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My breath catches.
So I wasn’t imagining it?
“Y-yes,” I say. “I mean that part.”
“I said it.”
“But did you…did you mean it?” I ask tentatively. “Or were you just saying it because you thought I was hurt?”
Hunter makes a noise somewhere deep in his throat and leans down to kiss me, his lips soft against mine, before he pulls back with a smile.
“Of course I meant it,” he says, cupping my cheek with his hand. “I knew it from the minute I saw you standing in my doorway, and now I’m even more sure of it. And hell, maybe that sounds crazy, but I don’t care. I love you, Avery. With all my heart.”
His words take my breath away, and for a moment, I can’t speak. I feel tears welling in my eyes as I look up at the man who has changed my life forever. The strong, protective cowboy who has stolen my heart and brought me more happiness than I’ve ever felt in my whole life.
“I love you too, Hunter,” I say breathlessly. “I love you, I love you, I love you.”
Hunter’s face splits into a grin, and he scoops me into his arms, not caring that we’re in the middle of a hospital waiting room or that his chest is bruised and sore.
“Come on, beautiful,” he says, carrying me out of the doors and into the parking lot where his pickup truck is waiting. “Let’s go home.”
Epilogue
Hunter
“I think that’s everything,” my wife says with a satisfied smile, looking around the stables.
The sky outside is darkening, and after a long day on the ranch, we’ve finally checked off all our tasks.
“Perfect,” I say, looping my arm around Avery’s waist. She’s glowing with pride, beaming widely. Even after all this time, working on the ranch brings her so much joy. I used to think I was dedicated to this place, but my wife puts me to shame. Her enthusiasm for our ranch never wanes, and she loves nothing more than riding around the pastures on her favorite mare, herding the cattle. My girl is a rancher through and through.
“Goodnight, ladies!” she calls over her shoulder to the mares as we leave the stable, heading outside into the crisp fall evening. Our farmhouse glows like a beacon in the distance, warm orange light spilling from the windows as we approach. I’ve lived in this house for so many years, but now that Avery is with me, it feels like a real home.
Life has only gotten better since the day I told Avery I loved her in that hospital waiting room. Edmund Fontaine was thrown in prison for second-degree kidnapping, and Avery filed a restraining order which means he can never contact her again. His parents were so mortified by the ordeal and the effect it had on their family’s reputation that they sold their chateau-style mansion and moved out of state. The house was renamed by the family who bought it, leaving no trace of the Fontaine legacy in Crave County.
Good fucking riddance as far as I’m concerned.
Now Avery and I can finally enjoy a quiet life on the ranch. She loves living so close to Willow, and the two of them are always meeting up. Now that Willow is a mom, they see each other more than ever, and Avery is totally smitten with her new nephew, Oliver. So am I, as it happens. Seeing Grayson and Willow with their newborn stirs something in my chest. Apparently it’s called baby fever, and it’s been hitting me real hard lately. I’d love to have a family with Avery and raise our babies on the ranch together, but I don’t want her to feel pressured into it just because her sister is a mom now.
“You did good today, cowboy,” Avery says with a grin, pulling me from my thoughts as we head into the house.
I chuckle. “Thanks, boss. So did you. I reckon you’re one of the best cattle herders in Crave County.”
“I learned from the best.” She beams at me affectionately, and I pull her toward me, squeezing her soft body against mine. I can never resist holding my wife close to me. It’s impossible to keep my hands off her for long.
“What do you say we take a shower?” I ask, pressing a series of feathery kisses along her neck. “It’ll warm us up.”
I hear the smile in her voice as she says, “You always have the best ideas.”
I spank her plump little ass as she heads for the bathroom, shooting me a mischievous smile over her shoulder.
Fuck, she’s so sexy.
My cock is instantly hard as we close the bathroom door behind us, and I watch hungrily as Avery strips, tossing her clothes to the floor. My pulse thrums with desire at the sight of her thick curves, and I shed my clothes before reaching for my wife’s wide hips, pulling her into the shower with me.
I kiss her hard as she turns the shower on, a powerful jet of warm water streaming down on us as our tongues slide against each other, tasting and teasing. I groan as I coat my tongue with Avery’s familiar peachy-sweet taste, sucking on her plump lips as my hands grope her breasts, rubbing her nipples with the pads of my thumbs. They harden instantly beneath my fingers.
“No teasing,” Avery moans against my lips. “I need you, Hunter.”
