Finding Forever (Living Again #4) (34 page)

“So, what did Dr. Blaise say?” Sam asked, taking a bite of her salad. Lacey had missed Sam a lot over the last few months. She had been busy after releasing her new album. But she was back now for a few months, and they were trying to spend as much time together as they could.

Lacey beamed. “In remission.”

“Wooo hooo,” Sam said. “Who’s the super star now, huh? I’m so happy for you, Lacey. What did you and Brant decide about the surgery? Are you going through with it?”

Lacey poked at her salad. Her taste buds were still not what they once were; eating was a chore rather than something enjoyable. “I’m going to do it.”

“Both?” Sam looked shocked.

She nodded. “I have to, Sam. I can’t take the chance that if I don’t do the hysterectomy that I’ll have to deal with this again in a few years. I know that there’s no guarantee either way, but it’s kind of like when I had the mastectomy I was going to do both if they suggested it. If Dr. West and Dr. Blaise both think it’s for the best that I do that, I can’t say no. It’s bad enough that I waited a whole other year longer than Dr. Blaise wanted me to for my mammogram. If I would’ve listened then, instead of being scared, who knows if I would’ve had to go through all of this. At that point, it might’ve only been in my breast and not spread to my lymph nodes. I was so stupid.”

“You can’t beat yourself up over that,” Sam said. “You had good reasons for being scared.”

“Still no excuse,” Lacey argued. “So this time I’m being smart. I’m listening to the doctors and following their recommendations. It’s bad enough that every time I go to the doctor for the rest of my life, I’ll be worried if that’s the time the cancer is going to come back.”

“And you’re doing the reconstruction because
you
want to, not because you think it’s what Brant would want?”

“Brant doesn’t care; I genuinely believe that. I want it because as much as I’ve been through, I want to feel normal again. I want to look at myself in the mirror and not cringe. I know that it’s never going to look like it used to, but it can look better than a wrinkled, scarred patch over my chest. And when I make love to Brant, I want to feel sexy.”

Sam smiled. “It sounds like you’ve really thought through all of this. Have you and Brant set a date yet? What about the whole surrogate thing?”

Lacey laughed. “Geesh, you want the info and you want it
now
,” she teased.

“That’s right, girl! Give it to me! I miss a lot of stuff in this crazy life I have.”

“I want to get married within the next few months, sometime after my reconstruction and surgery is all past us. I don’t want anything huge; something with just our families and friends is perfect. I want to have some more hair first,” she laughed, touching her short spikes.

“It’s growing so fast,” Sam said, reaching over and touching it. “It’s softer than Kerri’s hair.”

“As far as the surrogate thing, or adopting, I’m not sure. It’s all a little overwhelming. I’d like to say that we could be married for a bit before we decide all that, but we also know that whichever option we choose, it can take quite a while to actually have a baby. Right now, I’m just trying to get the final step of this cancer phase behind me, then marry Brant.”

“Marry Brant,” Sam repeated. “Do you know how happy that makes me to hear you say that? A year ago there was no way in hell you thought you were getting married.”

“I’m not the same person I was then,” Lacey admitted. “I mean, I am. But Brant has changed me for the better. He showed me that loving someone isn’t a weakness. I honestly don’t think I would’ve survived this without him. And I’m not saying that like I couldn’t have done it. We both know I could’ve beat the cancer. But where I am in my life right now, I owe all of that to Brant Tucker falling in love with me.”

“He surely never let you give up,” Sam agreed. “You needed him. He was the person supposed to be with you through this.”

“Did I ever tell you I had a dream about my mom, and she was telling me that Brant was in my life for a reason?”

Sam’s fork clattered to the table, making both of them jump. “You’re kidding me.”

Lacey shook her head. “No. We were walking the river, and I was so happy to be seeing her again. Then she told me that he was in my life for a reason. We were standing right where we spread her ashes all those years ago.”

“Lace,” Sam breathed. “That gives me goose bumps.” She held out her arm to prove it. “Do you think that was really a dream, or her?”

Lacey shrugged. “I like to think it’s her. She said she’s always watching out for me. It was like she was telling me that she sent me Brant, to be there for me when she couldn’t.”

Sam fanned her face, blinking her eyes. “You’re going to make me bawl my eyes out. I completely believe that was her, not just a dream. Oh, I have something that I wanted to talk to you about.”

“That sounds serious.”

“Ellis and I have been talking, ever since you told me what the doctor said,” she began, and Lacey felt the tears coming. She had no idea what she was going to say, but she knew it was going to be classic Sam. “I want you to talk to Brant about this and when you’re ready, we could work it out.”

“What are you talking about?” Lacey laughed nervously.

“I want to be your surrogate,” Sam announced. Lacey’s mouth dropped. Never in a million years was that what she thought she was going to say. She couldn’t stop the tears from filling her eyes this time.

“Samantha Warner,” Lacey choked out, getting up to hug her best friend. “You’re the most selfless person I’ve ever known.”

“I mean it,” she said. “I’d do anything for you, Lace.”

“I know you would,” Lacey answered, wiping her eyes as she sat back down. “You’ve shown that over and over again. Thank you. Are you sure? I mean, your life is so crazy busy.”

“Never too busy for you. I’d cancel anything to help you.”

“Speaking of things you’ve done to help me,” Lacey said. “Guess where we’re going when we leave here?”

“You’re really going to do it?”

“Yes. It’s the right thing to do. It feels like what I’m supposed to do with the money.”

“Then you know I’m right there with you. Ready to go?” Sam stood, holding her hand out. The two friends walked from the restaurant, their hands linked.

