She could be here for anything.

She climbed the steps, holding some folded papers.

His excitement skidded to a halt. “Are those more papers you need me to sign before you leave town?”

She glanced at her hand and then back at him. “Is that what you want? For me to leave? Have you changed your mind about us that quickly?”

“You know what I want,” he ground out. “And you turned me down.”

“I never turned you down. If you’ll remember, I said I couldn’t accept your proposal under those circumstances. We had too many things stacked against us.”

“And hours later, it’s that much different?” He stifled the urge to pull her into his arms. He was still wary of her intentions.

A tiny smile pulled at her lips as she shrugged. Now he was certain she was up to something, and he wasn’t sure if he liked it or not.

“Okay, Lexi. Spit it out. What has changed?”

“I officially quit my job. Now you can ask me that question again.”

She what? She had? When? Life suddenly hit warp speed, and he was having problems hanging on for the ride.

“Slow down. Let me get this straight. You actually quit HSG? I never thought you’d leave your father alone to run the company.”

“I’ve proven myself in the business world, but I don’t want it to be my entire life, like it was for my father. I need more.”

A surge of excitement raced over Cord. He struggled to remain still and not smother her with kisses. He needed to be sure she’d thought this completely through.

“And you think living here at the Brazen H is going to give you that fulfillment?”

“I’m here to stay. If you’ll have me.”

“But what about your father? How can you leave him when he needs you?”

“That’s something I wanted to discuss with you. What would you say to having a permanent houseguest?”

“Your father?” Cord didn’t hide the shock in his voice.

She nodded and smiled. “When he figured out I wasn’t as devoted to the business as he’d always been, he decided to sell the company to an associate who has made offers for it over the years. So he and I, we come as a package deal.”

“You do, huh?”

“Yes, we do. I hope you can make room for both of us. We could build on or—”

Cord pressed a finger to her tempting lips. “We’ll work something out.”

Her eyes grew round. “Are you sure…really, really sure you don’t mind taking us in? I couldn’t stand it if you changed your mind later.”

Cord smiled as his hand cupped her cheek. “I want us to be together, and I’ll do whatever it takes. I promise.”

He proved it by pulling her into his arms, lowering his head, and pressing his mouth to hers. Her skin was still cool from the car’s air conditioning. Her curves fit snugly against him, sending his heated blood pumping hard and strong.

When his tongue swept inside her mouth, she tasted fresh and minty. He moaned, wanting nothing more than to pull her into the house and continue this kiss for the rest of the night. Her kisses and touches were the only nourishment he needed.

Not wanting to break their embrace, he stepped toward the door, taking her with him. Even though he’d have no problem continuing this reunion right here on the front porch, Lexi would probably be mortified if one of the ranch hands happened upon them. He was fumbling with the door handle when she pulled back. Her lips were rosy and swollen. Her eyes questioned what he was doing.

“Let’s go inside where no one will disturb us.” He pulled on her hand, but she wouldn’t budge. “Come on, don’t you want to celebrate privately?”

“First, I have one more surprise for you.” She handed over the papers.

He frowned. “You sure know how to dampen a guy’s enthusiasm. You couldn’t have waited to finalize the sale of Haggerty until later?”

She shook her head as she smiled. Her eyes glittered with happiness. Didn’t she understand that even though he’d consented to the sale, the reminder of parting with a piece of his heritage still hurt?

“Open it.” She practically bounced up and down in anticipation.

What in the world? He unfolded the document and noted the bank’s name at the top—the same bank that held his mortgage. When he noticed it was marked
Paid in Full
, he started at the beginning and scanned the page. Lexi patiently waited while he made out the highlights.

“What about the resort? What about Haggerty?”

“Seems my father still has a lot of pull. He convinced the investors to spend the extra money to buy the Arizona property.”

Cord glanced at her. “You did all of this for me?”

Her eyes lit up and then she nodded.

“How did you pay off the loan?”

“I had a little bit of rainy day money set aside.” She pressed her fingers to his lips, holding back his protest. “Daddy pulled a few strings. This is just a copy. The official paperwork won’t come through until later this month. Consider this a wedding gift.”

He moved her hand from his mouth. “Does this mean you’re proposing?”

“Most definitely.”

“Shouldn’t you have a ring for me?” He smiled, teasing her.

“Quit joking around. This isn’t funny.” Her face sobered as her gaze held his. “Cord, will you marry me?”

He grinned. “Considering you’re now part owner of this ranch, I guess I’d better accept.”

She playfully slugged his arm. “Couldn’t you just say yes?”

He cleared his throat. “Yes, Alexis Greer, I’d be honored to be your husband.”

She squealed and jumped into his arms. Her lips pressed to his. Cord’s chest swelled with love and a happiness he’d never encountered before. No life experience had ever fulfilled him as much as making Lexi’s dream come true—and he’d only just begun.