He wiggled his eyebrows and said, “Nine months later Liza was born.”
I made a gagging motion and held up my hand. “TMI, Dad. Way too much.”
“The bottom line, Jase, is treat her like a princess. Be the reason she smiles . . . not cries. And most of all, be faithful to her.”
We finished the fence repairs in silence as I let everything he said sink in. I tossed the tools into the back of the ranch truck as my father climbed in. Walking up to his door, I cleared my throat.
“Um . . . don’t say anything yet about me asking Taylor to marry me. I’m not sure when she’ll want to tell everyone.”
“Sure. Your secret is safe with me.”
With a slap on his shoulder, I flashed him a smile. “Thanks, Dad. For the advice and for listening.”
“Anytime, Jase. I’m always here if you need me. For anything.”
Taking a step back, I shut the door and watched him drive off.
Making my way back to the truck, I sent Taylor a text.
Me: Finished and heading back.
Taylor: Okay! Talking with your mom! We’re having fun making fudge so take your time.
My heart felt full and content as I read her text again. I couldn’t wait for my mother to find out that Taylor and I were getting married. The look on her face would be priceless.
Walker and I fed the herd while my father and Reed went over some information Ryder had sent them regarding converting fully over to organic. I was meeting Nate in two days in Austin to fly out and tour an organic cattle ranch in Wyoming. Since I’d be handling most of the cattle ranch and Walker focused on the breeding of the horses, it only made sense that I would be the one to go.
“All right, dude. I’m heading home to my wife and son. You got this?” Walker asked.
“Yeah, I’ll finish up,
you go on. Taylor is back at the house with my mom so no worries.”
Walker tipped his hat and headed out of the barn. “Tell Liza I said hey.”
He held up his hand and waved. “Will do.”
“And give my nephew a high five!”
Calling over his shoulder, he said, “Got it!”
After finishing everything up, I checked in on Bell. She was a new mare I had bought for Taylor who was expecting a foal in the next week or so. Taylor was beyond excited.
“Hey there, pretty girl,” I said as Bell walked up to me for a hand full of oats.
I ran my hand down her neck and smiled. “You’re going to be a good girl for my Taylor, aren’t you girl?”
Bobbing her head, she nudged me for more oats. With a chuckle, I shook my head. “Oh no. You’ve had enough, girl. Sleep tight.”
As I made my way from the barn to the house, I thought about Taylor. I wanted to see her. The urge to hold her in my arms and kiss her was almost overwhelming. I had asked her to marry me and then I dropped her off to spend half the day with my mother. She was probably dying to tell one of the girls our news.
Walking up to my father and Reed, I stopped short of them to allow them to finish up their conversation. Reed turned and gave me a smirk. My eyes quickly moved to my father.
“You told him.”
Reed grabbed a hold me and brought me in for a bro hug, slapping the living hell out of my back in the process.
“Damn. It wasn’t that long ago you were following us around claiming to be the best cowboy in the land. And now look at you. Engaged.”