Lumberjack Weekend(Divine Creek Ranch 21)(75)

“You need to learn patience,” Josh replied and then stopped in his tracks. There was a loud commotion in the back, coming from Violet’s office, women’s voices raised and all talking at once.

Curious, but not wanting to intrude if she was with her friends, Lucas hesitated to go any farther. He was turning to go check out the work Josh had done on the new chandelier when he heard an all too familiar, loud voice.

“I’m so damn sorry, Violet! Oh my God, please forgive me! I thought they’d already proposed!”

“No!” Violet replied, and she sounded as if she was crying.

Josh and Lucas gaped at each other in horror and Lucas said, “What is Delilah doing here?” Leave it to their baby sister.

“Shit,” Josh ground out under his breath. “I’m gonna strangle her.”

Delilah said, “Josh and Lucas are gonna strangle me! They’re never going to forgive me.”

Violet sounded like she was in shock. “I can’t believe it!” Other voices added to the commotion, and she finally said, “Shut up! Shut up! Y’all are giving me another headache! Cassie! Jessica! Hush! I think the doorbell rang. Lizzy, would you go see? Oh my God, what am I gonna do?”

Stunned, Josh and Lucas turned to make a hasty exit, fleeing like Tex with his tail on fire the time he’d gotten too close to the soldering iron. It wasn’t very manly, no, but his internal twin speak was telling him they needed to regroup before going back in.

“Stop!” a feminine voice called from the archway separating the bookstore from the main sales floor. “Don’t go.”

They turned to find Lizzy, Violet’s second-in-command, striding toward them. “I guess you heard all of that, huh?” she asked, a sympathetic smile on her face as she motioned for them to come to the back.

Lucas still wanted to retreat, at least to strategize before they faced whatever was going down in the office. The damn cat was definitely out of the bag, and Delilah, that blonde buttinsky was at the bottom of it.

Violet must’ve heard what Lizzy said because no sooner were the words out of her mouth than she appeared at a run, with Cassie Resendez, Jessica Bright, and a shame-faced Delilah in her wake.

Josh growled in disgruntlement at their sister, and she mouthed, “I’m so sorry,” before putting her hand over her mouth and averting her bloodshot eyes.

Violet looked back at her friends, and Lizzy nodded and shooed them all past Josh and Lucas, shock and worry on their faces. Whatever it was, it must’ve happened in the last few of minutes because they’d only just left Rudy’s.

Looking as though she’d received a jolt, Violet fumbled for words as she clasped their forearms and drew them back toward her office.

Once in there, they shut the door behind them. Concerned because she was paler than usual, Lucas said, “Baby, you need to sit down.”

She flopped into her chair and stared at them as they squatted in front of her beside her desk. Her lips flapped for a few seconds before she finally said, “You…”

“Baby girl, you okay? How’s your headache?”

“You…” she murmured, blinking at them. Her cheeks grew pinker as she stroked under both eyes with the sides of her hands and sniffed. Slipping her hands into the ones they each offered to her, she finally smiled. “You were going to propose?”

“Are you upset?” Lucas asked, cognizant of what Josh had said in the dark on her porch. They’d technically been a ménage only three days.

Josh gave her a confident nod. “We special-ordered your ring today. We were planning to wait until August when Clay is finished with it, to give you time to get used to us and to come around to what we already know.” He glanced at Lucas and dipped his chin, encouraging him.

Lucas turned her hand and stroked the lines on her palm. “I want to hold this hand, kiss it, and be touched by it until my dying day, baby. I love you. In truth, I’ve loved you a long time, and I want to be by your side, giving you the love, encouragement, and acceptance you deserve. I don’t have a ring to wow you with…but will you marry me?”

Tears streamed from her eyes, and she sniffled, her smile making her face glow as she nodded in affirmation. Lucas’s eyes grew a little blurry as he leaned down to kiss her palm and hold it to his cheek.

Josh held her hand, clasped in his, to his chest. “I’ve wanted you ever since I met you, baby girl, but I remember the exact moment I fell in love with you.” His voice cracked a little, and he stopped to take a breath and kiss the tips of each of her fingers. “It was a few months ago. I was up on a ladder, and we were hanging one of those fancy light fixtures.