Page 125 of Knot Your Problem, Cowboy
I don’t get time to figure it out before Ridge sinks down next to me, his big frame casting a shadow overthe table, his hat tilted low. Walker follows, slower, like he’s committing to something irreversible. Three grown men on their knees in the middle of Wildflower Bakehouse & Café.
I keep my eyes locked on hers. If I look away, even for a second, I might lose her.
Her knuckles are white. And all I can think isDon’t pull away from me, sugar. Not now. Not after the way we left things.
“Sophia,” I say, making my voice steady when my chest is anything but. “You are our scent match. Our Omega. Something we’ve wanted for so long that we’d almost stopped believing it could happen.”
Her breathing changes, slowing, deepening, but her face is careful. Guarded.
“We thought we were doing right by you,” Walker explains, his voice low. “Giving you room. Letting you settle without pressure from us.”
“And in doing that,” Ridge adds, “we left you in the dark. Made you think perhaps you weren’t our choice.” His jaw works like he hates the words as much as I do. “That’s on me, on us.”
I swallow hard. “You’re not just our choice. You’re the only one who’s ever felt likehome.”
I want to touch her, take her hand, push her hair back, anything, but my hands stay braced on my knee. Because if she’s not ready, I won’t force it.
Her lips part like she’s about to speak, but she doesn’t. Instead, she looks at me the way she did thatfirst night she arrived at Wild Hearts Ranch. She’s measuring us as though weighing whether we’re worth the risk.
Ridge leans in, his voice rough like gravel. “You’re it for us, Sophia. Our Omega. Our home. The only star in the damn sky worth following.”
Walker nods, his eyes never leaving hers, steady and unblinking like she’s the only thing in the room worth seeing. “You’re not just someone we want, Sophia. You’re the center of all of it. The reason we get up in the morning, the reason the ranch even feels like a home. Without you…” He shakes his head slowly. “Without you, all of this is just land and chores and empty nights.”
I feel the weight in my chest twist tighter, the words spilling out before I can stop them. “Will you forgive us? I swear, Sophia, you’ll never have to deal with Brittany again. Or any other woman who thinks she has a claim on us. Because there is no other claim. There’s only you.” My throat goes tight, but I push through. “We’ve built our lives on dirt and sweat and stubbornness, but none of it means a damn thing without you in it. Without you, we lose the purpose. The fight. The… us.”
“You’re our universe, darlin’. Everything orbits around you,” Ridge murmurs.
I meet her eyes. “The only one we will ever want is you. The only one we will ever fight for is you. And if it takes the rest of our lives to prove that… we’ll do it.”
Something cracks in her expression, just a hairline fracture, but I catch it. Her fork slips from her fingers, the metal clinking against porcelain.
“I… needed to hear that.” Her voice is quiet, almost lost under the hum of the refrigerator case.
Walker’s gaze sharpens. “So you forgive us?”
Her mouth curves, but it’s not quite a smile. “Not that easy, cowboy.” She swipes under her eye, the movement quick like she doesn’t want anyone to see. “My pre-heat is making me a little crazy, I’ll admit. But I guess…” Her gaze drags from Ridge, to Walker, to me. It’s like she’s searching for a reason not to trust us, and not finding one. “I guess I’d already chosen you three as mine. I was just too scared to say it. Afraid you’d hurt me like?—”
“Never,” we say together.
“We’re not him. We’llneverbe him,” I admit, holding her stare, needing her to know we mean every damn word.
She studies me, really studies me, and I let her. If she needs to see every fault line I’ve got, I’ll stand here and let her examine the whole damn map.
Finally, she grins so sweetly that my insides melt. “You three gonna join us in the booth already?”
Her grin isn’t big, but it’s real, as is the acceptance in her forgiveness, which eases something sharp in my chest.
June scuttles out from her side of the booth, slidingpast Ridge with a muttered “Let me get out of the way before things get all Hallmark in here.”
I take her spot, going in beside Sophia. Not too close, but close enough to feel the warmth radiating from her thigh, the subtle shift of her breathing. Walker slips into the other side, boxing her in gently, while Ridge takes the spot beside Walker.
Sophia exhales, just the smallest lean toward us, and my lungs finally start working again.
“Well,” June says. “Guess I’d better go order some celebration cake before this turns into a full-on group cuddle.”
The room slowly resumes its chatter, but for me, it might as well be empty. Sophia’s here. She’s forgiven us. And even if we’ve still got a long way to go, she’s ours.
June heads for the counter, already calling to Kitty about the biggest, most decadent cake she’s got.
