Page 127 of Knot Her Cowboys
“I definitely want that.”
Levi kissed me again, softer this time. “You brought Cooper back to life. Cash too, if we’re being honest. You light up spaces we didn’t even know were dark.”
Dakota hummed. “Sometimes what you need from a person is how you feel around them, and not what you think they can do for you.Youare what you bring to the table.”
“Feels uneven, but okay.”
“It’s not. You don’t need resources to contribute when we’re already established. We want you to be part of the pack because we love being around you.”
I had always known on an intellectual level that I wasn’t unlovable because of Cooper and Morgan and Cash, even if Darlene’s disdain and my father’s absence had fucked with me on the regular. Having these two tell me all I needed to be was myself, healed another fracture.
“How fast do you think it’s possible to fall in love with someone?” I asked quietly, dipping my gaze so I wasn’t caught in the intensity of Levi’s.
“I think there are layers to it,” replied Dakota. “Building blocks. It might be easy to see the foundations being laid whenyou look back, but harder to see when you’re busy laying those bricks.”
“I think we’ve laid a lot of bricks.” Their scents were soothing in my nose, settling every instinct and worry. “Want me to lay another one by showing you how to make spider hot dogs?”
Levi laughed. “What the fuck is a spider hot dog?”
“Oh, good. Cash and Cooper haven’t spoiled the fun already. Pass me the doggies.”
Levi supplied the hot dog and I meticulously sliced an X a third of the way in on each side before stabbing the center on a stick and thrusting it into the flames. As it cooked, the sliced sections spread outward like eight little legs.
“Voilà!” I held it aloft, the center portion of each leg deliciously crispy. “Spider hot dog.”
“How are you supposed to eat it if you can’t fit it in a bun?”
“The same way I ate gummy bears as a kid: Chomp the appendages.” I bit off one of the legs before offering the camping delicacy to my alphas.
“That’s way better than regular,” said Levi with a grin. “I could eat about ten of those.”
“Luckily you have a very helpful omega willing to make them for you.” I passed him the cooked one and prepped several more to go on the sticks I had whittled. While we cooked, the sun set. As we graduated from hot dogs to marshmallows and hot chocolate, the stars came out.
Lying on the lakeshore, cuddled between them and listening to stories of their childhoods, I couldn’t help my purr. Grizzy and the horses stood guard, adorable sentinels in the firelight. A blanket of stars kept me feeling just as cozy as the actual one draped over us.
When sunrise came, I woke slowly out of a deep sleep to Grizzy nuzzling my forehead. “Good morning, beautiful girl.”
Dakota squeezed me tightly to his chest, reminiscent of a cat crossing their paws and pressing them to their forehead when they were exhausted and utterly content. “Is it morning already?”
“The sun says yes.” It was still only a pale blue glow on the horizon, but it produced enough light that I could see without needing a flashlight. The fire had reduced itself to embers. I crawled out from between my alphas and filled up the camp kettle for some instant coffee.
Levi yawned, stretched, and made his way over to me, kissing the top of my head before he got to work breaking down camp.
Once I was hopped up on sweetened coffee and had scarfed down a granola bar, we packed up our supplies, saddled the horses and Grizzy, and made our way back toward the ranch in the dim light. I rode Big Jack with Levi, Grizzy walking behind us, with Dakota taking up the tail of our train on Sky.
“You’re a very cute caboose,” I told him, twisting around so I could see.
“I’ll take the compliment,” he said with a laugh.
I had slept ridiculously well between them, even if the hours I’d been down were too few. I dozed in Levi’s embrace for most of the trip back.
“Thank you for staying out with me last night.”
“I’m not going to turn down a chance to spend time with you.”
“Yeah, but it was a lot of effort. I just want you both to know I appreciate it.”
“I appreciate you being excited for a night like that,” Dakota said from behind us. “During the off-season, it’s a lot easier to disappear into the woods. We can plan ahead for future trips.”
