“It’s okay.” She raised her hand and put it on his chest.
He immediately covered her hand with his. “No, it’s not. Your father just disowned you.”
“Really...?”
To Lark’s amazement she felt lighter, less encumbered, than she’d ever known. Was this what Skye had felt when she left town with Jake? Had she felt free to do and be whatever she wanted without the weight of their parents’ expectations and disapproval dragging her down?
Lark sucked in a huge breath, and the fresh air infused her with glee. At last she was free to love the man standing before her without agonizing over what would happen when her parents found out and how angry they’d be. She was her own person. The only person she had to worry about disappointing was herself. And she would be terribly unhappy with herself if she pushed Keaton away again.
“It’s okay.” She beamed at him. “I’m okay.”
Unsure if Lark was suffering from hysteria or shock, Keaton scrutinized her closely. “I don’t understand. Aren’t you upset?”
“I might be later, but for now all I feel is relief.”
When he’d left her house he went straight to his parents and told them about the bill of sale and Lark’s reaction to the news of its reappearance. He’d been certain that he’d lost her and determined to do whatever he could to win her back. He’d offer to split the land. Even compensate the Taylors for their loss. But he couldn’t do any of that without his parents’ approval.
He’d never expected to turn up at the Taylor Ranch in time to hear her side with him against her father. She’d chosen him over her family.
“Relief?” he asked. “Why?”
To his delight, she lifted up on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Because I love you and I don’t care who knows it.” She planted a hard kiss on his lips and pulled back to grin at him, her smile one of wild, unfettered joy.
His arms went around her and pulled her tight. She loved him. Hearing her say those words made him happier than he’d ever been. “You chose me over your parents.”
“I was stupid not to do so a long time ago. You are the most caring, intelligent, sexiest man on the planet, and until today I hadn’t fully appreciated how lost I would be without you.”
“I’m glad to hear you say that, because this afternoon I was terrified I’d lost you. In fact, after our fight, I realized what needed to happen and went back to the house looking for you. Julie told me you were here and I came to lend you my support.”
“Of course you did.” Her eyes were bright and trusting. “Thank you.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Keaton suggested, all too aware that her father could be loading a shotgun at this very moment with the idea of running him off Taylor land. “I have something I want to talk to you about. Follow me in your car.”
She looked puzzled by his request but nodded. Halfway down the Taylors’ driveway, around a curve and out of sight of the house, Keaton turned onto a little-used track that wound past the tree farm and entered the land that had been in dispute for so many generations. He was sure Lark had an idea where he was heading, and when he at last stopped the truck and got out to meet her, he could see she was smiling.
“The swimming hole I used to come to in the summer,” she said, her eyebrows raised. “Where you used to spy on me.”
Keaton took her hand and led her down the path to the water’s edge, the Aussie frolicking around them. “I was old enough to know better,” he admitted, watching Nicki chase a rabbit that was darting for cover. “But I couldn’t bring myself to stop. It was the only time I’d ever seen you truly happy.” He cast a sideways glance in her direction. “And then there was how you looked in that bikini.”
“It was one of Skye’s old ones. We weren’t exactly the same size, so it didn’t fit all that well.”
In fact, it had been incredibly indecent on her lush curves. And she hadn’t cared in the least. Keaton had loved every second she’d spent near or in the water. Her laughter had been infectious. Her sexy strut along the beach, laughably awkward and all the more delicious for its unconventional style, had sent his hormones into a tailspin.
“You were gorgeous in it.” His voice had lowered into a husky murmur. “Any chance it’s languishing in a drawer somewhere?”
Lark laughed. “Not likely.”
“Pity.” He pulled her along the edge of the water. The ten-acre lake wasn’t the largest on the property, and the Taylors didn’t use it to irrigate the tree farm. But it sat exactly in the middle of the two thousand acres that had been in dispute. “But I didn’t bring you here to reminisce,” he explained, looping his arm around her. “I’ve decided this land needs to be claimed by both our families, so I intend to build a house here.”