Page 23 of Deck the Halls with Cowboys
“I’m your wife.”
“You laughed at my ham.”
Denver tipped his head back to the ceiling. “Fuck me. We’re all going to starve tomorrow.”
As I took in the scene before me, I felt Beau’s warm fingers grip my chin. He gently guided me to look at him, those bright blue eyes scanning my face.
“What is it?” I whispered, putting my hand on his chest.
The rest of the Langston kitchen fell away, the sound of Mason and Denver arguing, the women laughing, the smell of Valerie’s cinnamon candle, all of it. That’s how it was between Beau and me. We got sucked into our own little world, the same one we’d been escaping to since we were just a couple of kids running around the ranch.
“I love you,” he whispered back, his words rumbling up from his chest. “Do you know that?”
My heart skipped a beat. “I know.”
His lips twitched. “Just checkin’.”
“You’ve been weird all day,” I noted, leaning back and looking him up and down. “What’s wrong with you?”
He looked at everyone. “Excuse us,” he announced before grabbing my hand and dragging me down the hall. I looked over my shoulder to see Valerie grinning at me before she turned back to talk to Harmony. Beau led me to the end of the hall and into the spacious laundry room. He released me to shut the door, and I walked over the washer and dryer, searching for the secret box we’d placed on the shelves above over twenty years ago.
Beau gave back the answer I didn’t want to hear but expected. “The box isn’t here.”
I nodded. “Denver probably moved it when he took over.”
“Nope.”
Twisting my neck, I found him leaning against the door, arms over his chest, eyes shining with mischief. “Did my cowboy lover happen to steal it away and hide it all for himself?” I teased him. “Or do you have it on display at the Hayden Hotel?”
“It wasn’t just our memories in that box, beautiful,” he reminded me. “Speaking of, I need to go put your newest articles in their frames to give to Bart.”
When Beau brought me back to Hallow Ranch this past summer, I’d discovered the most beautiful thing. Beau had saved all of my articles and put them in frames. Then he’d had Bart, the owner of Hayden Hotel, display them in the dining room. There was an entire brick wall covered in my writing now, and before too long, there wouldn’t be enough room. “Beau,” I began softly, turning to face him, “you can’t save every single one.”
It was impossible.
“Watch me, Wildflower.”
My cheeks warmed, my eyes stinging. Beau’s words never lost the power to make me cry.
“This town is in awe of you. You deserve to be praised for all your hard work. I’ll cover every inch of this town in your articles, your stories, your paintings if I have to. The world needs your bravery, your creativity, your insight.”
I cleared my throat and looked at my cowgirl boots. “And you’re going to make sure that happens, huh, cowboy?”
He didn’t answer until my eyes were on him again. “Until my last breath, baby.”
My throat thickened, a ball of emotion—mainly love—manifesting right on top of my voice box. “You’re too good for me, Beau Marks.”
A small smile found his lips then. “I just love you, that’s all.”
“I loveyou too.” I gestured around the laundry room. “You want to tell me why you dragged me in here? Did you need a little make-out session? Or have you changed your mind about letting me tie you up?”
Last night, I threw out the idea of tying him up for a change, but with our cute little Christmas twinkle lights instead of his rope. My big, strong cowboy wasn’t too fond of the idea, but when I’d brought it up to my friends back in the city, they’d cheered. Harris had already bought a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the idea of my cowboy submitting to me.
Beau quirked a brow. “I see you’re still on that.”
I clasped my hands behind my back. “I think it’s a wonderful idea, actually,” I countered before a wicked smile spread across my face. “I wanna make you scream for me, handsome.”
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered, looking to his boots to hide the heat growing in his cheeks. He unfolded his arms and came to me, cupping my face in his hands, tipping my head back so I was forced to look at him. “If we start, we won’t stop, and I’ll end up fuckin’ you on Den and Val’s new dryer withyourhands tied behind your back.”
