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“I could get used to that. Oh, Maggie, I love—” He stopped and even though it felt like he was being held down by boulders, he sat up. “Don’t move,” he whispered, pulling Maggie into his arms. He ignored how right, how good she felt there. Now wasn’t the time.
“What’s the matter?”
“Shhhh.” He used a bruised finger still wrapped in his shirt to turn her chin toward what he was staring at.
Maggie gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. At the sound, the mama bear only feet in front of them roared, a deafening sound that reverberated off the canyon walls. She stood on her hind legs and tossed her head back and forth. Gander barked back, but she ignored him, her eyes trained on Bennett and Maggie.
Bennett gulped and tried to push Maggie behind him. And that was when he saw the two babies behind their mom. They were at least forty pounds heavier apiece since he’d last seen them. They looked healthy.
There was no way to explain what happened next. The mom fell back to her four paws and nodded twice at Maggie and Bennett, grumbling out small huffs of what Bennett could only think of as her appreciation. Then she walked away, her twins in her wake.
“Did that just happen?” Maggie asked after a few seconds, a quake in her voice.
“It did. I think she was saying thanks.”
“That’s what I thought, too. Do you think she recognizes us?”
“I’d like to think so.”
“Hmmm. She’s remarkable, isn’t she?”
“She is,” Bennett said, but his gaze no longer fell on the animals walking out of the canyon. He was staring at Maggie. She met his gaze, her own filled with emotions. If they were anything like Bennett’s, she was happy, scared, and most of all grateful that they still had each other.
After all this time, they still had each other.
“So, back to what we were talking about before,” Bennett said, clearing his throat.
“Yes. What about it?”
“You love me, I believe you were saying.”
“Was I? I’m not so sure.”
“And something about me being the best neighbor ever, even though I was thinking of moving.”
“Moving? After I just decided to stay?”
His lopsided smile seemed to take the edge off her concern. “Yeah. I mean, your house is closer to the canyon, it’s got killer views of the mountains.”
“Oh, and you assume I’ll just let you move in because you asked—”
Bennett pulled her into him before she could tease her way out of the precious moment building between them. His lips found hers, but then, he’d always known where to look. It was like coming home, even though he wasn’t the one who’d left. In fact, that little detail was no longer important.
She was back and that was all that mattered.
Her arms wrapped against his neck, pulling him into the kiss, into her gentle embrace. Where there had been heat surrounding them just moments ago, now the fire between them was all he felt.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I always have.”
“I love you, too. And I always will.”
The sound of multiple sets of hooves wasn’t enough for Bennett to pull away from Maggie or the gentle heat of her lips. Hell, the world could come crashing down around him and he wouldn’t move from this spot. Why would he when it was all he’d ever wanted?
“Well, looks like we rushed out here for nothing. He’s fine.”
Bennett smiled, finally breaking the kiss. “Took you long enough, Jax. And here I thought you were the stronger rider between the two of us.”
“See what I have to put up with, Mom?” Jax asked, already off his horse and by Bennett’s side.
