Page 61 of Rough Ride with the Grumpy Cowboy
He nods, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. I smile and lean in to kiss his cheek. “I love it even more now.”
“You just had to show off, didn’t you?” Ella mocks Zane.
“It’s not my fault you couldn’t match up,” he retorts.
Ella tries to hit him, but he dodges and flicks her forehead instead, making her whine.
“We have one last gift, from all of us,” Hank announces, drawing my attention away from the bickering siblings.
He whistles, and Duncan walks from around the corner with a beautiful Appaloosa on reins, with a bow tied to its tail.
“Is that for me?” I gasp, getting to my feet.
“Everyone in the family has their own horse, so we thought you should too,” Jace explains.
No words can explain how happy I am right now as I walk toward the beautiful mare, her spotted coat calling out to me.
“She is gorgeous. Thank you,” I cry, surprised that I still have tears left from all the crying I’ve done today.
But they’re happy tears, so it’s allowed.
“What’s her name?” I inquire.
“We’ve been calling her Sunny, but she’s yours now, so you can rename her if you want,” Ella replies.
I shake my head. “Sunny is perfect—it suits her. Hi, Sunny,” I whisper, caressing her mane.
She neighs and bucks into me, causing me to lose my balance. I stumble, expecting to fall, but Zane reaches out, wrapping one of his arms around my back to steady me.
“Wanna test her out?” he suggests.
Before I can reply, he picks me up, making me shriek in surprise, and helps me mount her. Even though it’s been a while since I rode a horse, it all comes back to me easily.
Sunny and I trot around the backyard for a few minutes before I dismount because I’m not dressed for horse riding and she has no saddle on her.
“Thank you all—I love her, I love all my gifts,” I appreciate the Morgans once more.
They break out into the birthday song, which has me crying all over again as I cut the cake and feed a slice to everyone. The salted caramel is delicious.
Ella forces me into a hundred different poses as she takes pictures, and I indulge her since this is the happiest I’ve been in a long time.
At some point, Zane and Jace disappear, and when they come back, Zane looks pissed.
“Is everything alright?” I ask, wrapping my arms around his neck.
He forces a smile and pulls me into his arms. “Yes, it’s all good now. Are you having fun?”
I want to push more to know where he disappeared to, but for some reason I feel like it’ll ruin my mood, so I hold back.
“Yes, loads,” I nod.
“I’m glad.”
“It’s piñata time. Let’s go,” I cheer, taking his hand.
He chuckles and lets me pull him with me.
Today is the best birthday ever, and I owe it all to this awesome family. The Morgans have no idea, but today, they have healed my inner child—one that they didn’t hurt in the first place.
