"You'd do that?" She gasped, staring at him with new hope.
"Sure, why not? But I intend on making it work out between us. If we do this, I want it to work. Understand?"
"Alright. How long an engagement?"
"Three months…"
"That's not very long." She chuckled.
"I want you with me." He said softly. "A man can't run a place, without someone that cares by his side. We need each other. Maybe it's time we both owned up to that. We always have, you know that. And I got a feeling, deep inside me that says everything will work out. And Lilly?"
She looked at him.
"Maybe in time, the words will come easier for us. Both of us."
"Alright, three months…" She relented and started to walk back to the house.
"One thing…Pedro stays. He's my friend and I need help out here. I can't do it alone."
"Of course, I like Pedro and his family."
"Good."
She started to walk back to the house again and he stopped her.
"Don't I get a little kiss?" He asked turning her to face him. "I mean…I did just propose."
"Of course…" She smiled and reached to peck his cheek, but he was having none of that. He pulled her fully into his arms and kissed her tenderly. It was such a sweet promise she clung to him for a second allowing the kiss to deepen.
He growled in his throat and brought her closer, whispering in her ear as he came up for air.
"Kissing you is a real pleasure Lilly. The only pleasure I've had since I've come home."
"That's lust Cord, not love…" She breathed heavily.
"Is it? Are you so sure?" His blue eyes sparkled into hers.
Chapter Five
As everyone was leaving, Cord asked Lilly to stay for a while longer. Pedro was still there, with his family. He seemed to study the place a while on his own.
"Alright…" she called Charlie inside.
Charlie came running in with a flushed face from running in the sun. He'd been playing games with the Pedro's children and was a little out of breath.
"Are we going now Ma?" He asked.
"No…not just yet." She looked at her son as Cord went into the back room. "Charlie, what do you think of Cord?"
Charlie shrugged. "I don't know. He's alright, I guess. Is he a real gunman like they say?"
"I was, yes." Cord answered as he strolled back into the room.
"What would you think of living out here…with him?" Lilly asked, watching his facial expression.
"Here? But why?"
"Because your mother and I are getting engaged today. And I'm giving her an engagement r