Page 22 of Brand Me, Cowboy's Second Chance

I've got music and candles that flicker in every corner of the old barn. They cast soft, golden light over the weathered wood, and I know she's going to love it. The ranch hands helped me pick hundreds of sunflowers, baby's breath, and a few rogue sprigs of lavender. They even arranged them to make it look like I know what I'm doing.

Of course Hunkleberry's big ass tail took out two vases and almost burned the whole barn down. But it's fine. Because Patty June just sent me the text I've been waiting for all day. Anny is on her way.

My heart damn near punches through my chest when the barn door creaks open. I turn toward the sound, and there she is. Anny is backlit by the warm Texas twilight. Her hair is tousled from the wind, and her eyes scan the space until they land on me.

It takes her a minute to take it all in.

Her lips part slightly, like she wasn't expecting this. Then she blinks and I can't decide whether she's trying not to laugh or cry. I close the space between us in three strides and wrap my hands around her waist.

She laughs, soft and breathy, fingers clutching the front of my shirt. "Fallon. What is this?"

I step back just enough to reach into my pocket. The ring box is warm from being held so tightly in my palm.

"I wanted to do this somewhere special," I say. "And there's nowhere more special to me than the place you first kissed me... and the place you gave us a second chance."

Anny covers her mouth. Her eyes go glassy the second I drop to one knee. She's already nodding when I promise to love her more every single day. She's already crying when I tell her that there isn't a woman in the world who compares to her. She's already said yes before I even open the box.

Just like that, it’s settled.

Anny is going to be my wife.

The weight of our reality settles around me and brings tears to my eyes, too. When I slide the ring onto her finger, my whole world shifts. But it doesn't feel new. It feels like coming home to the life that was always meant to be.

Anny stares at the ring, sniffling and laughing all at once. "We are really doing this. You are the only man I've ever loved, and now we're doing this..."

I pull her into me, hand cradling the back of her head. "Anny Kingridge has a nice ring to it. Don't you think?"

"Yeah," she nods and bites back a smile. "I always have."

"Always."

I hold Anny pressed against me, and the whole world falls into place around us. But she sucks in a breath, and pulls away. I look down at her, and something shifts in her expression.

"What is it?"

"I didn't want to do this right now, but I can't wait to tell you." She bites her lip, glances down... then slides her hand over her belly. "I'm..."

I freeze.

"Anny?"

"I found out this morning," she whispers. "This time I didn’t want to wait to tell you."

I cup her face in my hands and kiss her. It's hard, fast, and desperate. She melts into it. Her fingers fist my shirt like she's anchoring herself as emotions whip through me. When I finally pull away, she looks up at me.

"Are you okay?"

"Am I okay? I'm a damn legend. Put a baby in you without even trying. I'm gonna be a dad," I say softly. My heart thunders in my chest with a mix of joy and excitement. "And I’m going to be your husband. I've never been more ready for anything in my life."

Her laugh bubbles up, bright and stunned, and I swear it's the most beautiful sound in the world. I hold Anny and dance with her in the setting sunlight that beams in through the windows.

An hour later, we're still sitting together on the hay bale in the middle of my candlelit proposal setup. She curls into me, and her breath is warm against my neck. I can't stop touching her... Mostly because I don't want to.

"You're really mine," I whisper. I brush my knuckles along her cheek, down the soft curve of her throat, and let them rest just above the flutter of her pulse.

She leans into the touch. "Always have been."

My hand drifts to her waist, then lower to the soft curve of her belly. She puts a hand out, and I catch her wrist. I gently tug her into my lap. She straddles my thighs, and the weight of her curves on my lap sets me on fire.

---