“Until now? What does that mean?”
He studied her. “I’m going to fight for this, Delaney.”
“This?”
“The ranch. The baby.”
Fear trickled down Delaney’s spine, but she couldn’t bear to ask him, just yet, how he meant to fight for the baby. “I thought your grandfather was putting the ranch up for sale.”
“I’m going to buy it. Then I’m going to turn the ranch around, make it work.”
“So that means you’re staying here in Dundee.”
“Exactly.”
She digested this information, unsure whether she was happy about it or not. “And the baby? Are you willing to settle for joint custody?”
“No. I want you to marry me.”
Marry him…They were back to that. “Marriage is more than having a baby together,” she said. “What about love?”
“A lot of people who are in love get married, and their marriages end in divorce. Love is no safety net.”
“But we wouldn’t even start with that much. What happens if—” she ran a hand through her hair “—if one of us has an obnoxious habit the other can’t tolerate? Or what if one of us meets Mr. or Ms. Right and regrets our…our arrangement?”
“We’ll agree now, that if it ever comes to that, we’ll split amicably and settle for equal custody of our child. As far as assets go, we’re starting with practically nothing, so whatever we accumulate together we’ll split. The baby will have my name, you’ll have whatever financial support I can provide, and I won’t shame my grandfather in front of the people he most respects, people he’s known his whole life.”
So that was it. He was doing it for his grandfather. “Will he cut you out of his will if you don’t make good?” she asked.
“It’s not about money.”
Then, it was something deeper. She’d put Conner in a bad position, and he was doing his best to rectify things. How could she stand in his way?
Fidgeting with the strap of her purse, Delaney thought about being married to him, taking his name, making love with him, living with him on a full-time basis—and felt her heart beat faster. Part of her wanted nothing more. The other part showed her a picture of a miserable future with a husband who resented her. Could she live with a man who didn’t love her, for anyone’s sake? “If either one of us is miserable, we just agree to split amicably. Isn’t that the gist of what you said?”
He nodded.
“And a traditional upbringing would definitely be better for the baby. I know that.”
“Definitely.”
She took a deep breath to ease the tension knotting her stomach. “Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“Let’s get married.”
He almost smiled, then seemed to catch himself. “When do you want to do it?”
“As soon as possible.”
“You want a church wedding?”
“I’m sure that’s what Aunt Millie would prefer.”
“What would you like?”
“That’s what I want, too.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE FOLLOWING DAY, Conner checked his watch to make sure it wasn’t still too early, then called his mother from the office.
“We’ve set a date,” he said as soon as she answered.
“When?”
“In three weeks. Can you come?”
“Of course. I’ll book my flight right away.”
He could hear the smile in her voice, but it didn’t bring him the pleasure it normally would have.
“I can’t believe some lucky girl has finally stolen your heart,” she said.
Delaney had actually stolen something a little farther south than his heart, but saying so would only prejudice his family against her, and Conner was approaching this marriage the way he was approaching the ranch—with the intention of making it work. So he changed the subject.
“Do you think Grandfather will be up to the trip by then?”
“He’s out of the hospital and already trying to work. It’s all I can do to slow him down. I’m sure he’ll be able to come.”
“Good.”
“You do love this woman, right, Conner?” she asked. “You’re positive you’re doing the right thing?”
Conner dodged her first question by answering her second. “I don’t think there’s any way to be a hundred percent positive, is there, Mom?”
“No, I guess when we get married, we all take a risk. But love is worth the risk. And if you’ve chosen her, I’m sure I’ll love her, too.”
Conner shifted uncomfortably. “I hope so.”
“That real estate offer you asked me to look for came in, by the way,” she said. “I was planning to call you, but I was waiting to see how Dad’s going to respond.”
“Is it a good offer?”
“Stephen didn’t seem too excited about it. I think they’ll submit a counteroffer.”
“Well, mine’s on its way,” Conner said.
“Your what?”
“My offer.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I want to purchase the ranch.”
“Conner, I’m not sure I know you anymore,” she said after a silence.
Conner couldn’t help chuckling. “You want me to go back to my old ways?”
“Definitely not. But I do want you to explain a few things to me. How are you going to buy the ranch? You don’t have that kind of money.”
“People buy property without money all the time. That’s how Grandfather bought this place to begin with. He borrowed every dime.”
“But you have to have a down payment to get a loan—”
“I’m asking Grandfather to carry the paper for five years. But I’m giving him his purchase price, which is more than fair, and I’m paying a good rate of interest.”
“What about operating expenses?” she asked.
“I think I’ve got that covered.”
“How?”
The Hill brothers were his ace in the hole, but Conner wasn’t willing to reveal that information yet. He knew his mother meant well, but he couldn’t afford to have anything slip out in front of Stephen, Dwight or Jonathan. Not when his uncles’ opposition would increase with his chances of success.
“You’ll see,” he said. “Just make sure Grandfather looks at my offer before Stephen can deep-six it.”