Page 26 of Barry

He dropped his arm over her shoulders and kissed the top of her head as he drove. Damned if the woman didn’t make him feel like one of those bulletproof superheroes. “What would your folks say about it?”

“They’d be thrilled. They love you.” Kathy chuckled. “Dad has been wondering how he can steal you away from the Hollisters.”

Barry frowned. “What?”

Kathy opened her mouth and then closed it. She turned to look at him. “Promise me you won’t freak out and make a run for it if I explain what I just said?”

“I think you’re well and truly stuck with me. Tell me, what made you say that?” Barry laughed when she cringed comically.

“Well, about a month ago, after you returned to theranch one Sunday night, Mom and Dad and I were talking. I told them how much I care for you. Dad wondered what it would take to get you to work the ranch with him because he figured we’d be together one day, and he doesn’t want the ranch to be sold after he and Mom pass.”

A sense of dread went through him. “Babe, does your dad need help? I can stop by on my off days or at night.”

“No, no, he’s got Mo, his part-time hand. He hires as needed during busy seasons. But the idea of him wanting us to have the ranch is kind of nice.” She lifted her shoulders to her ears. “But the idea of us discussing it when you hadn’t even told me that you loved me yet, that was wrong, and I’m sorry.”

Barry tossed his head back and laughed. “Don’t be. God, I know I’ve been taking things slow, but you had to have known I love you.”

She sighed softly. “I hoped you felt the same way I did. I could feel how you relaxed around me, I knew we clicked from the beginning, and you seemed on the same page, but there’s always a bit of doubt.”

He glanced down at her. “I should have said something sooner.”

“No, you needed to go at your own pace.”

He shook his head. “Not if I was hurting you.”

She laughed and patted his chest. “You have never hurt me. I don’t believe you’d ever hurt me.”

A chill ran up his spine at the thought of ever raising his hand to the woman. Hell, he couldn’t imagine raising hisvoice to her. “Never. I swear on Gunny’s grave, I’d walk out of your life before hurting you.” It was the most solemn oath he could give her.

“But by walking out, you’d hurt me, so I guess you’re stuck with me, and you’ll just have to love me for the rest of our lives.”

“You’ve got this all worked out, don’t you?” Barry laughed and pulled her closer to him before glancing back at the vacant road.

“Absolutely. I’m a schoolteacher, you know. I have a plan, and I work on that plan every day. If my student puts in enough effort, he gets a good grade.” She lifted her finger in the air and made an air A.

“What, not an A plus?” Barry turned on the blinker at the ranch’s exit.

She shrugged. “I save that for exceptional effort.”

“Maybe tonight I could put in some extra credit work.” He turned off the highway onto the wide dirt road.

“Oh, extra credit work.” She put her finger to her lips for a second. “The only problem is, I’m not sure what that would entail.”

Barry laughed. “How about I provide the extra credit, and you just grade me appropriately?”

“Deal. Of course, extra credit isn’t always a given. One must maintain their marks with dedication and effort.”

“I don’t think that will be an issue. You may get sick of me being around so much.” Being with Kathy required noeffort. He thanked his lucky stars for being in her galaxy, let alone her world.

“Never. Having you in my bed every night …” She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ve never been so happy, Barry. Never.”

Happy? Was the feeling of utter contentment happiness? Was it the sense his life was complete when she was with him? Or was it the knowledge that when he was with her—when he was focused on being better for her—he was, in fact,normaland deserving of a life with her in it? “Neither have I, babe. Neither have I.”

Barry pulled up beside the bunkhouse and helped Kathy out of his truck, and they held hands as they walked to the barn. “Will he act up if I watch? I’ve never been around a true maverick before.” Kathy glanced up at him.

Barry chuckled. “Buddy doesn’t care as long as he gets his treats. Which reminds me … Let’s make a pit stop.” He diverted them to the large room that had a coffee machine for the hands and a refrigerator used for the animal medicines. Barry opened the fridge and dug through the bottom drawer. He pulled out a bag of carrots and a bag of apples. “Here. Could you pull a couple out and snap them into about two-inch bits?” He handed her the carrots.

“You got it.” She put the carrots on the bench and started snapping them. He took out his pocketknife and made quick work of slicing up an apple. Then he pulled a plastic bag out of one of the drawers, and they filled it up with the enticing bites.

---