Where Forever Lies (31 page)

As she
pulled into his drive, he was sitting on the porch waiting for her,
dressed in his casual, but sexy, Levis and plain shirt with his
signature cowboy boots on. As soon as she stepped out of her car and
headed to the house, she couldn’t control her smile at seeing
his reaction to what she was wearing. She jumped into his arms and
kissed him on the mouth and said, “Hi.”

He broke
away from her kiss and dropped her to the ground, taking a step back
to check her out. His eyes ran up and down her body and a crooked
smile lit up his face. “Well, well, well, what do we have
here?” he asked, in an amused tone.

Paige
shrugged as she casually said, “What? You don’t like my
outfit?”

He licked
his lips as he kept staring, taking her all in. The shock on his face
was priceless and she couldn’t have asked for a better
reaction. “I think I’m in love.”

Paige
couldn’t help but laugh at that remark.

“I’m
just shocked that you are wearing it,” he said.

“Well,
we’ve been spending so much time together I guess your taste is
finally rubbing off on me,” she said as she ran her hand along
her blue flannel short sleeved shirt. “What do you think of my
boots?” she asked as she held her foot out to him. He took her
boot in his hand, almost causing her to fall. She gripped his
shoulder as he studied the cowboy boot that she had bought the other
day after work.

He rubbed
the smooth brown leather and traced the stitching that lined it.
Smiling, he said, “You wear them better than me.” He
dropped her foot and grabbed her flannel shirt, pulling her into a
hard kiss.

A small
whimper escaped her mouth as his mouth crushed against hers. His
hands gripped the small of her back and pulled her close enough so
their bodies were touching. He pulled away and said, “Are you
ready to eat?”

She shook
her head yes and, as they hopped into Ol’ Betsy, she grabbed
her hair in her hands and pulled it over her shoulder to keep the
wind from blowing it everywhere. “Where are we going?”
she asked as she rolled her window down to let some of the pent up
heat escape.

“It’s
a surprise,” he said, grinning.

She
huffed, “You know how much I hate surprises, Tyler Evans.”

“Yeah,
but you know how much I love them,” he said, as he pulled out
of the drive and out onto the road.

A few
minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of a place she had
never been called Saddle Creek Restaurant. She eyed the place, loving
the rustic feel of it and thought that it looked a little fancier
than where they normally went and was suddenly worried that she was
underdressed.

“You’re
dressed perfectly, Paige, so don’t worry. It’s not as
fancy as it looks on the outside,” he said as he got out of the
truck and met her on the other side. He grabbed her hand and pulled
her close to him, kissing the top of her head.

“Okay,
Tyler, you’d better be right,” she said as they went up
the limestone steps that led to the entrance.

After
getting a table and ordering their food, Tyler went into asking about
Kyra. Paige told him she was doing great and getting along really
well and that her crankiness had dwindled a lot in the past few
weeks.

“How
have you been coming along lately, with all the stress?” he
asked quietly, knowing the panic attacks had started again.

“I’m
doing my best to get it all under control, but sometimes I just need
to go into my bathroom alone and breathe and make myself calm down.
It’s hard, but it is letting up some now that Kyra is back to
feeling better. I think I was just so worried about her that it
triggered everything, again, but I think I’ll be okay, now,”
she said, giving him a wink.

“Good,
I’m glad. And you know you can always call me when you are in
that moment; maybe I can help you calm down,” he said as he
took a sip of his beer.

“You
are very good at calming me down. You are the calm that sweeps away
my stormy mind,” she said as she thought back to all the nights
when she had called him, crying as Kyra slept in her room. He had
been so patient and kind as he talked her through her emotions,
staying on the phone for hours some nights, until she had calmed down
completely. Paige never would have guessed the arrogant guy she’d
thought he was would be so caring and sweet. “It really means a
lot to me to have you understand and be there for me.”

