“Oh, there’s something I probably ought to tell you.” I leaned back and looked him straight in the eye. “I love you too, soldier.”
His lips crashed down on mine so suddenly he stole my breath away. He was the man I’d been waiting for—the one who not only saw me for who I was on the outside, but also saw who I was on the inside and wanted to love me, anyway.
He was mine, and I was his, and that’s just how it was going to have to be.
For forever.
EPILOGUE
Thorne
It took a few months, but we finally got the call that Dartman and Chuck Oliver, Jr. had been found guilty of multiple charges and were going to be put away for a long time. I got the call on our six-month anniversary and couldn’t wait to share the news with my new bride.
I found her in the nursery. She wasn’t supposed to be painting the walls, but I’d learned it was impossible to stop my wife from doing anything.
“Do you like the butter yellow or the light maize?” She’d painted two big squares in the middle of one wall.
They looked exactly the same to me, but I didn’t dare tell her that. “Which one do you like best?”
She cocked her head. “I think I’m more partial to the butter yellow.”
I pretended to give it the same serious consideration. “Yeah, me too.”
“You can’t even tell them apart, can you?” She nudged my shoulder with the hand holding the paintbrush. A smudge of light maize or butter yellow—who could tell which was which—landed on my t-shirt. “Oh no. Look what I’ve done.”
“You know, minx, if you wanted to get me naked, all you needed to do was ask.” I whipped my shirt off over my head and tossed it on the ground.
“I don’t even need to ask. All I have to do is cock my hip or look at you or hell, even breathe.” She laughed as she fell into my arms. Her finger traced along the ridge of my scar. “How did your call with Bridger’s parents go?”
“It was good.” After things settled down with the bluebonnet festival, the lawyer, and all, I’d moved in and opened up to her about all the demons that had been chasing me for so long. The guilt I harbored over Bridger’s death was the hardest to let go. Destiny listened without judgement and through talking with her and a therapist that my buddy Jake set me up with online, I’d made peace with the events of that day. The final step in letting go of my guilt was calling his parents and telling them how sorry I was that I hadn’t been able to save him.
The phone call was everything I’d been afraid of—emotionally draining and difficult—but also incredibly healing. And now it was over.
“I’m proud of you, soldier.” Destiny tilted her head back and stared up at me, her eyes so full of love that I asked myself for the hundred millionth time what I’d ever done to deserve a woman like her in my life.
“Thanks. Hopefully, the visit with your brother goes that well.” Mike was coming home for Thanksgiving the day after tomorrow, and it would be the first time we’d seen each other in person in over a year. The tension between us had eased, and I had no doubt everything would be fine. It would just take time.
“He’s going to have to love you. Because of you, he’s going to be an uncle.”
“Hey, my part of that equation was pretty easy. You’re the one doing all the work.” I rested my palm on her growing belly. I couldn’t wait to meet the child we’d created together.
“Your time will come. There are going to be diapers to change, bottles to mix up, a whole ranch to try to baby proof.” Always jealous of anyone getting Destiny’s affection, Gonzo got up from his dog bed in the corner and nudged his head between us. “And you’re on animal duty for the foreseeable future too. Reggie probably needs more alfalfa.”
“No one told me living with you would be more work than defending the United States of America,” I teased.
“I guess my standards are higher than Uncle Sam’s,” she teased right back.
“That’s for sure.” I surprised her by scooping her up in my arms and carrying her out of the soon-to-be nursery and into the bedroom we now shared.
“What are you doing? It’s two o’clock on a Saturday. We’ve got work to do.” She playfully swatted at my chest, but I could tell she was more than willing to take a break.
“You’ve been working too hard and need to relax.” I unbuttoned the front of one of the long-sleeve flannel shirts she’d stolen from my side of the closet. “And I’m hankering for a taste of you, minx.”
“Six months of country living and you’re already ‘hankering’ for things, huh? I can’t wait to see what you’re like a year from now.” She helped me ease her yoga pants down her thighs, then spread her legs, unabashedly giving me access to every part of her.
“I’ll probably be fixin’ to do stuff and calling you purdy.” I gave her one last smile before I bent my head and buried my tongue inside her sweet heat. Groaning, I licked her from front to back. “Damn, darlin’. You taste better and better every single time.”
Her fingers slid into my hair. I’d let it grow out a little more on top since she liked to grab fistfuls and tug on my hair while I taunted and teased her to her release.
