Page 12 of Claimed by the Cowboy (Havenstone: Mail Order Brides #3)

Kitty

For a moment, neither of us speaks. The ranch hums quietly around us—the bawl of a distant cow, the sigh of wind through the grass, the steady beat of my pulse in my ears.

Finally, I break the silence. “I meant what I said in there. I’d rather stay rootless forever than be handed a future I didn’t choose.”

Tom steps closer, slow and deliberate, like he’s approaching a spooked colt.

“Kitty,” he says gently, “I hear you. And you’re right.

I should’ve asked you what you wanted before anyone started making plans.

” Tom rubs his jaw. “That’s on me. I was so focused on fixing things that I forgot the most important thing. You.”

My breath shudders out.

He takes another step, closing the distance until the heat of him curls against me. “So let me be clear now. What I want is you. No arrangements. No obligations. Just you.”

“Tom…” My throat tightens. My emotions are raw after my talk with Delaney. This is too overwhelming.

With a sob, I turn and escape into the barn, sinking onto a hay bale and trying to catch my breath.

Tom follows, crossing the barn floor in three long strides, not giving me time to bolt again. When he reaches me, he plants his hands on either side of my hips, caging me against the hay bale.

“Don’t run from me, darlin’. We’re gonna talk this through.”The determination in his eyes doesn’t waver. “I know it’s fast. But sometimes love doesn’t give a damn about timelines. Sometimes it hits you like a flash flood, and you either grab hold or drown.”

I shake my head, unable to believe that this handsome, rugged, wonderful man has fallen for me . “You can’t… You don’t...”

“I love you, Kitty Phillips. And I think you love me too. I see it in how you look at me—like you’re fighting something just as fierce as what’s tearing me up inside.”

“But”—I shake my head—“you’re breaking your arrangement with Delaney for someone completely wrong for you!”

“Wrong for me?” Rage and disbelief war in his expression. “Christ, Kitty, how can you even?—”

“Because I'm twenty-one years old with nothing to offer but problems and medical bills.” I look up at him then, my chest blazing with pain. “You need someone strong. Someone like Delaney who won’t fall apart the first time ranch life gets hard.”

“Stop.” The word cracks like a whip.

“It’s true! I heard the guilt in your voice, Tom. I heard you struggling with breaking your word and betraying everyone’s expectations?—”

“The only thing I’m guilty of,” he says, leaning closer until I have to tip my head back to look at him, “is being too much of a coward to claim what I wanted the moment you stepped off that bus.”

My breath hitches. “Tom?—”

“You think I’m conflicted about wanting you?” He cups my face, thumbs brushing away fresh tears. “My only conflict was why I wasted time pretending to want anyone else. You think I give a damn about some piece of paper when you’re sitting here believing you’re not worth choosing?”

“I’m not?—”

His hands tighten on my face, not hurting but firm enough to stop my self-destructive spiral. “Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”

“Tom, please, you don’t understand?—”

“I understand plenty.” He releases my face only to grip the hay bale on either side of me again, boxing me in with his body. “You’ve spent years convincing yourself that you’re a burden instead of a gift.”

“I am a burden! I’ve been nothing but dead weight to Delaney for years?—”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s not bullshit! It’s a fact!” I push at his chest, but he doesn’t budge.

He crowds closer, his thighs bracketing mine. “Here’s a fact: I’ve been going out of my mind wanting you since you said ‘pineapple’ and made me laugh for the first time in months.”

“That’s not?—”

“Here’s another one: I’ve spent every night since you arrived lying awake thinking about your laugh, about how you look at everything like it’s magic.” His voice drops to something rough and possessive. “And I was lucky enough to taste some of that magic when I watched you come apart in my arms.”

Heat floods my cheeks, but I don’t look away.

“Delaney has sacrificed plenty, but you saw her face. She’s happy because she finally gets to see you choose something for yourself.

”He brushes his thumb along my lower lip, satisfaction burning in his eyes when I shiver.

His mouth is inches from mine, his breath ghosting across my lips.

“And here are the most important facts of all. I love you. And you love me. You’re just too loyal to admit it.

” He traces the curve of my jaw with his fingertips. “Isn’t that right, Kitty?”

“I...” I swallow hard, pulse fluttering like a trapped bird under his touch. “It doesn’t matter what I feel?—”

His hands slide into my hair, angling my head up to meet his gaze. “It’s the only thing that matters.”

This is your life now. Your choices. It’s your time to shine. To live .

Delaney’s words from earlier echo through me, breaking past all the fear and excuses, and suddenly, I can’t hold it in anymore.

“I love you,” I blurt, the words ripped out of me, raw and certain. My chest heaves, my pulse races, but I don’t take them back. I meet his stunned blue eyes. “I love you, Tom. I’ve tried to fight it, tried to bury it, but it’s the truest thing I’ve ever felt.”

Tom's grip tightens in my hair, his voice is rough with relief when he says, “There she is. My Kitty-Cat.”

He claims my mouth, and I melt against him with a soft moan, my hands fisting in his shirt as I kiss him back with desperate hunger.

