Page 22 of Prairie Nights

“I wished for someone like you. I love you, Whitney.” he professed, not wanting to hold back his feelings anymore. Hearing her breath hitch with his declaration, she exhaled, the smoky tendrils of her warm breath swirling around her in the cold winter night. Whitney’s hand came up, cupping his cheek, her thumb smoothing over it affectionately.

“I love you too, Hayden.” she whispered on a breath, her words the sweetest sound to his ear. Pulling him closer, their hot breaths mingling as Whitney found his lips in the dark and kissed him long and deep, as all doubts as to her feelings for him dissipated.

Breaking their embrace, Hayden hopped down from the tailgate, spread his arms out wide and yelled towards the night sky. “Whitney Faris loves me!”

Whitney laughed at his proclamation to the universe as he stalked over and captured his lips in another passionate kiss. Their love, like two radiant stars lighting up the prairie night.

CHAPTER 9

Hayden pulled into the drive of Prairie Sky and made his way to the barn. It was late afternoon on a Saturday, and Ben needed help to prepare the barn for the winter months. The late November cold had fully set in, along with copious amounts of snow, so they needed to prepare space for the animals.

“Hey, Bro.” Hayden greeted his brother, who was getting some feed into a pail to help them wrangle up the livestock.

“Hayden, glad you’re here,” he responded, handing him a pail of feed. “Ever would have helped me with this, but I want her to take it easy over the next while.”

“You realize, Ever, Whitney and Bea are out shopping right now in St. Augustine, right?” Hayden asked.

“Yeah, I know, but I just don’t want her hurting herself in the barn or with the livestock.”

Hayden nodded and gave his brother a grin, knowing how protective he was with Ever. Now, with two babies on the way, his protective instincts were tenfold.

As they bedded the box stalls with straw, Hayden glanced at his big brother and asked. “Are you ready to be a dad?”

Ben met his gaze with a broad, happy smile covering his face. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

Hayden looked at his brother, imagining this larger-than-life man holding two little bundles in his arms. His heart swelled with joy at the thought as he commented. “You are going to be an awesome dad!”

Ben, a man of few words, grinned his simple way of thanking him for the compliment. “So, how are things going with you and Whitney?” he asked, turning the tables.

“Great! After dinner here last weekend, I brought her out to Baker’s field.”

Ben stopped what he was doing, his eyes darting over to Hayden, a smile tugging at his lips. “Did you bring her there to show her the stars?” Ben asked, that spot well known as a sort of lover’s lane in Primrose.

“I did, and to tell her I love her,” he replied, bracing himself for Ben’s reaction.

“What did she say?” Ben asked, squinting his eyes.

“She said she loves me, too.”

Ben flashed him an approving smile. “Hayden, I’m truly happy for you.”

Hayden felt emotion rise in his chest at his brother’s approval. Having looked up to big brother his entire life, his support meant the world to him. Simply knowing that his brother acknowledged his happiness and approved of his relationship with Whitney was all he needed.

* * *

Whitney, Ever and Bea settled into a table in the corner of a gourmet coffee shop in St. Augustine.

“I miss coffee already.” Ever lamented, staring sadly at her cup of rooibos tea.

“Poor babies.” Bea remarked, reaching over to touch Ever’s belly.

Whitney laughed at Bea’s response and took a sip of her black coffee, savoring the warm, bitter liquid.

“So, the Primrose rumour mill is going crazy,” mentioned Bea with a look of inquiry on her face. “Lots of buzz about a certain handsome hardware store owner and his fancy city girlfriend.”

“Really!” Whitney laughed.

“You know you're part of the community when you’re being gossiped about,” Bea said with a wink as she stirred her latte. “So, catch me up!” Bea exclaimed, sitting back and crossing her arms over her chest. “I feel a little out of the loop.”

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