At his side, Molly took his hands and he glanced at her, grateful for her support.
He'd spent the last month working his butt off to make a start on getting the ranch back in shape. Calving season came and went, and then they'd vaccinated and tagged several dozen head that Mackie had either missed or just not taken the time to care for. He’d spent days fixing fence lines. He still didn't have a solution for the barn. They might not be in the red, but it was going to take years for the ranch to turn a profit, and he didn't see how he was going to rebuild the destroyed structure.
But all of those were excuses. He hadn’t come to see Noah before because it had taken him this long to shore up his courage.
Noah had a right to throw him off his property, if that's what he wanted. Cord was hoping for one face-to-face conversation with his friend, one chance to tell him how sorry he was.
"We going to stand here all day, or are we going knock?" Molly asked.
Cord resisted the urge to poke her side just under her ribs, where he'd recently discovered she was particularly ticklish. Her recovery had gone remarkably smoothly. She had only a small scar left where the bullet wound had been, and her cast was coming off in another week.
It had been just as hard as he'd thought to keep her inside resting. Last week, he'd finally relented and let her go out and tinker with the tractors, though he’d insisted she not do any heavy lifting per the doctor's orders.
Not everything had been easy. Two weeks ago, the water heater had nearly exploded. There'd been water damage and the expense of replacing the unit. But Molly had reminded him to be thankful that neither of them had been hurt and that the damage wasn't worse.
He'd held her loosely in his arms. Having her close was reminder enough about what they'd been through. Almost losing her.
Who cared about a stupid water heater when he had Molly?
She'd insisted on a weekly date night, even if that meant staying in and eating together in the kitchen with a candle between them and no television on.
He'd learned things about her he hadn’t known before, like how much she missed her mama and some of the precocious adventures she'd had as a child. It had been difficult for him, but he'd shared himself with her, telling her about past broken hearts and some old, old memories of his parents. It had been especially hard for him to open up about Mackie, and she'd suggested he see a counselor to dig through some of those old hurts.
She'd been seeing someone in town to work through what had happened with Toby, and it seemed to be helping.
He was still thinking on it, but she might be right.
Now, all he could do was stare at Noah's front door.
It was Molly who raised her hand and knocked.
They waited sixty seconds with no answer.
She glanced at Cord and then knocked again, more firmly this time.
Another sixty seconds. And sixty more, for good measure.
Still no answer.
This time when she turned to him, there was sadness in her gaze. "I don't think he's going to answer."
He nodded as his heart sank. He'd hoped to fix the rift between them. Some wild idea of maybe being able to help Noah leave the recluse life behind and rejoin the community of Sutter's Hollow.
Molly slung her arm around his waist as they walked back toward the truck. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "It doesn't mean that he doesn't want to be your friend," she said softly. "It just means he's not ready."
He brushed a kiss against her temple. "You are a wise woman."
She laughed. "And you are a smart man to say so."
Hours later, he and Molly were snuggling on the couch as the sun went down. She had a book open in her lap and he was content just watching her read. A pot of stew was sending its savory fragrance from the kitchen and Hound Dog was lying across the floor on the other side of the coffee table.
He was still disappointed that he hadn’t been able to see Noah, to make things right. In the weeks since Molly’s abduction and accident, he’d apologized to both Iris and Jilly. They were back on track to a strong friendship. Molly had a game night with them scheduled for next week. He’d spoken on the phone with West several times. There was still some old hurt between the brothers, but they’d agreed to see each other when West’s tour ended.
Things weren’t perfect.
But he was happy.
There was just one thing that would make him happier.
He saw her turn the page to finish a chapter.
“Take a break?” he asked.
She stuck her finger in the book to save her place. She leaned her head back and tipped her face to see him. “What’s up?”
A whole horde of butterflies took flight in his stomach. “I’ve been thinking a lot about the ranch. And us,” he added quickly. No detours. No chickening out.
Her nose crinkled adorably. “Are you getting tired of me already?”
“No.” He looked down. Slipped her hands away from the book and held both of them in his. “I was thinking that I want to know you’re going to be around forever.”
All of a sudden, she was holding her breath.
He let go of one of her hands to grab the velvet ring box he’d hidden beneath his thigh when they’d sat down. His hand was shaking as he offered it to her.
“You’re it for me. I can’t live without your coffee or your kisses.”
She smiled with trembling lips and that gave him the courage to go on.
He popped open the box to reveal the small solitaire inside. "I love you. Molly, will you marry me?"
Her dawning smile made every color around
