Page 90 of Wild and Unruly
“You know.” I sit up, gingerly turning to face him. I take in his bare chest, his unruly hair, and his small smile. “We don’t have to leave the apartment.”
He glances around his room like he’s not seeing what I do. “It’s not very homey.”
“Yeah, right now, maybe, but we can make it ours if you want,” I say, reaching out to take his hand. “I just think we could hold off on buying a house.”
“You don’t want to buy one?” Hurt laces through his tone, and since I was pretty sure this man was the absolute love of my life, I squeeze his fingers with mine tightly, scooting closer so he doesn’t think I’m pulling away.
“I do. But realistically, I think I should probably get a job and get settled up here first.” I glance around the apartment, smiling at how very bare-bones and guy-ish it is. “I can make this place home for us, if you want me to.”
Stetson frowns and closes his computer, tossing it to the side. He rolls us until he’s lying over me, staring down at me with love and adoration in his gaze. I still can’t believe it’s pointed at me.
“Bonnie Helix, you are the love of my life, the future Mrs. Cash, whether that’s in three months or three years. We can do whatever you want.” He bends down, placing a sweet kiss on my chin. “We can get a house.” A kiss to my nose. “We could find another apartment.” He kisses my temple. “Or we can stay here.”
His eyes find mine again, and one hand cradles my neck while the other holds my hand near my head. “As long as you’re in my bed every night, I wake up to you each day, and we spendour days loving each other and working through life together, I don’t care what we do.”
Tears gather in my eyes at his words, and I lean up, begging him for a kiss, which he happily obliges. And I let myself let go of the fears that have held me, that have made decisions for my life up to the point where Stetson Cash entered it and carried my bag to my room, flipping my world upside down.
Because when I finally stopped letting fear take over, the best part of my life began.
epilogue
Bonnie
Slapping a hand against my mouth,I stifle the bit of laughter that threatens to erupt when I watch Freckles move away from Stetson for the hundredth time today. She twists her head and looks at him, giving him a “go ahead and try it” look.
He shakes his head and mumbles something I can’t hear from outside the round pen where they’ve been for an hour. He was working on getting her trained up for me and had hopes that next season she may be ready to start rodeoing.
It didn’t look promising, but it was good entertainment.
We got as far as saddling her, which was a huge feat. And I do mean huge. In the last two months, the mare has grown so much that she no longer looks like the young filly I met, but a full-blown mare.
Which was probably part of the problem.
Stetson bends her head and pulls her attention back to him, urging her to pay attention. I think the issue may have been thatshe was paying too much attention. She knew exactly what he wanted and what he was about to do to her.
He finally gets the tip of his boot in the stirrup, giving a few hops to get her used to the saddle moving a little on her back, to the weight shift that will happen when someone steps up onto her.
She keeps her neck bent, watching him, and I see her move her back feet out, making Stetson have to hold on a little tighter to the saddle, his head turned to watch her.
When she stops, he puts more pressure into the stirrup by lifting himself all the way up, and bravely, he lays slightly over the saddle.
She doesn’t move.
I’m holding my breath.
Stetson swings his right leg over the saddle and sits.
For about three seconds.
Freckles launches. She bares down into the ground, lifting her back legs behind her and gaining more momentum to buck back up into the air. Stetson holds tightly, and I see him trying to get her head turned, but she’s too fast.
I watch in slight horror as he gets her head turned, only for her to spin with it and throw him to the ground.
He lets out a groan that comes with getting the wind knocked out of you, and she stops immediately, walking away and sniffing the ground, wiggling her lips as if trying to find a snack like nothing ever happened.
I run into the round pen, my boots slapping against the ground as I reach Stetson and fall to my knees. “Are you okay?”
His eyes are closed, but he’s breathing, and I can tell by his relaxed state that he’s fine, just trying to breathe.
