"Early morning for you," he says, reaching for my hand as I approach.
"I wanted to check the new fence line. Make sure everything's solid." I let him pull me closer. "Plus I couldn't sleep. Too excited about the breeding proposals coming in."
"Nervous excitement or good excitement?"
"Good excitement. We have three different farms wanting to breed with Rusalka's bloodline.Batyaspent all yesterday going through the paperwork with his magnifying glass."
Rusalka grazes near the gate. She's filled out since those desperate early days, her coat gleaming with health. She won three more races after that first one, each victory more decisive than the last. Now breeding offers come in every week from farms across Europe and the States. We've proven the Petrov name still means champion bloodlines and fast horses. The racing community remembers now why they used to respect our stock.
Other challenges will come because success always draws predators, but we're ready for them now. The men working the stables aren't just horse trainers anymore. They're formermilitary men who know how to handle both reins and rifles. Ivan manages security while pretending to manage feed schedules. Anton runs background checks on potential buyers while teaching young horses to accept a saddle. We've learned to blend protection with purpose.
I wrap my arms around Renat's waist and rest my head against his sweaty chest. His heartbeat's steady beneath my ear, a rhythm I've grown to depend on. Home used to be just the ranch and the horses and the memory of my mother cooking in our kitchen. Now home's also this man who chose me over his family, who killed to keep me safe, who helps me rebuild what others tried to destroy.
The kitchen window glows warm behind us whereBatya's probably already making coffee and planning his day. He's been different these past months, lighter somehow. Having money flowing in instead of bleeding out has given him back the man he used to be before debts and desperation aged him beyond his years. Yesterday I found him actually humming while doing paperwork.
"Batyawants to discuss breeding plans after breakfast," I tell Renat.
"Your father's been busy with plans lately. I heard him on the phone with that farm in Kentucky for two hours yesterday."
"Having money makes him remember what it feels like to think about the future instead of just surviving today." I pause, watching Rusalka crop grass and flick her tail. "Yesterday, he spent two hours explaining bloodlines to the new trainer, showing him photographs of champions from when Grandfather was alive."
"What do you think about his plans?"
"I think they're good plans. We have the resources now to breed champions instead of hoping our current stock doesn'tbreak down before the next race. The offers coming in are serious money, Renat. Life-changing money."
The ring on my finger catches the morning light, a simple band of white gold. Renat placed it there three weeks ago during dinner in the kitchen where my mother once cooked for her family. No grand gestures or elaborate proposals, just a quiet question asked over soup and bread, a simple answer that changed everything between us.
The memory makes me smile against his chest. We're planning a small ceremony in the spring, nothing elaborate.Batyawill walk me down the aisle between the horse stalls, and we'll exchange vows where Rusalka can watch from her paddock. It feels right to start our married life surrounded by the horses that brought us together and the land we fought to keep.
"Are you nervous about the next race?" he asks.
"Always. But it's different nervousness now. Before, I was afraid of losing everything. Now I'm afraid of not living up to what we've built."
"You'll never risk losing everything again. Not while I'm breathing."
The promise carries weight because I've seen what happens to men who threaten us. The Karpins learned that lesson permanently, and their fate serves as a warning to anyone else with similar ideas. Word travels fast in certain circles. People know now that the Petrov ranch is under Vetrov protection, that threatening us means facing consequences dealt in blood and bullets.
Violence remains possible but no longer feels inevitable. We've proven we can defend what's ours, and that reputation provides its own shield.
"Do you have regrets about choosing this life?" I ask.
He considers the question while his hand moves through my hair. The gesture has become habit, this gentle touch thatgrounds us both. "Sometimes I wonder what would've happened if I'd walked away that first night. But then I see you working with the horses, or I watch your father smile when he talks about breeding champions, and I know I made the right choice."
"Even knowing what it cost you?"
"Especially knowing what it cost me. Some prices are worth paying, and some choices define who you really are underneath all the obligations and expectations."
He lost his family but gained something he never expected to want. Vadim still calls occasionally, checking in, making sure we haven't forgotten our obligations to mutual protection. The relationship is cordial but distant now. Renat chose love over loyalty, and that choice carries consequences that will follow us forever.
But those consequences also include mornings like this one, peaceful moments that would have been impossible if he'd followed orders instead of his heart.
We're continuing the Petrov legacy one well-trained racehorse at a time, but we're also building our own future together. A future where children might run between these same stalls, where the next generation learns to respect horses and understand bloodlines and carry on traditions worth preserving.
"I love you," I tell him, the words carrying all the weight of what we've survived and what we hope to build.
"I love you too. More than I thought possible when I was nothing but a weapon other people aimed at their problems."
Rusalka lifts her head and looks at us with intelligent eyes. She understands she's home, that she's valued, that her speed and heart matter to the people who care for her. Other horses move through the pastures with the same easy confidence, animals who know they're safe and well-fed and trained by people who respect their abilities.
This is what peace feels like after surviving a war. This is what hope tastes like when desperation no longer flavors every decision. This is what love means when it grows from choice rather than circumstance, when it survives the testing ground of violence and emerges stronger instead of broken.
The ranch will face new challenges because success always attracts those who prefer stealing to earning. More races will test our horses and our resolve. More enemies might threaten what we've built because valuable things draw predators in this world.
But we'll face those challenges together with the knowledge that we've already survived the worst our enemies could inflict and emerged not just intact but triumphant. We'll continue building champions and training winners and proving the Petrov name deserves its place among the respected racing families.
When the next crisis comes, new threats will discover what the Karpins learned six months ago. Some things are worth protecting at any cost. Some people are worth killing for. Some futures are worth any price violence demands.
But mostly, they're worth living for when the smoke clears and the sun rises on possibilities instead of problems, when love proves stronger than fear and hope burns brighter than the fires that once threatened everything we hold dear.
