Page 148 of Sawyer

“You bet your ass I’m a dream,” Wyatt says.

Sally hushes him. “There are children present.”

“You bet yourbehind,” he corrects.

“No, Uncle Wy, it’sbottom,” Junie says.

Ella nods. “Or heinie.”

“Y’all are so dang cute,” Patsy says with a smile.

I lean in to murmur in Sawyer’s ear. “Happy?”

Sawyer turns his head to meet my eyes. “Very.”

* * *

We go to town on Wyatt’s pot roast and Patsy’s mashed sweet potatoes. The girls are wild for the cupcakes Mollie brought from the Caffeinated Cowgirl downtown, which we serve with the hand-churned vanilla bean ice cream John B made for just the occasion.

It’s pure chaos. People eat at the counter, on the couch, and perched on the hearth by the fireplace.

It’s also a ton of fun. Sawyer doesn’t stop smiling. The girls love getting all the attention from the adults in the room.

Everyone pitches in to clean up. Patsy reminds us that there’s King Ranch casserole in the freezer and a roasted chicken in the fridge, which Wyatt and Sally stocked with essentials—milk, fruit, and yogurt and smoothie pouches for the kids.

My heart is bursting by the time it’s just Sawyer and me on the couch. He started to cry all over again when I informed him June and I would be staying here until he was fully healed. She and Ella were beside themselves to be put to bed together in Ella’s room a little bit ago. I can still hear them giggling together.

“They’re so fucking cute.” Sawyer puts a hand on my thigh.

I reach over to play with his hair. “You’re so fucking cute. How are you feeling?”

“Sore. Tired.” His gaze meets mine. In the light of the fire Ryder lit earlier, Sawyer’s eyes gleam with tenderness. “Happy. I missed everyone.”

“They missed you. We all did. Life wasn’t the same. I’m so”—my voice catches—“so relieved and so happy you’re back and you’re okay.”

“I’ll be okay as long as you’re here.”

I hold his gaze. “I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me.”

His eyes go wide. “That mean?—”

“I’m asking to move in with you, yes.”

“But you don’t want?—”

“I want you.” I gingerly press a kiss to his cheek. “And I want us all to be together. I thought we could put twin beds in Ella’s room so the girls can get their sleepover. And then we’ll put a king in your room so you and I can get ours.”

“I like this scenario,” he says huskily.

At my feet, Mule starts to wag his tail. My heart explodes into a thousand butterflies. I’m doing it—I’m trusting Sawyer. Trusting the universe.

I’m letting love win.

“Stay, pretty girl,” Sawyer continues. “Not so I can tie you down, but so we can be free. Together. Us and the girls. We’ll do whatever the fuck we want,bewhoever the fuck we want, as long as we’re together. Because that’s what makes me happiest.”

I’m shaking and I’m laughing, tears rolling down my face. “That makes me the happiest, too.”

“Forever?”

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