One More Taste (One and Only Texas #2)(100)
“Shut up with that religious garbage, woman.”
Knox stood. “She may have made some mistakes, but you don’t get to talk to her like that.”
Ty grimaced. “You think it was easy for me to give you up? I would’ve cast aside Eloise for you—I would have given up everything to keep you—but your mother, she wasn’t going to leave Clint and he wasn’t gonna let her go, so I didn’t have a choice. All that Briscoe pride running through Clint’s veins … there was no reasoning with him. As my father reminded me that night, business at the resort was just starting to boom, and our family’s reputation was on the line. He was right that no good would come of speaking the truth about Linda’s baby, not for our family business and not for you, since Clint was hell-bent on eye-for-an-eye revenge. I took what belonged to Clint the night of the Sadie Hawkins dance, and so he took what was mine.”
Knox felt himself swaying. It was all too much. Then Emily was behind him, her arm around his waist and her strength fanning out over them both like a protective shield.
“I thought bringing you to work for me was righting a wrong,” Ty continued. “I thought I could be in your life, finally. I was prepared to pass my legacy to you as my only son—the son I was cheated out of parenting. But Clint got the last laugh, didn’t he? Using you from the grave for his revenge. I never factored in that Clint had raised you to believe all that eye-for-an-eye bullshit. And now you’re selling our family’s hallowed ground out from under us. How does it feel to be a puppet for a dead man?”
Emily waved her arms. “Both of you, stop. Can you even hear yourselves? Talking about your son like he’s your greatest sin, your greatest regret. I can’t…” She pressed her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes. Everyone in the room waited in collective silence for her to regroup and finish her thought.
When she opened her eyes again, she looked at Knox’s mom. “Thank you for Knox. For raising him to be such a good man.” She turned her attention to Ty. “And thank you for bringing him back to Briscoe Ranch. And for asking me to provide lunch for your meeting that first day. You two created a miracle together and I’ll forever be indebted to you.”
She turned and faced Knox. Their eyes met. “I love you. And I’m so grateful that our lives unfolded exactly as they did so we could be here together right now.”
All the pain and anger melted away as he looked into her eyes. She was right. He wouldn’t change a thing. “I think it’s time you and I bought some property together,” he said.
The edges of her lips kicked up into a dreamy smile. “We’ll be partners, in every sense of the word.”
The thought left him giddy. “Emily Ford, are you proposing to me?”
Her eyebrows flickered up and her smile turned impish. “If only I had a ring to offer you right now.”
“What’s happening?” Linda said. “What property?”
Knox put his arm around Emily and faced his mother and Ty, steeped in the power of the truth—the power of his love for Emily. It flowed from his heart and all around him. He felt his dad watching him from on High and harnessed that power, too. Nothing could stop him, nothing could hurt him. He was above it all, with her.
“You’ll see,” Knox told his mom and Ty. “Soon enough. You’ll all see. Now, if you two will excuse us, we’ve got some money to move.”
Epilogue
One month later …
With a blanket wrapped around them to stave off the chilly late-November air, Knox and Emily sat in the bed of his newly repaired Chevy and watched the stars come up over Briscoe Ranch Resort from their favorite lookout point on the fire road right at the edge of the resort where Knox always parked his truck. Somewhere, a group of carolers sang Joy to the World to the merriment of the resort guests. Knox didn’t think he’d ever been happier than he was in that moment, surveying the hill country kingdom he shared with the woman he loved.
In so many ways, tonight was a night of celebration. Not only because the Chevy was finally back in working order but also because today marked the finalization of their purchase of Briscoe Ranch. In the end, with the help of Knox’s crackerjack team of structural engineers and geologists, it hadn’t been too tough to convince Lux Universal that Briscoe Ranch wasn’t worth the sandy, ever-shifting ground it sat on. Certainly, it wouldn’t be a safe bet for senior housing.
But even though Lux withdrew their offer, Knox and Emily decided to buy out Briscoe Equity Group’s shares of the resort anyway. There was no sense in risking another near-catastrophe, not when Knox planned to spend the rest of his life at Briscoe Ranch by Emily’s side.
He turned to kiss her and found her grinning from ear to ear. “What’s that smile about?”
She snuggled in closer to him. “I’ve never owned anything before, nothing of value. I love that this is ours now.” Her hand roved lower on his chest, then dipped to his jeans. “But as happy as I am watching the stars with you, I think I’m ready to get to the necking part of the whole sitting at a lookout point experience.”
He gave her a kiss on her nose. “Are you sure you are? Because my neck is definitely not down there. Besides, Movie Night’s going to start soon. Carina and Decker are bringing Sam. I told them we’d be there.”