“We can’t stay in bed all day,” she murmured, placing a soft kiss on my chest.
I laughed, pulling her closer before grabbing the blanket at the foot of the bed and covering our naked bodies. “Why not? We won’t get in trouble. The ranch runs quite well without me being there every moment of the day. Plus, Brandon will step up and take care of things if I’m not available.”
She released a soft laughter, and the sound caused a sense of peace to come over me.
“You know, just because you have an in with the boss doesn’t mean you can slack off. There’s always work to be done on a ranch. I’ve watched things over the last few weeks, and I know you’re always busy. I don’t want to take you away from your work. I’m not going anywhere.”
No, she wasn’t. Not if I had anything to do about it. If I had to keep her in bed for the rest of her time here to convince her to stay with me, that’s what I’d do. “Don’t worry about that. I can take a few hours to myself to spend time with my woman.”
“Hmmm, okay. If you say so. But if Brandon yells at you for not being around when they needed you, don’t blame me,” she said with laughter in her tone.
“Never.” I kissed the top of her head. “Now, I think you have a call with Ebony tomorrow to get an update on how things are going with your ex-husband. I don’t want you to worry about anything she says. If you need to go back to Virginia to take care of anything, I’m going with you.” I knew that would be a surprise to her, but it shouldn’t. I knew the life she was leaving behind, and I needed to prove that I was different. I would be there for her as long as she needed me. I was nothing like her ex-husband and would never lift a hand to her in anger.
Lifting her head to look up at me, she rubbed a hand along my chest. “You don’t have to do that. I don’t want to be a burden to you. Honestly, I just want this entire situation over with. It’s time I leave my old life with Derek in the past. I’m ready to move forward.”
Hope burst in my chest, but I tried to contain my response. It wasn’t that I wanted to hide how happy I was, but I also didn’t want to scare her away. I was asking Tamara to have faith in me and move her entire life here with me. “I hope moving forward includes me in that picture.”
“And Sammy. I want him to know that I’m here for him as well. You’re a package deal. Plus, your dad, Gladys, Brandon. But I’m ready for the next phase, Clint. Especially if I get more afternoon delights like this to keep things interesting.
A smile came over my face. I rolled us over so that I was on top of her soft body. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re about to get a double dose.”