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Mesa draws his head back to look up at me.
"You should have been up there with me." His deep voice rumbles, smirking under his whiskers as he pulls me down to him for a kiss.
When he lets me up for air, I discretely move the hand that's crawled up my thigh beneath the hem of my dress to a more appropriate location just above my knee and laugh as I look toward the dance floor where Oz and Meadow are kicking things off with the first dance.
"You look good in the fancy suit, Diaz," I purr in his ear.
"Hmm. Maybe I'll have to think of a good reason to get dressed up again for you, Angel."
Mesa
Sitting there on the stage, watching my sister and my dumbass old buddy that finally managed to talk her into marrying him exchange their vows had me more choked up than I care to admit to. Especially when I was wedged between my older, ex-marine brother, Vale and that fucker, Raine Hart; having to pretend him and his brothers haven't been the utter shitheads they are since we were coming up together on the mountain.
Of course, I'll be giving Oz a hard time about all the sniffling he did through his own damn wedding. Wasn't even the real thing, either, he dragged my sister down to the courthouse in Slow River to make it legal as soon as they found out they were having my nephew.
I keep Robin on my lap as long as I can, she's not nearly as heavy as she worries she is and I don't care if it stresses my leg, it's worth it to have her curvy ass pressed against my crotch while we share our food.
This is also the first chance I've had to show her off and my chest swells with pride knowing all the single assholes in town can see that she's mine-- and by the end of this night, I plan on that being official.
The music kicks up with a pop song and I see my baby sister, Terra, and Vale's wife, Sparrow, out on the floor, beckoning Robin to come out and join them.
"Go, Angel," I give her a pat on her pretty ass, "have fun, baby."
I reach down and absently rub into the muscle of my thigh. All the weight training I've been doing has paid off; my strength is up and holding weight on my leg is almost as easy as it was before. It's the damn nerve damage that still keeps me tied to the fucking cane. I can barely take a couple of steps on my own without losing my balance like I'm half a bottle deep in whiskey.
Dancing was never my thing, but before the damn leg injury, I was able to hold my own in a two-step, and I never minded holding a pretty girl close and swaying slow.
Now it looks like that's just one more thing that's off the list for good.
Watching Robin dance with the girls has me smiling. It's good to see my girl laughing and having a good time after the year I just put her through.
She's a damn good woman to have stuck by me through it all. Even at my worst, no one could drag her away from my side.
I'm lost in big ideas about the future while I watch her and the girls jumping and spinning each other around while they dance in a circle to the upbeat music, but then the song ends and the next one is slow.
Hawkins shows up out of nowhere, asking Terra to dance.
I like our new sheriff's deputy-- a lot. With his military background, he fell in fast with our family when he took over the sub-station on the Ridge a few years back. But it's pretty obvious he's got a thing for my baby sister and I'm not sure how I feel about that.
Fortunately, I know Terra. She's got a rebel streak in her a mile wide and she does not take direction well-- she's never going to give our clean-cut lawman the time of day.
To prove my point, I chuckle as I watch her give him the stink-eye before she marches off the dance floor, making a beeline to anywhere that's away from him.
Vale shows up and catches Sparrow in his arms, making me wonder just what kind of spell she's got him under that would get my hard-ass older brother to dance.
The dance floor is quickly filling up with couples wrapped up in each other's arms, swaying in time to the rhythm of the sentimental love song.
I feel the smile slide off my face as I watch Robin stand still for a beat; the way her shoulders sag and the sadness that creeps into her face as she looks around at the dancers before she squares back up and heads my way.
When I see the way her smile doesn't light up her eyes the way I'm used to, something inside me drops. I've been so busy thinking how lucky I am to have Robin, it hasn't crossed my mind that she's far from lucky to have me. I hadn't bothered to think of all the things she'll be giving up if she's stuck with me for the rest of her life.
So when I miss my cue a few minutes later, after Meadow, Ozzie and baby Fields all have wedding cake smeared across their faces and my sister shoots me a questioning look from across the way, I shake my head at her with a stern look that says I've changed my mind.
6
ROBIN
Terra's eyes land on my left hand as I reach to take the baby off her hands so she can chase down a toddler.
