Epilogue

Zach

S ix months later

I stood at the edge of the river, watching the water rush by as nerves twisted my gut into sailors' knots. I'd been preparing for this moment for months; everything was in place. I'd double and triple checked every little detail. Nothing was going to go wrong, but I was still freaking out.

I rested my hand against the front of my pocket, feeling for the ring inside to make sure it was still there. Roam chittered from where I had his reins tied to a branch, alerting me that someone else was approaching.

She was right on time.

I wiped the sweat beaded on my forehead and made sure my expression appeared neutral as I turned to watch Rae ride up on Sassy. She was a natural on horseback now. In fact, she was a natural at everything that had to do with the ranch. If I didn't know better, I would have thought it was in her blood. She smiled brilliantly when she saw me, and everything inside me calmed. That was the magic of Rae. It wasn't one big thing that made me fall in love with her. It was a million little things. It was the way she laughed. The way she smiled. It was the fire inside her whenever she got mad. It was the way she loved this ranch and wanted to help me make it better. It was the way she fit into my family so seamlessly, like she was meant to be part of it. And with every day that passed, those little things kept adding up.

I'd done a lot of work with Dr. Henson over the past several months, but it was Rae who kept me grounded. I still loved this spot, and now it was special for all new reasons, but this woman was my calm, my center.

"Hi, baby."

She pulled Sassy to a stop beside Roam and dismounted, heading in my direction. "I got your text to meet you out here." She stopped, placing her hands on my chest and rising up on her boots to kiss me. "Is everything okay? "

Everything was perfect. Or at least it would be.

"I don't know. It depends on your answer to a question I have for you."

"What quest—" The furrow in her brow smoothed out and her eyes shot wide on a gasp as I pulled the ring from my pocket and lowered myself down on one knee. "Oh my God, Zach." She clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Hollywood." I grinned up at her, using the nickname she hated when she arrived all those months ago. "I lucked out the day I met my parents. I thought the day my adoption went through was destined to be the best day of my life. I didn't think it was possible for a man to experience that kind of luck more than once. Then I met you, and every day since has been better than the one before. Will you make me the happiest man in the world and be my wife, baby? Will you have my babies and move into that big house that's been sitting empty, waiting for our family? Will you spend the rest of your life letting me love you?"

She dropped down on her knees in front of me and took my face in her hands. "Of course I will," she rasped as tears slid down her cheeks. "I'm yours and you are mine. It's been that way since the very beginning, and it will be that way until our last breath."

I slid the ring down her finger and pulled her with me as I stood up, circling my arms around her waist and lifting her feet off the ground as I kissed her hungrily.

She let out a needy moan and arched into me, her body begging for more. Any other time I would have gladly given her exactly what she wanted. But...

I set her down, taking her by the shoulders and pushing her back. "Wha—" she asked dazedly.

"I'm sorry, baby, but that has to wait. We have somewhere we need to be."

Her jaw dropped open. "You just proposed," she squeaked. "Where could we possibly need to be right now?"

I grinned wickedly, taking her hand and tugging her back to the horses. "At the engagement party your mom and my mom are currently putting together."

She sucked in an excited gasp and gave a little hop. "My mom's here?"

"Both your parents. We've been planning this for months. All of us. You're literally the only one on the ranch who didn't know."

She narrowed her eyes in a glare that didn't hold an ounce of anger. "You sneaky little jerk. You're lucky I love you so damn much."

"Believe me, I know exactly how lucky I am. Now get a move on. The faster the party starts, the faster it ends. I've got very naked plans for you later tonight. "

She giggled and lifted herself up into her saddle. "I can't wait. Race you back to the barn!" she shouted, then took off in a flash.

My beautiful, sweet, fierce woman.

I would never get enough of her.

The End.