Page 140 of Westin

I’m speechless. I know how much that land means to her, and I never thought I’d hear those words from her lips.

“You won’t have to pick,” I promise.

She sniffs and starts rubbing soap into my skin again. “I just want you to know that.”

I pull her into me and rest my chin on her head. “I know it, darling.”

We end up fucking in the shower, as usual. She wraps her legs around my waist, and I take her hard against the wall. Then, we dry off and get dressed, walking hand in hand to the ranch house.

The main hall is full. Everything smells like sausage gravy and biscuits. Diane goes to find us a seat and I head to the table to fill our plates.

I sink down at Sovereign’s side, Diane on my right, and take a sip of black coffee. He has dark circles under his eyes. I doubt he went back to sleep.

“Cow’s fine,” I say. “She just needed a little patience.”

His shoulders sink, and he nods. “Fucking hate this time of year sometimes,” he says.

“It’s not all bad,” Keira says softly, linking her arm through his elbow. “Some good things are happening.”

For a second, I think she’s implying she’s pregnant, but that would be strange, given that Sovereign has been snipped for almost two decades and he hasn’t gotten it reversed yet.

“We thought we’d get married soon,” Keira says. “Here, at the ranch.”

Diane’s face lights up. “Really? That’s exciting.”

It’s a relief to me that Diane gets along so well with Keira and Maddie. She needs the companionship of other women. I have my doubts that David ever let her go anywhere, and I know Thomas only let her out to shop, so it’s good to see her warming up to having friends.

Sovereign clears his throat and leans back.

“I was hoping you’d marry us, Westin,” he says.

“Polygamy’s not legal in Montana,” I say. “You’ll have to take turns.”

He gives me a withering stare, but I see a muscle in his cheek twitch. Keira smirks over her coffee, and Diane elbows me in the ribs and rolls her eyes. For the first time in a while, the mood is light.

It feels so fucking good.

“Sure,” I say. “I’d be honored to officiate.”

Sovereign sits back, reaching in his pocket. He comes up with a crushed pack of cigarettes and gets to his feet. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Westin.”

I glance up, unsure what he means.

“Deacon Ryder just walked his ass into my house,” he says.

I turn, and sure enough, Deacon Ryder stands by the door talking with Jensen. Sovereign and Deacon aren’t enemies, but they’re natural competitors. We do business together when we need to and go our separate ways.

I follow Sovereign across the room, leaving Diane with Keira. I’m glad to see they’re both talking, their heads together. I hate leavingher alone sometimes, especially on days when I know all she wants to do is lay in bed and turn over her worst memories in her head.

“Let’s talk outside,” Sovereign says.

We leave the hall and head out to the barn. The ground is thick with mud in the yard, but it dries up as we circle to the back pasture. It’s warmer now that the sun has risen, and it feels good through the fabric of my shirt. Deacon stops and lights a cigarette, offering one to each of us.

“The road got the green light,” Deacon says.

“I assumed it would,” Sovereign says.

“How much time before they start building?” I ask.

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