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Page 37 of Huckleberry Hill (Saddles & Spurs #1)

Chapter Thirty-Six

The Ranch

The rain started two days later. It woke me up in the middle of night. I was naked and sprawled atop Declan when I heard the quiet patter of raindrops.

“I love that sound,” he whispered. “Rain on a tin roof.”

Tempest bleated from the living room.

“I’ll check on her,” he said, kissing my forehead.

I rolled off him and he got up, putting on a pair of boxers. He went to check on the baby goat in her makeshift pen to keep her confined, but the cabin was not big enough for a baby goat, a six-foot three cowboy and a five-foot-four brunette.

It was fine in the interim, but I was sleeping over every night. My clothes were finding their way into the closet and dresser.

But everything was perfect, and I didn’t want to shake up our rhythm.

Declan came back holding Tempest to his chest. “She used her litter box, had a snack and some water, but I thought she could use some cuddles.”

“You really want a dog, don’t you,” I joked.

“I do,” he said. “But she’s a good substitute for the time being.”

I pulled on Declan’s discarded T-shirt and reached for the baby goat. I set her on my lap and she immediately laid down and put her head on my knee.

“Why don’t you guys have dogs? Ranches always have dogs.”

“We had a dog,” I said. “When I was younger. She was Mom’s dog. She passed away our last year in high school, and after losing Mom, it kind of broke us. So we didn’t get another one.” I looked down at Tempest. “Maybe it’s time, though.”

“If your dad isn’t going to get married again, he needs a furry companion.”

“Did I tell you I met Dr. Swanson?” I asked. “At the bakery when I was helping Gracie?”

“Ah, no you didn’t.”

I pinched his side. “You didn’t tell me she was nearly twenty years younger than my dad.”

“What can I say that won’t get me into trouble?”

“Hmm. You are a wise man, Declan Brewer.” I cocked my head to the side. “I think it’s time you told me your middle name.”

“Nope.”

“Is it really that embarrassing?”

“Yes. It’s really that embarrassing. What’s your middle name?”

“Sullivan—my mother’s maiden name. Come on, you have to tell me. Is it something like Mortimer?”

“No.”

“I won’t make fun of you.”

“Oh, you will. I’d expect nothing less from you actually.”

“We’re not supposed to have secrets, remember?”

He sighed. “Copernicus.”

I blinked. “Copernicus. Like the astronomer?”

“Yep.”

I attempted to swallow my own lips to keep the laughter inside.

“Go ahead.”

I burst into laughter, startling Tempest who looked up in confusion. I patted her head, and she settled down immediately.

“That’s the most endearing thing I’ve ever heard,” I said. “Copernicus? How did you get that name?”

“I don’t even know,” he admitted. “It’s not like it’s a family name. My mom just liked it.”

“I think I’m going to like your mother quite a bit,” I said with a shake of my head.

He stilled.

My smile dropped. “What? What did I say?”

“You said you’d like my mom.”

I frowned. “Should I not have said that?”

“No, I mean—you’d be okay . . . with meeting her?”

“Of course I’d be okay with meeting her. Declan, what’s this?—”

Declan leaned forward and covered my lips with his. “You’re incredible, you know that?”

“Why? Because I want to meet your mom?”

“Yes.”

“People meet each other’s parents when they’re in a relationship. It’s just what they do. Hell, you sit at family meals with mine on a regular basis at this point. My dad got you hammered! I’m sure your mom would be a cakewalk, comparatively.”

He smiled slightly. “Maybe I’ll invite her out this summer.”

“Summer’s a gorgeous time here.” I nodded.

Declan touched my forehead. “Just seeing if you have a fever.”

“Why would I have a fever?” I laughed.

He dropped his hand. “Because not too long ago, you refused to have any sort of conversation about the future, or feelings for me, or calling our relationship a relationship. Now, you’re all about meeting my mother.”

I rolled my eyes. “Once I gave myself permission not to worry about what other people thought, it suddenly became very freeing.”

“You no longer care what other people think?”

I bit my lip. “Well . . .”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I thought so.”

“I’m a recovering people pleaser. But I’m a work in progress. And you know what? Life is a hell of a lot easier when you finally admit what you want.”

