Heart & Hope (Rosewood Ranch #2)

Epilogue

RUBY

Two Years Later . . .

R eed’s hands hold mine. All warmth. Addy stands by my side on the hillside that Reed first took me to on R & R Ranch. The day that my perfectly constructed life cracked, the day I wanted something so badly for someone else that it broke my heart clean in two. How could a man this thoughtful and kind, this bright and full of life, suffer and not be seen.

Harry and Louisa stand behind their sons, who are shoulder to shoulder with Reed. Mack smiles wider than I have ever seen.

My parents didn’t come. No surprise there. But Addy’s did, and that’s something.

The breeze winds around my hair, jostling it over my shoulders. The preacher opens his book. Reed rubs his thumbs over the back of my hands. The diamond ring sits on my finger, and a new bracelet hangs from my right wrist. Sterling silver, a captain’s wheel charm hangs from it with Reed’s name engraved on the back.

Family tradition. At least that’s what Louisa said when she and Addy gave it to me. Now all three of us have one. It’s sweet. And it’s the first time I have felt part of a family dynamic. Felt treasured. Like I belong. Am wanted.

And it’s more amazing than I ever imagined.

Grounding, fulfilling.

Like being wrapped in the warmest blanket, mesmerized as stars burst out overhead.

Harry gave a speech about a man being complete with the right woman at lazy supper on my first Rawlins Christmas. But I think it goes both ways. Reed makes me a better, kinder, and more thoughtful person. He shows me every day the things that make the difference. He makes me so damn happy. For the first time in my life, I actually feel alive. Not just ticking boxes on the way to some huge goal that’s always years off.

And I wanted him to be happy, to be free. Back here when he first fell to his knees, gasping for breath. The first time I saw what he hid so well from everyone else. He was so desperate for more to his life than being stuck in a small town, doing the same thing each day for the rest of his life.

I had felt so helpless. Here was a man, my friend , who couldn’t see a path forward that he could live with. How could I leave and let that happen? It put everything I had thought I knew until that day into perspective. That was the day my rules first stood on shaky ground.

I watched them fall in the months that followed. And I savored every minute of it. And we did it, together. We created a business and a life that we both love. One where we have the ranch, the lifestyle, but we can travel when we want. We can choose what path we take next.

And the next adventure for Reed and me is marriage. A real one, not the fake charade we started out with. Although I wouldn’t change our first few months for anything.

“We are gathered here today . . .”

Reed slides the wedding band on my finger, the one he first gave me. It’s like an old friend. It fits just right. The way it did the first time, back in Great Falls at the inn. Only now, I won’t be taking it off. I slide his ring onto his finger, and he scrunches up his face. I know he’s trying not to cry. His jaw grinds together.

Mack slaps a hand on his shoulder.

A tear dislodges and tracks down his cheek. I wipe it away as my own tears fall freely.

“You may kiss your bride,” the preacher says with a smile.

A grin cracks over Reed’s face and his eyes light up with mirth. He steps forward and scoops me up, skirts dragging across the grassy ground. His mouth is on mine as he leans to the side, and I dip backward. Hudson’s hearty laugh is followed by the family’s cheers.

I melt into Reed’s kiss, fingers brushing over his jaw.

When he sets me onto my feet and spins me around to face everyone, I look up at him. He hugs me to his side, pressing a kiss to my forehead. “Shall we, Mrs. Rawlins?”

“Abso-fucking-lutely, Mr. Rawlins.”

His hands slide from my waist, lacing through my fingers. We walk through the small crowd of family and a few guests. Addy greets me first. “Hey, we are officially sisters!”

“Oh Adds, we are, too!”

“This changes everything.” She grins.

Of course it doesn’t. Adds will always be my sister. I will always be hers. Louisa has the both of us in a squishy hug next. And when she releases us, Harry steps forward and shakes Reed’s hand. “Well done, son.”

“Thanks, Pa.”

Wonder stretches my face. That is the first time I have ever heard Reed call Harry Pa.

Harry has me in a tight hug a heartbeat later. “We love you, darlin’.”

Emotion bubbles up, sending more tears to my eyes. “I love you guys, too,” I rasp.

He hugs me tighter. “We will always have your back, Ruby. We take care of family, you hear. And you’re a Rawlins. It’s my guess you’ve been one since the day you two met.” Last, he plants a kiss on my cheek.

I chug through a strangled laugh.

“Just don’t call him dad, or you’ll hear about it,” Mack chimes in, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

“Hey, Mackie.”

“Hey, Rubes. Or is it little sis?”

“Whatever makes you happy, Mackinlay.” I dot a kiss to his cheek, and he messes up my hair the way a big brother should.

Reed closes in and presses his forehead to mine. “Did I ever tell you about the time I saw this girl in ridiculous red heels stalkin’ her way down the sidewalk in Great Falls?”

“Tell me again . . .”

His hungry kiss claims me.

The Italian sunshine is bringing out a whole new level of happiness for Reed. He’s so damn fine, lying on a picnic blanket on the side of the Tuscan hill of our Airbnb. The guests back home are happily being taken care of by Harry and Lou. Hudson and Addy have Rosewood under control. And we are catching up on well-earned R & R.

Reed rolls over, a strawberry between his lips as he wriggles his eyebrows. The morning sun kisses its warmth to my bare arms. I slide my fingers through his messy dark blond hair and swing over his hips, plucking the strawberry from his teeth with mine.

“The outdoors looks good on you, Mrs. Rawlins.”

“Yes, they do. You know what looks better?”

“What, beautiful, tell me?”

“Nothing on me.”

“I can’t picture it, you’re gonna have to show me.” Cheekiness fills those gorgeous green eyes.

I slide my tank top off, letting my bare chest soak up the warmth of the Italian countryside. There is nobody around for miles. Just the way we like it. This New York City girl never would have dreamed in a million years this would be something she’d like. But I do.

And happiness makes Reed more alive, if that’s possible. He spreads my legs, lifting the knee-length skirt up, fingers finding the spot I need him straight away. When he wriggles down, disappearing under my skirt, I moan.

His warm tongue finds my clit and my hands shoot into his hair. My knees are digging into the blanket and legs trembling a heartbeat later. The Great Reed Rawlins has my body well-tuned to his moves. My hardened heart now mush and wrapped around his little finger.

He sends his fingers through my wet folds, and I grip his hair tight. He groans, slipping them inside me. I buck against his mouth as release explodes through me and he laps up every wave he creates.

When the orgasm fades, I shuffle back, kissing the wetness from his lips, his chin, his jawline. Aching for him, I pull his shorts down, exposing the hard length that always sets my mouth watering. Tugging him upward until he’s sitting up and looking at me with hooded eyes, I sink onto his lap.

“God, Rubes... the things you do to me, beautiful.”

I rise on my knees as every inch of him moves through me. He leans back, palms flat on the blanket, toned chest soaking up the sun’s rays, muscled arms flexing with each movement. He is stunning. And he is all mine.

This woman has new rules.

Rule one, Reed Rawlins is my reason for breathing.

Rule two, build the life we want.

Rule three, always stick to rules one and two, no matter what.

Remember, Ruby . . .

No matter what.

Continue the Rosewood Ranch series with

Mack & Grace’s story,

Saving Grace!