“Grandchildren?” Hattie covers my hand with hers, surprise coating her voice. “You want children?”
I spare her a quick look, taking in her raised brows and wide eyes. “With you? Of course,” I reply easily. “That’s if you want them.”
I’ve always been pretty fifty-fifty on the children thing. There’s enough of them on the ranch now that I could get my fill with babysitting or being the cool uncle. But now that I have Hattie, I can see us together in ten years with a couple of ourown, and the thought of her pregnant has me thinking some pretty inappropriate things.
Hattie stays quiet for a moment while the radio plays softly. From the corner of my eye, I catch her staring at the airport, lips pursed.
“Have I totally overstepped?” I ask, squeezing her knee before shifting my hand so I can take hers. “Or…”
She shakes her head, squeezing my hand in return. “I guess I never thought it was in the cards for me. I gave up on love alongtime ago, Cas. Like, totally thought it was not going to happen to me. So, I guess I just never thought about kids.”
“Never?” My heart races as I wait for her response, but I know I won’t care either way. Any life with her is better than the alternative.
“I used to,” she whispers. “I really did. And part of me still does. Part of me always will. I just…have to reconcile that with the part of me that decided it wasn’t for me.”
“You decided it wasn’t for you because of your family? Work?” I look at her and find her eyes already on me. “Because of everything that happened?”
Hattie shrugs. “All of the above?” Her eyes flicker to the airport. “I think I gave up because I didn’t think I deserved it. If I couldn’t find love, then should I be allowed to have kids of my own? I know it sounds silly?—”
“It doesn’t,” I tell her. “And you do. I won’t push either way, shortcake. But I would so fucking love to have them with you.”
A laugh bubbles from her lips, surprised and cut short. “Deal then.”
“Alright. A deal,” I chuckle, sparing her a look. “In a year, we can come back to it. Or maybe we should just let nature take its course.”
“So, what, no condoms?” she asks, shifting in her seat. “And we just…let it happen?”
Something about this turn in conversation has me going hard. We’re almost at our terminal, and my brothers are driving right behind us to take my truck when we go. The last thing we need is Calder and Reed seeing my hard on.
“Yeah,” I reply, clearing my throat. When I look at Hattie, her cheeks are flushed for an entirely different reason. “But just know, I want you to be my wife before that happens.”
Hattie stills, eyes widening. “Are you proposing to me, Casper Sterling?”
“No.” I shake my head with a smile. “Not yet anyway. I wouldn’t disrespect you like that, shortcake. I love you too much to give you this kind of lousy proposal.”
“How would you propose, then?” she asks teasingly.
“I’m not telling you that, it would ruin the surprise.” I glance at her and wink.
Hattie sighs, but a smile plays at her lips now. “I look forward to it then.”
I can’t help but laugh as we pull into the terminal. First stop, her place in New York for a month, then wherever the agency takes her. I never thought I’d actually be excited to travel beyond ranches and small towns. But with her, I can’t wait to see more of what her life looks like.
Parking the truck, I pull Hattie’s hand to my lips. “I love you,” I tell her, meeting her eye.
Her eyes shine with unshed tears and happiness. “I love you too, horse boy.”
I grin, but our time is quickly disrupted by Calder and Reed, who appear at Hattie’s door. For the first time since telling everyone our plans, I feel a twinge of nerves. Not only will this year be the first time I’m away from the ranch for an extended period of time, but it’ll be the first time I’m away from my twin.
I hadn’t thought much about him moving out. Technically, it’d been an adjustment, something to get used to. We’d spentour entire lives either sharing a house or a wall. Him moving in with his girlfriend changed a lot, but I still saw him every day when he came to work with the horses.
But this will be different. This will be the first time I don’t see him for more than a few days.
My chest tightens, but I know we’re both entering different stages of our lives. He has the woman he loves, and now, I have mine.
“You okay?” Hattie asks, bringing our joined hands to her lap.
I look from my brothers to her and smile. “Yeah. Just thinking about how this will be a change. But a good one.”