“And actually allow yourself to be happy?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“And you are, right? Happy?”

“Yeah, I’m happy.”

“Mostly happy,” he said quietly. “But not completely happy.”

“I’m still coming to terms with . . . my issue,” I admitted slowly.

Declan glanced down at the baby goat on my lap. “I’ve never slept with a goat on the bed before.”

“Nor have I,” I said.

“She smells okay.”

“Better than okay. She got a bath earlier.”

“Scoot over.”

I moved toward the wall and set Tempest down onto the comforter. Declan climbed back under the blankets and then turned off the lamp.

The sound of the rain on the tin roof was soothing, lulling me back to sleep.

But then Tempest got up and started pawing at the covers.

“What’s she doing?” Declan asked.

“I think she wants underneath the blanket,” I said.

“No. Absolutely not. She can sleep on top of the covers or she can go back in her pen.”

But Tempest was stubborn and adorable, and eventually Declan sighed and lifted the covers. Tempest wormed her way beneath them and plopped down between us and didn’t move.

“This is bad,” Declan said. “We’re teaching her this is okay.”

“You were the one who brought her in here in the first place,” I said with a laugh. “Not to mention, you lifted the covers and let her under.”

“Have you seen her face? You say no to her. Try it, I dare you.”

I laughed again, reaching out to pet Tempest, but I encountered Declan’s hand instead.

He gave my fingers a squeeze. “We’re going to need a bigger bed if we’re going to be sharing ours with a baby goat.”

“A bigger bed.” I snorted. “In this room? It’s already getting crowded.”

He fell silent for a moment, but then he said, “It’s too soon to have this conversation, isn’t it?”

“Yes, definitely.” I paused. “What conversation?”

“The you and I finding a bigger place so we can live together comfortably conversation.”

“Oh, that conversation. Yes, it’s too early.”

“You do realize that you kind of already live here, right?”

“I don’t.”

“No? When’s the last time you slept in your own bed?”

“Uh . . .”

“You took over half my closet with your clothes.”

“You don’t sound mad about that.”

“I’m not. I like seeing our clothes hanging up together. You’ve also used up your entire drawer and you’re encroaching on another one.”

“Well, I have a lot of socks . . .”

“And that bathroom—it’s a nightmare showering with you.”

“Hey!”

He laughed. “I just meant, every time we try and move around each other, one of us nearly tumbles out of the tub. And now we’re raising this goat together . . . Goat things take up a lot of space, Hadley.”

“How did I move in here without actually having that conversation with you?” I asked.

“Evolution.” He paused. “How long did you live with Gianni?”

“I didn’t live with Gianni. We were waiting until after we got married to move in together.”

“Huh. That’s kind of weird.”

“It’s not that weird,” I said.

“I guess not. But why didn’t you live together?”

I thought about his question and then replied, “We talked about it every few months. But he liked his space, and I liked mine. I also loved living with my sister and friends. And I didn’t want to be that kind of girl.”

“The kind of girl who moves in with her fiancé?”

“The kind of girl who forgets she had a life before a guy,” I said. “It’s so easy to get lost in a relationship, you know? I thought if I continued living with Salem and my friends that I’d maintain some sort of identity. With you . . . it feels different.”

“Different.”

“I like being in your space. And you never make me feel . . .”

“Feel what?”

“Like you want time away from me. So naturally, that just makes me want to be with you even more.”

“I always want to see you.”

I smiled. “Very golden retriever energy.”

“Did you just insult me?”

“No. I gave you the highest compliment. We’re not going to talk about officially moving in together tonight—but if we were, I would say, there’s not really a better place than this cabin. It might be small, but there’s no commute to work.”

“And it’s still on your family’s land, which means you get to see your family as often as you want.”

“There is that.”

“So in the meantime, we just have to trip over each other’s stuff? And sleep in a bed too small for two people and a goat?”

“I don’t see another solution at this point, Declan. Do you?”

“No, I guess I don’t.”

My hand snaked out to touch his chest. He immediately covered my hand with his.

“It’s an adventure, isn’t it?” I asked.

“Oh yeah. You can definitely say that.”