When he finally pulls away, we’re both breathing hard.

“I love you,” he says against my lips, “and I'm done pretending otherwise. Marry me, Kitty.”

He pulls me up with him, his hands spanning my waist as he lifts me onto the hay bale so we’re eye to eye.

“No more excuses. No more running.” He steps between my thighs, and suddenly, we’re both locked in the same breathless space—his strength surrounding me, my choice anchoring me here.

My hands curl into his shirt, pulling him closer, needing him as much as he needs me.

His voice drops to a rough plea. “Tell me it’s yes, Kitty. Please.”

“It’s so quick. People will think?—”

“I don’t give a damn what people think.” His hands tighten in my hair. “The only opinion that matters is yours. Do you want to be mine, Kitty? Completely, permanently mine?”

“Yes,” I breathe.

My hands tremble where they rest on his chest, but not from fear. From the storm building inside me.

My voice wavers, but the truth is steady. “It’s yes. It’s always been yes.”

The words are out before I can stop them, my chest expanding as I give my heart free rein.

“You mean that?” His voice is rough, almost broken.

I see the vulnerable man beneath the cocky cowboy—the one terrified I might take it back. Then the shock in his eyes is chased by something fiercer, something hungry.

I lift my chin, refusing to let him doubt me. “I love you. I’ll marry you. I want to be yours.” My breath shakes, but my conviction doesn’t falter. “I choose you, Tom Sutton. Not because I have to. Because I want to.”

Tom stares at me as if he’s memorizing every word, branding them into his soul. Then his jaw tightens, and he swallows hard.

“There’s my good girl,” he murmurs, reverence threaded through the grit of his voice.

The praise makes my cheeks flush pink, and I file that reaction away for later exploration.

I grab his shirtfront and kiss him like my life depends on it. No hesitation. No apology. Just the raw, blazing truth of what I want.

Tom groans into my mouth, arms wrapping around me like he’s been waiting for this moment forever. His kiss is fierce and hungry, but this time it feels different. Not stolen or secret. Chosen.

“How soon?” he mutters against my mouth, his thumbs stroking along my cheekbones.

“How soon what?”I ask dreamily.

He pulls back to look at me, his eyes gleaming possessively. “How soon can I put my ring on your finger and make sure every man in Montana knows you’re taken?”

“Um, this weekend?” I suggest hesitantly.

“Perfect.” He brushes his lips against mine. “Simple ceremony, just family. Then I’ll take my wife home and spend our wedding night showing her exactly how much she’s worth.”

The promise in his voice makes my breath catch. “I can’t believe this is real.”

“Believe it.” He presses a kiss to my temple, breathing in the scent of my hair. “You’re mine now, Kitty Phillips. Mine to protect, mine to love, mine to keep safe forever.”

“Forever’s a long time.”

“Not long enough.”

A laugh bubbles out of me—half relief, half joy, but all mine.

For once, I’m not the girl being protected. I’m the woman who chose love.

And it feels damn good.

“Come on, darlin’,” Tom murmurs. “We both need to get out of these swamp clothes.”

“Trying to get me naked again, cowboy?” I tease, feeling lighter than I have for… well, ever.

He grins. “ Always, darlin’. Always.”

Hand in hand, we walk back toward the house. The porch light flickers on as the last rays of sun sink below the mountains, painting the ranch in oranges and yellows.

Delaney is in the living room as we enter. For a breathless second, guilt tightens my chest again… but then she smiles. A real smile. Soft. Proud.

“About damn time,” Angus says as he appears from the kitchen. “We were starting to think you'd scared her off for good.”

Henry follows, leaning against the doorframe with his usual calm. “Scare her off? Kitty doesn’t scare easy, do you, honey?”

“No, she doesn’t,” Tom says. “And she's not going anywhere, are you, darlin’?”

“No,” I say softly, my voice full of wonder. “I'm staying right here.”

“Good, because we have a wedding to plan,” Delaney says, all practicality again.

I grin. It’s how my sister shows her love. “You're really okay with this?” I ask, a twinge of worry still shadowing my happiness .

“I'm more than okay.” Delaney reaches out to squeeze my hand. “Besides, it’s time I started living my own life.” Her smile is warm but firm. “And something tells me Montana has its own plans for me.”

“We need someone with your head for systems. Ranch coordinator. Vendor logistics. Admin, payroll,” Angus offers. “Won’t make you rich, but it comes with housing and a chance to build something that matters.”

“Sold,” she says without hesitation. “I want to stay and watch my sister live the life she deserves.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to be a rancher's wife.” I shake my head in disbelief.

“Damn right. And the most beautiful bride Montana has ever seen,” Tom says, possessive satisfaction thick in his voice. He cups the back of my neck, pulling me close for another kiss. “And after Saturday, you’ll be the most thoroughly loved wife in the state,” he adds so only I can hear.

The promise makes me shiver against him, and he grins against my mouth.

My heart is full to bursting.

I’m no longer the girl waiting to be told what’s safe. I’m the woman choosing what I want. Choosing love. Choosing him.