“Thank you, doctor. You have no idea how much this means to me,” Faith said, holding his hands and kissing his knuckles in gratitude. “No worries, Miss Hilton. You should thank Grace Fisher for convincing the board to put Cheyenne on the list,” he replied. Faith looked at Connor with a smile on her face and without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Thank you so much for being here, saving my daughter.” Connor smiled at her as she pulled back while he held her hands, looking straight into her beautiful eyes. He put a strand of hair behind her ear, making her feel slightly uncomfortable, especially since she was with Gunner and another man touching her intimately was not appropriate. As if sensing her tension, he pulled away, apologizing for touching her that way. “How about I invite you for coffee? We can catch up for old times sake,” he offered, and just as she was about to accept the invitation, Gunner walked in with a frown on his face whil
Palmer woke up with the morning sun sneaking through their silky curtains, stretching her limbs as she sighed contentedly. Rubbing her eyes open, she looked to her side, only to find Christopher sitting at the edge of the bed, groaning. “What’s wrong?” she asked, scooting over to him while covering her naked body with the sheets. They had made love all night, but there was something strange about their passionate moment. It was as if Christopher wasn’t there with her. “Nothing, baby. I guess you just exhausted me last night,” he replied, getting up from the bed, holding back a groan of pain on his penis before heading towards the bathroom to take a shower. Determined to find out what had Christopher acting that way, Palmer put on a bathrobe and followed him. As she opened the door, she saw him standing in the shower, his hand against the wall, and his head hung low. She sighed, took her bathrobe off, and joined him, embracing him from behind as she kissed his back, suddenly conce
A few moments later, Gunner came back with the cup of tea. “Here, this should calm you down a bit,” he mentioned. “Thank you,” she replied, taking a sip before facing Faith again, “I don’t want to think he’s having problems in that area. It would devastate him to know he won’t be able to procreate.” “You don’t know if that’s the problem. Wait for him to tell you after he finds out what’s wrong with him,” Faith replied, rubbing her back. Dr. Miles and Connor walked out of the operation room and approached them with big smiles on their faces, shaking Gunner’s hand. “How’s my daughter, doctor?” he asked after he she stood up from the chair and approached them. “The surgery went well. All we need to do is keep her in the recovery room, and then we’ll let you know when you can see her. We’ll keep a close eye on her to make sure she won’t reject the heart given to her,” Dr. Miles said, and that didn’t soothe Faith’s nerves. “What do you mean, make sure she doesn't reject it?” she aske
Weeks have gone by and little Cheyenne was finally ready to be discharged. After a few follow-ups, the doctors have decided to send her home, ordering Faith and Gunner to bring her back every month for a regular check-up. “Thank you so much, doctor. You have no idea how happy it makes me seeing my daughter healthy,” Faith said as she dressed her up, Cheyenne showing her happy smile at her mother while she tugged at her curls. “It was nothing really. You should thank Grace Fisher and her son. They were both able to make a valid point to save this little one's life,” he replied, ruffling Cheyenne's hair, making her squeal and giggle. The nurse walked in with the discharge papers, handing them to Faith as Gunner picked their daughter up in his arms and walked out of the room; towards the exit. The ride back to their home was silent, tense even, as they made their way through the beautiful landscapes Cheyenne loved to see every time they took a trip. “Ma-ma! Cows!” She screamed exc
“So, Palmer. When are you and Christopher going to give me grandkids?” Grace asked again, just like the other day, as they put the food on the dining table. Hearing that request from his mother from the doorway, he couldn’t help but tense while he looked at Thomas, who patted his shoulder in a sympathetic manner. Palmer shrugged her shoulders, but at that moment, she saw their men walk in with the plate of meat. She smiled, striding towards her husband to give him a kiss. “Hello, handsome. Did you have a good time outside?” she asked. He gave her a faint smile, but she had noticed it was not the usual smile he always had. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m okay. Just hungry, so let’s join Mom and Thomas,” he replied, putting his arm on her shoulder before leading her to the dining area to enjoy the dinner. The evening was enjoyable as they chatted and joked about their daily routines, lightening up the tension in Christopher’s body. That was, until Grace asked them again the questi
Faith woke up with the whines of her daughter and the soothing voice of her fiancé singing to her through the monitor. It warmed her heart to see how much her two most important people in her life loved each other. The fear of losing Cheyenne was stressful and it almost put a toll on their relationship, especially knowing Connor was there. But why did she have a feeling it was not over yet? The house phone rang, pulling her out of her thoughts, and when she answered, Cindy spoke excitedly from the other side. “Hi, my dear daughter. I was wondering if you wanted to come for breakfast today,” she mentioned as Faith heard some shuffling around, realizing she must have been cooking up a storm. “Hello, Mom. What are you planning?” she asked, knowing her mother very well. Unless there was something very important that she needed to say, she wouldn’t call this early, or prepare breakfast for anyone unless they would tell them Gunner and her would visit. “Nothing, we just want to cel
