Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
My love overflows for him like the champagne at the reception. “I’m afraid I might love you too much,” I say loudly, the music stopping before I finish talking.
Tagger smirks just eating up the attention when a few gazes find their way over. But most people are having too much fun themselves to pay attention to the newly married couple. Though he has my attention on lockdown. “Nothing to fear from loving someone as much as I love you, babe.” I’m dipped, the hat falling right off my head, and then my neck is kissed . . . and licked . . . and nipped, causing my body to stir for more of this. Hovering over me, he whispers, “How long do we have to stay, dear wife?”
He has me wanting to rub my legs together. Too obvious to others? Too late. I clench my thighs in anticipation. “As long as we want, dear husband.”
“I want to dance,” Beckett asks, staring me in the eyes.
Tagger rights me and then looks at me for the answer. An unspoken agreement is shared that we’ll be picking up where we left off later. I bend down, and say, “I’d love to, Mr. Beckett.”
Holding his hands, we come together and then back again. My grade school lessons of square dancing are coming back mixed with a little hokeypokey. But he’s swept up by Baylor and set on his shoulders. “Want to help Lauralee and me put the horses up for the night?”
“Yes.”
And then I’m on the dance floor alone.
My dad saves my pride, and we catch the next slow dance. “I wanted to give you something for your wedding.”
“You already gave me so much—my something blue, the sapphire earrings, and the borrowed dress I took from her closet.”
“Those were always meant to be yours. As a minority owner of Rollingwood Ranch but a major decision maker, I had a plot of land mapped out.” He stops and pulls an envelope from his back pocket. “This is for you and Tagger to get your own home started.”
“Dad, you didn’t have to do that.”
“I know. It’s the place your mom always wanted to build her retirement home.”
This is news. “You have a house. Right there.”
“She wanted a cottage for just the two of us one day. We were going to keep this one for when family visits or we had the grandkids for the summer.” He taps the envelope. “But this right here was the place she called most magical.”
I take the envelope, feeling a stupid lump in my throat. My emotions are running the gamut this wedding season. Before I can ask, he adds, “I buried her where the sun could shine on her. She was always looking for a sweater. But the spot where she lies is where I found her most mornings picking wildflowers. For several years, she spread the seeds. Now, they grow in her memory.”
I move into my dad’s arms, feeling closer than ever and knowing my mom is with us right now. “Thank you, Dad.”
“No getting sappy. Go and get on with your night, Christine, and enjoy it.”
I turn to see Tagger smiling at me. There are no signs of impatience or rushing me, but I still run right into his arms. He lifts me off the ground and twirls me around. I kiss his temple and whisper, “Where are you taking me for our honeymoon?”
He sets me down, leaving his hands heavy on my hips. “To heaven, baby, and back again.”
“Promise?”
“I just made a vow before our friends and family and the skies above—”
“Fine,” I say, playfully rolling my eyes. “I believe you.”
While others are filing through the buffet of barbecue and homemade cheddar biscuits, we start dancing in the dirt because why not? But then I remember something and reach down to swap one contract for the plans my dad just gave us. Handing it to him, I say, “Here’s your prenup.”
“Are you mad?”
“Hell-bent with fire.” When he flips open the paperwork, his eyes return to mine. “You didn’t sign them.”
“I’m not going to. We’re in this together forever. What’s yours is mine, and what’s mine is yours.”
With the papers in his hand, he lowers it to my hip while holding the other in the air. We start a slow dance that will only end up with us in bed, judging by the look in his eyes. Sexy devil.
He leans down and kisses me. “Tell me, Pris, was it worth the wait?”
“The wait was worth the while, cowboy.”
. . . And they lassoed their way right into their own fairytale ending. But there’s more *winks* So keep reading!
EPILOGUE 2
Tagger
Two years later . . .
Beck is running up ahead, Pris not far behind, though she looks back twice, crossing her eyes and pretending she’s about to die from being run ragged by him, and somehow looks just as beautiful as she did at the sundries store. It’s like not a day has passed, and my love only grows for her. She waves him forward. “Go on without me, Beck. Take care of your chickens, and I’ll be there when I catch my breath.”