Page 17 of Darling Bride

“No, this is all I’ve ever wanted,” she says. “You gave me my farm and my babies. And you’ve given me anything else I ask for, including all of this.” She gestures over my body.

“I can’t say no to you, darling,” I say, even though I’ve said it a hundred times before. It’s the truth.

From the moment we met, all I wanted to do was give to her. It’s an inexorable pull. I pour into her cup and she pours selflessly back into mine.

I clear my throat and draw her closer, taking the mugs and setting them aside. Her warm body melts against my chest. Her eyes are endless pools, so close.

“All I want is to see you happy,” I whisper.

She smiles, flashing white teeth. “I am so happy, Westin.”

I kiss her and shift to my side, pulling her up against me. Through the window, we watch the sun rise and melt the frost slowly. Our mugs are empty when I finally peel myself out of our bed, get dressed, and kiss her goodbye before heading out to do chores.

I go into town to get feed for Diane’s chickens before the kids get back at noon. The air is cool with a promise of a hot afternoon. I swing out of the truck and walk across the street to the diner at the corner. The door is propped open and it smells like coffee and sweet cream.

Inside is Sovereign, standing with Jensen Childress at his side. They’re talking, arms crossed.

I walk right past them, stopping long enough to punch Jensen in the side, and go get my cup of black coffee. He sidesteps and swipes back. Sighing, Sovereign sinks down at a booth, stretching his legs out.

I join them, coffee in hand. “Why are you in town this early?”

“I got errands,” says Jensen. “Whatever my wife wants on this list I got here somewhere.” He pats his back pocket, frowns, andchecks the rest of his pockets until he comes up with a folded envelope. “There we go.”

I sit down opposite Sovereign. “You want some coffee?”

Jensen shakes his head. “I gotta fuck off, but I’ll see y’all later.”

He heads out the door and I watch him cross the street to his truck on the opposite curb. The waitress appears at my elbow and Sovereign and I get breakfast. We sit in silence for a while. The diner is filling up with locals. Sovereign shakes a few hands and I nod when someone waves at me.

“Small world,” I say.

“Yeah,” Sovereign says. “Can say that again.”

“Speaking of the world being small,” I say. “I don’t know how I feel about your boy coming around asking about my girl.”

Sovereign cracks his neck. The waitress sets our food down.

“How’s that?” he says. “Cash plays it straight.”

“Yeah, but does he play it straight like you?” I say. “Or like an actual gentleman?”

Sovereign fixes me with a pale stare over the steam rising from his coffee. “I never act up.”

“Not anymore, but you did way back,” I say. “And don’t forget how you got Keira.”

His brow arches. “At least she’s not running around with one of Deacon’s boys. He’s got me beat when it comes to his methods of acquiring women.”

“That’s beside the point,” I say. “You talk to him.”

Sovereign sets his mug down carefully, swiveling it. “And say what? He can’t crush on girls? He’s a teenager. You were wild when you were his age.”

“Incorrect,” I say.

“Correct.” His jaw works. “Eat your fuckin’ food.”

He has a point, and the food is getting cold. We eat in companionable silence and he goes with me to the feed store to load up the bags. We drop in at the general store becauseKeira wants a bolt of fabric for curtains. Sovereign leans on the counter and I go to get a handful of Diane’s favorite candies.

We part ways. I drive back to Carter Farms, thinking back to when I left Sovereign Mountain. Part of me was afraid things would change more than I’d like. But having our ranches side-by-side quelled that fear. We share a property line, there’s a gate in our fence that our children ride their horses through whenever they like.

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