Page 36 of Ropers Can’t Tie Knots (Kissing Ridge Cowboys #3)

twenty-three

Hunter

T he music is on point, the hot dogs and poutine were a hit, and my husband in my arms on the dance floor is the second best thing that happened tonight.

The first was hearing the words ‘I now pronounce you husband and husband .’ A tsunami of joy rushed into me as I kissed Gabe so deeply and long, our guests started cat-calling and whistling.

But I couldn’t help it. This is the day we’ll mark on the calendar and celebrate, even though the marriage certificate says something different.

Today is the day I’ll remember as the day my life changed forever.

Gabe is the best thing to ever happen to me.

“Are you feeling more adventurous with dancing? How about a spin and a dip?”

Gabe chuckles, but his grin says everything. He will always try anything I suggest.

“We haven’t done that before, but walk me through it.” His eyes sparkle with a happiness I wish I could bottle.

“I’ll raise my arm like this and don’t let go of my hand.” Slowing our steps, I spin him slowly, and he catches on with a peel of laughter .

“And then what?”

“Then I’ll pull you back to me and bend you backwards…like this.” Gabe doesn’t stop laughing as I do exactly that while we stand still in the small crowd dancing around us.

“You won’t let me fall?”

“Never, counsellor.”

His smile shifts to something more tender as he leans in to kiss me. “Let’s do it.” His words whisper across my lips, and we share a moment. It was a rocky road for us, mostly my fault, but we made it.

“I love you, Gabe.”

“I know, doll. I love you, too.”

We pick up the music again—the two-step is what he’s most comfortable with—and when I see the opening on the floor, I raise my arm for his spin. It’s not flawless, but it works. When I pull him back to me, he immediately relaxes. He even kicks his leg up, but curls it around my waist as he smirks.

“Have you been secretly practicing?” I say as I pull him up, and he keeps his leg wrapped around my waist.

“I might have had a few dance lessons from a certain mutual friend.” Gabe is quite pleased that he shocked me for a moment and pecks a kiss on my lips. “You’re the only one who gets to touch my butt, though.”

“Good to know. But who taught you?”

Gabe lowers his leg and glances towards the other dancers, specifically Diamond and Levi. It’s very clear Diamond is trying to teach him some dance steps, and it’s not going very well.

“Huh…probably should have guessed he likes to dance with those legs. ”

Gabe wraps his arms around my neck and pulls my attention back. “Do you mind if I dance with him for a while?”

The way Gabe asks me isn’t for permission but more of a check-in since I haven’t let him go all night except to go to the bathroom.

“Of course not. No butt touching, though,” I joke, and he kisses me longer.

“Not a problem…husband.”

With Gabe off to rescue Diamond from Levi’s two left feet, I head to the bar where a familiar pair of denim-blue eyes meet mine. My gut flips not with butterflies, but with something next to regret.

“Sorry I’m late. The plane had a few issues and the traffic from the city is shit.” Alec, the man I loved all those years ago, and who I was too afraid to stand up for, raises his beer to me. “Congratulations, Hunter. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d come,” I say with a shaky breath. “I wasn’t exactly kind to you the last time we talked.”

“No, you weren’t, but I know how it is, Hunter. We have history, and that won’t ever change. You were still fighting and figuring things out.”

“Took me forty fucking years,” I say with a small laugh and Alec just smiles.

“Better late than never.” He takes a drink, and I’m at a loss for words. Yes, I invited him because I wanted him to come, but now that he’s here, I’m unsure of myself. Sorry doesn’t feel like enough.

“Did Zane make it with you?”

Alec’s smile grows fond, and I know the look well. “Of course. I think he’s outside trying to talk to a groundhog.” We both laugh, and Alec tips his head towards the exit at the back of the barn. “Come on. Let’s go outside for a bit.”

When the barn door closes behind us, the quiet of the night is louder than the music inside, and I’m painfully aware of how much time he spent on this very ranch hiding himself because of me.

All the times I was rude in public to cover my feelings for him aren’t something I’m proud of.

Those memories still linger here among the new ones I’ve made with Gabe.

“I can tell you’re afraid of saying something wrong, so I’ll start,” Alec says as we walk to the pasture fence.

He leans against it, his gaze looking out into the pasture that one time held cattle he helped tend to.

“I don’t regret choosing you, and I’ll never regret my time here.

We made a great team in the ring, but not so much as a couple.

But our relationship helped me find what I wanted.

