The Way to Texas (21 page)

“Out of control,” he said, hooking his thumbs in his pocket and leaning against the island in the middle of the kitchen.

“You do that to me. Make me feel out of control. Schedules, intentions, reason all fly out the door when you are around. I can't believe I'm admitting this,” she said, shaking her head. Her smile quivered when she turned it on him.

“That's not necessarily bad,” he said.

She shrugged. “Sometimes it's not. Sometimes I like to be out of control. Just not in that way.”

He'd seen her out of control. He'd enjoyed those ministrations a whole lot. “So…”

“So, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. That I didn't allow you to explain. I thought with my head, not my heart.” Moisture trembled on her lashes.

“I've been trying to get you to listen to your heart all along.” He smiled. “I'll forgive you if you'll forgive me for being an idiot to begin with.”

A small furrow appeared between her eyes.

“I shouldn't have kissed Karen even if it was only on the forehead. I don't know how to explain why I did it. I'd just sent the papers. The divorce is final. But it hadn't sunk in for her. She thought she could say she was sorry and she wanted me back and everything would be the way it was. But she was wrong. It was a strange moment. It was the end. What you witnessed was nothing but a farewell.”

Dawn pressed her lips together. “It didn't look like
nothing. It looked so tender. Like a beginning, not an end.”

“But it was the end. Karen and I have to remain friends. Laurel is too important to both of us. I loved Karen once, but I don't love her anymore.”

“Still, it knocked me back on my heels. I felt so torn apart. So vulnerable.” Dawn's eyes were pools of pain and his heart literally clutched for this woman he'd hurt, this woman he'd fallen in love with.

“I hate feeling that way,” she said, wrapping her arms about herself. “I've felt that way too much.”

“But you forget that I've felt that way, too. I was on the receiving end of being betrayed. I get what you feel, but I can't take what happened back. I wish I could because I never wanted to hurt you, Dawn.”

For a moment they stood gathered in their thoughts. Tyson wanted to be careful with his words, make her understand how much she meant to him, but he couldn't think of the right way to explain everything that had occurred between them. How could he tell her she was his destiny? That he knew this as surely as he knew the sun would set in a matter of hours. Especially when she was so damned scared. “I'm in love with you, Dawn.”

At his words, her shoulders sagged and the tears fell. “How can you say something so… I feel so—” She stopped. Something passed between. Something so sweet and simple. Something that no words could ever capture. It was like the ribbon of healing that had been wrapped around them had come unwound, revealing a new and perfect love.

She wiped her cheeks. “I'm afraid.”

He stepped toward her and tilted her chin up so her pretty brown eyes met his. “Everyone's afraid, baby.”

“I do love you, Tyson. You make me feel strong. And good. And new.”

He lowered his head and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. She met his kiss, pushing herself against him, wrapping her arms about his neck. His hands found her waist and tugged her whole body to his, fitting her against him. As she was meant to fit.

He deepened the kiss, allowing his tongue to invade the heat of her mouth. She tasted so good. So like Dawn. Sweet and damned tempting.

He broke the kiss and smiled at her. “See? That's a beginning.”

Her eyes glowed in the waning light of the day. “So that's what a beginning feels like?”

“Yep. And just wait till you get to the middle. It's going to be even better.”

“Juggling our family, this town and our jobs—”

“We'll do it together. A united team.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You sound sure about that.”

“I am. As certain as I can be.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Taking a chance can be hard for everyone. I know you've been hurt, but lots of people have been hurt and they go on, putting one foot in front of the other. They don't ignore love or avoid it.”

“I wasn't trying to avoid— Okay, I
was
trying to avoid love. I wanted to make my world a little more stable. Even though I know I love you, it still feels like I'm climbing into a roller coaster. It feels—”

“Like love should,” he finished for her.

Dawn smiled. “I do like roller coasters.”

“See? I'm already learning new things about you. So buckle up and get ready to scream,” he said, dropping little kisses on her forehead, nose, mouth.

“I'm guessing y'all don't need this?”

They both turned their heads to where Laurel stood in the doorway. She waved a pathetic piece of mistletoe in one hand.

Tyson bent his head and gave Dawn a peck. “Nope.”

Laurel rolled her eyes. “Jeez. Don't go grossing me out, Dad.”

He dropped his arms from Dawn. “I don't need that for Dawn, but I might need that mistletoe for you.”

