Page 80 of Nanny for the Single Dad Cowboy

I pull her into a fierce hug, pressing her close, inhaling her scent. “Good,” I murmur against her hair. “Because I’m not letting you go anywhere.”

Just then, there’s a sudden knock, then a small voice barging through the door. “Daddy! Tessa! I want to sleep with you!”

I freeze, glancing at Tessa, then back at the door. “Daisy,” I groan, voice full of mock frustration. “Now’s not—“

Tessa cuts me off, her hand on my chest, shaking her head with a grin. “She’s staying.”

“But why?” I lament.

“We’ll be right out, Bug,” Tessa yells back, glaring at me.

I shake my head, grumbling, though a smile tugs at my lips. “Outnumbered now, huh?”

She leans in, brushing her forehead against mine. “You love it,” she teases.

I can’t argue. I love it. More than I can ever admit aloud.

After we are done in the bathroom, we head back into the bedroom, where Daisy is lying in the middle of the bed, half-laughing, half-yawning, completely unconcerned with privacy. I groan, dragging a hand down my face. “Tess, this is not what I had in mind for the rest of the night.”

She laughs, joining our daughter in bed, pressing a kiss to the top of Daisy’s head. “You’ll survive, cowboy. It’s just one night. Let her stay.”

I throw up my hands, mock surrender, but there’s no hiding the grin that spreads across my face.

We settle in together, the bed warm and crowded, the three of us forming a tangled heap of limbs and soft sighs. Daisy curls against Tessa, already drifting toward sleep, her little chest rising and falling in rhythm with the comfort surrounding her.

I turn to Tessa, cupping her face, brushing damp hair from her eyes. “I love you,” I murmur, voice low, rough with desire and exhaustion.

“I love you more,” she smiles, leaning into my touch.

“I could get used to this,” I murmur.

“Being outnumbered?” she teases.

I grin, pulling her closer. “Being outnumbered, being loved, being home. This. All of it.”

She smiles wider, and I feel it—the calm, the peace, the undeniable truth that Iron Stallion, our home, our family, is finally ours. Safe, whole, and ours to keep.

For the first time in a long time, I close my eyes, knowing the fight is over and this, right here, is exactly how it’s supposed to be.

The ranch is quiet outside, moonlight spilling across the windows, and inside, in this small, warm world, we are complete. Tessa, Daisy, and I. Together. Always and forever.

THE END.