“Now, I know this is where you belong.”
“Damn right it is.”
“Yeah,” Rhys said, rejoining us with a thermos of coffee. “If we’re going to keep up the pace we’ve set for our breeding operation, then I need Jacob right here.”
Having Rhys trust me with the horses made me feel even more like I belonged.
Grant kissed the top of my head, then focused on his brothers. “I also need to bring in more people to help with the rest of our operation.”
“You know I’m never going to ignore the dangers here. I’m always going to want to be part of that too.”
“Same for me,” Rogue said, rushing toward Daisy’s stall so he could see our new addition.
“All three of you have a serious thing for danger.”
Rogue shrugged as he leaned against the stall. “Aww. Look at Daisy and…”
“Clover?” I looked at Grant. We’d talked a little about names, but I’d been so nervous for Daisy’s first delivery—and the first mare bred since I took over the ranch—that I hadn’t wanted to get too set on anything.
“I told you it’s your choice, but I think that’s perfect.”
“Daisy and Clover wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for our love of danger,” Rogue pointed out.
“That’s true. And it’s not been all bad. Things have turned out pretty great for all of us.”
Rhys nodded. “Speaking of which, I should call the others so they can come see Clover too.”
“Yeah,” Grant said. “You better do that.”
Grant
After everyone had gotten a chance to marvel over the sweet little foal, Rhys shooed the onlookers out so Jacob and I could have some time alone in the barn.
I wrapped my arms around Jacob as he leaned against the railing of the birthing stall, staring at Clover and Daisy with a gorgeous smile on his face.
“Thank you,” he said. “I would never have… all this if it weren’t for you.”
“I love you, sweetheart. You deserve the whole world.”
Jacob leaned back against me. “I love you too. So much.”
Over the last year, despite some moments of extreme danger, life had been getting better and better. Jacob was a huge part of that. Watching him grow and settle in on the ranch had inspired me every day. My brothers were content, and now we’d had our first successful birth. I’d worried about Daisy as her time grew closer, but things had worked out beautifully, and Jacob had been more and more involved as her pregnancy developed.
I’d had moments of joy in the last year and moments when I was certain I’d made a terrible choice. Knowing Jacob’s life was in danger here was hard to take, but he was clearly happy. I’d made the right choice when I’d accepted X’s offer. I was ready to accept that, and now there was something else I was ready for.
“Jacob, I’ll be right back. I just need to run to the house for a moment.”
“What for?”
“Just something I forgot to grab. I’ll be right back.” I gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and rushed off before he could ask more questions.
When I returned, he was still watching Daisy and Clover. I was distracted for a moment by the sight of his ass in his worn jeans.
I’d have plenty of chances to play with him later. Right now, I had something even more—or at least as—important to do.
I walked up beside Jacob and dropped to one knee. His eyes went wide. “Grant? What are you doing?”
I just smiled at him. “I’ve been waiting for the right time, and I think this is it.”