Faith looked at him and scoffed in disbelief as he stood up from the chair and grabbed Cheyenne in his arms, walking out of the house. She put the napkin on the table, stood up, and hugged her parents, apologizing for Gunner's behavior. “I’ll see you later,” she said, kissing them on their foreheads, a habit she always had since she was a kid. Connor stood up and taking advantage of Gunner not being present, attempted to kiss her cheek, but she moved away. “Come on, Faith. Are you going to let your fiancé tell you what to do? He’s not even your husband,” he mentioned with a smile. She rolled her eyes, annoyed at what just happened. “He’s not my husband, but he deserves respect, and you surely didn’t give him that. How dare you flirt with me in front of him, and with my daughter present as well?” Faith didn’t let him say anything else when she stormed out of the house, getting in the truck where Gunner sat silently before they drove back to their house. They were both uncomfortably
“Are you nervous?” Palmer asked Christopher as they sat down in the waiting area, expecting their turn. “A little, yes,” he replied, holding her hand tightly, knowing she was trying to comfort him. She hated seeing him this anxious, just like he used to be when she met him. It had taken her a bit of work to bring him out of his shell, and she didn’t want him to go back to it. “Christopher Melbourne?” A nurse called and before they walked in, Palmer gave him an encouraging look. “Let’s go.” She whispered, kissing his cheek. They both stood up and followed the nurse to an examination room, where Christopher would know the answer to his doubt. As they sat down, Palmer suddenly felt dizzy, but closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to hold it all in as a wave of nausea was threatening to make her vomit. “You look pale, love,” he mentioned. Palmer just waved her hand, dismissing the comment. “I’m fine,” she replied, smiling at him just as the nurse was checking his blood p
Months had gone by, and life had been such a treasure. The friends had made peace with each other, and as soon as the contract was up, Christopher and Palmer had handed Gunner and Faith the ownership of their home. It was now theirs, with no debt, no foreclosure, and no man wanting to steal it from them. Now, they each waited inside the maternity room, a curtain separating their wives as both of them found themselves giving birth on the same day. Faith breathed while Gunner frantically tried to make her comfortable, fluffing her pillow and whispering soothing words as the doctor ordered her to push. Few minutes had gone by, and the cry of a baby boy echoed in the room, bringing joy to the couple. “Oh, wait until Cheyenne meets him,” Faith said as the nurse handed her her son after a thorough cleaning. “She’ll be over the moon,” Gunner replied, kissing her forehead. “I am so proud of you, my caramel queen.” “No, proud of both of us. We did this together. All of it.” She repli
Gunner followed Faith’s beat up car back home, pondering over every single thing he did and how he had failed his family. Turns out, he never did. He needed to see he was the luckiest man in the world. He had amazing friends, a wonderful mother and a wife who he loved more than anything, even with his flaws. Not to mention a little girl who adored him. Who saw him as her hero. And now, they have been blessed with another little bundle of joy. If they didn’t deserve it, God wouldn’t have let them conceive another baby. With a smile on his face, he remembered the moments with Faith. That day in the janitor’s closet, eating lunch together. The time he stood up to her father for her love and the right to be her boyfriend. And when he met Christopher, a shy guy who kept to himself, until Palmer had helped him get out of his shell. Oh, how he missed those moments in school. It was all simpler. Pulling his truck over at the side of the road, he turned the ignition off and pressed
Gunner covered his couch in his office with a sheet and tossed a couple of pillows from his truck before he sat down, leaning his head on the backrest and looking up into the ceiling. He thought of getting back into his truck and following his wife as soon as he saw her car disappear through the corner of the street, but he was as stubborn as she was sweet, and his body wouldn’t let him move, except towards his clinic. The sound of the cages and the dogs barking didn’t let him sleep, and he spent most of the day and night with his eyes wide open, thinking about what he has done. Maybe he was, indeed, overreacting, and he had to thank his friends for saving his ranch. But that didn’t take the fact that they had hidden it from him and Faith. “What am I going to do?” He said, running his hand through his blonde, now disheveled hair. Leaning forwards, he set his elbows on his knees, rubbing his hands together. His heart ached, and he felt lonely inside his office. Since he had Fait
