She lifted their joined hands to her lips and kissed his knuckles. It was so like Daniel to try to think the whole thing through. If she could be any surer, that would have been the final nudge she needed, that he was concerned about her sons.
He was the one they all needed in their lives, for better or worse.
Daniel could barely breathe, the raw emotion running through his body drawing his throat tight. He was looking at the possibility of forever hovering in front of him, and damn if he could figure out the right move to make.
“The way I see it, those kids have been through an awful lot over the past year, and they must be pretty confused. You were hurt pretty bad in the accident, and suddenly their daddy was gone. Yeah, the man wasn’t a good father, but he was still all they knew. You moved them to a new home and new schools, new friends. All that for the best of reasons, but it has got to make their heads spin. They might not take kindly to me coming in as someone other than a temporary babysitter.”
Beth shook her head. “I want what is best for my boys, but that doesn’t mean letting them dictate what I do with my life. It’s not going to be all sweetness and roses trying to make them understand who you will be in their lives, but just because they balk a few times doesn’t mean it’s not the best thing for them.”
“But should we push them too fast? Do we have to push them?”
“What are you suggesting? That we carry on like we have?”
“Hell no. I’m done with the hiding, and I thought you’d made it pretty clear the other day at the bar we were together. The boys can get used to the idea of me being around, slowly. It’s only a couple of weeks until Christmas, and while I want to be in your life and theirs, I don’t see any reason to rush it now.”
“So…we date?”
“Yup. You stay in the house with the boys for a while longer. Then I have another plan I’ve been working on, but I need your help with the numbers to make sure it’s possible. I’ve been chatting with Blake and Travis about buying out their portions of the furniture shop. Neither of them is interested in continuing, they’d much rather work the land and deal with that side of the ranch. I’m ready for a change and willing to sell them my share. I thought about finding a place right in town, a house. I think I’ve got enough money saved up, although I’d want to get my daddy’s blessing before heading into a new venture.”
She looked shocked. “You don’t want to ranch anymore?”
“Nope. Not if I can afford to change tracks.”
She laughed. “Daniel, we need to go somewhere, just the two of us and actually sit and talk for a couple days straight. How come I didn’t know you wanted to get out of ranching?”
He tweaked her nose. “Because we were too busy trying every non-vanilla experience we could think of.”
“True.”
They sat in silence for a minute.
“My mom offered to watch the kids.”
“Jaxi offered to watch…”
They spoke simultaneously then broke off.
Daniel grinned. “Heck, I bet half of Rocky would offer to watch the kids to let us have a getaway.”
“You honestly want to move into town?”
“Hell, yeah. Beth, I loved growing up on the ranch, and I love my family, but I feel as if I need to take the next step. What better time than now? We could find a house we both like close to the school for the kids. Easy for you to get to work.” Crap, there was another example of how little he knew. “Hell, I don’t even know if you still want to work if you don’t have to.”
They both took a deep breath and leaned together closer, her arms draped around his neck.
Beth shook her head. “This is one the strangest situations I’ve ever heard of. We love each other, but we’re going to take it slow for a while longer, until we can actually say that we’re friends?”
“Sounds about right to me.” He lifted her chin. “How long my folks thinking they got the boys for today?”
“Before I left, your dad had agreed to take over your duties at the pool today and your mom was asking what their favourite supper was. Does that sound like the whole day to you?”
Oh yeah. “How about we go back to the house, grab whatever you need and head out for a while? Spend some time doing some serious talking and planning and dreaming.”
“You don’t want to stay home?” There was a hint of mischief in her eyes.
“Only if you promise not to jump me.”
“What?” Beth laughed as he pulled her to her feet.
Daniel held her hands in his, rubbing his fingers over her knuckles. “Us getting alone has usually meant sex up to now. We need more. If we can keep from getting distracted, then the house would be fine. We’ll light the fire and cuddle on the couch and talk each other’s ears off. And hopefully by the time we head over to join my folks for supper, we’ll have an idea of how we’re going to explain our plan to the boys.”
Beth squeezed his hand. “I’m looking forward to becoming your friend.”
The hopeful expression in her eyes made the future seem damn bright.
Chapter Seventeen
“How much longer you think the boys are going to last?”
Beth turned and smiled at Daniel’s whispered question. “Robbie is a goner already, and Nathan probably won’t be too far behind. But you know Lance is going to try to stay awake until the last possible second.”
The noise from the Wii filled the room as Blake and Lance fought another pitched battle. On the couch next to them, Nathan leaned against Jaxi’s side, her arm holding him vertical more than any power of his own.
New Year’s Eve, and the party was so much milder than any he’d attended in a long, long time. It was also the most exciting ever because Beth and the boys were there with his family.
Jaxi adjusted Nathan then cheered Lance on. “Get him. Knock him out of there, Lance. That’s it. Sweet…”
“Hey, that’s enough. Stop pulling for the enemy. I’m your husband, you’re supposed to want me to win,” Blake complained.
Jaxi stuck out her tongue, and Lance snorted, then destroyed another of Blake’s strongholds.
Daniel held his hand to Beth, and she took it. Jaxi wiggled her fingers in farewell as they snuck out of the basement, up the stairs to the main living room.
“It’s a quiet New Year’s. I hope this isn’t disappointing to you.” Beth slipped her hand around his back and tugged him to stop before they lost their privacy.
“Disappointing? No way.” He fit his hand around her nape and held her close, staring into her eyes. “Try perfect. I’ve been worried the past couple weeks might have been overwhelming for the boys and you, since the entire clan has been around all the time. What with spare Colemans popping in and out at random moments without any warning, I wondered when you were going to turn and run for the hills.”
Beth cupped his face in her hand, her thumb gently stroking back and forth over his cheek. The smile she gave him was real and content and made his soul satisfied. “How could you even think that for a moment? The Christmas holidays have been filled with one wonderful experience after the other for the boys and me. Your family is incredible.”
They kissed, lips gentle and soft against each other. Tongues dipping and brushing, nothing panicked or rushed. Just a comfortable and celebratory motion that said more about belonging to each other than ownership.
Daniel savoured it even as he made plans for some ownership kind of sex later that night. He liked having both sides in their relationship, and Beth was still enjoying the lessons.
Damn, his life was good.
He pulled away and gave her a wink. “What do you think about having that conversation with my folks now?”