He leaped toward Laurel who shrieked, threw the parasitic sprig at him, and flew down the hallway toward the stairs. Tyson thundered after her making kissing noises.

The girl's laughter was the icing on Dawn's cake. The big cake she'd made for herself in her head. The one that said Happy Ever After.

She couldn't believe it. Yesterday, her world had crashed around her. Today, it had been resurrected with three little words.

Tyson loved her.

Dawn reveled in the glow. She'd finally found her place in the world. In Oak Stand, Texas. In the arms of the man she loved.

She wasn't going to overthink it. She was just going to do it.

She mentally clicked that safety belt in place. She was ready for the ride.

D
AWN KNOTTED THE TIES
on the last of the trash bags and sank onto the settee in the parlor. She and Tyson were the last people left at the center after the Tucker House Holiday Extravaganza. Her toes ached in the new boots she'd bought and her voice was scratchy from singing karaoke with Ester. The woman did a mean Elvis Presley impersonation.

The King was likely rolling in his grave. Or on that private island he'd escaped to. Whichever.

But Dawn had never been happier.

Tyson turned off the parlor light so only the glow from the Christmas tree lit the room. He sank onto the settee beside Dawn, wrapping one arm around her and pulling her close so she rested against him. “Whew, you throw quite a party, lady.”

“It was fun. They loved it, didn't they?”

“Who knew they were such karaoke fans? Poor Rufus pulled a muscle on his tribute to show tunes. I had to get him a heat pack.”

She laughed as she snuggled closer into his warmth. Tyson was like a constant well-tended fire, always warming her, lighting her fire, physically and emotionally.

“Did you like the gift?”

She chuckled. Tyson had given her a beautiful red leather daily planner. “It's totally appropriate.”

“You're not disappointed?”

She shook her head. How could she be disappointed? Tyson was as he'd always been. The steadfast guy. The one she'd always needed. No fancy lingerie or flashy jewelry would ever be beneath her Christmas tree. Only well-thought-out gifts that suited her nature and needs. “No way. I need a new one of those.”

“I guess you didn't look through it?”

She shook her head as a niggling of something popped into her mind. What had he put in her planner?

She sprang from his arms and crossed the room to where she'd set the bag containing her gift. She pulled the planner from the depths and returned to Tyson.

“Did you schedule something for me?” she asked, wriggling into her original position. She fit perfectly beneath his arm.

“I don't know. You'd better look,” he said. She could hear the smile in his voice. She fingered the gilded “D” on the front cover before leafing through the pages. She thumbed through January, February and March with no sign of anything unusual. “I don't see anything.”

“Check out May.”

She turned to May and started through the weeks. At the end of the month she found something that made her swallow.

Hard.

“I know how you like to plan everything. I hope you don't find it too presumptuous, but that was Grady and Annie's wedding day.”

Dawn turned her eyes on him. “Wedding day?”

He shifted and pulled a box from the depths of his pants pocket. “It's a little early. Not yet Christmas. But I bought this in Jefferson. I don't think I can wait any longer.”

He opened the box and a square emerald winked at
her in the festive light of the tree. “Dawn Claire, I love you more than I ever thought I could love a woman. Will you marry me?”

The emotion swirling within her nearly choked her. She could feel the tears coming, the sob lingering at the back of her throat. Her heart contracted so hard in her chest that she pressed a trembling hand to it.

Tyson wanted to marry her.

“I—I—it's too fast. I don't want to—”

He pressed a finger against her lips. “No more, Dawn. No more being scared. We're in this together.”

She swallowed again and looked into his whiskey eyes. They were so warm, so certain.

“Look at the ring.”

She did. It was gorgeous. Square-cut emerald flanked by two rounded diamonds. It was obviously an antique, set in white gold with small etchings.

“I saw it in a window and knew it belonged on your finger. No traditional diamond for my Dawn. You are unique. And I saw the promise in the stone. It's green, like life. A symbol of what you have given back to me.”

The tears trembling on her lashes fell. This man got her. This man was the right one. So worth the risk. Finally.

“Yes,” she croaked. “Yes, I'll marry you.”

His lips brushed hers as he removed the ring from the box and slid it onto her left hand. No cold metal, only warmth from the ring. It felt as if it had always belonged there.

And she knew that she belonged in Tyson's arms.

And on May 28 she'd make it official. She'd stay in his arms forever.

She had to. It was already scheduled in her planner.