by Erica Penrod
“Quade agreed?” she asked. She couldn’t believe it.
“Yeah,” Jaxon said. “He said he was ready for something different in his life.”
“And Kip?”
“He’s done, but Tayson had a friend, so they were able to fill the empty spot.”
Janie put her finger in Kylie’s hand. “That’s good,” she said, but Jaxon quitting The Cowboys didn’t solve everything. She stared at their baby, wondering how she could ever really put this all behind her.
Jaxon seemed to sense her apprehension. “I’ve tried to think of the right thing to say to get you to forgive me. Just tell me what you need me to do, and I’ll do it.”
“I don’t need you.”
Jaxon’s dark eyes were swimming with tears. “I know. But I need you.”
“You really hurt me.”
“I know, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”
Janie searched his eyes for an unbreakable promise. “How do I know you’ll be here? That you won’t decide things on your own and leave me here to figure it out?”
“I’m so sorry.” He took her hand. “I will be here. I want to be with you in everything we do, every decision we make. I can’t imagine what it did to you when I agreed to do the second season without talking to you about it.”
“I guess that’s when I knew I’d lost you.”
“You didn’t lose me. I lost myself.”
“I don’t think I could do that again, especially now with Kylie.” She didn’t know what she would’ve done without Jaxon here to help her. He’d changed as many diapers as she had, maybe more, and he still looked at her like she was beautiful, even though she felt like a beached whale.
“You won’t ever have to. I promise, and I know that might not mean much now, but I swear I’m going to show you every day for the rest of my life.”
Janie laid her head on his shoulder and inhaled his scent. Maybe it wasn’t smart to give in, but something whispered to her heart that her sweet boy was back where he belonged.
“I love you,” she said, staring intently into his brown eyes.
“I love you too,” he said, and kissed her softly. “Do you think you can forgive me?”
Janie nodded and smiled. Janie’s body relaxed as her head rested against Jaxon’s chest. She drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a little girl with her daddy’s strawberry hair and her own blue eyes.
* * *
Baby puke covered the front of his shirt, but his little girl cooed as she lay on the changing table with a diaper full of stench strong enough to rival even the worst fermented pile of manure he’d encountered. Jaxon tried not to breathe as he carefully removed the diaper with one hand and held the baby’s feet in the other. He didn’t know how Janie made this look so easy. She’d shown him several times how to change the diaper without getting it all over him and the baby, but so far he was still a novice. He’d even watched a YouTube tutorial, but this was something he could only learn with a hands-on approach. Janie laughed when he told her he wanted to be on diaper duty whenever he was home from the rodeos, and she told him she’d be happy to oblige. Jaxon was at the top of the PRCA standings, riding better than he had in months, and he knew it was because of his two cheerleaders cheering him on from home. In a month or so, they planned to travel as a family along the rodeo circuit, and he couldn’t wait to show off his little girl and her gorgeous momma.
After two attempts and thirty wet wipes, Kiley was clean. Jaxon handed her to her mother and went in their bedroom to change his shirt. When he was finished, he went in the kitchen and fixed Janie a glass of ice water with lemon. He took it into the nursery, where she sat in the rocker nursing the baby. Her eyes were closed, so he quietly set the water next to her. It took everything he had not to touch her—he didn’t want to wake her—so he knelt at her feet and watched. It didn’t seem possible, but motherhood made Janie even more beautiful, and he loved her more every day. His thoughts drifted to the possibilities of their future. There was one problem he had to fix before they could move on.
“What are you thinking about down there on the floor?” Janie asked, bringing his thoughts to the present.
“Us,” he said. He got up and touched her face. She leaned into him and kissed his hand.
“Good thoughts.” She smiled. “I hope.”
“Mostly.” Jaxon tried to appear concerned.
Janie’s brow wrinkled, and her eyes grew with intensity, just as he hoped. “Why mostly? I thought things were good between us.”
He bent down and kissed her forehead. “They are. Aren’t you happy?” he asked her.
“Yes. Aren’t you?”
“Yeah,” he said evenly. “But there’s a problem.”
“What?” Janie said unsteadily.
Jaxon ran his fingers through his hair and scratched his chin, wanting to appear deep in thought. “Can I ask you one more question? I think maybe it would clear up a few things left undone between us.”
“Yes. What?” she said in clipped words.
Jaxon got down on one knee and pulled her ring from his pocket. “Will you marry me?”
The baby squirmed and let out a cry. They both looked at their daughter and then at each other and laughed. Janie let out a squeal and smiled, hooking her hand behind his head and pressing her lips to his.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” he huffed. She left him breathless. Everything about her drove him crazy. He wanted her always.
“Darn right, cowboy,” she said, with her sassy little mouth, and this time he kissed her until they were both breathless.
Also by Erica Penrod
Check out the first book in this country romance series from Erica Penrod.
Cowboy Reality Romance: Kip
Cassie Carter, a single mother of three-year-old twin boys, took a new job after her husband dies in an accident. The nanny position in Park City, Utah, is for a wealthy family who live the country life—plus a few billion dollars. As blown away as she is by the mountains, mansion, and horses, it all fades in comparison to Kip Morgan.
Kip is a horse trainer and reality television star who can send her pulse into a stampede with just one touch. While Cassie works to sort out her feelings and what really happened to her late husband, her boys become Kip’s biggest fans. Caught in a dangerous web her late husband left behind, Cassie scrambles to protect her family from harm and her heart from Kip. However, Kip holds the key to unlocking the mystery behind her husband’s death and the chance at new love. Cassie will have to trust him or risk leaving herself and her boys at the mercy of her husband’s killers.
Get your copy by clicking here.
About the Author
Erica spends her time folding laundry for her four children and husband. In between loads she loves to read, move furniture and display junk she’s collected at local thrift and antique stores. Most weekends she’s in the stands as head cheerleader watching her family compete in rodeo. Her favorite place is anywhere her husband is and she’s saddened by the thought of cooking dinner every night for the rest of her life. Erica loves to write, enjoys looking for inspiration in the candy aisle, and then eating her inspiration while typing.
To join Erica’s newsletter and receive information about her new releases, click here.
Free Book from Gelato Publishing
You can get a copy of The Reclusive Billionaire by Lucy McConnell by clicking here.
As an added bonus, you’ll also receive updates when the next Gelato Publishing book is released so you don’t miss out on one of these sweet romances.
filter: grayscale(100%); " class="sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share