“Come on, there’s a surprise in it for you,” I told the two. “Leia, you know I give good surprises.”
“He really does,” Leia told Lexi as she stood up. “Believe me.”
Sierra laughed at the girls and I led the three of them toward the corral. Once we got near the fence, I whistled shrilly and the barn doors opened. Nicole and two of her assistants, followed by the cameraman Kari had hired for the night, led out the three horses I had purchased by phone earlier in the week while we had been in Austin.
I heard Sierra’s gasp and Leia and Lexi’s excited screams as I vaulted over the fence into the corral to walk toward the horses and Nicole.
I took the reigns of the buckskin mare that I had chosen for Sierra and led her toward the fence. Sierra’s eyes were twinkling as she stepped up and leaned over the upper rail to reach the horse. It was instant love between the two when Sierra went straight for that spot between the horse’s eyes and scratched while she murmured sweet words with tears in her eyes.
I walked back to Nicole and took the reins of the other two horses and led them over to where Leia and Lexi were sitting on the fence. Both girls were smiling from ear to ear and nearly vibrating with nervous excitement.
“Daddy,” Leia whispered, tears streaming down her face. “You found her!”
“I did, love,” I smiled up at her and nudged the dappled gray mare closer so Leia could say hello and then handed her the reins.
I turned to Lexi and looked up into her wide eyes. “Lexi, honey, this gorgeous girl is your horse. She’s my wedding gift to you and she’s your responsibility from now on.”
The beautiful black mare sniffed Lexi’s hand as she put it closer and then nibbled Lexi’s palm with her lips causing Lexi to laugh. Lexi reached up and stroked the white forelock on the black mare’s head and whispered, “Thank you, Rowdy. Thank you so much. I’ll love her forever and ever.”
“We don’t have enough tack and saddles for you girls to ride them just yet, but let me put you on bareback for a walk around, okay? We’ll get some pictures of the three of you and then you girls can go change clothes and go with Miss Nicole to get them settled in their new stalls for the night, okay?”
Both girls nodded and I smiled up at them before glancing toward Sierra. She was watching me talk to our daughters and I knew right then that she was falling for me. It was a new relationship, a new friendship, and we’d only known each other a week, but she was almost as in love as I was.
I pulled Leia off the fence and hugged her tightly as she sobbed into my neck. I understood why she was emotional. I had granted three of her biggest wishes in one single day: a mom, a horse, and a sister. I gave her a minute to calm down and then kissed her on the cheek as I sat her on the back of her gray mare. I handed her the reins, knowing she could control the animal easily since she had so much experience with horses already.
I turned and plucked Lexi off the fence and she gave me a tight hug as she whispered her thanks once again.
“Rowdy, she’s so pretty,” Lexi whispered. “Thank you so much.”
“She is beautiful and she’s a sweetheart just like you,” I whispered back before I kissed her cheek and put her on the back of the horse. I handed the reins to Nicole and saw that she was wiping tears off her face. She huffed out a breath and shook her head.
“You know how to make all the girls fall in love, Rowdy,” She told me with a smile before she looked up at Lexi and started talking to her about her new horse, asking if she knew what she wanted to name her.
I made my way over to Sierra and helped her get over the fence in her long dress. I held her close, her legs and gown flowing over one arm and her back resting in the other as she held tightly around my neck.
“How did you do all this?” Sierra asked quietly. “You mentioned it at the hotel, but I just thought it was a possibility. I had no idea. And you even got one for me. She’s beautiful, Rowdy. All three of them are.”
“Nicole helped. Shit, Nicole did all the hard work and she even kept them corralled in her backyard for the last few days so I could surprise you ladies.” I walked toward her horse that one of Nicole’s people was holding and told her, “I wanted a unique wedding gift to give you and I thought teaching you and Lexi to ride, giving you something that’s tangible and won’t go away was just the thing to do.”
“How did you afford them?”
“I dipped into my savings I’ve been building to buy the house,” I admitted. “I’ll work it back up though; Nicole said I had plenty of time. She won't sell to anyone but me.”
“Yeah?” Sierra smiled brightly. “That’s good.”
“So, we’re not going to be homeless, we’re just not going to own it outright quite yet.”
“Okay,” Sierra kept smiling as I lifted her up and set her on the back of the horse sideways.
I held onto the reins and walked her toward Leia and Lexi so I could take their reins from Nicole. The photographer was snapping pictures as Nicole and the others climbed the fence and I stopped where he told me to. Finally, after he had crossed the corral, he ordered me to walk forward as I looked toward him. He directed the girls to look his way, but didn’t have to tell them to smile.
◆◆◆
SIERRA
The head of Rowdy’s hard length hit the back