Once their
dinner was finished and Paige had moved on to a small glass of wine,
Tyler reached out and took her hand. She looked up at him, feeling a
change in the air around them as he looked intently at her, his eyes
dancing all around her face. He squeezed her hand and swallowed
before he said, “Paige, there’s something I want to tell
you,” he said and Paige felt her body tense. She didn’t
know what he had on his mind but with the way he was acting he seemed
serious. He began rubbing his thumb across her hand as he paused for
a moment and looked down at his beer, his jaw clenching and
unclenching as he seemed to be trying to find the right words.
Finally he began again, “I want you to know that when you
become crazy with fear, panic or whatever anxiety is taking over your
mind at that time, I want to be there to help soothe them away for
you. I want to be by your side through everything that comes your
way, whether it be good or bad, because I love you, Paige, and when
I’m with you, I feel like I never want to leave your side.”

He kept
his eyes on hers the whole time as he spoke, and Paige saw the love
he had for her in his eyes. “Tyler, I love you, too, and you
mean so much to me that I don’t even know how to put it into
words,” she said and suddenly felt goose bumps roll up her arms
as she saw him holding something in his hand. Her heart began to
speed up and she felt her hands begin to tremble.

She
watched him take her right ring finger and slide a small diamond ring
on it. She was suddenly speechless and all she found she could do was
look down at her hand.

“Paige,
it’s a promise ring, don’t freak out,” Tyler said,
with a sly smile. “But I just wanted to get you this and let
you know that one day soon I’m going to ask you to marry me,
because you are my better half, the half I thought I didn’t
want.”

She looked
up at him, not knowing what to say, and saw a hint of worry cross his
face as she sat there speechless. She looked down at her ring again
and smiled, and when she looked back up at him, she saw his eyes
light up with passion. “Tyler, I love it. I’m
speechless,” she said, as she continued to examine the ring.

He leaned
forward and gripped her cheek, pulling her in for a kiss. His kiss
was soft, sweet, and as he pulled back he asked, “So does this
mean you want a future with me?”

Laughing,
she shook her head yes and kissed him again. He smiled against her
lips as she whispered, “I love you.”

As they
pulled apart, she picked up her wine glass, and as she brought it to
her mouth, she looked down and smiled at what was etched on the
glass. A golden horseshoe was intertwined around the words “Saddle
Creek Winery.”

“
A
horseshoe that could bring someone more than just luck
.”
Those words that were said to her so long ago echoed in her mind.
Natasha was right, her lucky horseshoe brought her luck when she was
in that car wreck but it also brought Tyler into her life. She knew
that it couldn’t have been just luck that brought her to the
love of her life; fate had also paved the path in the direction where
her forever lies.

The End

Dear Reader:

Thank you
for taking the time to read Where Forever Lies. This book is part of
a trilogy, but each book can be read as a stand alone. Book two will
be Kyleigh’s story. I don’t have a release date set yet,
but I’ll keep everyone posted. I would love to hear from you so
don’t hesitate to contact me. Also, it would mean so much to me
if you would take the time to leave an honest review. Reviews are
very important to authors and other readers. Your support means
everything to me!

To be
notified of my next release, you can sign up for my newsletter here
http://eepurl.com/MVm_f
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My newsletter will only be sent out when I have a new release.

~
Tara Neideffer
~

Also by Tara Neideffer
 

Deadly Road
When the Dead Whisper
 

Coming Soon
Under Haunted Skies
(A Mia Rushton Mystery # 2)

Tara
Neideffer was born and raised in Indiana with a love for animals,
especially horses. As a child she could always be found in the
saddle, running her horse at full speed through open fields. She also
has a love of ghost stories and a morbid fascination with watching
murder mystery shows. When she's not busy writing, she's taking care
of her animals, spending time with her family or reading. She still
lives in Indiana with her husband, daughter and stepson on twenty
acres, with too many animals to name.

You can find her at:
 
taraneideffer
.wordpress.com/tag/
tara-neideffer
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