Country at Heart (Country Man Series: Book two. Luke Bryan Love Story)

Chapter Sixteen

Sarah's POV

I leave Lizzy standing motionless in the driveway of her house. I turn on my heels and walk to my car, wiping away my fake tears.

That was way too easy.  Luke will be mine again.

I drive four hours back home, getting stopped at every stop light. I finally pull into the driveway of my small, 2 bedroom home. I step out of the car and watch the front door swing open, and my seven year old, Holden, runs out.

"Mommy!" He squeals and I scoop him up into my arms. "I missed you, Mommy" he says and I carry him inside. "Daddy left an hour ago." He explains as I set him down and search the kitchen for dinner.

"He's not your father." I simply say as I heat up left over Mac and Cheese for Holden. I sit down next to him and take his hand, praying, before he eats. The microwave beeps and I set the food down in front of him. "I'll be in the office if you need me, honey

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Liz POV

A few hours pass and I'm laying facedown on my bed, trying to understand what happened today. Sarah, a girl I barely remember, is trying to ruin my life once again.

I roll onto my back and stare at the ring Luke gave me. Can I even marry him? If I do she'll just make my life a living hell and we will never be happy. I want a family with him, a life away from all of this. But that won't happen if she's still a threat.

I slip off the ring and play with it in my fingers.  My eyes never break away from the perfectly cut diamond and gold setting. I set it down on the bed and stand up. Walking out of the barn and down the dirt path to Ian's family's cemetery, small tears roll down my cheeks. I walk through the fence guarding the cemetery. Ian's grave is in the far back corner under the huge oak try we used to play under before they turned this land into the cemetery. Only two people are laid to rest here. First his father, now Ian. I make my way slowly to the grave stone under the tree and I fall down to my knees beside it. I softly run my finger tips over the top of the stone.

"Well Ian. It finally happened. He proposed." I say, taking a deep breath through the tears. " I said yes. I wish you were here though. You'd be the best person to help me through this ." I wipe away the tears and then I can't keep them from following. They fall endlessly until I feel a hand on my shoulder. I silently wish it was Ian, that's not possible though. I turn around and look up at Luke.

"I thought I'd find you here." He sweetly says and gets down next to me. He hold up the ring between this thumb and index finger. "Care to explain."

I do a long sigh and finally answer. "Sarah talked to me-"

"When was this? I'll get that bitch killed! Did she threaten you?" Luke's anger rises and I hold his wrist to keep him from standing.

"Luke, I'm fine. She's just got me thinking. She's never going to leave us alone. She's the one that got Ian killed." I start to tear up again. "I want a family with you. I want us to be happy but if we  have a baby, the world won't be safe for it. Luke, are we making the right choice?" I lean against his shoulder and he wraps his arm around mine.

"Do you love me, Lizzy?" Is all he says.

"Of course."

"Then Sarah, Ezra, Mark, whoever shouldn't get in the way. If you want a family, I want one too, we can move far away where no one will ever find us and we can have our own little family" he kisses my forehead and I instantly feel better. He slides the ring back onto my finger and presses his lips to mine. " I love you"

"I love you more."