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"I've never loved a woman before. You're the first."
"I've never loved a man before either. It's all so new."
"It is. I know this is a big decision, Everleigh. But you've already said you don't necessarily love your job. You long for a home. You'll have one with me. But my house won't be a home without you in it. I want a home with you."
"I want a home with you too. It's all so much and yet, it seems completely stupid to even have a hesitation about it. All I can think is what my parents will think of me. They'll call me lazy...."
"They clearly don't know you."
She was quiet but stared into his eyes for a long time. "No. They don't. Not really."
"Why were you crying when my mom hugged you?"
Tears sprang to her eyes, and she cleared her throat gently. "Earlier today when we first arrived at the HOG, your mom got up and hugged you. Just by way of greeting, she hugged you. I tried remembering the last time my mom hugged me and the only time I could remember was when I won a spelling bee when I was nine."
His stomach constricted. This woman hadn't known parental love. Not really. She was fed and housed and taken care of. But she wasn't truly loved. "That's so sad I don't have words."
"Did you grow up with your mom hugging you all the time?"
"I did. My dad too. Big, burly Hawk. Loved his children and his wife and he still does."
A lone tear slid down her cheek and he swiped it away. "I'll hug you every day."
She chuckled.
"I mean it. Every. Single. Day. You'll know my love."
More tears. His nose began tingling and his eyes watered. But he laid perfectly still, afraid to break the moment.
"When your mom hugged me, it was right after I thought about my last hug from my mom, and then the email I had gotten from Casper about the next job. I couldn't believe I was already going to have to say goodbye. Because I'm not ready. But I have always worked. I need to be independent in some way. It's been drilled into me since birth, I think."
"You know my mom is an independent woman. She's always worked as an attorney, before she met my father and after. He's had to go away on missions and our house ran just like it did when Dad was home. She made money, but it wasn't the topic of conversation because so did he. And they both make great money. We've been comfortable always. But she found a way to be independent with us. And that doesn't mean that she never took time off. She did. Obviously when we were born, she had to. And, when I was around six or seven and Stella was three or four, Mom took a leave of absence from work because she wanted to. It didn't change her independence. And my dad never made her feel like she was beholden to him for a single thing. I think he liked it better when she was home though. He loved walking in the house from a mission and we were all there. He'd been single for a long time before Mom, and once he had a family, that's all he wanted."
He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. "I will never make you feel like you aren't independent of me. You are who you are Everleigh Hayes. Staying with me. Living with me shouldn't and won't take your independence away. You'll still have it. And if a day comes that raising horses doesn't keep you satisfied, you can go back to negotiating, or whatever it is you think you'll prefer. We'll manage the change together. I know how to do that. I have great role models."
She leaned forward and kissed his lips. His heart beat so fast he figured she could feel it in his lips.
"I'd like to stay with you."
Tears fell, but this time they were his. And hers. And they blended together as he kissed her lips again.
When they pulled slightly apart, he said, "You know, maybe we can make a living out of rehabbing abused animals. You have a way about you. We can get these gals healthy and breed them and make money, and we can bring others in here and there as needed. Dr. Emily is likely the person to speak to about helping out in that area."
"I had been wondering about that. I don't know if my heart will break too much every time I see an abused animal. But, to help them out of a bad situation would surely help it heal."
"I'll help you. With all of it. I'm with GHOST right now, but in the future if I'm needed at home more and we're making money, I can quit GHOST. I love it, and my teammates, or I can take fewer and fewer missions."
"It does seem like we have options."
For the first time in a long time his smile was genuine. "We do."
34
She woke to snorting. She laid against Henry, they'd zipped their sleeping bags together. His arm was her pillow. He didn't have one.
She rubbed her eyes and yawned, then heard snorting again.
She looked up and giggled. Henry opened his eyes and looked in the direction she now stared. Harper had somehow gotten out of her stall and was staring in at them.
