When he released me, I cupped his stubbled jaw with my hand. “You’re not the only one who’s different. When I drove back into Wattle Creek I felt like a failure. Like everything I’d worked for, everything I was, wasn’t enough. Like I wasn’t enough. Then you picked me up and showed me who I really was. You showed me that being that girl, the one who reads to cows and spends all night researching chickens, was a part of who I was, and it was okay. I didn’t need the fancy job or the tight skirt …”
“You can keep the tight skirt,” Cole interjected, and I slapped his arm. Both of us were smiling hard.
“Cole, not once have you made me feel like less.”
“You’re perfect, Grace,” he announced, and I almost believed him.
“I’m not, but you know what I’ve learned?”
“What’s that?”
“That being perfect isn’t something I want to be. I want to be me.”
“I want you to be you, Grace.”
“And I believe you, Cole. I really do,” I assured him.
“Good. Cause I mean it. And there’s something else I want,” Cole declared.
“What’s that?” I asked, my voice wavering as fear seeped in.
Cole took my hands in his and my breath hitched. I think if he dropped to one knee right now, I’d probably have a heart attack. I might know Cole was the man of my dreams, but it was way too soon for anything like that.
Cole bent his knees, stooping to my height. With his gaze holding mine captive, he spoke. “I want you to stay.” His words were clear. Deliberate. Concise.
I didn't know how to answer him. I wanted to stay, that much was a no-brainer, but it wasn’t that easy. I was too stubborn. Too independent. I couldn’t just stay cooped up on his ranch all day. There had to be something more. I refused to be one of those women whose whole life revolved around the man warming their bed.
I put my hands on his. “It’s not that simple, Cole. I can’t just stay tied to your headboard all day. I need to work …”
Cole grinned a mischievous grin. “Now there’s an image I won’t be able to get out of my head anytime soon.”
I rolled my eyes. “Typical.”
“Us either,” Georgia interjected, stealing my attention and reminding me that we weren’t alone.
“But we might have a solution,” Gabriella offered as she sat down on Mom’s bench, running her fingers over the worn wood.
Chapter twenty-six
Cole
Iwasn’t entirely sure what was happening right now. I felt like I was standing in quicksand and sinking fast. I’d put myself out there. I’d asked her to stay, and Grace hadn’t said yes. Admittedly, she hadn’t said no, but still. I felt my pulse racing as blood roared through my veins.
“We have a solution,” Gabriella told us, and even I was caught off-guard.
“Grace, do you want to stay in Wattle Creek?” Georgia asked directly, and I thought I was going to pass out as I held my breath.
Grace stared at me, and I reached down and laced my fingers with her, anchoring her.
When she nodded, I thought my heart was going to bust out of my chest. “I do. But …”
“Hear us out,” Georgia silenced her, and I pulled Grace into me. With her back pressed against my front, I wrapped my arms around her, holding her in place not wanting to ever let her go.
“Okay.”
“Stay.”
Grace shook her head. “It’s not that simple. I need a job. I need … I can’t just live off my savings or mooch off you guys,” she explained, gazing up at me.
