Page 43 of Rancher's Pride

“Yeah it is. We’re watching everything even closer than we were before, so it should stay that way.” I answered his question and watched him nod.

“Hey,” Fallon said, smiling when she saw me, as she and Wanda came into the living room. Wanda carried Lottie and took a seat beside Pop. She leaned down andkissed my lips lightly. I watched Pop look at Wanda and they both smiled.

“Hi, you get some sleep?” I questioned when I saw that she looked tired as she sat down beside me.

“I did, but not a lot, but it’s okay.” I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to me and her sigh against me was all I needed this morning.

“You forgot these.” I pulled her medication out of my pocket and handed it to her with my free hand.

“Thank you. I thought of them after I got here. I should take them now.” Fallon jumped up from the couch and went to the kitchen.

“Nas, Mommy, kiss you, so you my daddy?” She looked at me with confusion on her sweet little face.

“Yes, baby. I am.” My throat tightened, and I had to blink quickly. I had thought about this moment so many times, but I’d figured it would be much more dramatic. This was too simple, too nonchalant.

“Otay.” She grinned and hopped off my knee. I watched her run past Fallon, who stared at me, mouth open slightly, but a grin spreading across her face. We stared at one another, silence filling the room.

“Well, I say we need to celebrate with a family breakfast.” Wanda said as she stood and handed Lottie to me. “Don’t you think, Dad?” She smiled, and I nodded as I cradled the baby in my arms and a tear dripped from my eye.

“I’ll let you two talk alone.” Pop stood and followed Wanda to the kitchen.

“Well, Daddy, how does it feel now that she knows?” Fallon asked, leaning over the back of the couch, wrapping her arms around me.

“Like I’m finally the man I’m supposed to be,” I said, looking up at her, smiling. “Thank you for helping me get there.” Turning, I kissed her again. This time it wasn’t a light peck, it was a full on kiss and if my hands hadn’t already been full, I would have pulled her over the back of the couch.

“Your dad is in the other room.” She giggled when she pulled away from me.

“Pretty sure he’s seen people kissing before,” I said before kissing her again.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

NASH

As the calendar rolled over to the new year, there had been no more texts, and I watched Fallon become more like her old self. I hadn’t let my guard down on either situation, but the breathing room was appreciated.

“Nash, I got a call. There’s a herd of wild horses starving up on the mountain.” Griff said as he walked into the barn. “We should go check on them and see if we can’t push them closer to the feed.” He was already grabbing his saddle and tack.

“Let me go tell Fallon we’re heading out, and I will round up the others. Think we need more than the five of us?”

“Might not hurt to see if Kane Watson can lend us a hand. An extra man isn’t a bad thing.” Griff was focused where wild horses were concerned. He loved that theywere free-living their lives, but hated seeing them starve or hurt because of it.

“I’ll give him a call.” I nodded and left the barn.

The wind was whipping off the mountain and it wasn’t going to be a pleasant ride. “Fal?” I called as I rushed into the house.

“Shh, I just got Lottie down.” Fallon moved gracefully around toys scattered throughout my house. It wasn’t a house anymore, it was a home. A home full of love, laughter, and the three most important girls in my life.

“We’re heading out to gather some wild horses off the mountain.”

“Griff’s still got a soft spot for them?” She leaned against the banister, crossed her arms, and smiled.

“He sure does. I think we do this every winter. I wish he’d keep them, but he’d never do it.”

“It’s cold out there. Do you want to take coffee or something with you? I just made a new pot.”

I nodded and absentmindedly reached for my warmer clothes as I said, “that’d be great babe, thanks.” Freezing as I wrapped my wild rag around my neck, Fallon turned and frowned. “Sorry, I wasn’t, no I’m not sorry at all. I’m going to call you whatever I want.” I tied the knot a little too tightly and yanked on my coveralls.

“But babe?” She wrinkled her nose, and it took all my strength not to plant a kiss on her lips. “I’ve never been babe, always Toots. For the last ten years it’s beenToots, you can’t just change it out of the blue. It sounded strange.” She rolled her eyes and left me standing, dumbfounded. She wasn’t opposed to pet names. I just had to use the right one.

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