by Kelsey King
Her voice breaks off, and I take a step toward her.
“I didn’t want it to end that way,” she continues. “I didn’t want it to end at all. And I know that you got what you needed out of the marriage, and I don’t want you to feel like you have to take care of me. I can go back if you want, but I had to know if I came back…if you’d let me stay.”
I take another step toward her, then another, and soon I’m standing in front of her and taking her hands, wondering if by saying what I say next, I’m going to be ruining her life. “Of course I’ll let you stay,” I say. “You never had to leave.”
“I know. But I was scared. I wanted to know what we had was real, that while you loved your mother and wanted to give her what she needed, and that I wasn’t just a means to an end.”
I shake my head. “No, you were never—”
She puts out a hand and touches me on the arm, and it’s then that I remember that I was cutting wood shirtless like some cliché mountain man.
Sophia smiles. “I was in the beginning,” she says. “You didn’t even know me when I first came here. And you were an escape for me at first, but then you became so much more. And now I need to know if it’s the same for you.”
I want to tell her.
I want to tell her everything I’ve smothered over the last few months, but words fail me, and instead, I take her in my arms and kiss her. Her hands work through my hair, and her body clings to me, and our mouths work together until we both need to come up for air.
“I love you,” I tell her. “I meant it the first time I said it, and I mean it now. It killed me to let you go, but I didn’t want to be an obligation. I didn’t think I could offer you anything that would even compare to what you had back home, and—”
“Dummy,” she says, shaking her head, a smile playing at her lips. “You’re everything I could ever want and more.”
I stare at her, unable to understand how that could possibly be. “I don’t want you to give all that up just for me,” I say.
Sophia puts a hand on her hip. “Well, I don’t want to give you up for all of that.”
I break into a grin. Cocoa carries the rawhide bone in her mouth and trots in circles around us as I lift Sophia off the ground and spin her around and around. We leave her bags in the car and float up the stairs to my room—our room. I whisper how much I’ve missed her as she runs her fingers tenderly along my jaw, and she whispers back that she loves me. I feel like I’ve fallen into a dream, where our clothes fall away, and heat builds between us, arching gloriously and then releasing in a burst of light.
And as we hold each other after, I run my fingers through the tangles of her curls. “Never leave me,” I say.
Sophia looks up at me with an expression of absolute bliss, and I know I’m mirroring it back at her. “No,” she agrees. “Never again.”
Epilogue
SOPHIA
FOUR AND A HALF YEARS LATER
“Finn!” I call into the woods, scanning the trees for my son who’s romping around in the brush just moments before, and has suddenly gone perfectly still. “Finn, are you hiding from me?”
A giggle echoes.
I smile and shake my head. “I can’t climb over those logs to come get you, Finnie,” I call to him. “You’re going to have to come back.”
Finn giggles again, and then tears out from behind a large tree and does a swan dive right over the logs in question, landing on his head about three inches from a large thistle.
But not on it. Never on it. That child is trouble but also has incredible luck. He shrieks again as Gus, our puppy, comes bounding over and covers his face in sloppy kisses.
“Ew! No, Gus. I already washed my face.”
This may be true, but he’s still got a large dirt stain down his cheek, and a gooey substance I’m hoping is pinesap globed in his red hair.
I rest my hands on my swollen belly. Three months ago I would’ve stomped right off into the brush to scoop him up, but he seems to be getting more capable just as I’m getting less. When his sister is born, she’s going to have a lot to keep up with, and I’m going to have my hands even more full.
I glance up at Hunter’s office window and see him standing there, watching us. He waves at me, and I wave back, but there’s something else in his eyes, an expression I see more often on Finn than on Hunter, though they wear it very much the same.
Mischief.
What is he up to?
“Come on, mister,” I call to Finn. “You’re father’s done with work, and it’s time for dinner.”
Nothing gets Finn running toward the house faster than hearing it’s time for Daddy to join us. He shrieks at the top of his lungs as a tiny brown and white fur ball nips at his heels, stumbles, and rolls past him, pausing to engaging in mortal combat with a rogue twig from the aspen tree. I manage to bend over enough to tear it away from him and throw it, and Gus runs in circles around it, but he doesn’t bring it back.
I raise an eyebrow at him. “You have a lot to learn about fetch.”
By the time I usher my two bundles of chaos inside, Hunter has already started setting the table. Finn races toward him, shouting that he wants to help, and Hunter puts him to work setting plates on the table. I lean in the doorway and watch them, Hunter handing Finn plate after plate, and Finn setting them down too hard on the table. Hunter never scolds him for it, even though he’s already broken three of them. It’s easy to buy new plates, he says. No use telling him he’s not allowed to help just because he made a mistake.
I steal a few minutes to pick up the cars and blocks and chew toys that forever litter the floor of the living room until my back complains that a woman this pregnant should not be doing this much manual labor. I put a hand on my aching spine, and look up at the rafters, remembering how pristine this house was the first time I saw it, when Hunter and I had only just met.
