“But I thought that’s what the horse ride was for?” Pouting my niece crossed her arms over her chest. “I thought I was going to be a flower girl again. Like I was for you and Momma.”
I ruffled her hair. “One day short stuff, but when I do ask Miss. Cassidy, to marry me I’ll be asking her during something better than a horse ride.”
She looked at me wide-eyed, an expression of total horror. “What the heck is better than a horse ride you fool!”
“Bertie!”
“Munchkin!”
“Way to go Bertie girl, he is a fool.”
“You sure you want to be a part of this family one day?” I asked Cassidy, brushing her hair from her sun-kissed face. “It’s a bit crazy at times.”
She took a breath before a serene smile appeared on her face. “Absolutely, you fool.”
I took her mouth in mine for a slow kiss, letting every ounce of my love for her feed into it. Telling her silently that ours was going to be a love of the ages. We would live on this ranch with our family, bring up our children here and we would be happy. There would be ups and downs, tears of sorrow and joy, happiness and sadness but the foundation of it all would be love. She would have the love of a stubborn man who almost didn’t getthe sweet because of his stupid misconceptions of her. Cassidy Turner was more than I deserved yet I still had her. I believed she was a gift from another beautiful woman who I’d loved, the one who was giving me life for a second time, and I would always be grateful.
“Okay,” Wilder said above the noise of my incredible family. “Who else thinks Gunner is a fool, or is it just me and Bertie?”
I thought about smacking him around the back of the head, but he was right, I was and was thankful I’d woken up just in time.
