Page 73 of Some Cowboys Fight for Love

Her movements paused, then started up again. “They’re the most beautiful puppies I’ve ever seen.”

Daniel chuckled. “I’m sure they look like little drowned mice right about now.”

She let out a laugh and flicked him with the back of her fingertips. “Don’t call them that!”

He adjusted, settling into a comfortable position on his side. He propped himself up on his elbow and grinned at her. “What did Sophia say about the puppies? Do you get to have one?”

Aria frowned with a sigh. “Apparently this litter is all spoken for. I can’t believe I didn’t know that.”

Daniel’s brows creased. “But I thought she knew you were interested the second they found out about the new litter.”

“Me too.” She shrugged. “Oh, well. It’s not like they won’t have more. This is their job. But I don’t know if Bella is having any more litters. Mateo is really strict on how many times they can breed.”

He nodded. It was one of the admirable ways Mateo ran his business. It would be easy to keep using the same dogs. But their bodies could only handle so much. “Maybe one of her puppies will be exactly like her and they’ll keep her for the next litter.”

She shrugged again. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not like I have a ranch full of cattle that needs one. Who knows? Maybe I wouldn’t be able to handle their energy.”

They both knew that was a lie. Aria had settled permanently into the cabin—at least as long as she wanted to be there. Mateo certainly wasn’t going to kick her out, not even after he’d discussed plans about expanding his business to raise a small herd of cattle. He’d be taking on some more men and even toyed with hiring a cook so they could live on-site.

Mateo kept saying nothing was set in stone, but with Daniel’s help on the designs, he’d already constructed a wrangler’s cabin close to the barn and was working on building a mess hall. It was laughable the way he insisted that he might not follow through with the changes when it was clear they were already taking place.

“Any word on the expansion?” Daniel asked. “Has he finally accepted that he’s going to have to hire someone to oversee the cattle ranching side of things?”

A sly smile touched Aria’s lips, but he didn’t get a chance to ask her what it meant before they both heard footsteps approaching. He glanced over to the intrusion to find Mateo holding a bundle in his arms. He was smiling, too.

Daniel sat up and his focus bounced from his girlfriend to his friend and back. Something was up. For the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what it was.

Mateo dropped down on his haunches and handed him the bundle. A squirming puppy wriggled and opened its mouth—in a yawn or in search of food—it was unclear.

Daniel stared at the puppy, then once more at Mateo. “What do you want me to do with this?”

He smirked. “It’s your hiring bonus.”

“My…what?”

“You’ve been saying yourself that I need to hire someone to oversee the wranglers I want to take on. I need someone good with horses.”

“Sophia—”

Mateo wrinkled his nose. “She’s not going to be able to run a bunch of men. She’s good with training the horses, but I wouldn’t want her in charge of all of it. You’re a much better fit.”

“But I’m not looking?—”

Mateo laughed. “You’ve been spending all your spare time here anyway. I talked to Wade, and he said he thinks it’s a great opportunity.”

Daniel’s head was spinning. Mateo talked to Wade about this? And his brother had agreed? He didn’t know whether to be thrilled or offended.

Aria nudged him. “I think it’s your turn to say something,’ she whispered.

What was he supposed to say? Of course, his brother was right. This was a great opportunity. Not only that, but it was the perfect segue into why he’d wanted to go on a picnic with Aria in the first place. He might have found a home here with the Palmers, but more than that, he’d found a home with her.

He glanced over to her, the bundle no longer squirming in his hands. This was more than he could have hoped for. Daniel carefully handed Mateo the puppy, ignoring the look of surprise on his friend’s face and the concern on Aria’s.

Daniel had to get up on his knees to be able to reach into his jeans pocket. This wasn’t how he’d planned it, but it felt right. He held out his hand to Aria, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t keep his voice from shaking.

“Aria…”

Her eyes rounded.

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