Epilogue
The day after Christmas, Vince stared up at the ceiling, Emma’s hot, naked, satiated body draped over him while they worked to catch their breath from an incredibly good morning. It was his favorite way to wake up—buried deep inside the woman he loved while she sighed his name.
Rise and shine, indeed.
Several amazing months had passed since they decided to have a real relationship. He and Emma had jumped in with both feet, FaceTiming every night, and once a month, he’d fly to Georgia to spend several days with her, and she’d fly to Texas to stay with him a few days at a time, too. But each visit, they found it harder to part, until last month when they decided they didn’t want three states between anymore. She’d jumped right in at the ranch on her visits, so on Thanksgiving, he asked if she’d consider moving to Texas.
He’d been thrilled when she said yes.
As of last week, after her lease had run out, she was fully moved in, thanks to Dom and his buddies helping them pack up her house in three days.
A shaft of guilt ricocheted through Vince’s chest. He felt bad for taking her away from his brother. The only person Dom trusted and relied on to watch over his place during deployments.
“Mmm…” She kissed his neck and sighed, sending goose bumps down the right side of his body.
Yeah, Dom could find another friend.
Besides, with the house empty, maybe the new renter would be someone just as trustworthy as Emma.
She reached for her phone that dinged with a text on the nightstand. “Oh my God.” She laughed, the vibration shaking through her sweet curves straight into him.
“What’s up?”
“Macy. She sent a picture of the outfit she bought for Dupree to wear when they come next weekend. A bolero, shiny snakeskin cowboy boots, and…is that a ten-gallon hat?”
Vince glanced at the screen and smiled. “Yes, ma’am, it is. I take it she still thinks At-Ease is a working dude ranch?”
“Yes. Despite the fact I repeatedly told her it wasn’t.” Her sigh washed over him. “She said, and I quote, ‘We can’t wait for the full dude ranch experience.’ Boy, is she going to be disappointed.”
“Nah.” He took the phone out of her hands and set it back on the nightstand. “This is a ranch, and there are a lot of dudes on it. I can pretty much guarantee her visit is going to be an experience.”
“Yeah, but for who? Her and Dupree? Or everyone here at the ranch?” She laughed.
He trailed a hand down her spine and over the sweet curve of her ass. Damn, she was soft. “Guess we’ll find out.”
“Hey.” She snickered, pushing his hands away. “You’re going to make me late for work.”
“It’s okay,” he said against her temple. “I have a good relationship with your boss.”
When Emma had tried to give notice at work, they asked her if she’d be interested in transcribing remotely from home. She was her own boss and didn’t have a set start and stop time, just a deadline to get the work handed in. Being able to keep working with everyone at the practice, albeit remotely, seemed to make leaving her coworkers and Macy a little easier.
On the days she wasn’t transcribing, Emma helped Vince out in the kitchen because he’d officially handed over the baking reins to the amazing woman.
His amazing woman.
Setting her palms on the bed near his head, she lifted up to smile at him. “Do you now? How good are we talking?”
“Good enough to do this.” In a swift move, he rolled them to the edge of the bed and rose to his feet with his arms full of soft, warm woman. “I figured if I gave you a hand in the shower, you might…finish…quicker. Then you could keep your boss’s schedule.”
“Good thinking,” she said, kissing his neck. “I appreciate your helping…hand.”
“My pleasure.”
It was his pleasure, and his joy to have Emma in his life.
Setting her down in the shower, he stared into her warm gaze. “Happy?”
“Very.” She trailed a hand up his body. “I’d never wish your brother ill will, but God, I’m so glad you came to help him out back in August.”
“Me, too.” Running his finger across her temple, he brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Never in a million years could I have imagined I could be this happy,” he told her honestly. “Thank you for taking a chance on me.”
“Thank you for not leaving me behind.”
That broke his heart.
“Never, Emma. I’ll never leave you behind.” Reaching down, he grabbed her hand and set her palm on his chest. “You’re in here. You’re a part of me. It’d be like leaving my heart behind. No can do. I need it to survive. Need you to live.”
She smiled a watery smile. “I love you so much.”
Emma lifted up on tiptoe to capture his lips. And in her kiss, he tasted the salt of her tears, and in her tears, he tasted the promise of forever.
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