Page 57 of Knot Her Cowboys (Big Sky Omegas #2)

M y whole world had shifted on its axis. Where I had once felt so precarious—a breeze away from falling apart—now I was steady. My alphas cradled me from all angles. I was the peak of the pyramid and they were my base, ready to hold me up from every direction no matter how the wind buffeted me.

“Can someone pass my phone?”

Levi detached it from the charger and handed it over. “Here you go, sweetheart.”

“Thank you.” I kissed the back of his hand when I took it, and quickly tapped out a message.

Riley:

GUESS WHAT

Morgan:

Did MORE things happen since the fire and attempted kidnapping?

Riley:

YEP

WE’RE OFFICIALLY SISTERS

My phone instantly buzzed with a call coming through.

“Hey, string bean.”

“WHY ARE YOU SO FAR AWAY AND NOT WITHIN HUGGING DISTANCE? HOLY SHIT!”

I laughed. Morgan wasn’t a yeller, so it felt like an accomplishment to get her that excited about something. “I’m glad you’re happy about it because I bonded the whole pack and it feels amazing .”

“Riley, I’m fucking thrilled . I’ve wanted you as my sister since we were kids and it’s finally real.”

Her elated acceptance warmed me through. I loved finally getting to be official family members with Morgan and have another connection besides adoring her. The call was kept short since I was still exhausted after coming out of the heat, but I wanted her to know right away.

My pack and I spent the rest of the day after my heat broke doing nothing but eating, resting, and soaking in my amazing bathtub, but I was getting antsy.

“Can we go see the horses? I still owe Grizzy a bag of apples.”

“What did Grizzy girl do to earn that many?” Cash asked. “I know she followed, and while that’s definitely apple-worthy, a whole bag is, like, save-the-world level of treats.”

“She’s the reason you guys had time to get me. Grizzy stood between me and Darrell, gave him a good kick, and she bit Darlene. I only went with Darrell because he threatened to shoot my Grizzy, and I was never going to let that happen.”

My pack paled, the acknowledgment of my words a tight squeeze in the bond.

Cooper growled. “Doubly glad that man is dead or he’d be worm food in the back woods.”

“It’s weird to know he’s gone.” I glanced over at Dakota. “Do you think the clerk’s office would let me have a copy of his death certificate?”

“Probably not, since you’re not next of kin or a business, but we could always laminate his obituary.”

“I like the way you think.” At this point, I’d be happy to frame it and hang it on the damn wall.

My mother was still around, technically, though hopefully by the time she got out of prison she would be too old to make herself a problem. The Deckers weren’t gone by any means, but none of the others had been up my ass, so in an ideal world they would be done trying to come for me.

I took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh, all of my muscles relaxing. I had no idea what Montana was like without those looming threats, but I was more than ready to find out.

“We’ll grab clothes and meet you downstairs?” Levi suggested.

“I’ll be there with bells on.” They each gave me the sweetest kiss before departing to get dressed.

I pulled on an easy outfit of shorts and a tank top, added a flannel I’d stolen from Dakota, and padded down the stairs to root through the kitchen for some apples.

They had a few in their crisper drawer, so I gathered up as many as I could carry, using my tank top as a makeshift apron.

My pack appeared one by one and I slipped on my boots.

We went out into the dark together. The ranch was quiet; the guests had gone to bed and the staff were in their rooms, though the light was still on in their building. My alphas carried lanterns that illuminated the ground so we didn’t trip, but weren’t so bright that we lost our night vision.

“Grizzy girl!” I called out when we approached the field she usually dwelled in. Her excited whinny was followed by hoofbeats. “Hello, my beautiful girl.”

She thrust her head over the fence, almost knocking me sideways when she pressed her cheek to mine. Cash kept me upright, and I cradled the apples with one hand, using my free arm to wrap around her neck.

“I hear we need to get you a hero’s medal,” Cash said to her.

I leaned my face against her warmth. Even though Darrell had still taken me, she’d bought me enough time for my alphas to get to me. I owed her my life. “She was the very best girl.”

Turning around was a feat, but once Grizzy’s head was draped down my chest it was much easier to feed her the apples. She inhaled every single one and snuffled all over me to make sure I didn’t have secret ones stashed anywhere.

“Be good.” Cooper stroked Grizzy’s muzzle. “I’ll bring you an apple a day for the rest of forever as a thank-you for protecting Riley, but she doesn’t have any more on her right now.”

