"Coming." He pressed one more kiss to my forehead before stepping back, his hand finding mine and intertwining our fingers, his dark eyes soft as they met mine, his thumb stroking across my knuckles. "We'll talk more later. About the fence. About... everything."
I nodded, squeezing his hand, my heart still racing from the weight of what we'd said, from the love I could feel pulsing between us like a living thing.
Inside, the kitchen smelled like bacon and coffee and Kol's particular brand of chaos. He was plating eggs with a flourish, his dark hair falling across his forehead, his golden eyes bright with the simple joy of feeding people he loved.
"Sit, sit." He waved us toward the table with his spatula, his voice warm and commanding, his apron — bright yellow with "Kiss the Cook" printed across the front — splattered with grease, his bare feet padding across the kitchen floor. "I made your favorite. Cheesy eggs with extra cheese, because I listen when my girl talks about her preferences."
My girl. The casual possessiveness of it made my chest warm, made something flutter in my stomach.
"Kol." I caught his arm as he passed, stopping him mid-bustle, my voice soft but urgent, my eyes searching his face, my fingers curling around his wrist.
"What?" He looked down at me, his golden eyes going soft with concern, his brow furrowing slightly, his free hand coming up to brush a strand of hair from my face, his touch gentle and automatic. "What's wrong, little flower?"
"Nothing's wrong." I shook my head, my hand tightening on his arm, my heart pounding against my ribs, my voice droppingto something vulnerable, my cheeks flushing with heat. "I just... I need to tell you something."
"Okay." He set down the spatula and turned to face me fully, giving me his complete attention, his golden eyes warm and patient, his hands finding my waist and settling there like they belonged, his head tilting slightly as he studied my face. "I'm listening."
"I love you." The words came out softer than I intended, almost shy, my cheeks flushing with heat, my eyes dropping to his chest before forcing themselves back up to his face, my heart hammering against my ribs. "I love you, Kol."
His whole face transformed — shock melting into joy melting into something so tender it made my chest ache. His eyes went bright with tears he didn't try to hide, his smile spreading wide and brilliant across his face, his hands tightening on my waist.
"Yeah?" His voice cracked on the word, high and hopeful, his hands tightening on my waist, his whole body leaning toward me like a flower toward sunlight, his golden eyes searching my face like he needed to make sure he'd heard right.
"Yeah." I reached up and cupped his face, my thumbs brushing away the tears that had started to fall, my voice steadying with certainty, my eyes holding his. "I love you. Your terrible jokes and your stress baking and the way you call me little flower like it's a sacred thing. I love all of it. I love you."
"Aster." He breathed my name like a prayer, his forehead dropping to rest against mine, his tears falling freely now, his voice wobbling with emotion, his hands sliding up to cup my face in return. "I love you too. I've loved you for so long. Since the moment you called me ridiculous and meant it as a compliment."
"It was a compliment." I laughed, the sound wet with my own tears, my hands sliding into his hair, my heart overflowing,my voice thick with emotion. "You're the most ridiculous, wonderful, perfect person I've ever met."
He kissed me then — not the playful pecks he usually gave, but something deeper, something that tasted like tears and joy and the promise of forever. His hands pulled me closer, his body warm and solid against mine, his purr rumbling through both of us.
"Get a room." Reid's voice came from the table, but there was no heat in it, only warmth and amusement, his dark eyes soft as he watched us, his coffee cup raised to his lips to hide his smile. Kol pulled back with a grin, his golden eyes still wet, his smile so bright it could have lit up the whole room, his arms still wrapped around me.
"Don't be jealous, boss man." His voice was teasing, his arms still wrapped around me, his chin coming to rest on top of my head, his chest vibrating with a contented purr. "There's plenty of Aster love to go around."
"I'm not jealous." Reid took a sip of his coffee, his lips twitching toward a smile, his voice dry and fond, his dark eyes warm as they met mine over Kol's shoulder. "I'm hungry. And the eggs are getting cold."
Breakfast was a chaotic, wonderful affair. Sawyer appeared halfway through, sliding into the chair beside me without a word, his hand finding my thigh under the table and staying there, his amber eyes soft when they met mine. Nolan came in from the clinic, looking tired but happy, his sandy hair disheveled, his green eyes soft when they landed on me. Underneath the warmth, the laughter, the easy love that flowed between all of us, I could feel the tension. The awareness that something was coming. That the peace we'd built was fragile, threatened by forces we couldn't quite see.
After breakfast, I found Nolan in the clinic, bent over his desk, surrounded by papers and medical charts. He looked upwhen I knocked on the doorframe, his tired face softening into a smile, his green eyes warm with welcome.
"Hey, you." His voice was gentle, fond, as he pushed back from his desk and held out his hand toward me, his fingers beckoning, his chair creaking as he shifted to make room. "Come here."
I crossed the room and let him pull me into his lap, settling against his chest with a sigh, my head tucking under his chin, my body relaxing into his warmth.
"Long morning?" His voice was soft, his hand stroking down my back in long, soothing passes, his purr starting up low and steady beneath my ear, his other arm wrapping around my waist to hold me close.
"Strange morning." I shifted to look up at him, my hand resting on his chest, my brow furrowing with worry, my voice quiet with concern. "Reid thinks someone's been sabotaging the ranch. The fence on the north pasture was cut."
Nolan's expression shifted, concern replacing the softness, his hand stilling on my back, his green eyes sharpening with focus, his jaw tightening.
"Cut?" His voice was careful, clinical, his mind already working through the implications, his brow furrowing deeply. "Not broken? Not weathered?"
"Cut." I confirmed, my voice flat, my jaw tight with worry, my fingers curling into his shirt. "Clean through. Like someone took a saw to it."
"Easton." It wasn't a question, his voice hard with certainty, his arms tightening around me protectively, his scent going sharp with something dangerous, his whole body tensing beneath me.
"Maybe." I pressed closer to him, needing the comfort of his warmth, the steadiness of his heartbeat beneath my ear, myvoice small against his chest. "Reid's not sure. But I am. I know it's him. Who else would it be?"
