He didn’t give that first fuck if he did this rich or poor.He didn’t care if he did it in Denver, where he’d grown up, or in Alaska, or onthe moon.He’d liked school but when it was done, he was done with it.Hedidn’t want to play a corporate game.He didn’t want to face a life ofmonotony.And he made it so he had none of that.He just wanted family, hisbike, his brothers, solid and steady.
But most important, he wanted a world where his woman lookedhim in the eyes when he asked her to be close to him, close to the man whowanted what many would consider as limits that were all of that, not riches inthe bank, not vacations in Tuscany, just whatever life led them to, and heranswer was,Absolutely.
He’d found it in Rosalie.
He had it in his home, in his bed, on the back of his bike.
It was a miracle, quiet and true and constant.
And no matter what he had to do to keep it…
He was not ever going to let it go.
“Snap?”
“Yup?”
She was lying on him.
It was after lunch at Las Delicias with their crew.After heand Shy went back to the condo to finish with the cupboards and the women wentwhere women went to work off burritos (in Rosie and Tabby’s case, the mall).After he’d come home and showered and ate dinner with Rosalie then took her outfor a ride in the early summer waning sun.After they’d returned home, gotbeers and stretched out on the couch, him with his book, her with hers thathe’d noticed she was not reading, but he didn’t think much of it.When she hada book of her own, her mind wandered often, but he could tell by the look onher face when it did, her reflections never took her anywhere she didn’t wantto be.
“You never said what you thought of the name Hermione.”
He felt his body tense.
This happened right before it shook uncontrollably becausehe burst out laughing.
When he got some control over it, if not a lot, he saw hersmiling down at him.
It was then he realized a promise he made her he was notkeeping.
He’d told her that he was going to get her to a time in herlife when she’d spend a lot of it laughing.
So far this hadn’t happened.
Instead, she’d gotten him to a time in his life where he didthat, no…she gave him that, and when she did, she just watched him, happy andsmiling.
He again vowed to himself to do what he could to give thatback.
But he had a feeling they both were totally down with theway it turned out.
When he finally got control of his humor, he lifted hisbrows and asked softly, his arm around her going tight, “Youthinkin’ about babies, baby?”
“Would that freak you?”she asked back.
“Fuck no,” he answered firmly.
And earned another smile.
“Two for you too, or…?”she prompted.
“As many as you want, I’ll give you,” he replied.
The smile he got from that was seriously sweet in ways hefelt the urge to do something about it.
“Rosie, Cotton’s up to some serious shit.You need to let mefinish this,” he declared.“Then I’ll spend time finishing you.”
She turned her gaze to his book.“I’m always losing you toSteve Berry.”