“Do you think she would be offended if I went to check on Buttons and Bluebell?”

“Undoubtedly,” Cash replied with a laugh. “She’ll forgive you by tomorrow, though.”

I kissed Grizzy’s cheek, taking a few seconds just to hold her head. “I’m sorry I didn’t come see you sooner, sweet girl.”

She nickered softly and sniffed around my belly to be extra sure I had no secret apples.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, okay? And every day after that.” I waited for a few more minutes, letting her decide when our interaction was over, before following my pack to where Bluebell and her mama had moved since their little barn was ashes.

“We’ll get the barn rebuilt,” Dakota said quietly as he walked by my side, his hand in mine. “We have a cabin that will be empty for the rest of the season, and we’ll block that off for my family to stay while they work here.”

“That’ll be nice to have extra time to get to know them.” I squeezed his hand, swinging it gently.

The main stable was huge compared to the barn where Bluebell had been born. Cooper flicked on one set of lights and a bunch of the horses peeked out of their stalls. Ranger called to him and Cooper went right over to give him some attention.

I gave some love to the ones that I recognized, but an excited whinny summoned me to the far end. “That sounds like my precious angel baby!”

Bluebell ran a delighted circle around her pen, almost crashing into her mama when Buttons came to the gate to greet me.

“Hey there, Mama. How are you enjoying life in the stables? I’m sorry you had to deal with a fire. That must’ve been so scary, but I bet you were so brave.”

Dakota appeared at my back, passing me an apple. Out of the corner of my eye I could see the rest of my pack distributing treats to the other horses.

Buttons munched down her snack and I slipped inside the stall so I could kiss all over Bluebell’s sweet little face. “You’re so big and I wasn’t even gone that long. Quit growing so fast.”

Bluebell showed off with another prance around the pen.

“I think she might be excited to see you,” said Levi when he joined us.

“She’s so fucking cute I just wanna pick her up and jiggle her like a snow globe.”

“I don’t think your back would appreciate that,” said Cooper from a few stalls down. “Mine certainly didn’t enjoy having to haul her out of the barn.”

“Sounds like you need a hero medal too. You’re just out here rescuing baby horses from fires like it’s nothing?”

I loved Cooper’s blush. It was one of my favorite things about him being a redhead because it always broadcasted his feelings like neon lights across his cheeks.

I got all jittery with the urge to chomp him, and didn’t hold back on the compulsion, crossing the distance between us so I could hop into his arms and devour his mouth before my teeth made a home for themselves on his throat.

Cooper braced me against the stall gate with a groan, his fingers shaking where they dug into my hips.

“Fuck,” he whispered sharply, his whole body tense. “You just finished the heat, but if you’re after getting railed in a stable, you’re definitely pushing me in the right direction.”

I purred, planting a line of kisses up his throat before I nipped his ear. “It’s not my fault you were standing there looking so delicious. Can’t blame a girl for wanting to take a bite.”

“You’re supposed to be resting.” He protested, still flexing his hips into mine. Even when he was chastising me, he couldn’t help how much he wanted me, and that was an ego boost I’d never get tired of.

“I rested all day.” It took no prompting to guide his mouth to mine.

My heat might be over, but I was always going to crave Cooper all over me.

His affection for me in the bond was like slipping into a warm bath where I could sprawl back, cozy and cradled.

Getting to have that kind of connection with him was something I’d wanted forever.

As the years had passed, I’d accepted it would never happen, no matter how much the craving to be his had never truly left me, but now he was mine.

My Cooper.

I breathed him in and caught the others on the air too. They watched me, like they were waiting for permission to join in, and I wasn’t about to deny them. Cash slipped in behind me, Dakota and Levi leaning at my sides so I was fully contained by the sweetest men in the world.

My Cash.

My Dakota.

My Levi.

What had I ever done to get myself a pack like them? They had held my broken pieces from the start, supported me through tears, and brought me laughter, pleasure, and comfort. Angels, every single one of them.

I had really come full circle in the best way possible.

Montana to New York, almost to Germany, and my less-than-triumphant return, but I’d left my heart here when I’d gone, and had never gotten it back.

Moreover, I didn’t want it back. My heart belonged to this pack and it always would, because what I was searching for wasn’t a place I could find.

It was these alphas, and I was finally home where I belonged.