Page 100 of 11 Cowboys

I shake my head slowly and let my tongue dart between my lips. “I think I need another taste.”

“Woah, there, cowboy. My lady parts need a vacation off this ranch.”

“Never,” I smile. “She just needs to do what we all do every day. Push through the pain to the satisfaction on the other side of hard work.”

“Who said romance is dead on this ranch?”

I touch her cheek and kiss her jaw tenderly, making a mental list of all the things I love about her. Her smell. Hertaste. The way she smiles and her eyes light up like Christmas. Her ability to push back against me enough to make me grin. The way she can bring fun into even the most boring of tasks. The way she touches me and my family with gentle care.

“Romance is alive and kicking out here in these parts,” I say. “Just you wait and see.”

She furrows her brow, but her eyes are sparkling with intrigue. “I don’t like surprises,” she says.

“You liked the boots,” I point out.

“I did like the boots.”

I kiss her nose and release her hand. “Work’s calling my name.”

“The article’s calling mine,” she says.

That damned article. I don’t even want to think about it now. What’s the point of writing the story of how we’re looking for a woman when we’ve already found her?

“I’ll see you later?”

She smiles and nods because, of course, it’s inevitable. I watch her head off toward the house, and I don’t say a word about what I heard, but it sticks with me. She doesn’tdobirthdays, like Brody and Jaxon. The thing is, I know both those men secretly wish for a birthday celebration that touches their hearts and makes them feel loved. What they don’t do is disappointment.

I need to share the way she talked about building something for family with the rest. It’s what we’ve wanted to hear for so long and another reassurance that we’re on the right path.

Doing something for her birthday could be a chance to show Grace how special life with a big family can be. If she won’t make a fuss, then it’s damn well up to the rest of us to do it for her, ranch style.

***

The last dinner dish is scrubbed, dried, and shelved, and the kids are tucked away with their nightlights and half-mumbled bedtime songs. As I pass the kids’ room, Gracemurmurs to Corbin, “Late chores? Do you guys ever stop working?”

“Broken fencing,” he lies smoothly. “South paddock. Might take a while. Can you keep an ear out for the kids?”

“Of course. I’ll keep Beau in, too, in case Junie gets up again.”

I keep walking, only turning on the stairs to find Corbin behind me. We make our way out of the back door without speaking. As soon as it clicks shut behind us, we cut a path toward the barn, boots crunching gravel. One by one, the others filter in: Conway first, then Jaxon, Dylan, and even Brody, who shows up with arms folded like he’s already halfway to saying no to whatever it is I’m about to ask. When we’re all present, they gather in a loose half-circle around me in the low lamplight of the barn, the air thick with hay and quiet expectation. The only sounds are the low shuffling of horses in the adjacent stalls and the creak of old wood settling around us like it also has an opinion.

Conway gives me a look. “What’s this about?”

I clear my throat and glance over my shoulder toward the house before speaking. “It’s Grace’s birthday tomorrow.”

That gets an immediate reaction. Eyebrows rise. There’s a low whistle from Levi. Dylan straightens from where he was leaning against the post.

“She hasn’t said anything,” Corbin murmurs.

“She said she doesn’t like fuss,” I reply. “Heard her tell her mom she was planning to spend the day working. Didn’t want to make it a thing.”

“She said that?” Jaxon asks, skeptical.

“She did. But the way she said it… I don’t buy it.” I glance around at them. “We all know what that means. Doesn’t mean she wouldn’t want something special. Just means she’s never had it before… can’t trust it.”

We’ve all met folks who pretend they don’t want good things because they’ve never had them. Hell, a few of usarethose folks.

“So what are you thinking?” Dylan asks.