Rowdy laughed and kissed me on the nose.
“You’ve got so much to learn, baby.”
“Do you have any books that can teach me about horses?”
“Leia has about two dozen. I’m sure she’ll loan them to you.”
“We’re getting married in two days, Rowdy,” I whispered. “Are you as nervous as I am?”
“At least,” he said honestly. “But I think we’re doing the right thing, don’t you?”
“I do,” I nodded. “I like you. I enjoy spending time with you - you make me laugh and smile and you make me feel safe and wanted. I’m already head over heels for that sassy daughter of yours and can’t wait to watch our girls grow together as sisters and best friends.”
“I feel the same, baby,” Rowdy kissed me again, and this time it was hotter and longer than the one before it. “It’s an unconventional way to start a marriage, but I think it works for us, don’t you?”
“I do,” I told him.
“Practice saying those two words, honey. I’ll be needing to hear them again in a few days.”
“Mom!” Lexi yelled from the other side of the door. “We’re hungry!”
Rowdy dropped his forehead to touch mine and his long hair curtained our faces.
“I can’t wait to get you home and back in my bed,” he whispered. “I’m going to wear the girls out with manual labor so they sleep like the dead, then I’m going to crawl into bed with you and make you scream my name.”
“Yes,” I whispered, my face getting flush as heat pooled between my legs. “Do that.”
“I’ll be thinking of it the whole way home,” Rowdy said as he pulled away from me. “Now I need to have a minute to sit in here alone while I recite what I can remember about the periodic table while you finish getting ready to check out of the hotel.”
I giggled and walked toward the closed door. Before I opened it, I wiggled my ass a little bit and looked over my shoulder to see him flop down on the bed dramatically.
“You’re fucking killing me, girl,” Rowdy groaned. I laughed at him and then went into the other room while he calmed down.
I wasn’t happy that Rowdy seemed just as nervous as I was, but I was excited that he was thinking of ways to take both our minds off of it as soon as we got home.
◆◆◆
ROWDY
“Are you home yet?” Marcus asked as soon as I answered my cell phone.
“Just about to turn down our driveway, what’s up?” I glanced over at Sierra and saw her looking at me curiously, so I whispered, “It’s Marcus.”
“I’ve got some news for you two. I’m going to swing by on my way home from the office. Will you and Sierra be able to get the girls entertained so that the three of us can talk privately?”
“Sure,” I said as I pulled up into the driveway beside the house. The girls piled out of the truck, but Sierra stayed in her seat waiting for me to tell her what was going on. “We’re here now, so anytime.”
“You got something to drink?” Marcus asked me.
“No,” I tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a croak. “Am I going to need something?”
“I’ll bring a bottle. See you in a few.”
Marcus hung up without a goodbye and I flipped the phone shut and looked over at Sierra with a shrug.
“What did he say?”
“He said he had some news for the two of us and asked if I had anything to drink in the house,” I turned to look at her. “Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s good. We’ll need to get the girls occupied so we can talk to him alone.”
“Do you want me to call and see if Sarah or Kari can pick them up?”
“No, hold on,” I flipped my phone open and dialed my friend Grunt’s number, putting it on speaker phone so Sierra could hear. He answered on the first ring, “Hey, brother. You and your old lady at home? I need a favor.”
“Talk to me,” Grunt mumbled. “What can I do for you?”
“Can I send Leia and Lexi over to your place for a bit? Marcus is on his way over and has something to talk to us about. He said we need to be alone.”
“Sounds serious,” Grunt grumbled. “The gang’s all here, send them over. Shannon is making tacos for dinner and then we’re going to roast some marshmallows over the fire pit and the kids are going to make a fucking mess eating s’mores. Both your girls are welcome.”
“Thanks, brother,” I told him. “We’ll be by to get them as soon as we can.”
“No hurry,” Grunt told me. “Let them stay a while. We’re going to get a lesson about constellations from the boys this evening, they might learn something new. God knows I will.”
“Okay,” I laughed. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
Grunt hung up and I flipped my phone closed again. I glanced out the window on Sierra’s side of the truck and saw the girls on the fence of the corral saying hello to the horses.
“I’m worried,” Sierra told me. “What if something went wrong?”
“We’ll find out soon enough. Let’s get our stuff out of the truck and send the girls over to Grunt’s house. I’ll start some laundry and head out to the barn to take care of the horses if you’ll scrounge something up for us to eat.”
◆◆◆
SIERRA
“Okay,” I jumped out of the truck without waiting for Rowdy to open my door and grabbed one of the bags out of the back as I walked toward the porch.
“Girls!” I yelled out for them. They both came running and helped us carry their things inside to the laundry room. I knew the minute Rowdy suggested that they go over to Grunt’s house because both girls ran through the living room at top speed.
“Mom! Rowdy said we have to go to the store and buy some boots for me tomorrow, but I can wear a pair of