“Sign here and here,” the agent said. Lacey signed her name in the required spots, then sat back and beamed at Sam.

“Since this is a cash offer, how soon will I know if they’ve accepted?”

The agent smiled. “Ms. Russell, I would expect that you would hear something by tomorrow. I wouldn’t see why they would object. You’ve gone above list price on your offer, with no contingencies.”

Lacey nodded, holding out her hand to shake the agent’s hand. “Thank you, Don, for all of your help. I’ll look forward to your call.”

He looked at her, taking in her almost nonexistent hair, then at Sam, the mega country star. She knew he didn’t know what to make of her, but with Sam there, he knew she wasn’t blowing smoke. She had the money and had proved it.

“Thanks for the business, Ms. Russell, Mrs. Warner. Have a good day.”

Sam held the door for Lacey as they exited the office.

“I think the guy just ran to the door to watch you walk out,” Lacey giggled. “He’s probably licking the window right now. He was
totally
fangirling over you in there. He could barely show me where to sign. What does that feel like?”

“Oh, stop it,” Sam laughed, unlocking the doors. “So he asked me for my autograph. That’s no big deal.”

“
And
a picture with you?” Lacey roared. “The man’s like forty years old.”

“Maybe it’s for his daughter,” Sam laughed. “I don’t ask anymore. Anyway, focus, Lace. Do you know how proud I am for what you just did? When are you going to tell him?”

Lacey tapped her finger on her lips. “I’m not sure. But I need to make it really good.”

“Hmmm…” Sam said. “You could tell him in bed. That’s always a good time to tell the man you love something. They really listen then.”

They laughed all the way back to Lacey’s house.

“There’s an offer on the ranch,” his dad said. Lacey had set up the visit, and Brant was glad. It was weird, but he actually looked forward to the time that they spent together now, all because of Lacey.

“Really? That’s amazing!” Brant wasn’t sure how he felt about that, guilt still seeping in even though his dad hadn’t made him feel guilty at all. “Is it decent?”

His dad’s eyes shone. “This is the best part. It’s a
cash
offer, and it’s
above
asking price.”

Brant looked over at Lacey, whose smile looked like the cat that ate the canary. What was going on with her? “Why would someone give you more than you’re asking?”

Robert shook his head. “I have no idea. Our realtor said that maybe they think it’s worth the price, or they know the reputation. I couldn’t sign those papers fast enough.”

“So it’s a done deal?” Brant was so happy for his parents, but the fact that they were going to have to move out of the only home they’d ever had made him feel sick to his stomach.

“Well, nothing’s done until it’s done and I have the money,” he answered. “But, I accepted the offer.”

“Where are you going to go?”

“We’re going to stay in Nashville. We thought we’d look closer to you and Lacey, if that’s okay.”

Brant smiled, reaching for Lacey’s hand. She still looked ridiculously happy, and he wondered again what was going on with her. “Of course that’s okay. I love Lacey’s neighborhood.”

Lacey sat up, clearing her throat. Everyone looked at her. “You won’t be moving.”

“What?” Brant was confused. She wasn’t making sense. Was she feeling okay? They had just said they were moving.

She looked over at him briefly, then back to his parents. “Robert, Jane, I bought the ranch.”

Robert looked at her blankly, exactly the way Brant felt. What was she talking about? “You what?”

Jane, obviously on the same wavelength as Lacey, covered her mouth with her hands. Brant looked back and forth between Lacey and his parents.

“I bought the ranch. You aren’t moving. It’s yours, for as long as you want it.”

When Robert recovered from what she said, all that came out was, “How?”

It was then that it clicked for Brant. The money that Sam had given her from the benefit. Over the last few months, he had asked her what she wanted to use it for. “The money,” he whispered.

She turned to him, her eyes dancing with mischief. “Yes.”

“Can someone help me here? What’s going on?” Robert said.

Lacey smiled, and Brant thought that he couldn’t possibly be more in love with her than he was at that second. This from a woman that said she wasn’t worth being in a relationship with and she had just given his family their ranch back.

“When I started down this path, my best friend Sam did a benefit for me, remember? While we were in Florida?”

Jane nodded, seemingly understanding. Robert looked at his wife, then back at Lacey.

“She raised a ridiculous amount of money for me. Money that I’ve been holding onto for the right purpose. I can’t think of a better way to use it than to keep your ranch in the Tucker family, where it belongs. So the cash offer is mine, but it’s really just to give to you, not for you to sell to me. It belongs to you, and I want you to keep it.”

Brant watched as his dad registered what Lacey just said. His mom was already up and hugging Lacey, tears streaming down her face. Robert looked at his son, and Brant watched as his throat worked, trying to get the words past the lump in his throat.

“You’ve got yourself one hell of a woman,” he finally choked out.

Brant laughed. “Don’t I know it,” he answered, shaking his head. “She never ceases to amaze me.” He stood, walking over to his mom and Lacey and embracing them both at the same time. Within moments, his dad joined, and the four of them stood, holding onto each other.

“I can never thank you enough,” Robert said. “This is so hard for me, accepting this from you.”

“Don’t think about it that way. I always knew I was going to do something that would benefit someone else with that money. I couldn’t fathom keeping all of that for myself when there are so many other people in need. Brant and I, we have what we need and we’re young and can earn our way. But you, you’ve worked so hard for all of this and I just couldn’t let someone take it away from you and change it. You
are
Tucker Ranch. And if you need more staff to help you be able to take a step back, then let me know and I’ll work on that, too.”