Page 53 of Stud Ranch

“It makes me happy that you still wear it.”

Face tilted up to his, she anchored a hand on his chest. “It’s my favorite shirt.”

“Mm. It’s my favorite shirt to take off you.” He reached for the hem, but she drew out of his arms before he could get to first base.

“I have a facial booked at the ranch spa. I don’t have time for...that…right now.”

At the word facial, he twisted to shoot a look at Dylan. His lover cocked a brow, a sly expression overtaking his rugged features.

He sidled over. “Facial, you say? That can be arranged.”

She blinked. “It has been.” Her lips opened in an O as if suddenly it hit her that they meant another kind of facial, one involving coming on her beautiful lips and a long shower afterward.

“Not that type of facial,” she rushed to correct. “This one involves really nice skin.”

“So does ours.” Dylan swept her into his arms. Shaw watched how responsive she was to their lover. How he seemed to widen her smile every time he reached for her.

Darkness crept into the crevices of his mind. The more time the three of them spent together, the more he believed that they would be great together, just like Piers, Ash and Sylvee.

Shaw had a lot to think about, especially with the possibility of a coaching job within reach.

When they drew apart, Dylan caught his stare on him. The dimple vanished in the blink of an eye. Their gazes held for a knowing moment.

“We’ll walk you to the spa and pick you up when you’re finished. How’s that sound, baby?” Dylan brushed his lips across her forehead.

She nodded, and they all left the bungalow. Shaw let Sloane set the pace, and she took her time, drinking in their surroundings. One thing they used to dream about was coming to Alaska and starting a life together when he left the NHL. He quit hockey much sooner than either of them expected…and then everything went up in smoke.

Could they grab hold of that dream again? What did that even look like to either of them, to Marigold…or to Dylan?

He didn’t know where Dylan’s head was at, let alone Sloane’s. He didn’t even know his own.

Suddenly, she let out a gasp and pointed at the barn. He followed her finger to see the mare and her brand-new foal on wobbly legs beside it.

Flashing a grin, he nodded. “I heard the foal dropped late last night. A couple was in the barn at the time.”

“Oh! In the barn as in…”

He shrugged. “Most likely. Lots of women’s fantasies involve a barn. Plenty of hay for rolling in.”

She laughed, and he slipped his hand in hers. The need to be touching her at all times was stronger than it ever was before. It was as though during those two years they spent apart, his love had continued growing. Only she wasn’t around to lavish it on. Instead he’d bottled it up for so long, he felt ready to explode with it.

Dylan flanked her other side, his arm around her. At first, sharing Sloane with him scared the hell out of Shaw. He’d lost the fight for her during the selection process, and it damn near made him give up.

When had he become the guy on the bench? After his injury, he thought he could battle his way back, but he’d seen the writing on the wall. Careers in hockey rarely lasted into any player’s late thirties. Injuries ended the career of many an athlete.

So he’d given up and walked away.

All of a sudden, he realized he’d been doing that exact thing over and over again. He gave up Sloane, his daughter. He’d almost let this second chance to win them back slide and handed it all over to Dylan.

Though he hadn’t realized it at the time, when he showed up looking to share her with Dylan, everything changed. He changed.

They’d reached the spa. The modern building always looked out of place in the landscape to Shaw, but he saw how the clean lines would appeal more than the rustic wood structures on the rest of the ranch.

They walked Sloane inside and when he and Dylan kissed her, the workers didn’t bat an eye. Around here, this kind of thing was common.

Not so much in the rest of the world. Another worry to consider.

Once he and Dylan were outside again, he jerked his head toward the grub hall. “Wanna grab some food?”

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