Shane throws me a glance.
“Identical twins for Bess as well?”
“Why not?” I say gleefully. “It could be fun!” But then I toss my handsome boyfriends a sly smile over my shoulder. “Well, enough about that. Dinner will be ready just as soon as I get these wild children to bed,” I say as I lean over to scoop up a boy on each hip. But Stanton and Shane intervene, each one taking a baby in their strong arms.
“We’ll get them settled in, and you go ahead and finish up what you need to down here,” Stanton says while rocking his tiny son as he heads toward the back hall.
I smile gratefully as the father son quad disappears, and then head into the kitchen to finish setting out dinner. A few minutes later, the twins put to sleep, I settle in at the table with my lovers on either side of me.
“Smells delicious,” Shane remarks, clearly hungry as he eyes the steaming pot pie.
“Dig in, I know you were dealing with tree removal today,” I urge.
Stanton pours me a glass of wine as he talks. “Yes, the harvest is coming in nicely, and it turns out that it was just that one apple tree that had some wood rot.”
I smile at him, loving how much these two men adore the Lazy R. Their incredible respect for the land runs in their veins, and again, I thank my lucky stars for the opportunity to be here. Our life couldn’t be any more wonderful.
Well, it could be a tiny bit better, I think with a secret smile while placing a hand gently against my stomach.
“You know Juniper,” Shane is speaking. I look up to see that he and Stanton haven’t touched their dinner plates yet. “Today is a really important day for the three of us,” he says, his tone once again mysterious.
I look from brother to brother, wondering if I’ve forgotten an important anniversary or holiday.
“It is?” I ask, patting delicately at my lips.
But the twins are smirking now.
“You know this day, two years ago, Stanton and I found ourselves in need of hydration.”
I stare at them while Shane continues.
“You see, we’d been working hard all day on a friend’s ranch, and a beer was about the only thing on our minds,” he says, those blue eyes twinkling in the soft light.
“So my brother and I – innocent as all get out – find ourselves wandering into a random little bar in a random little town called Lake Puckett.”
As I begin to piece the tale together, I blush fiercely. “Lake Puckett, hmm?” I ask with a smile, playing along.
“And at this bar, we found something much better than an icy cold beer.” Now, Shane stands up.
“We found the most beautiful young woman we’d ever laid eyes on, and holy shit, but did we have some dirty fun in a dark alley.” Stanton is on his feet, too.
I blush and shake my head at their antics. “Oh my goodness, you guys know how that story ends!” I protest, but secretly I’m loving it. I love that I had dirty sex with two strangers in a back alley, and that I’m the mother of their babies now.
“Well, if my brother and I had known then what we know now,” Stanton’s voice is deep and cool, like the bottom of a well, “we never would have let you out of our sight that night.”
“But it seems Fate agreed with us,” Shane says, his own tone like honey. “Because the next week, you showed up on our doorstep. What were the chances?”
Then, to my surprise, both men take a knee before me, and Stanton’s got a velvet box in one hand.
“What –?” I begin but can’t find the words.
“More than ever, sweetheart, we’re determined to hang on to you forever. To love you, to cherish you, and to have many more wild nights right here in this house.”
My eyes begin to fill with tears.
“Juniper, marry us? Make our lives whole, forever?” growls Shane. “Please sweetheart. We adore you.”
With that, Stanton pops open the velvet box and there’s an enormous diamond ring inside. I gasp, my eyes filling with tears. Is this really my life? Evidently yes, because Shane takes the ring out and slips it onto my finger like it’s always belonged there. The gem glints and sparkles, illuminating our love for one another.
“Yes!” I murmur, tears falling freely now. “Yes, I will be your wife.”
With that, both men kiss me passionately.
“Thank you,” Shane whispers reverently, looking deep into my eyes. “For everything. The home you’ve made with us, and the boys you’ve already given us. You make us so happy, sweetheart.”
“You are our everything,” affirms Stanton with a glow in his eye. “In fact, this calls for champagne,” he says as he climbs back to his feet.