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He scrunches his eyebrows, looking offended. I close the door and walk around to the driver’s side, getting in, then slowly making my way through the busy parking lot.

Tripp is quiet, looking deep in thought as we drive out to Whispering Pines for his jump lesson. “Can I make my timeline about Mama? She’s gonna be a nurse, and that’s a really important job.”

I hum thoughtfully. “You’re right. It is an important job. But I’m thinking your teacher probably wants you to choose a figure from the past.”

He sighs heavily, and I hold back a laugh. Poppy started clinicals for nursing school in August, so twice a week I get Tripp from school. I always look forward to our conversations.

“Like a dead person?” He asks, scrunching his nose.

I chuckle. “Yes, like a dead person.”

We spend the rest of the drive discussing his project, but he rejects all my ideas for historical figures he could use. When we pull up in front of the corral, Hattie is leaning against the fence waiting for us. My heart still skips a beat every time I see her.

“Never mind, I’ll ask Aunt Hattie for ideas,” he states, unbuckling and rushing out of the truck before taking off toward Hattie.

My wife kneels and catches Tripp in her arms, hugging him tight. I think she enjoys their lessons as much as he does.

Walking toward them, I can picture my entire life ahead of me. A beautiful life. Hattie watching her students win competitions, maybe even making it to the Olympics like she did. I can even envision her holding our children, a little girl with red hair just like her, a boy with a cowboy hat. Hank will spoil his grandchildren and share memories of my parents with them—the grandparents they won’t get to meet.

My life might not have gone exactly as I planned, but I’m damn happy. Just wish Mom and Dad could see it.

“Tripp, why don’t you go help Hank get Oakley tacked for your lesson? I’ll be there in a second,” Hattie tells him.

She strolls toward me, smiling. “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes, Sunshine.”

I sniff. “You just saw me an hour ago, Princess.”

Hattie steps close to me and wraps her arms around my neck. The warmth of her body pressing up against me has me gritting my teeth to control my thoughts. Any second my nephew and my father-in-law are going to walk out of the barn, right where they can see us.

I glance quickly at the door of the mare barn before dragging my hands around Hattie’s waist, then lower, to squeeze the firm globes of her ass.

She sighs against my neck. “Will it always be like this?”

Pulling away just enough to look down into her green eyes, I study her face. “Like what?”

“Always looking for you, getting butterflies after only being apart for minutes. Goosebumps springing up every time you touch me.”

I lean down and kiss her, soft and slow. “I think love is one of those things that goes through many phases,” I muse, running the tip of my nose along hers. “Honeymoon phases, challenges, hills and valleys…but one thing will always be true.”

Hattie looks up at me, her eyes bright and happy. “And what’s that?”

I kiss the tip of her nose. “You’ll always be my home, Hattie Townsend-Galloway. Wherever you are, whatever we go through…I belong with you.”

Her eyes grow glossy with emotion, not sadness, but the overwhelm that sometimes comes with being this happy. “Yes, you’re my home, and I’m yours. I love you.”

“I love you too,” I tell my wife before leaning in and kissing her again.

The sound of gagging and groaning has me smiling against Hattie’s lips. We break apart and glance toward the noise.

Hank and Tripp make a show of covering their eyes as they pretend to be grossed out by our affection.

“Ew!” Tripp says, wrinkling his nose. “You gotta stop all that. It’s time for my lesson.”

I face my nephew, resting my hands on my hips. “Would Spirit stay away from his mare girlfriend if she were nearby?”

Tripp rolls his eyes. “Horses don’t have girlfriends. And her name is Rain.”

Hank snickers. “Yeah, Linc. She has a name.”