She tilted her head to look at his strong, chiseled profile. She loved him so much. “What did you want to tell me?” Her heart thumped.
“Mom told me this afternoon that she’d had a DNA test done on herself and Amber.” He looked into her eyes, but she couldn’t interpret his expression.
“Did you know about it, um, before she went ahead with it?”
“No. She knew I’d refused Francine’s demand for the test. I had no intention of ever doing it, because it didn’t matter to me.”
“I’m afraid to ask, but what were the results?” She held her breath.
“Amber has Mom’s mitochondrial DNA.”
“But…that means you’re her biological father.”
“Yeah.”
“What would you have done if the test had shown otherwise?”
“I’d never have known because Mom had no intention of telling me unless it proved I was her father.”
“It’s good news, but are you angry with Kathleen?”
“I was pissed when she told me she’d done it without asking me, but I understood why she didn’t. She doesn’t care a whit whether or not the test proved paternity, but she wanted to know for my sake. Amber is her granddaughter, period, no matter how the test came out.”
“Weren’t you always sure you were her father?” She couldn’t imagine the mental agonizing he’d been through lately.
“I never thought seriously about it until Francine said I wasn’t then I started questioning my instincts. I’m still not sure why she climbed out from under her rock after all these years.”
“Does she know you’re heir to this property?”
“How could she? Grampa died and left it to me two years after Francine ran out on us. I don’t know who would have told her. Why?”
“Don’t be dense. It’s a matter of public record. She probably thought she could extort money out of you.”
“I don’t have any money lying around. Everything I have is invested in my business and my home.”
“This ranch is worth millions. Like I said, don’t be dense.”
He took her hand, stepped off the porch, and led her to the fence surrounding the corral. Leaning back against it, he wrapped her in his arms. “It’ll be decades before any of this comes to me, but just in case, would you be willing to marry me for my money?”
Had he proposed? He had to be joking. That was it. “I might consider it, but it’s your big strong alpha male body I’m interested in.” She put her arms around his waist and pulled herself tight against him. “Very interested in, Big D.”
He planted one of his magnificent knee wobblers on her mouth then deepened it, taking his time with her. The feel of his hands in her hair and on her neck turned her insides into molten gold, beautiful and so painful. How could she ever get enough of his lips on hers?
She came up for air. “Dempsey,” she gasped. “I love you.”
“I know.” He grinned in the faint moonlight. “What say we go upstairs, and I work on keeping your interest keen?”
Breakfast was a raucous affair. Elbows bumped at the long pine table in the kitchen, and Donovan and Charlene were the target of endless ribbing about their wedding later today. Cookie placed mountains of bacon and pancakes on the table next to a huge platter of eggs fried sunny-side up.
Arturo cuffed one of Dylan’s boys on the back of the head when he pulled his sister’s ponytail. When the boy gave him a sour look of protest, Dylan pointed his finger at him with an unmistakable look of you had that coming, son. “Apologize to your sister.”
Before he could get the words out, the girl punched him in the shoulder and got rewarded with a small smack from Arturo. “You city dudes finish breakfast and get to work in the barn. Them cows don’t milk themselves. And we got a weddin’ to go to later.”
Another warning glare from Dylan was all it took to quiet them down and concentrate on eating. Amber wore a smug smile, having been left out of the ruckus.
Dwayne leaned close to Marla’s ear and whispered, “When we kids are on the ranch, Arturo is our foreman. We do as he says.”
“Your mom’s good with that?”
“Believe me, no hand who works on this ranch would do anything without Mom’s prior approval. Yes, we do what Arturo says.” He chuckled and picked up his coffee mug. “You’ve been warned, Danaher.” He winked and took a sip of strong ranch coffee.
Marla studied the faces of Kathleen, Cookie, and Arturo. The affection they had for the extended Dempsey family was unmistakable. She thought the lessons the boys and their children learned on this ranch went a long way to molding them into such a close family.
“Do you realize how lucky you are, Dempsey?”
“Every day, Danaher.”
Charlene, Marla, Kathleen, and Grace fussed with the small amount of packing needed for the wedding in Buffalo. Miss Emmaline sat in a rocking chair in Charlene’s room, stroking Princess Elizabeth, and wearing a benign smile. A lifelong spinster, she’d never married, but it was obvious to Marla that she’d caught the romantic spirit of the day.
“Lordy, it’s only an hour drive. I’m wearing my wedding outfit when we leave here. Donovan’s carrying his dress uniform because he doesn’t want a single crease in it. He’ll change in the men’s room at the courthouse.”
Marla had packed extra shoes for herself and Amber, along with jackets and sweaters. “Is he planning to wear it all day?”
“No, just for the ceremony. He packed jeans and boots for the barbecue and wagon ride. He’s my Marine for the wedding, but my cowboy for the rest of the day.” She winked. “And night.”
Miss Emmaline hooted with laughter. “You girls these days. I was born sixty years too soon for all the fun.”
Kathleen shook her
