Page 4 of Darling Bride

Then he lets his head fall back.

“Fuck,” he breathes, pulling from me. His mouth brushes the top of my head. “Good girl.”

After all this time, those words shouldn’t make me blush as hard as they do. He turns on the shower and starts stripping. I do the same and join him under the water to clean off hastily. We don’t have long before River and Allison are back downstairs, yelling for us.

“Sure you don’t want to go again?” he says, biting my shoulder.

“Get off,” I tease, pushing him back. “You need to help your son with his colt. And I have to be the chaperone for our daughter.”

His eyes narrow and he shuts off the water. I stand in the shower while he finds fresh towels. He wraps one around me and I step out, gathering up my makeup and comb. There’s a slight frown on his face as he pulls on his clothes, buttoning up his shirt.

“What’s got you upset?” I ask.

He sighs, opening the bedroom door and going to get his hat. I slip on my dressing gown and follow him.

“Not upset,” he says, “but no dating. Not until she’s sixteen.”

“I know, we’ve talked about this,” I say.

“And even then, I’ll wring that scrawny little shit’s neck if he fucks up,” Westin says.

I give him a scolding look. “Keira and Sovereign raised Cash and he’s a perfect gentleman. He wouldn’t disrespect you or our daughter. He’s always been polite.”

Westin picks up his hat. “Yeah, and I was his age once.”

“You were terrible from the get-go,” I say. “Cash is a nice boy.”

“That’s true,” he admits. “What the hell, maybe I’m overthinking this.”

He takes me by the elbow and pulls me in for a kiss. Then he’s gone, calling out for River. Their boots clatter down the hall and the front door slams. I get dressed in a light sundress, one that Westin likes so much. Maybe it’ll soften him up when he gets home tonight. Then I put my boots on and grab my truck keys from the hall table.

“You ready, honey?” I call up the stairs.

My daughter appears at the landing. She’s in jeans and a blue blouse, her hair neatly braided down her back. I never looked so put together when I was her age. But then I was left to raise myself after Nana passed.

“I can’t find my hair tie,” she says. “I don’t want to wear the pink one, it doesn’t match.

“It’s on the table,” I say, heading back down the hall. Her blue silk tie sits by her chair. I snatch it up and join her by the door. “Turn around, I’ll fix it.”

She shifts from one foot to the other while I switch out her ties. Then we go down the walkway to my truck, parked by the barn. Westin bought it for me after I got all my papers and documents in order.

Thomas Garrison took my license, my social security and bank card, and they were destroyed after his death. Westin helped me get new versions of everything, and on the day I got my newlicense, he took me into the city and bought me a little white truck.

We climb in and I start the engine, pulling down the drive. The air is warm. Our hats sit behind us and I know we’ll both need them later to keep our hair from bleaching in the sun.

Allison picks at her nail, biting her lip. I glance over.

“You okay?”

“I heard you and dad,” she says.

My heart stops. “What?”

“I heard you talking about Cash,” she says.

“Oh, thank God,” I mumble.

She shifts, brow furrowed. “Dad likes Sovereign and Keira, so why doesn’t he like Cash?”

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