Page 60 of Hung Up (Shadow Ridge #1)

FAITH

Aspen Creek

You’d think eight months with someone would be enough for you to know their favorite cake flavor, but apparently, I haven’t been paying close enough attention. Loretta really came in and saved the day, baking the cake for me so I wouldn’t have to, so I could continue to decorate the house.

I’ve never been one to celebrate birthdays before, but something about celebrating the birthday of someone I love dearly and making their day as special as they make every single one of mine had me extremely giddy.

I was able to get some decorations in town—although not a lot because it’s not exactly like they have a party store in a town of under one thousand people—and had to make some of my own from scratch since I didn’t have time to run out to Billings.

Since Jesse won the buckle, I’ve found myself very familiar with Aspen Creek.

A couple of weeks after the finals, I told Alicia I wanted to take the summer off.

It was about time that I did something other than work and try to find something I’m passionate about, try to find a hobby or maybe even a new profession.

While that hasn’t exactly happened for me yet, I have found peace here on Shadow Ridge Ranch, making it extremely difficult for me to leave.

What was supposed to be a single weekend here turned into a week, which turned into a month, and before I knew it, I found myself in the passenger seat of Jesse’s truck as we drove to San Francisco to get a bunch of my things.

And I’ve been staying in his house ever since.

I ended up accepting Ryan Beauregard’s offer, which means I still have a couple more months before I’ll be back with the Pbr covering the race to the championships.

While I’m not sure if reporting is going to be the rest of my life, I’m excited to try something new by sitting behind a desk.

And it sounds like Jesse might be joining the panel, too.

He had surprised me a couple days after the championships by saying he wanted to retire.

Jesse claimed he accomplished everything he wanted to, and now all he wants to do is enjoy the rest of his life that he gets to spend with me.

So instead, he’s decided to follow in Wyatt’s footsteps and mentor new bull riders.

Speaking of bull riders, Wyatt went on to discover a month after the finals that his wife is expecting, and they’ll be welcoming a little baby girl in February.

Kai is currently in rehab and is able to ride horses, but it sounds like he will have to sit out this upcoming Pbr season.

Bryce has been practicing nonstop after the poor performance he had this year and says that this upcoming one will be his last. Lee is back home helping his family with their ranch and hasn’t gotten on a bull since the season ended.

Says that it’s like riding a bike and he doesn’t need practice. Bryce didn’t appreciate that comment.

Stetson and Rylie called whatever was going on between them quits two weeks after the season ended. She refused to even visit a town that didn’t have a hair salon and he said he’d never stay in a city he’s not riding in.

None of us were very surprised with the outcome.

My time here on the ranch has been spent helping Loretta in the mornings with the chickens and making breakfast for the ranch hands.

After we were done feeding the boys, I usually found myself back at Jesse’s with a coffee and a book on his front porch swing, watching the sunrise over the mountains.

On the days he didn’t have to help Nash, we typically went horseback riding through various mountain paths or pastures around the ranch, sometimes going for a swim in a hidden waterfall that only he and Stevie knew about.

When we made it back to the house, we either cooked dinner together or went to the main house to eat with his mother.

And every single night we’d sit on his roof and watch the stars until we were too tired, crawling into bed together and falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Or, you know, not sleeping. It always depended on how busy a day we had.

I’d say that nothing new ever seems to happen around here. It’s the same thing almost every day, unless there’s an issue with some of the cattle or the ranch hands. But something has definitely shifted.

Stevie continues to deny it with her whole chest, acting like I’m out of my mind, and that only makes me more suspicious.

Her and Dean seem to be doing this dance, a weird tension between them that I’m just waiting for one of them to realize it for what it is.

The stolen glances, the banter, and how comfortable they seem with one another—I know it’s only a matter of time.

Even if Jesse disagrees with me. I think he’s just being a protective big brother, even though Stevie has definitely done a lot worse than Dean Fontaine.

I’m just finishing up wrapping his gift when I hear the front door open.

I spin around to see him come strolling in, setting his hat on the hook by the door before he kicks off his boots.

Like every other day, he comes up to me with a large grin, presses a kiss to my lips, and walks to the fridge to grab a water.

I’m watching him nervously, a little thrown off by his lack of acknowledgment of the state of his house.

It’s not exactly like it’s subtle. Balloons cover the ceiling—and I mean cover it—the living room and kitchen various shades of blue. Streamers cover the cabinets and hang from the fireplace, the gift I just finished wrapping sitting on the kitchen island.

After he chugs his drink, he tosses it into the recycling bin, turning back around to give me his attention. This time, when he does, his eyes go wide as he scans his house. I can’t stop the laugh that bubbles out of me, the relief I feel is immense at the happy look that replaces his surprise.

“You did all this?”

I nod. “I wanted to do something nice for your birthday.”

“Sweetheart, you didn’t have to do this.”

“I know, but I wanted to.” I tap the box that rests between us. “Open it.”

He chuckles, raising a brow. “You don’t want me to wait until later?”

“Absolutely not. I hate waiting for people to open presents I gave them.” He continues to stare at me with an amused expression, which causes me to groan. “Come on, Pretty Boy. Open your damn birthday present.”

Jesse grabs the box and slides it toward him, and I pull out a stool to sit down as I watch him.

He tucks his pointer finger under the edge of the crease and slowly glides his finger along the tape, and I start drumming my fingers on the counter in my impatience.

It’s like he’s doing this on purpose, trying to piss me off.

“Jesse, if you want any birthday sex from me tonight, that better be opened in the next ten seconds.”

His laugh echoes throughout the room, but he tears the package open, getting the wrapping paper off in five seconds flat.

It’s a large, plain white box, and I find myself biting my lip with sudden nervousness.

I’ve been scratching my head for weeks trying to figure out what to get him for his birthday.

