Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133849 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
“That you brought home a sad stray?” Grim asked with a shake of his head. “Absolutely not. She loves a stray. I’m proof of that.”
“And me,” Nicole said, sounding happier than she had in weeks.
“Neither of you is a sad stray, and one of you is going to get in serious trouble if she continues down that line of thinking.” His inner Dom knew he’d lost the war to fire Alyssa, but he was holding the line on this topic.
“So Grim gets to put himself down but I don’t?” Nicole asked like that was a normal, natural question to have.
“I’m not going to spank Grim’s ass if he talks bad about himself, but I might kick it,” Josh replied.
“I’d like to see you try, brother. You sit in an office all day, and I wrestle large animals,” Grim said confidently. “But I get your point. Why don’t we pull up to the big house so Nicole doesn’t have to walk.”
Because he didn’t want to drop her off at the big house and come home without her. He wanted her in the bed they shared, nestled in between him and Grim. He wanted to wake up next to her and leisurely make love to her before they all got ready for the day. It hadn’t been long, but he’d come to love their mornings together. And afternoons. And nights. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. For such a small critter he needs a lot of stuff.”
“Or we could stay here and I could accept the inevitable,” a soft voice said.
The words sent a shock of hope through him. “Nicole?”
Grim had turned in his seat. “Baby, I think we should talk about what happened tonight. You don’t have to make any decisions. I’m fine.”
She looked to Josh, confusion on her face.
“He thinks you might be willing to sleep with us because you feel bad about what happened earlier,” Josh translated. He might be doing a lot of that in the future because Grim and Nicole sometimes had trouble talking about their feelings. It was something they could work on.
“I’m not asking to come home because I feel bad for you, Grim. I’m asking because I miss you both so much it makes me ache inside. I’m asking because I love you and I think you love me, too, and I’m ready to be done with letting what happened to me in the past control my future,” she said quietly.
The whole world suddenly seemed warmer. Kinder. “I love you so much, Nic. Nora. What do you want to be called?”
“I like Nicole. I think I want a fresh start,” she admitted. “Nora was a name given to me by two people who didn’t care about me. I picked Nicole because it sounded happy. I feel like Nicole. But guys, I don’t think I can handle Nicole Barnes-Fleetwood-Burch. Maybe I can keep my fake last name, too.”
Josh was having none of that. He was about to do one of his patented lay-down-the-law things that might get him kicked to the couch, but Grim saved him.
“I’ve decided I can love my biological father without clinging to his name,” Grim said with a sure nod. “He would have wanted me to be happy, and part of that is having this family. I want us to share a name. I want us to have kids someday and have all the things a family has. I’m going to change my last name to Barnes-Fleetwood. This is my family, and I’m never going to let you down.”
Emotion welled inside Josh. It had been a hell of a night, and it wasn’t through because he doubted Nicole wanted to sleep in the guest room. When she was in, she was all in.
There would be a wedding on the ranch, and it wasn’t years away.
He put a hand on his brother’s arm. “I’m glad. I know our parents will be thrilled to have you take the family name. It’s your right. Dad would say it’s been your right since the day we brought you home.”
“Since the day I finally found my home,” Grim said.
“And I found mine,” Nicole agreed. “So let’s get our sweet boy inside and let me show you how much I love you both.”
Josh and Grim had that dog settled in no time. When Buddy’s crate was set up and Nicole was satisfied the little guy was nestled down for the night, she took their hands.
“I missed this place,” she said solemnly. “I missed being here with you.”
Josh’s whole body came alive, but he had to be sure. “Nicole, if you stay with us tonight, it’s forever. I want to give you all the time you need to be sure.”
“As much as I want you,” Grim began, “I have to agree with Josh. I can’t love you tonight and have you be unsure again tomorrow. Tonight was a lot. Baby, I know you handled my stepfather well, but he won’t stop.”