Page 51 of Something Tangled Something True (Rosa Ranch #1)

RESTING IN FOREVER

“Lola, what are you doing right now, darlin’?” I ask, humor lacing my words for the first time in the last hour.

She doesn’t answer me as she gets on her knees, crawling on the floor, and reaches under the wooden frame to the center of the bed with the bowl of water.

I take my glasses off, set them on the nightstand, and close my book, sitting up to get a better look at her.

She’s got her ass in the air, now covered with her tiny, silky night shorts, as she shoves the bowl further under the bed.

She presses the tip of her tongue to her teeth, groaning, and when she’s satisfied, she sits back on her shins, slapping her hands on her thighs.

“All better,” she says, reaching a hand out for me to pull her up.

I tug her into my lap, swinging her legs over the side of the bed so she’s resting on my thighs.

“What’s better? Do we have a cat hiding under the bed who needs a bowl of water or something?”

“No,” she says, indignant, as if I’m the one who’s being ridiculous. “The water is to ward off negative energy. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of changing it each day.”

Okay, turns out I was being ridiculous. I should’ve known better.

I’ve been surrounded by Cuban culture my entire life, and I’m thankful for that.

It’s given me a unique perspective into the lives of people so different from where I’ve grown up, and I couldn’t be more grateful for it.

I might not always understand why Mayte or Bexaida do the things they do, but I’m glad they do them.

It’s that insight that tells me I should nod my head and accept her answer for what it is. So that’s exactly what I do.

“Ready to go to sleep?” I ask, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“I’m not sure I’ll ever sleep again after what happened tonight,” she groans. “But I’ll try.”

I roll her off me, setting her on her preferred side of what I’d like to start calling our bed.

I keep all the lights on in the house, lock our bedroom door, and double-check the closet, bathroom, shower, and windows.

Nugget gets into his bed in the closet, where he apparently prefers to stay, and I flip off the lights before climbing into bed beside Lola.

She rolls on top of me, weighing me down with comfortable ease, as if this is how we sleep every night. And I hope it is, for the rest of forever .

“Goodnight, darlin’.”

“Goodnight, Ry,” she whispers, pressing a warm kiss to the side of my neck that makes my insides turn to goo.