Kind of like you and Gabe. Without you, I’d probably not be as happy as I am today. ”

Easing up to the fence next to Alec, I stare into the field as well. He’s right, as always. I needed him to say something first.

“I’m sorry for being a miserable asshole and putting money before you. I always thought you were my biggest regret, but maybe that’s not it at all.”

“It’s not.” Alec’s quiet and steady voice brings me back to all those years ago when he pleaded with me to choose something for myself just once.

He didn’t even press for it to be him. He just wanted something better for me.

Alec believed in me long before I believed in myself.

“We both grew up here, Hunter. You as a child, but both of us grew here in ways we couldn’t possibly know back then. I regret nothing. ”

“You were my only actual relationship, you know. I never let anyone close after you.” Puffing a breath, it just hits me finally.

It almost steals my breath out here under the same moon that it began.

“I was so afraid of someone else leaving me, I couldn’t do it.

I couldn’t let someone close, but Gabe…it’s like he knew that all along and just put up with my bullshit because he believed I’d figure it out. ”

Alec turns his head, shifting his gaze back to me.

It’s unsettling having this conversation now.

It’s been over ten years since we were close.

When I made a half-assed attempt to win him back a few years ago, he had the same look now as he did then.

I don’t even have to look to know it’s a gaze of shared sadness with an overlay of love.

It’s always love with him. Even at my lowest, he loved me.

“You’re always a part of me, Hunter. That’s something neither of us can let go, but that doesn’t mean you have to keep away from me.

I love Zane and you love Gabe. We found the right people for us.

You’ll always be my friend, and I’ll always love you like one.

Thank you for inviting us here to share this with you.

It meant a lot getting that card in the mail. ”

“It seemed right…having you here.”

From the corner of my eye, I see him shake his head with a grin. “You’re forgiven, asshole. Let it go and enjoy life. You deserve it.” He slaps me on the back, and I finally turn to him. His smile is genuine, and I know he’s telling the truth.

“Thank you, Alec. For everything.” I swipe at my eyes. “Jesus Christ, I’m not sure I like all this emotion shit. Makes my eyes water too much.”

He laughs and elbows me as we walk back towards the barn.

“Good to know the old ticker isn’t all dried up then.

” With my hand on the door, he places his hand over mine and I turn to him.

“You’ve always been a good person. Don’t be afraid to show it more often.

Now introduce me properly to your husband.

” He shakes his head. “Fuck, that sounds weird out loud.”

I shove him off the door with my best scowl. But the scowl doesn’t last.

“It does sound weird, but I love saying it. Come on. I want to formally introduce you to the man who stole my heart…my husband, Gabe.”

Alec finally meets Gabe, and they hit it off immediately, as I knew they would. Gabe was the one who encouraged me to invite him, and it’s just one more thing I can thank this man for.

Zane also welcomes Gabe, and those two would run amok out here if I let them. Thick as thieves, laughing and sharing stories long after most of the guests have left.

With the sun closer to waking up than the moon is to going to sleep, we finally end one of the most amazing days of my life. We’re exhausted, but I’ve never felt the kind of contentment that sits in my chest right now.

Gabe, fresh from our shared shower, his cheeks still pink from the warmth of the water, slides into bed next to me.

“Today was perfect, Hunter. I’m biased, but it really was.”

Smoothing the hair back from his forehead, I place a kiss there. “It was…husband.”

“That word feels different now, don’t you think?” Gabe’s hands slide into my hair, and he nuzzles his nose next to mine.

“It does. I feel like it finally fits. ”

“You know what else fits?” His words carry the exhaustion of a long day, and he snuggles closer. “You. Right here in my arms. Tailor-made for me.”

He forces himself lower, tucking his chin under mine. He drapes one arm around me and slides a leg between mine. My husband wedges himself into a position I’d normally find uncomfortable. Gabe really does fit like he was tailor-made for me.

His lips meet my skin, and he mumbles, “I’m too tired for the whole wedding sex thing. Wake me up with your dick somewhere on me and we’ll do it in the morning. That’s not a lack of romance either. It’s a lack of my dick not being awake even pressed up against you.”

My body shakes with quiet laughter as his breathing evens out. A soft snore sounds less than a minute later, and I grin into the dark bedroom.

Gabe’s arm twitches and tightens around me, and I press a kiss to the top of his head. His arms around me are the safe place I’ve always needed, and even in sleep, he responds like he knows I need him there.

“Sweet dreams, counsellor. I love you.”