Page 108 of The Rowdy Ones

“I finally know what I want in life. It’s you. This place. Us together.”

“I want that too.”

Excitement courses through me as I tell him my next idea. “So I sent pictures of my cane before the whole Alex thing to Claudia. Of course she couldn’t see the cane, but she said her sister described it for her. She was totally jealous and wants one now. I told her you’d make her one for a hundred dollars.”

Rowdy sucks in a sharp breath. “A hundred dollars to carve some girl’s name into a stick?”

“I told her we want cash for now, but eventually, we can set up a way to receive payments over the phone or internet.”

“Sounds complicated,” he grumbles. “Not everyone is going to want a hundred-dollar stick.”

“Not true,” I tell him with excitement. “I researched handcrafted items like this and they’re often a lot more than that, depending on the piece. You’re so good at this stuff. I mean, you can build entire cabins and fences and animal pens. I think you can handle this.”

“I can do the work for you, but I don’t know anything about running a business, Dez. I’m sorry I’m not college smart like Wild or Weston.”

My heart aches for this man. Does he not know his own worth?

“You’re my heart. Y, O, U, apostrophe, R, E. My heart is yours. Y, O, U, R, S.” I run my hand over his chest and grin. “Who cares if you don’t know those things? I’ll teach them to you.”

“I’ve been saying them backward this whole time,” he says, dumbfounded. “Why didn’t Wild explain it in a way that makes sense?”

“Because he’s a dick.”

“Destiny,” he says with a laugh. “Be nice.”

I stick my tongue out at him, which earns me another laugh. “I’ll teach you. Trust me. Besides, you don’t have to worry about that. I’ll get us the business and handle the money. You can help me deliver them and ship them once we go global.”

“Global? What the fuck, Dez?”

“Just thinking ahead,” I tease with a grin. “But for real. You let me handle the business side. I’m getting pretty good at using my phone. We’re going to do great. You’ll see. Plus, this will give you something to do when you’re missing me while I’m at the clinic.”

He’s quiet for a long beat and I start to wonder if he hates my idea. The prospect of us carving out—no pun intended—our own life with our own home and our own means of making money gives me hope like never before.

Life got pretty bad there for a bit, but it’s not that way anymore.

Heavy footsteps thud our way and someone bursts into the room. I cry out in surprise.

“Destiny, fuck, no one wants to see your ass!” Wild grumbles.

“I do,” Rowdy offers as he yanks the covers over me. “What do you want, asshole?”

Wild plops down on the bed beside us and laughs. “Read this.”

Slowly, Rowdy reads aloud, “We got him. Alex has been arrested. Tell Rowdy he can breathe easy.”

“They fucking got him,” Wild proclaims, a grin in his voice. “We should celebrate.”

“I’m not celebrating at four in the morning,” Rowdy grinds out. “Go away now.”

“You’re no fun.” Wild slides off the bed, but Rowdy stops him with his words.

“Y-O-U-apostrophe-R-E.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Wild says in disbelief. “He finally got it.”

And the second Wild leaves our presence, I reward my good student with a kiss.

Scout’s rancid fart wakes me up from a nice dream. Or maybe it’s because I need to piss. Hell, it’s probably because I have a beautiful naked woman in my arms. Regardless, I’m not ready to get up. The sun hasn’t even risen yet.