AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am. I’m scared that one day you’ll wake up and realize that I’m over a decade older than you, boring as fuck, and I work too much.”
I laughed. “Doubtful.”
“Then don’t doubt that I do care about you. Trust me when I say I won’t wake up one day and think you’re too young or not my equal, because you are my equal. In every way. Hell, you’re better than me in most ways. Can you trust that I wouldn’t lie to you?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I trust you, Reese. I love you.”
He kissed my lips. “I love you, too. And I have your discharge papers. You are free to go. I would like to get you home and get you in bed.”
My brow raised at that.
“To sleep,” he clarified.
“I don’t think it takes my shoulder to do the kinds of things I’m thinking of.”
He groaned. “Perry, you’re pushing your luck.” He kissed me on the lips, then pushed his chair away to let me get up.
Chapter 15
Reese
Perry was settled on the couch when I came in from getting my early morning chores done. He had a large textbook in front of him, but he was staring off into space rather than reading.
“Someday when you’re partners at the vet clinic with Marshall and you have more appointments than time in the day, and we’ve got horses here that you want to look at or exercise, or maybe you don’t get as much time with Blossom as you’d like, you’re going to wish you could have a day to just to sit.” I leaned against the doorframe and took in the sight of him. He had his arm in a sling, his hair rumpled from laying around all day. He was dressed like he was ready to walk out the door any moment and go for a ride, but I knew he had stayed on the couch while I had been working. He had promised that he would relax today.
He had only been out of the hospital for a day, so he was nowhere near ready to work.
Perry shot me a look that led to a genuine smile. “I suppose you’re right. For right now, I’m still a little annoyed that I’m sitting here and doing nothing while everybody else is working.”
I sat down next to him and pulled him into my arms carefully. I didn’t want to jostle his shoulders or elbow. “Well, I am the boss of this operation, and that comes with certain perks.”
“Oh, really?” he said, leaning into my embrace, letting himself completely relax against my chest. “Tell me about these perks.”
“Well, for one I can tell everyone that lunch is on me and they should go into town, leaving the entire ranch empty except for me and you. And I can take the whole rest of the day off where I don’t do anything at all. Except for chores later.” As much as I wanted to be inside with Perry resting, we still had animals to care for.
“Can I walk through the barn with you? I promise not to pick anything up.”
I kissed his neck and nuzzled my nose against his skin. “I suppose you can do that.”
He sighed and tilted his head, giving me better access to kiss his neck more.
We were quiet for a moment, savoring the feeling of being in each other’s arms. I rested my cheek on his head and breathed in his scent. I never wanted to live another day without him in my arms.
“You know, this might be a little soon, but have you ever thought about getting married?” I asked.
He stilled, going completely silent. I wasn’t even sure if he was still breathing. Then he took a deep breath. “So many of my last few years have just been survival. My mom was not the loving type, so I really shouldn’t have been surprised when she basically sent me to college with nothing. I wasn’t prepared for it, but I learned quickly. I saved up as much money as I could with the end goal of getting Blossom back and going to vet school. Those were my only two goals. I never really let myself think about anything else. Since I’ve been here, though, maybe something like marriage and a future beyond vet school has crossed my mind.”
“I’ll be honest, Perry, if I thought you were ready to hear it, I would get down on one knee and propose right now.”
Perry chuckled. He laced his fingers into mine. “Maybe wait a week or so, okay?”
“All right. I can do that.”
“So, I can safely assume you’re pro marriage. What about kids?”
That perked my interest. “My mom would sure love that. Honestly, that’s not something I’ve really thought about a ton . I wanted to settle down with someone. I still do. That someone is you, in case you’re not fully aware of that.”
Perry laughed. “I had a sneaking suspicion. I do want kids. When I saw you with the field trip class that came in a couple of weeks ago at the ranch, you were adorable. They were adorable. I want to teach our kids to ride. I want to get them little ponies that they can learn to care for.”
