Total pages in book: 28
Estimated words: 26282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 131(@200wpm)___ 105(@250wpm)___ 88(@300wpm)
“You’re going to have to do something about the cabin,” she says after we’ve been riding in a comfortable silence.
“Our cabin,” I correct. If she doesn’t like it, I’ll put it on the market tomorrow. I know I can make some good money from it. But if it’s not her style, I’ll build her a mansion. Hell, I’ll build her ten mansions.
Her gaze softens. “I love our place, but we’ll need more bedrooms or a bigger cabin if we’re going to fill it with as many babies as you keep promising me.”
“Fine, I’ll add another ten rooms or so.” Ten seems like a good number of kids. Plenty of playmates so they’ll be capable of entertaining themselves while I entertain their beautiful mama in filthy ways.
She chuckles. “Oh no, I’m not having ten of your children.”
Now it’s my turn to chuckle. “We’ll see.”
She shakes her head but sings along to the radio before eventually drifting to sleep with her head on my shoulder.
I grin at her light snores. We kept each other up most of the night. It was Gray and Piper’s fault.
There was a newlywed basket in the bathroom, and Gabby discovered it around midnight. We spent the next few hours putting every product to good use. If she wasn’t pregnant before, she’s got to be by now.
But even if she’s not, even if we never have kids that way, there are still a million ways we can grow our family. A million ways to make our dreams of parenthood come true. I’ll do whatever it takes to give her the big family she wants.
I’m still thinking of this when I pull into the parking lot of the fairgrounds. Gabby wakes up slowly. Her hair is mussed and her lipstick is mostly faded from all the times I kept kissing her before we got out the door.
She reads the large banner announcing this as a vintage car show and gives me a broad smile. “I’ve always wanted to go to one of these! I’ve heard this one is exclusive and invite-only.”
“So I got an invite,” I answer. I had to make some calls. After seeing Hale off to the airport, I managed to wrangle this invitation last minute. It cost me a hefty donation to the organizer’s favorite charity, but I’d do anything to make my wife happy. Fuck, still can’t believe I get to call her that.
We spend the next few hours, looking at cars, and I notice how she caresses one midnight blue Mustang in particular. She keeps touching it, looking at it with affection before she pats the hood. “This is the one. One day, I’m going to own this machine.”
Nothing here is for sale, and we both know that. I squeeze her hand. “One day, I’m sure you will.”
Her phone rings, and she reaches for it, frowning at the ID. She ignores the call, but not before I see her screen. It’s her brother. I knew he’d be giving her grief, but I’d hope to buy her a few more days.
Once I return to Courage County, I’ll be cleaning house and putting a few things in order to make sure that my woman is treated the right way.
I don’t suspect her brother will like it. But then again, I don’t care. All I care about is my beautiful bride and making sure that her life is filled with joy and love.
10
GABBY
“And you’re sure you can’t tell me what the surprise is?” I ask Roman as we pass the sign welcoming us to Courage County.
After having spent a week away on our honeymoon, my brother called several times. I made sure that it went to voicemail each time. I know that when I come back to town, I have to face Andy, so I can stand up for myself. He needs to be an equal partner in the auto shop business.
More than that, I have to stop covering for him and helping pay all the bills, so I can start my own life. I’m going to move out of the trailer and into Roman’s cabin. He wants me to do that today. He’s still insisting it’s our cabin, which always makes me smile when he says that.
He slows on Main Street, and I nudge him when I see Haley turn over the sign in her shop window. She runs Courage Cookies, a local bakery, and the sign means she put out fresh cookies.
He chuckles but pulls Hale’s truck into a parking spot. “Give me five minutes, and I’ll have snickerdoodles for you.”
“You’re the best,” I tell him and press a soft kiss to his lips.
He beams at me before leaving the truck, and I fight another yawn. If we keep waking each other up in the middle of the night to make love, I’m going to give up and become nocturnal. It might be the only way either of us get any sleep.