Wow, there was so much in that little monologue to digest. But Wilderalwayshad goggly eyes for me?
“Tally will be okay Bertie girl,” Wilder replied. “I’ll protect her with my goo-goo eyes.” He then turned to me, his gaze softening as thumb traced gentle circles on my knuckles and his eyes held mine with an intensity that made my heart skip. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe, Brownie. Absolutely nothing.”
“Goggly eyes won’t protect her,” Bertie admonished.
“No one tell her it’s goo-goo not goggly,” Nash breathed out, fighting a smile. “She’ll only deny she said it.”
“We’re good, Bertie,” I replied. “But thank you.”
“Okay.” Bertie shrugged. “But my services are there if you need them and I’m a great cuddler, just so you know.” She screwed up her eyes and took a breath. “Tally ho, could you do a braid for me please?”
Lily let out a loud laugh. “What’s wrong with the one I did for you?”
She pointed at her braid that was trying to break free beneath her tiara and turned back to me. “Yours are always so good, I think it’s because you braid the horses mane’s.”
I smiled softly, feeling something tug in my chest. “Do you have a brush?”
Lily stood and opened one of the drawers and pulled out a pink, plasticbrush. “Here you go.” She handed it to me with an amused grin. “Good luck.”
Bertie moved in front of me, placed her tiara on the table, and stood still as a statue while all eyes turned to watch me. After a few quick brushes I then started to work her fingers through her hair, creating a well-practiced tight braid coming from the top of Bertie’s head. Within seconds it was done, and I kissed the top of her head.
“Finished, sweetie pie.”
Bertie patted it with her hand and turned to Lily. “Maybe Tally ho can give you lessons, Momma. It would be good for you.” She reached up and kissed my cheek. “Thank you. Right, night, everyone and please keep the noise down, I have a big day tomorrow.
With that, she was gone, thundering back up the stairs and slamming her bedroom door.
“I sometimes wonder whether that child was created, not born,” Nash muttered with an amused grin.
“She spent far too long with you three that’s the problem,” Lily replied, shaking her head but smiling widely. “She’s like this weird cross between a ten and twenty-four year old. Thank goodness I came back when I did.”
“Yeah,” Nash said on a low rumble leaning in to kiss her. “Thank fucking goodness.”
“You’re good with her,” Wilder said, close to my ear as Gunner and Wilder started to talk about the new bull that was coming from Montrose.
“She’s easy to be good with,” I replied, leaning into him, desperate for the warmth of his body. The safety he gave me.
“Not just that.”
Watching the brightness in his eyes, the look of awe he showed me, something fell like a heated blanket over me as the chatter and gentle buzz of family continued around us. It was contentment. It was peace.
“You just…fit, Brownie. Here. With us.”
Something pulled in my chest as his words sank in. “With you?” I asked, the question feeling bigger than it probably should have.
He took a moment, flicking his tongue over his full bottom lip. “Yeah, with me, Brownie, always with me.”
Cassidy then announced she was going to get more wine, and as I looked around, listening to the chatter and the gentle buzz of family, with the smell of food and wine and the indefinable scent of family and belonging, I knew I was lucky to be a part of it. I also knew I wouldn’t let Declan spoil it for me.
I felt Wilder’s gaze on me again and when I turned to him, he was watching me. Not his usual gaze of heat and want. This gaze was different. Softer. Like he was memorizing something he was afraid to lose.
Chapter 40
Bad Moon Rising – Creedence Clearwater Revival
Wilder
She was still asleep, curled into me like she always belonged there. My Brownie with the weight of her head on my chest, her auburn hair spilling across my skin like silk.
