But I do. I’ve been trained to stay strong and soldier on no matter what.
Chapter Thirty-One
Mia
It’s nearly dinnertime by the time we leave the hospital, and Declan’s quiet on the drive back to the ranch.
Seeing him with his niece was amazing, but then the way he choked up when his dad apologized to him…I’ve never seen Declan rendered speechless like that.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask him as we pull into Wild Ranch.
Funny how this place is quickly feeling like home to me.
“I’m okay,” he says firmly. He looks over at me. “In fact, I have something for you. I got a text while we were waiting for Libby to make her arrival. It’s a package, and I asked for it to be delivered to the cabin.”
“A present?” I smile at him.
“A present,” he confirms.
His eyes return to the road as he pulls off in front of our cabin.
As I step out of his truck and over to the front door of the cabin, I see something propped up against the log wall. The shape is square and wrapped in brown paper.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Let’s bring it inside, and you can open it,” Declan says as he unlocks the door and ushers me inside.
Jamie Beth had texted me that she left our place hours ago, so Declan and I are alone. I take a seat on the couch with the package on my lap and wait while he turns off the security code.
“Glass of wine?” he asks me.
“I’d love one.”
Once he’s seated next to me and our glasses of wine are on the coffee table, he nods at the package.
“Open it whenever you’d like,” he says.
I tear into the package, not stopping until I see—
“The Marilyn Cross painting?” I stare up at him. “But I got an email yesterday that my ticket didn’t win.”
“Yours may not have,” Declan says. “But I bought a few myself.”
I gasp. “How many tickets did you buy?”
“Enough to ensure that you could give this to your dad.” Declan leans forward and kisses me on the mouth.
It feels easy. And natural. And like we’re not just acting the part.
I shake off the feeling and pull the rest of the packaging off of the painting so I can hold it up.
“It’s incredible,” I say as I admire the full mountain view with Montana’s big sky above and the green pasture with horses in the foreground. “He’s going to absolutely love it. And I know my mom would too.”
Impulsively, I lean forward and kiss Declan back. “Thank you sounds trite in this situation, but thank you so much. For you to do this for my family, well…it means the world.”
His arms slide around me, and for several seconds, neither of us says anything. Until—
“I don’t want last night to be a one and done,” he says, his New Orleans accent thicker than normal.
