As she turns, her eyes lock on mine. Tear tracks stain her cheeks. She shrugs her shoulder and I run to her.
“I…”
“Please tell me you’re not going back to him.”
She shakes her head. “I couldn’t.”
“Fuck, Pres. What happened?”
“I gave it to Paul. He wanted the company and all I could think about while I was sitting there is why am I fighting for something I don’t want?”
“Really?”
She nods. “I mean, I got some money, but I had him put it in a trust for Poppy. I don’t want her to worry about anything, and now we’ll be rid of him.”
“You will?”
“Yes. He’ll sign the divorce papers and won’t stand in the way of getting Poppy’s birth certificate updated.”
“Really?” I can’t muster up anything more as emotion clogs my throat. “It’ll be my name on it?”
More tears roll down her face. “It always should have been that way. I’m sorry, Kade. I feel like I’ve messed up so much for the two of you, and I don’t want that anymore. I want to tell Poppy the truth.”
“Hey. Breathe.” I capture her cheeks in my hands and take a deep breath. “You’ve been through a lot today.”
“I have nothing.” Her voice cracks. “My mom chose Paul over Poppy and me and I…”
I thread my fingers through her hair. “You have me. You have always had me, Pres.”
“You’re not leaving? You’re not going to sell the ranch and move back to Seattle?”
I shake my head. “No. No more running. Being back here has proven that Pinecrest is where I’m meant to be.
“Good. Because I need you, Kade. More than I’ve ever needed anyone in my life and that scares me.”
“Presley, you’re it for me. I don’t think I knew what that meant back then. Maybe if I had, I would have stayed to fight for us, but now? I know what it means. It’s you, me, and Poppy. And I will do whatever it takes to make sure it’s always the three of us.”
“I love you, Kade. God, I have always loved you.”
“Not nearly as much as I love you.” I pepper her face in kisses, kissing away the fresh tears that start falling. “As long as we’re together, we can figure anything out. I love you and I love Poppy.”
“Thank you.”
“For what?” I smile at her, brushing away the tears with my thumbs.
“For loving me. For not running away when you first saw me at the diner.”
A snort escapes. “I think I did kind of run away that night.”
“But you came back.”
“I’ll always come back for you, Pres. Always.”
Presley pushes up onto her toes, wrapping her arms around my neck, and kisses me. It’s wet and messy from the emotions swirling around us. But I don’t care. Because the two of us are together. Hoisting her into my arms, I carry her to the truck and pull down the tailgate to rest her on it.
“I need you, Kade. More than I’ve ever needed anything in my life.”
“I know.”