Gunner pulled over in front of his clinic, sighing as he looked at the locked door. He had given Samantha and Gina a day off as he wanted to celebrate for the day. But he never imagined it would go the way it did. Stepping out of his truck, he looked back at Faith, who had parked behind him, staring at him from behind the windshield. He could see her eyes were glassy and red from where he was standing and approached her vehicle, opening the door and crouching by her side. “It’s going to be fine, sweetheart,” he said, raising his hand to cup her cheek. Faith sobbed, turning to face him as they both lost themselves in a sweet embrace, the pain of losing their home getting to them. “Why do things keep happening to us?” she asked in a whisper, hiding her face on his shoulder while tears damped his shirt. “We need to just take it one day at a time.” Faith pulled back and looked at his blue eyes. “What if we overreacted? Maybe they’re right. We would have lost your ranch to Gray, an
Palmer could sense the awkward tension coming from their friends, and urged Christopher to sit, joining him shortly after she served everyone their coffee. As she set the mugs down, she could feel Faith’s gaze on her, and it wasn’t a happy one. “Well, we’re all ears. What questions might you have?” Christopher asked, thanking his wife with a kiss before he sipped his coffee. Gunner gazed at Faith as he held her hands while she nodded, giving him the approval to ask them. She also needed answers. He sighed, bit his lips, and frowned. “We want to know why did you lie to us?” Palmer stared at Christopher, confused. “We don’t know what you’re talking about, Gunner. We would never lie to you,” her husband replied. “Then why did Gray Jones come to our… oh, excuse me… now it’s yours as he said you bought it and paid our debts. Why did you lie to us, telling us that my father was never in such debts and that he had enough money to go around?” “Gunner…” Palmer started, but he glare
“Good morning, my beautiful queen,” Gunner said, wrapping his wife in his arms, snuggling against her as he smelled the lavender shampoo from her hair. “How did you sleep?” “I slept better than a baby,” she whispered, looking over her shoulder to smile at him, the look of love in his eyes giving her goosebumps. There was no one that could compare with her husband when it came to cherish the moments with her. “I feel guilty because Palmer and Chris couldn’t have their honeymoon, and here we are; we enjoyed our wedding night while they babysat Cheyenne,” she added. “Don’t worry, we’ll make it up to them. Now, let’s have a quick breakfast, pick her up at their ranch and then maybe have a picnic in the hills?” Faith hummed. “That sounds lovely.” They both stepped out of their bed, ready for a fun-filled day with their daughter. As Gunner headed to the bathroom, Faith couldn’t help but stare at her wedding ring, a small diamond sat on it and the reality of being his wife hit her with
“Well, that was quite the surprise. Thank you, my love,” Faith pointed out as she tried to take the flower off her hair, kicking her shoes off in the mudroom before she made her way towards the kitchen, ready to boil some water for a much-needed tea. She set the full teapot on the stove, turning the heat. Gunner stood at the doorway, leaning against it as he admired his wife moving back and forth in the kitchen. He thought of himself as the luckiest man on Earth, having such a wonderful woman to call his wife and the mother of his child; now his children. “Are you okay?” Faith grabbed the hem of her dress and walked towards him, his blue eyes boring into her soul, just as he had done years ago. “Nothing. I just can’t believe you’re mine. I never thought a girl like you would ever accept to be with a boy like me.” Faith frowned. “Why wouldn’t I? You were the most popular boy in school.” “But you were the one playing hard to get.” Faith bit her lips, smiling at him shamelessly
“Do you even know where he is?” Faith asked, curiously as she pulled Chloe towards one booth, both of them sitting down comfortably. “I don’t know. All I know is that he’s some big-shot football player, but we’re not here to talk about him. We’re here to celebrate your wedding.” Chloe tried to sound cheerful, but she knew even if Faith only met her a few times in school, she could sense when someone was truly hurting emotionally. “Nonsense, Chloe. We might not be close, but you are part of this town, and we were schoolmates. You and Hunter looked so cute together. He was such a puppy when it came to you. It beat having to deal with his bully ways. You were the only one who could tame him so he could leave Christopher and Palmer alone.” They both chuckled at her comment, but Chloe knew she was right. Loving Hunter had been the best thing to ever happen to her. She could see the difference in him when they were together. He even smiled often. “Why don’t you try calling him? Who k
“What are you doing here? I thought you would go back to Chicago after my daughter’s surgery,” Faith said as she stood in front of her husband, hoping to keep him from getting into a fight. Knowing his impulses, she wanted to keep the peace. “I was going back to Chicago, but…” he smiled. “I heard your husband here is about to lose everything, and I thought you would consider going back with me,” Connor replied, not a hint of shame in his eyes as he stepped closer. Gunner took a step towards him, but Faith instinctively turned around and put her hands on his chest, looking at his blue eyes, filled with rage. “Gunner, no please,” she whispered. “Our daughter is here, and she won’t want to see her father get into a fight. It will scare her. Besides, it's our wedding day and I am starving. We need to celebrate. Remember, no one exists but us?” “I can’t let him get away with that kind of comment. Especially when you’re my wife,” he replied, but his eyes were set on the man in front o