Page 177 of Westin

“What about the bedrooms upstairs?” I ask, turning to look up at him.

The corner of his mouth jerks up.

“Those rooms are for the babies,” he says.

My brows shoot up. “What babies are those, Mr. Quinn?”

He picks me up and tosses me onto the bed before he climbs on top of me. “The babies we’re about to make in this bed,” he says, burying his face in my neck. “Goddamn, you smell so sweet, darling.”

After we break in the bed, he gets the overnight bag from the truck. I chase Billie to the barn. Somehow, Westin found time to bring Gracey and Sunshine back to their stalls. They’re settled in with clean water and hay. I take a minute to scratch their ears. Then, I’m headed over the field to the willow grove.

He doesn’t follow me.

The gate is brand new. There’s a real latch that closes when it swings shut. The grass is cut back and…he bought headstones for my parents. They’re modest, but they match my Nana’s perfectly.

I stand there, arms around my body, staring up at the sky with tears streaming down my face.

I don’t need to close my eyes and see my Nana’s face to know she’s smiling. It’s in the soft, autumn wind in the willow branches. It’s in the sun creeping towards the dusky blue mountains. It winds through the shadows at the edge of the woods. It ripples through the golden grass, and it follows me like a whisper as I take the path back home.

I did my share of waiting, of talking to the dead.

It’s time to get to living.

Westin is on the front porch, sitting in the same chair from the day he took me out on our first date. His long legs are sprawled out, his hat pulled low. I step between his boots and take his hands.

“Thank you,” I say, my voice fragile. “For everything.”

He just gives me that slow smile. “Anything for you, darling.”

Over the next few days, we slowly move our things from the gatehouse. Then suddenly, we’re waving goodbye to the ranch. Sovereign stands on the porch with Keira at his side, her hand on her growing stomach. I watch as they fade away down the driveway.

Then, it’s just us. It feels incredibly significant, and not only for me. Westin went from living with his father to spending every day with Sovereign. This will be his first home that belongs to him. I’ve never had a choice where and how I want to live. Now, we’re striking out on our own.

The future is big and full of possibilities, and there’s no one I’d rather discover it with than Westin.

Three days after moving in, I get up one morning and go to brush my teeth. Westin is already out in the barn. I hear him calling Billie and Red, the border collie who used to belong to David. I lean over and look through the bathroom window to see him leading Sunshine and Rocky out to the back pasture.

I crack the window. The air smells like winter.

I’m ready to settle down until spring comes. The house is cozy, the barn full.

I go to put my toothbrush back and pick up my birth control. My hands falter. A strange feeling creeps over me that takes me a minute to identify.

I think I’m ready for a baby. Westin has been ready since the day he met me, and he’s not shy about voicing it. My body never felt safe enough to entertain the thought. Now, I think it does. Quietly, I put the packet away in the drawer and fold a washcloth over it.

He comes in, bringing crisp air on his clothes. It’s free-use night. Somehow, it’s so much more exciting knowing I didn’t take my pill. We eat in the dining room. He goes out to lock up the barn. I clean the kitchen and shower before bed.

When he comes back in, I’m in the slip he likes, waiting at the foot of the bed. He doesn’t look at me; he just walks right past. I stay perfectly still, back straight, hands folded in my lap.

He comes out looking like sin in those sweatpants. I keep my eyes on my hands. I hear him sliding the little compartment on the bed frame open and taking my restraints out.

My heart hammers.

“Come here, darling,” he says.

I go to him, letting him help me up on the bed. He fastens my wrists above my head before he kneels between my legs and slips a blindfold over my eyes.

Every sense comes alive.

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