Page 65 of My Cowboy Temptation

Epilogue

Five monthslater

Brody

I don’t knowif I’ve ever been more nervous for anything in my life. Not because I don’t want what’s about to happen. Hell, I want it so badly I’m afraid that I might blink, and the past few months of my life will have all been a dream.

Callie Castle is the love of my life, and it seems that, for reasons I haven’t fully figured out, I’m the love of her life.

“You okay there, Brody?” Lucas asks as he shuffles his boots in the snow and leans against the tree, smirking.

“Just want to get this circus started so I can make your daughter my wife.”

It’s taken some time for Lucas and me to get back to where we were. I couldn’t blame him for feeling that some of his trust had been damaged, but in the end, he knows I love Callie and will protect her, take care of her, and love her with everything I am until my dying breath.

As a soon-to-be dad myself, I expect that’s all any dad could ask for.

About three months after Callie moved into the farmhouse with me, I came to Lucas and asked for his permission to ask Cal to marry me. Not that I needed it. If he said no, it wouldn’t have stopped her from being my wife. But it’s nice to have his blessing all the same.

Which he gave me. Along with the legal documents that give me a healthy share in this ranch. Meaning I’ll have more than enough money to give Callie anything she wants, even if I have a suspicion that she already has all that. She said it herself last night, after we made love out on the porch with the stars above us, right after she screamed so loud at the climax that wracked her body I was afraid Lucas and Everly might have heard.

The minister, who is standing out in the sun as if trying to keep the cold of the brisk February air at bay, nods to Lucas and me.

It’s time.

Kyle, one of the new ranch hands, starts strumming his guitar to signal the start of the ceremony, and I’m watching the front of the farmhouse, waiting for my world to come out and down those stairs and make me forever hers.

Everly comes out first, though, grinning at me as she draws near before her smile amps up to a blinding wattage as she meets Lucas’s gaze. Our wedding is preempting theirs by a few months, which fortunately they don’t mind.

It’s silly, really. But once Cal agreed to marry me, I didn’t see any reason to wait. I want to honor her with my last name, just as I do that baby of ours.

My son. I swallow as I think about him and all the things I can’t wait to teach him.

Standing here now, I look at the small gathering of people risking the cold and snow to witness our big day. Rita is there, as is Cal’s mom, along with the ranch hands, and a few of Lucas’s friends. I might not have anyone that’s my blood here to witness this, but I have all that I need in Callie, her dad, Everly, and Rita. They’re my family now.

The music changes, and suddenly I see Cal, walking through the door. She’s so beautiful my heart aches at the sight of her as she makes her way to me.

She’s wearing a long, simple white dress that can’t hide the full belly that precedes her, a white cashmere shawl around her shoulders, and in her hands she’s holding white and pink flowers. It’s only as she draws closer, lifting her dress as she makes her way across the snow-covered grass that I see the cowboy boots on her feet, and I chuckle as I meet her eyes. She smiles impishly at me, knowing why I’m laughing.

I can’t believe she’s mine.

When she reaches me, I’m dying to pull her in my arms, but there’s a minister next to me and a way to do things. Instead, I tide myself over with staring into her eyes as the minister talks, making sure I answer correctly when I’m prompted.

It’s only when he makes the announcement that we’re husband and wife that I lose my reserve. “Finally,” I say and step forward and pull Cal into my arms, holding her against me as I kiss her thoroughly, not caring that her dad is standing right next to me.

She’s my wife now, after all. I can kiss her as much as I fucking want.

* * *

Callie

I stare downat the still figure in the bed, his face relaxed in sleep, and my heart is filled with so much love I feel like I might explode.

My husband.

The ring on my finger and the minister declared it so, less than twenty-four hours ago. Not to mention my new husband, who insisted on calling me his wife as he drove into me hours ago as the first orgasm of our married life washed over me.

I smile and wonder how much longer I should let him sleep. I’m already rearing to go again.

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