She surveyed the lake. “It’ll be a fantastic spot. But won’t that mean the ranch house will be empty a lot of the time now that your parents have bought property in Alabama?”
“I think a married man ought to have his own house, don’t you?”
“Sure.” She drew the word out. “Your wife would want the freedom to decorate and run her own household.” She peered at him from beneath her lashes, her expression leaning toward somber. “And it’s about time you thought about settling down. You’re not getting any younger.”
“You sound like my mother,” he groused, but a smile lurked in his tone.
“But you said the land should be claimed by both our families, so what else did you have in mind? Some sort of compound where I live on the opposite side of the lake? And maybe Jake and Skye would consider a vacation home here.”
“I’m not really sure that would work for me,” Keaton said, pulling her close. “You’d be a little too far away for my taste.”
Her eyes widened with pleasure. “You want to live together?”
“That’s been working out pretty well this last month.”
Her brow furrowed as she considered his proposition. “I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you, so I say let’s do it.”
“You’ve enjoyed spending time with me?” he echoed. “Ten minutes ago you claimed you loved me.”
“Well, yes. I do.”
“And you may recall that I told you at your house that I had fallen in love with you, as well.”
“You meant that?”
“Of course I did. Do you think I run around telling women that I’m in love with them when I’m not?”
“Have you been in love with a lot of women?”
Keaton snorted. “Only you. Which is why...” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small burgundy box. “Lark Marie Taylor.” He popped the top on the box and watched her eyes widen at its contents. “Will you marry me? I want to build our dream house on this spot and live happily ever after with you.”
Her eyes glowed like twin emeralds as she answered, “Absolutely.”
He slipped the ring from the box and onto her trembling finger. As they sealed their pledge with a long, deep kiss, the rest of the world faded. Much, much later he felt the cool breeze against his hot skin and realized they’d been lost in each other for a quite a while.
“We should probably continue this at home,” he said, setting his forehead against hers. “I’m sure Julie wasn’t expecting you to be gone this long and may be worried.”
“I sent her a quick text before getting out of the car and let her know we’d been delayed.”
And that was one of the things he loved about Lark. Always considering others and acting with efficiency. Opposites might attract, but what had drawn Keaton to Lark was all the ways she understood and accepted him.
“You know what this means,” Lark said, laughing with joy. “We’ve officially ended the Holt/Taylor feud. After us there will be no more generations of your family and my family. It will all be our family.”
“I think that sounds pretty great,” he said. “And speaking of our family, how eager are you to start one?”
“Very,” she admitted. “Having Grace around this last month has made me anxious for children of my own. How do you feel?”
“The same.”
Her smile grew wicked. “Then what are we doing standing around here?”
Chuckling, he drew Lark back to where they’d left their vehicles. The afternoon sun was fading toward the horizon, painting the lake and surrounding trees with a golden light. He gave the scene a final look as he opened Lark’s car door, picturing a big house by this lake with children running in the yard. It was going to be a perfect place to build a life with her. He imagined their sons and daughters growing up on the land that had kept their families at odds for decades, their happiness banishing old resentment.
“What do you see?” she asked, noticing his distraction.
“Our future.” He brushed his lips against hers. “And it looks absolutely wonderful.”