my stomach, and for a moment I thought I might let go of Linnzi.
She placed her hand on the side of my face and gave me the sweetest smile. “It’s time we left the past in the past, Nolan. We need to move forward, and the only way we can do that is to stop looking back.”
I nodded and turned and headed down the steps, and then down the hall that led to my parents’ old room.
The door was partially ajar, so I pushed it open with my elbow and froze when I saw the room. It looked completely different. A large, rustic, tufted headboard in a curved shape sat in the middle of the room with matching side tables on either side. A large dresser sat across from it. Light blue curtains hung on all the windows, and a settee sat in the nook area with a blue throw rug draped over it.
“You did all of this today?”
She snuggled her head against my chest and yawned. “I did. Well, I saw the bedroom set yesterday and bought it. I arranged for them to deliver it first thing this morning. Truitt, Ryan, and Roger all moved the old furniture out and put it in the storage shed in the back. I wasn’t sure what you would want to do with it. Saryn and my mother helped me get things put up in the room. Do you like it?”
I smiled and looked down at her. “It looks like something you would like.”
She smirked. “Do you like it, though?”
Kissing her forehead, I replied, “I love it. Come on, let’s get you into bed.”
Linnzi slowly slid down my body and held onto my arms, trying to gain her balance as her feet hit the floor. “Will you undress me, Nolan?”
Without a second to spare, I quickly got to work stripping her out of her clothes. I picked her up again and carried her to the bed. I pulled back the covers and gently laid her down, then kissed her on the forehead. She sighed in contentment as she snuggled into the pillow while I covered her up.
“Will you help Belle up onto the bed?” she asked.
Smiling, I reached for the puppy and set her down next to Linnzi. Duke jumped up, did a few circles, and then planted himself at Linnzi’s feet.
“Are you going to get undressed and get into bed?” she asked, yawning again.
I didn’t realize I was tired, but suddenly it felt like I could sleep for days. I walked to the other side of the bed, took off my clothes and tossed them onto the floor near Linnzi’s. I climbed under the covers, pulled her up against me, and kissed the back of her head. “Go to sleep, princess, I’ve got you.”
Linnzi sighed and snuggled closer to me as I felt my body relax completely.
“Nolan?” she whispered.
“Yes?”
“How is it you’re here?”
“We’ll talk about it later, after you sleep.”
She nodded. Another minute went by and she asked, “Nolan?”
I pressed a kiss to her head. “Yes?”
“Did you have a funeral for Amanda?”
My body froze, and I fought to keep my voice controlled. “A small one, with me and your folks.”
“Where is she buried?”
“Here, on the ranch, next to my folks. Would you like to go and visit her grave?”
She sniffled and whispered, “Yes. I would.”
Drawing her body closer to mine, I replied, “Okay, just tell me when you want to go.”
She let out a long, deep breath. “Okay.” After a few minutes, she spoke again. “Nolan?”
“Yes?” I asked, chuckling.
“When can we get married?”
My eyes popped open, and I stared at the back of her head. I fought the urge to reach over and pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. “I’ll marry you whenever you want, Linz.”
“Let’s get married this weekend.”
“This weekend?” I asked, surprised.
“Yes. Just you and me, no one else.”
My heartbeat picked up, and I tried not to let myself get too excited at the idea of finally making Linnzi officially mine. “Where? I mean, did you have a place in mind where you wanted to get married?”
She sighed happily again. “We can get the license and then have Pastor Scott marry us down by Cibolo Creek.”
My mind raced for a moment. We could easily get our marriage license, and I knew Pastor Scott would drop anything for me and Linnzi. “Are you sure?”
She turned slightly and looked at me. “Do you not want to get married that quickly?”
“Hell yes, I do. I only want to make sure you