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Her head popped up and she stared at me with confusion. I regretted spoiling the moment with worries immediately.
“What do you mean?”
I ran my hand down her silky hair and tried to show her how much I loved her with my gaze. “I’m sorry, I’m just thinking about the future and wanted to talk it through with you. So we can agree on the changes.”
The disgruntled twist to her lips was adorable. “Like what?”
“I think you will be too busy to do all the housecleaning. When you’re ready to come back, we’ll have a cleaning service come once a week to take over all the bathroom and deep cleaning duties.”
Her horrified expression made me chuckle. Most women would be excited by the idea of getting help with cleaning, but not my River. I wasn’t one to play games, but the urge to tease her was strong. Hopefully, she would understand that I wanted to give her space to grow.
“Are you not happy with what I do?” She looked hurt.
“No! Not at all.”
“Then why?”
I’d remembered that when we’d met, my little River had wanted to go to veterinary school. Somehow that dream had disappeared when she moved in and became my slave. Letting her give up on that dream had been one of many ways I’d failed her. I’d been so focused on my dreams I’d forgotten hers.
“I think you’ll be too busy with school and keeping us both satisfied to worry about the house.”
“School?” Her eyes were as big as an owl’s.
“Being here has reminded me about something I forgot a long time ago.”
Her hurt expression morphed into something more akin to puzzlement. Had she forgotten about her dream or had she given up on it? After listening to her talk about the horses at Rawhide, I hoped it was still something she wanted to pursue.
“The horses, River. You used to talk about becoming a large animal veterinarian. If that is something you still want, I’ll put you through school.”
“Ooh!” She went quiet for a moment but I could tell she was thinking it through. “I’m not sure if that is what I want anymore. I’ve seen the pressure vets are under and it wasn’t what I imagined. But I would like to work with horses. Maybe as a trainer or therapist who helps kids.”
I tucked her head under my chin. “There is loads of time to decide what you want moving forward. But I want to make sure you have something outside of us that makes you happy. I know you are an introvert but having friends and something to do outside of making me happy is important.”
She snuggled into my chest and sighed contentedly. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
I meant it, to the very core of my being. I wanted to protect, love, punish and give untold pleasure to her for the rest of our lives. I’d do whatever it took to make sure we were both happy from that moment on.
Epilogue
River—One year later
It was amazing how much had changed in only a year. Cade and I were on solid ground and I loved our daily check-ins. It had taken an intense two weeks at Rawhide and several more meetings with my counselor before I’d finally consented to leave the Ranch with him.
Of course things hadn’t instantly been perfect. When we’d first arrived at our apartment, it had felt like I was a stranger. All my old bad habits had come back but luckily, Cade made sure I didn’t stay that way. If he hadn’t given me a schedule, I probably would have curled up into a ball in the corner. I’d needed time to reacquaint myself with city life and adapt to having a service come into my space and do my old job.
Slowly, I had turned the apartment into our home and found much greater joy in stocking my home with sundry items and fresh ingredients from the market than I had restocking the Dungeon at Rawhide. I took up Mediterranean cooking inspired by the Italian restaurant back at Rawhide and had been volunteering at a local stable.
Our dynamic shifted as well. We were still 24/7 but he has made sure that while I enjoy him setting rules and defining the chores, I didn’t need him to do it anymore to function. We created our schedule together. He still works hard but makes sure I know what is going on and we discuss if he needs to put in overtime.
Without Rawhide, I shuddered to think where I may have ended up, but with the one-year anniversary coming up, we’d decided to go back to the Ranch and celebrate for a week. I couldn’t wait to play in the Dungeon and see old friends. Andy was coming with us. He and Carrie were still seeing each other. He drives to visit her often. Fingers crossed that their relationship goes to the next level. It would be amazing to have my friend live nearby.
“River!”
The front door closed and I hustled out of the kitchen in nothing but a frilly apron, my spatula in hand.
Cade grinned when he saw me. “You look very sexy, kitten.”
