Page 63 of Branded By the Cowboy

“Both,” he mutters. “Probably at the same time.”

* * *

We eat breakfast in the kitchen with Shay and Henry. Tom appears with cinnamon rolls and exaggerated tales of a raccoon he swears winked at him. Ben pretends not to be amused, but his mouth twitches every time Tom gestures dramatically.

It’s noisy. Messy. Warm.

A family. Mine.

I clean up while Angus heads to the field. When I step outside to find him, I pause in the doorway and let the air wrap around me.

Everything’s still here.

Not just the buildings or the land.

Butme.

I’m still here.

By choice.

I find Angus by the stump where the old willow used to be. He’s shirtless, sweat glistening along his spine, shoulders flexing as he swings the post driver into the ground.

He looks up when he hears me. “Supervising?”

I lift a thermos. “Bribing.”

He hums, sips, and sets the thermos on the ground. Then he cups my face. His mouth finds mine as the sun climbs higher, warm against our skin.

It’s slow. Unhurried. Full of everything we don’t need to say out loud anymore.

I kiss him not because I’m supposed to.

Not because a clause demands it.

But because I want to.

Because he’shome.

And because every day, we choose each other.

Epilogue

Angus

The second we pull off the main road and into the gravel drive of The Honey Pot, Luna turns to me with narrowed eyes.

“This isn’t the feed store.”

“Nope.”

“You said we needed fencing wire.”

“Lied.”

Her lips twitch, suspicion giving way to amusement. “So what is this?”

“A surprise.”

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