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I nod. “Yes. No more hiding out.”
“And I need real time with you. Not just stolen moments.”
“You’re driving a hard bargain here.”
She tosses her hair over her shoulder, standing up taller, straighter. More confident than I’ve ever seen her.
“I’m worth it.”
I drop my lips to hers, breathing her in. Wishing we could stay here forever, this moment suspended in time.
“More than worth it. Trust me on that at least, Juliet.”
10
KING
I haven’t felt this good in years. Light, like a heavy load’s been lifted from my shoulders. A load I didn’t realize I was holding on to until it was gone.
I’ve been a damn fool.
I should have gone after her when I realized how bad it hurt to let her go. But it wasn’t the right thing to do. What’s that old saying?
If you love someone, let them go. If they come back to you, they’re yours. If they don’t, they never were.
Guess Juliet’s mine. Because she flew back. Back to Seaglass Beach, back home.
Back to me.
I’m pretty sure she meant what she said out at the lake, though. Things between us can’t be like last time. All the sneaking around, hiding from everyone.
Sure, she’s a Capelli and I’m a Montgomery. But we’re not fucking ten years old anymore. We’re grown-ass adults who can date anyone we choose.
No matter which side of the feud they fall on.
I wonder if Rome, Parker, and Poppy will see it that way. They’ve ribbed me about Juliet for a while now, so I doubt they’ll be too shocked. But that doesn’t mean I’m looking forward to talking about my love life with my siblings.
And Juliet’s brothers? That’s likely to be a whole different ball game. The one thing we’ve got going for us right now is Jagger being behind bars. He can’t cause too many problems from the inside. Cash and Damon are thugs, sure, but Jagger’s the mastermind of that crew. Without him around, those two don’t know which way’s the damn ocean. Juliet may even be able to bring them around without Jagger’s influence.
I top off the water in the trough for the horses, then head out to the pen to check on the goats. We have babies now, the mama giving birth yesterday afternoon. Triplet kids, born under the warm afternoon sun.
Luckily Beau was still here. He was just getting ready to run into town when the mama went into full-on labor. A few hours later, she birthed three kids in quick succession. Beau helped clean up the kids, snipping umbilical cords and dipping them in iodine to prevent infection, while I gave antibiotics and caught the placenta on a tarp for the mama.
Now we have to watch her real close, make sure she’s getting enough food to produce milk for the kids. The last twenty-four hours have gone fine, but I need to be vigilant.
“Hey, babies.” I open the gate, entering the pen as two of the kids wobble over to check me out. Bending down, I stroke the soft black fur of the nearest one, the other nudging his brother out of the way to move closer to me.
Chuckling, I pet the head of the other kid.
“There’s enough attention to go around, little buddy.” I wander over to the mama doe, patting her on the back.
“Hey there, Sophie. How you doing?”
She stares up at me with large black eyes, then bleats.
“I hope that means good, since I don’t speak goat. Not yet, anyway.”
I head over to the feed bowl and drop in the ration. She sniffs at the air, then wanders over to forage.
