“Perfect.More tea anyone?”Ellie asked as she noticed Arlene typing away on her phone.
Willow got up.“Thanks, Ellie, I had a lovely time, but I have an exhibition in Seattle coming up in December and I still have a lot of paintings to finish There is still time, I know, but usually I have no problem coming up with an idea about a theme or topic.This time, though… I don’t know, it’s been a struggle.Things are finally falling into place, so I don’t want to lose momentum.”
“I’d love to see what you do,” Rose said.“Or don’t you show your work before the exhibition?”
“Not usually, no,” Willow smiled.“But for you I’ll make an exception.”
As usually happened, when one of the book club members left, the rest followed shortly after, and by nine o’clock everyone had left.Ellie tidied the shop before she locked up.She wasn’t in any big hurry.Becket was working in his house on the ranch, He had illustrations to finish and get ready for shipping and she wanted to unpack the boxes labeled ‘Grandma’.
He hadn’t mentioned that he was fetching her later, so she wasn’t expecting to see him tonight.
Duke was ecstatic to see her and ran circles around her to make sure he had her attention.It took a while before he settled.Marmalade was much less enthusiastic, but was happy to be cuddled.
Ellie fed them and after checking her phone, she opened the first of her grandma’s boxes.Marmalade and Duke had followed her.Duke had found a sleeping spot on the carpet and Marmalade had curled herself against Duke.
No message from Becket.He was probably working.Which reminded her… Quickly Ellie opened her phone.The last few days had been so crazy, she hadn’t had a chance to look at Becket’s page again.
She couldn’t help a smile as she scrolled through the last few illustrations.There was one where Harper, Sadie and Jack were sitting next to one another, their tongues hanging out and they were staring at a closed door.Are you kidding me?Again?
Blushing, she grinned.She’d seen Becket this morning, but everything in her wanted to be with him.Still smiling she scrolled through the rest.He’d added Marmalade and Duke to the last few sketches.
The last picture made her frown.It had been posted about fifteen minutes ago.
All that could be seen in the illustration were the tips of three dogs’ tails and a cowboy boot of a man walking.So, what did this mean?As she looked down at the words—He’s told her, why doesn’t she believe him?—the sound of a truck pulling up outside reached her ears.
The next moment the front door flew open and Becket walked in, followed by his dogs.Slamming the door behind him, he approached Ellie.Duke jumped up, barking, until he saw who it was.Tail wagging, he made his way over to Becket.Marmalade sauntered off in the direction of the kitchen.
Becket was clearly royally ticked off, but he bent down to rub Duke’s ears.How could she not fall in love with a man like this?Eyes blazing, his body language was shouting frustration even before he opened his mouth.
Harper was the first dog to reach Ellie.With a yelp, she licked Ellie’s face, followed by Sadie and Jack.They all seemed anxious.
“I didn’t expect to see you tonight,” was all she got out before Becket picked her up.
“Stay.I’ll fix this,” he said to the dogs before he took the stairs two at a time.Without saying another word, he strode to her room and put her down next to the bed.
“Becket, what’s wrong?”
He began pacing the length of her room, opening and closing his mouth every so often.“I was on my way to you when I received a message first from my mother and then from my sister.Messages I seriously don’t understand.Have I, or have I not, told you I loved you?”he asked as he finally stopped pacing.
“Yes, you’ve told me…”
“And you’ve told me you love me, too?”
“Yes, I told you first if I remember correctly.”
“And what exactly did you mean when you told me you love me?”
There was obviously something going on here, but she had no clue what.
“I meant I love you and I’ll be with you as long you want me…”
Grabbing her hands, he pulled her closer.“Damn it, Ellie!How can you not know that I’llnevernot love you, that I’ll nevernotwant you?That what I feel isn’t something that will ever change.I’m in this for the rest of our lives.I don’t know why you don’t get it.”
Slowly it dawned on her what was going on.He’d spoken to his mother or to Willow and they’d mentioned the conversation at the book club.
She swallowed.“Maybe because you’ve never told me.”
“I’ve told you I love you.It means you’re in it for the long haul, for the bad days and the good days, doesn’t it?”
