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“Well, in truth it’s only in the beginning stages but it’s yours.”
“I don’t understand.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “For the highly intelligent woman, you are…”
“Don’t say it!” I laughed. “Seriously. What are you talking about?” I remained unblinking as he took a deep breath.
“The ranch is going to become an animal sanctuary. A lot of work needs to go into building the various facilities and I will need you full time working with the designers and architects since it’s your vision, but I think you can handle it.” His grin widened.
What? What did he just say?
“The ranch? But the animals? The staff?”
He shook his head. “The animals aren’t going anywhere and I’m keeping all the employees and hiring other professionals. We’ll have a full-time veterinarian on staff, several vet technicians. We have an advisor who’d planned a few of these across the country.”
I remained in shock.
“I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, say something.”
“You’re serious,” I whispered, my hand shaking as I glanced at the pictures again.
“Absolutely.”
I flipped to a couple of other pages then flew toward him, wrapping my arms around his neck, unable to stop the tears. “I love you.”
“You better cause I’m going to be around a lot.”
“Meaning…” I pulled away, narrowing my eyes.
“Well, I took a leave of absence from the Zullies.”
“Oh, Phoenix. You didn’t need to do that.”
“Yes, I did. I need to get to know my wife and my son. I learned the hard way what’s most important in my life and I’m not going to fuck it up again.”
“Did I tell you how fabulous you are?”
He cupped my chin, his eyes darting back and forth across mine. “My little bird. Thank you for coming into my life. Without you, none of this would matter nearly as much. You are in every breath I take, every scent and every taste.”
“That’s almost… romantic.” I teased, unable to stop crying, my heart ready to explode.
“But,” he said as he whipped me around, smacking me several times on the bottom. “You will learn to follow my rules. You break them all the time. Not that I’ll mind keeping you in line. You thrive on discipline.”
“Not a chance.” I pulled away, whipping around to face him. When he beckoned with a single finger, a series of shivers coursed down my spine.
I had a feeling he was going to ravage me later.
“Come on, my little bird. Sophia is waiting to take us to our wedding.”
So, on a cloudless day in May on the grassy knoll near a beautiful stream, we were married under a magnificent oak tree, our friends and family in celebration, Justin our ringbearer. And just after we said our vows, a rainbow appeared somewhere over Sapphire Ridge.
And in my mind, it was Belle’s gift…
The End
