Tally steps closer.
“And then we lost him. Your mother lost the love of her life, you lost your dad, and I lost the first person to truly believe in me.” My chin dips as I try to contain my emotion. “Your father was incredible, Tally. Even more than I’d realized, now that I’ve seen a whole other side of him from being with you, from seeing the way you love him, the way this town loves him.”
She nods, and I take it as a signal to push on.
“Even after he died, he’s continued to teach me things. Through you, through our friends. He taught me to ask for help, and that’s what I did when I realized we were really going to lose the farm. I asked our friends to help with the cottages, and fuck, Tal, everyone showed up. You were right all along. Weneedpeople. So when the loan came due and I knew we had no other options, I turned to Fletcher and we made an agreement. The town purchased the wildflower meadows.”
Her eyes widen, and I hold up a hand to ease her worry. “With a stipulation that nothing can ever be built on that land.”
She shakes her head, and her eyes fall shut. “You sold the wildflower meadow to the town?”
“Tally, I—”
Her eyes fill with tears. “They’re safe now. No one will ever build on them?”
The dread in my chest lifts as I realize she’s not angry. “I couldn’t bear to have you lose them, too, after everything you’ve already lost. But I can’t take all the credit. Fletcher swept in and saved the day. If that didn’t work, I was going to sell the land in the east.”
Her face scrunches in confusion. “That’s where the tulips are.”
I shrug.
“Walker,” she hisses and then pushes against my chest. I barely move. “You could have gotten so much more money from a developer. Why’d you do it?”
There’s not just one answer to her question, there’s a myriadof them, but they all revolve around the same thing. So in the field of wildflowers that she loves so much, I give her my truth.
“Because I love you.” Her eyes widen in shock. But I’m not done, and now that I’ve said it, I just want to say it again. “I love you, Tally Darling, and I want you to come back. Fuck, I want you to stay but know you need to live out all those big dreams of yours. But when you’re done, I want you to come back and live this dream with me. BecauseI love you.” I choke on a laugh because it feels so good to say those words. “Tally, I love you, this farm, this life of mine. But none of it is my dream if you aren’t here with me. So, no, this farm doesn’t only belong to me. Yesterday I signed papers to transfer ownership to you, your sister, your mother, my sister, and me. It was my only stipulation to your mom. I’ll continue to run the farm as long as all of you own it with me.”
Tally’s swipes wildly at the tears that cascade down her cheeks. “What?”
I nod. “So go to Nantucket. Go become the person you need to be. The farm is safe. I promise I’ll never take a thing from you.”
She bites her lip and shakes her pretty head. “But I don’t want to go to Nantucket.” She looks so goddamn adorable with a pout on her face and her hair blowing in the early morning breeze.
“Dammit, woman, you are confusing the hell out of me.”
She laughs. “You asked me last week what I wanted. Ask me again.”
“What?”
“Ask me again,” she says slowly as she steps up and sets her palms flat against my chest.
I swallow nervously. “What do you want, Tally?”
She smiles. “I want this.” Her arms swing out, and she motions to the land around us.
“What?”
She settles her hands back on my chest and slowly enunciates, “I. Want. This. This farm. This land. Every day waking up with you. Tally Tuesdays. Our cottage.” Her smile grows. “Sundays with the girls, drinking out of my coffee mug and making fun of you while you wear that stupid cowboy hat at the farmers market. I want to go to the brewery on Friday nights and slow dance with you and laugh with my friends. I want to walk into town and visit my sister’s bookstore and spend hours with her doing absolutely nothing. I want to have family dinners with my mom and sister, and your sister and Quinn. I want this farm to be my home. I wantyouto be my home. And I want to make whatever dream you and my dad thought up come true.”
Damn. The way she’s looking at me makes me believe that just maybe she really could be happy here.
“But why?”
She snorts. “Stupid, stubborn Cowboy.” She shakes her head. “Because I loveyou.”
“You do?” My heart pounds.
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “Yes. And you can’t do everything on your own.”
