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She watched me expectantly, and I knew that my next words could seal or break her heart for the rest of time.
“Darlin’.” I leaned close, resting my forehead against hers, and smiled. “I didn’t know about the baby until a minute and a half ago. Didja think your editor was the one who sent the ring?”
She laughed at her own silliness in spite of herself, the most wonderful sound I’d heard in years.
Suddenly, her self-conscious, fearful look returned.
“But what about Bryant? He’s gonna find out and my parents will find out, and then I’m gonna be a widow before I ever get to be a bride!”
“You think I didn’t tell him the minute you came back home with me. Last thing I need is your brother walking in when I have you bare-assed over my shoulder.”
She batted at me playfully. I grabbed her hand and pulled her up to stand tight against me.
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“I s’pose you should put this on then,” I said, slipping the ring onto her finger.
“Now,” I said with a deep sigh looking her up and down, “You had me under the impression that you were quite a fright in there, and now looking at you…”
“Don’t you dare Colt,” she said already with a half smile to her lips. “You’ll get my hair all messed up, and we’ll be late, and everyone will look at my hair and know its sex hair, and…”
“I love it when you trail off with your cute excuses like it’s gonna get you somewhere,” I replied.
I walked her back and laid her out on the bed with no objection. I watched her fiddle with the edge of her dress while I removed the jacket and bowtie.
We wouldn’t have enough time to give our celebration the justice it deserved. I came down on top of her but she stopped me just before I entered her.
“Colt?” She said touching my face. She looked as if she needed to tell me something she hadn’t said enough. “I love you.”
I smiled down at her. She may have been my wild filly. But she was finally mine.
Epilogue
“Are you sure you won’t change your mind?” Diana asked, nearly on the verge of pleading. “Think about it, expense accounts, traveling the world, make your own hours… you’ve got to admit, it’s tempting, right?”
“Of course it’s tempting,” Meredith answered, “but I think I am going another direction right now.” She leaned back on the chaise—the same one where she’d spent that first night with Colt, she remembered with a sly smile—and sipped reluctantly at what had to be her hundredth glass of water of the day.
“Just promise you’ll think about it. I know, with the baby and all, you want to take it slow at first. But you might get bored and want to come back to the city life. I’ll be here, ready for that day.”
Meredith could only laugh. Her phone had started ringing off the hook with job offers the week the issue with her cover story came out, but in the months since then, she’d gotten better at deftly turning down different news outlets.
She had always wanted to get so far away from the slow country life, wanting to make her own way in the world. It never seemed that you could have it both ways. Now she could see her warm summer nights on the deck, horseback rides to the orchard, sharing this ranch’s legacy with their upcoming family. All of that, and the start of her very own country life magazine.
The past months of her life had been a whirlwind of chaotic, loving excitement. She and Colt had married in a simple ceremony on the ranch with their family around, nothing too extravagant but just perfect for both their tastes.
Of all the things Colt had ever said to his mother to plead with her to come back to the ranch, the only thing it had taken was, “Mom, we’re pregnant!”
His mother had come down there the next day after Colt sent the helicopter, just as he’d said he would. She’d moved into her own apartment that he’d built just for her, and was always ready to lend a hand.
Between Colt’s mother and hers, their son had enough clothes to outfit an entire nursery of babies. It both pleased her and frightened her that they’d snuck in a few pink frilly items, “for the next baby,” when they were busy sewing and smocking together and catching up on old times.
Meredith set the phone back on the table beside her chair and peered over into the bassinet next to her. Wynn Colton Stone, named after both his grandfathers, was swaddled in a light blanket, a peaceful half smile on his tiny face. Meredith was thinking for the millionth time how perfect her life had turned out when she heard the house door open and Colt stepped out. He bounded down the steps as softly as he could, sitting down on the end of the chaise and pulling her feet into his lap before beaming at his son.
“I still just can’t get over it. I made that!” he whispered with a shocked tone, pointing to our son.
“We did that,” she corrected jokingly, “but technically, I feel like I did all the hard parts. How’s the project coming along, all done yet?”
“Yup! And the newspaper’s sending some fancy reporter out here to do a story on it tomorrow. But don’t worry, I’m sure they won’t be half as pretty as the last reporter who came around nosing into my business.” Colt grinned and leaned towards her for a kiss. “We’ll drive out after supper and get you a good look at it, if you want. The power company is coming out tomorrow, too, they want to do a big shindig about it and a ribbon cutting and all that.”
