Those words were magic. He was magic. Love was magic. And she didn’t have to be afraid anymore.
Epilogue
Four months later
Claudia woke up to the scent of coffee in the air and the sound of Brody happily humming away in the kitchen. She’d been living with him on his small ranch in Evergreen, Colorado for the last three months, after giving her notice to Master Derek. She’d planned to give him thirty days, but he’d insisted she leave when Brody was done teaching his course, telling her finding happiness was more important than waiting tables. She missed her friends at the Ranch, but Reese and Arlo were arriving today to help them finalize everything so they could open their new animal rescue in a few weeks.
She stretched, smiling to herself as Brody went into a falsetto for the chorus of whatever tune he was singing. The man never ceased to amaze her with his humor, his strength, his intelligence. But mostly, with the way he loved her.
The curtains fluttered with the breeze blowing in through the window, smelling of fresh mountain air. She was about to throw the covers back when Brody came in, holding her favorite mug.
“’Morning, love. Got some coffee for you.”
She sat up against the pillows as he brought her coffee over and set it on the nightstand.
“Thank you, Sir.”
He chuckled. “How many times have I told you there’s no need to call me that unless we’re in scene?”
“Too many. You know I like it. And I think you do, too.”
He broke out in a grin, that sexy dimple creasing his cheek. God, the man was handsome—so utterly hot he made her body heat up simply by smiling at her.
“Yeah, I do. So, Reese and Arlo are due in a few hours. Why don’t you take your coffee into the bathroom to shower, then, if you’re not starving, come on down to the barn. I have something to show you.”
“Oh! Did you finish the new enclosure for the goats?” she asked, always excited for any progress they made that brought them closer to opening the rescue to new animals in need.
“You’ll see,” he said with a wink before walking off down the hall.
“Why all the mystery?” she yelled after him.
“You’ll see, baby,” he called out.
“Humph!” she pouted, but she jumped up and carried her mug to the bathroom.
Once she was showered and dried, and had plaited her hair into a long braid, she got into her jeans and boots and grabbed an apple from the bowl on the kitchen table before striding out the front door and crossing the small distance between the house and the barn.
It was a gorgeous spring day. The birds sang in the trees, and it was warm enough that her plaid flannel was the only extra layer she needed, which was nice after a long, snowy winter. Of course, all that snow had meant more time in bed for her and Brody, so she was not really opposed. And in his spare time in between coaching Bull’s son’s football team, caring for the animals with Claudia, and upgrading the barn, he’d built a nicedungeon in the spare room in the house, so they’d had plenty of ways to keep busy.
She stepped into the barn and was greeted by the goats bellowing a greeting. She stopped to lean over a stall door to pet their newest baby goat. As she straightened up, something bumped into her leg.
“What the…?”
Dancing around her feet was the cutest gray pitbull puppy with an enormous gold bow tied around its neck. Brody was right behind the pup, a huge grin on his face.
“Brody? Did you rescue a puppy?”
“I sure did. But she’s not going up for adoption. She’s yours, baby.”
“Oh!”
Her eyes stung with tears as she got down on her knees and drew the wiggly puppy into her arms. “You know I’ve always wanted a dog.Oh mon Dieu!” The tears slipped down her cheeks as she cuddled and kissed the puppy—her puppy. “What should we name her?”
“She’s your dog, so you can call her whatever you want, but I was kind of thinking Diamond.”
“Diamond? Hmm, I like it. But where did you get the name from?”
“Why don’t you take a look at her bow.”