It’s not as clean anymore, but it has this over its past state—our house is lived in. Hunter pours a scoop of dog food in Gus’ dish, and the puppy bounces over and begins to devour it eagerly. Before I even sit down, Finn is going at his food just as quickly. I smile at Hunter across the table. Yes, there’s definitely more chaos in our lives now, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
After dinner, Hunter nudges Finn. “Want to go for a walk?”
Finn squeals. The sun is beginning to set, but they have another hour or so before it’s dark. “Don’t stay out too long. Though I wouldn’t complain about a soak in a quiet bath.”
“Later,” Hunter says. “I want to show you something.”
There it is again. That mischievous smile. “Okaaaay. Though I’m not sure what could be within walking distance that I haven’t seen before.”
Hunter winks at Finn. “Well, I guarantee you, you haven’t seen this.”
Finn grins, even though I know he doesn’t have any idea what Hunter’s talking about because Finn can’t keep a secret to save his life.
“Well, we better be going then,” I say, and we all put on our shoes, put on light jackets against the evening chill, and head out into the woods. Hunter holds my hand as Finn and Cocoa bound ahead. “So, what is it we’re going to see?” I ask.
Hunter sinks his other hand into his pocket. “It’s a surprise. You wouldn’t want me to spoil it.”
I smile, and Hunter calls ahead to Finn. “This way, kiddo,” he says, and he leads us all west of the house, toward the sunset. After a minute, I recognize the path. This is the way Hunter, and I first walked in these woods, toward the tree stump where we had our first kiss. I smile, remembering how it felt to have his strong arms around me that first time. His hand squeezes mine, and my arms still grow goosebumps.
We’ve lost nothing, over these past years, and I’m hoping for many, many more.
We get to the stump where I stood when Hunter first kissed me, and Hunter scoops me up and lifts me onto it—no small feat in my condition. “Alright, Finn. We’re here,” Hunter calls.
Finn and G
us come racing back. “Where, dad?”
“Here,” Hunter says again, and then, in the dirt in front of the old, disintegrating stump, he bends down on one knee.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
And then out of his pocket, Hunter pulls a small ring box.
I put my hands on my hips. “Alright. Now I’m really confused.”
Finn flings himself across Hunter’s knee, and Gus begins to tug at his pant leg with his teeth, but Hunter ignores them both. “I was just thinking the other day that I never properly proposed. I was thinking on our five year anniversary, maybe we could renew our vows. You’ve made friends in town. We could have a proper ceremony.”
My body feels suddenly light like I’m going to float off this stump. I’ve never minded the way we got married, but this I mind even less. “We might do that,” I say with a wink. “Though I suppose you still haven’t properly proposed.”
Hunter’s face grows serious, his eyes intense as he looks up at me, ignoring the dog and child. God, I adore them. All of them.
“Sophia. You’re the most beautiful, caring woman I’ve ever met in my life. You’re an amazing mother, partner, and I can’t imagine my life without you. You were the biggest risk I ever took, and each morning I look at you, I’m so thankful that you’re mine. I love you more than anything baby, and I’d be honored if you would marry me. Again.”
I burst simultaneously into laughter and tears, and throw myself at him, which might have been a bit impetuous as off-balance as I am. Hunter catches me, and we fall back together in the dirt, my arms around his neck.
“Yes. I said it then, and I’ll say it again. Yes, I want to be your wife.”
“You are his wife!” Finn shouts, and I laugh.
“Yes. And I couldn’t be happier about it.”
Hunter kisses me, and Finn—never one to be left out of a hug—wedges himself between us. I close my eyes, committing the moment to memory, wanting to carry it with me forever and ever.
I’m the luckiest woman in the world.
Kelsey King loves hot coffee, wearing a top knot, and writing possessive alpha males. Reading and writing has been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. For the last few years, Kelsey has been writing short stories that have been stored away on her hard drive collecting dust. With a little courage and a push from friends, she decided to finally start sharing them. Happily ever afters and sexy scenes are an absolute must!
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UPCOMING AND PUBLISHED BOOKS BY KELSEY KING
Co-Written titles with Jenika Snow
Ruthless Mountain Man
Savage Mountain Man
Mountain Man Series
Mountain Man’s Fake Fiancée
Mountain Man’s Nanny
Mountain Man’s Mail Order Bride
Mountain Man’s Stranded Virgin
Mountain Man’s Baby Plan
Mountain Man’s Stepsister
Mountain Man’s Runaway Bride
Mountain Man’s Royal Princess
Forbidden Love Series
Sinful Temptations
Playing with Temptation
Scandalous Temptations
Flirting with Temptation
His Ultimate Temptation
Uncovering Temptations
CHASING COOPER
A BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND ROMANCE
Chasing Cooper is a never been published short story available to newsletter subscribers only. To grab it, sign-up here!
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