He’s a very basic man who doesn’t want much, because whatever he wants, he already has.

I ran a few ideas by Stevie, but even she agreed they weren’t very great ideas.

Until one day, I was going through a box of mine, and an idea hit me.

I just hope he likes it as much as I think he will.

Jesse uses scissors to cut the tape that keeps the lid on the box before he gingerly slides the lid off the top.

Of course I had to cover it with some tissue paper and bubble wrap, but I’m suddenly wishing I hadn’t because I swear this wait and anticipation is harder for me than it is for him.

I’ve never met a person who didn’t love to rip into presents before.

But once he pulls back the tissue paper, I release a shaky breath of relief as tears instantly pool in his eyes.

I had kept the petals of all the flowers he’d ever gotten me and dried them out, and I obviously kept every single note he had ever written to me.

That includes every one I received after the championships, too.

I was able to find a very large glass frame to put them in, placing the dried flower petals behind the notes that had corresponded with them.

“Do you like it?” My voice is softer than I intended, unable to keep that slight tremble of doubt out of my voice.

“Like it?” He looks up at me with tears streaming down his cheeks, and the sight causes my heart to clench. “Sweetheart, I love it.”

He walks around the island and pulls me into his arms, squeezing me so tightly that it becomes hard to breathe—but I don’t really care. This was the exact reaction that I had been hoping for.

When we pull away, I cup his cheeks in my hands, brushing the tears off his face. He presses his lips against my palm, taking a deep breath as he tries to get his emotions under control. Reaching for my hands, he pulls them away and holds mine between his.

“I have something to show you, too, actually.”

“But it’s not my birthday.”

He laughs softly and starts to drag me down the hallway. “Just come.”

We step into his office—why he has an office, I’m still not entirely sure—and walk around his desk where a bunch of papers are rolled up. He drops my hand and unfolds them, and it becomes evident they’re house plans.

“I’ve decided to renovate the house,” he informs me, grabbing some random items from his desk to rest on the corners to stop the paper from rolling in on itself.

“I’m going to bust this wall down and expand the bedroom to make a bigger closet.

I want to move the laundry into the closet so we no longer have to go up and down a flight of stairs.

I’m thinking about getting rid of this closet here in the guest room down the hall to make the room bigger.

Maybe put in a built-in bookcase and a reading nook in the bay window. ”

He looks at me, so I say, “It sounds wonderful. What’s the bookcase for?”

“You.” My eyes widen. “I was thinking this could be your office.”

“Jesse, what are you saying?”

“I’m saying that I want you to move in with me. Permanently.” My mouth parts slightly, completely caught by surprise. “Like, sell your apartment in San Francisco, in case permanently wasn’t clear enough.”

To say that Jesse Hayes turned my world upside down in the best way possible is putting it lightly.

When we met, I had such a twisted and horrible outlook on love.

I never wanted to give another person the opportunity to hurt me again, so I had completely shut myself off from the idea.

I also had such an awful outlook on myself, thinking that I didn’t deserve the kind of love that he so badly wanted to give me and that I wasn’t worth the time or effort.

But he never gave up, continued to show me day after day that he wanted me and that I was worth someone’s time and effort and deserved to be loved fully and without limitations.

Sometimes I don’t feel like I deserve him, but it’s something that I strive to earn every single day.

And he’s more than earned mine.

“I’ll absolutely live with you.”

He beams, looking like he’s about to pull me in for a hug, when he hesitates. Reaching into his back pockets, he pulls out a small folded piece of paper, and I can’t help it as I grin at the sight. Taking it from him, I flip it open, my heartbeat increasing as a very important memory resurfaces.

I told you I would marry you one day.

When I glance back up, my eyes widen and my mouth parts as Jesse drops to one knee, a small black box in his hand.

“Faith Annalise Thompson. I know you’ve never believed in love at first sight, but I hope you believe me when I say that I fell in love with you the moment I laid my eyes on you.

To say that you were completely unexpected is an understatement, but god, it was the best surprise I could’ve ever asked for.

“And even though our path was a bit unconventional and, at times, a difficult one, I would do it all over again if I had to, if that meant I got to be with you. I would earn your love time and time again. Shower you with all the love and affection that you deserve. And I know it’s a little soon, so I won’t be upset if you say no, but Faith, Sweetheart, I want to spend the rest of my life earning your love, making you smile, annoying you, and leaving you notes.

I want to see your face first thing when I wake up every day and every night before I fall asleep.

And one day I want to see mini you’s running around the house and raise them to be just as amazing as their mother. ”

Tears are streaming down my face as he opens the box, a beautiful oval diamond staring back at me. “So, Faith Thompson, will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife?”

“Are you sure you can handle me?” I tease through my tears, still living in that memory from all those months ago.

“Oh, I know I can, Sweetheart.”

I close the gap between us and drop to my knees, cupping his face between my hands and pressing my lips against his in a brief peck.

“I can’t believe that I’m saying this. I never ever thought I’d be saying this.

” There’s a slight concerned furrow in his brow, so I kiss him again. “Of course I’ll marry you.”

“Yes?”

“Yes.”

His lips crash against mine, his free hand tangling in my hair as he pours all his feelings into the kiss. When we finally separate, he pulls the ring from the box and slides it onto my ring finger, the diamond sparkling in the sunlight streaming in through the window.

If someone had told me eight months ago that I’d rediscover my worth, find the love of my life, be living in Montana, and be engaged, I would’ve laughed in their faces.

And if someone had told me that night in the bar that Jesse Hayes was right, that he would in fact marry me one day, I probably would’ve laughed even harder.

But as I stare at the man before me, I can’t picture my life ending up any other way.

This bull-riding cowboy is, without a shadow of a doubt, the love of my life.

So marry Jesse Hayes, I will.