Page 23 of Unbar the Barred
They had never talked about his quirks.
“That so?” Trey’s grin remained, yet Cassidy witnessed the tension in Trey’s stiff upper body.
“It is. I knit.” He held Trey’s gaze, searching for the look that crossed some folks' faces at his idiosyncrasies. “It’s like a hobby. My girls, they like the attention.”
Trey chuckled and carefully picked up Lilly and brought her up to his face. Lilly didn’t squawk, but she gave Trey a brief peck on his finger. Then she rested her neck on his finger and closed her eyes. “I think she likes me,” he murmured, looking so pleased that Cassidy couldn’t help but chuckle.
“She does. She can scent that you’re mine.”
“Good to know.”
“What brings you out here? I thought you were workin’ late tonight?”
Trey placed his booted foot on the railing and took over rocking. Cassidy sensed Trey was giving himself time to figure out what to say, so he stayed silent. Even though they hadn’t spent lots of time together since the mating, Cassidy had watched Trey and figured he knew him better than some. Content just to be close, he went back to watching the sun sink behind the mountains.
“Did you hear ole man Granger is selling his small holding down on the Hudson?”
“Nope.” He glanced back at Trey. “I did hear he had a nasty fall and went to stay with his daughter. She buys eggs from the ranch,” he said, by way of explaining how he knew.
“He can’t manage the fifty or so acres he owns, or the cabin he built for his family some years back. It’s a nice place.”
Cassidy couldn’t quite catch his breath, unsure why he got a case of flutters in his belly. “I’m sure it is. His place is right on the river and the land down there, I hear, is good for rearin’ animals.”
“Yep. The place could be ideal for someone who might want their own”—he shrugged—“place to raise their chicks.”
Cassidy’s jaw dropped when what Trey was saying registered. He attempted to speak, coughed, then swallowed hard enough to make his Adam’s apple bob madly.
“Chicks?” he squeaked, blushing hard as Trey got up and placed Lilly on the cushion next to Bubba. All his animals were watching Trey as he crouched in front of Cassidy.
“Yep, though you can raise whatever suits. I don’t have no preferences.” His gaze dropped to Cassidy’s middle and several things registered at once, making his mouth water.
Pups.
Pups.
What did you mean by pups?
Really? You couldn’t figure out we’re pregnant. How?
“I am?” he bellowed, unsettling all the chicks in his lap. They very loudly let him know they weren’t happy as they flapped and jumped off him, squawking up at him from both sides. Bubba grunted and snorted, rolling off the cushion, making Luna hop off or get squashed.
“I am?” Trey asked, sounding confused.
And so he should be, when all Cassidy could do was stare at him with everything slotting into place. “Pregnant!” Cassidy exclaimed, uncaring that others were in their cabins and might hear him.
Trey placed a hand on top of his T-shirt and offered him a warm smile. It filled Cassidy up so much he felt he wasbrimming with… love. “My wolf, he left me know for sure last week—”
“Last week!” Back was the squeak. “Why didn’t you say anythin’?”
Trey gave him a pleading look. “I was gonna. Then you didn’t mention it, so I thought I’d wait till you were ready. Except I had this idea ‘bout doin’ this properly.”
“Doin’ what?” It was Cassidy’s turn to be confused. He somehow or other had gotten lost, and he’d be having words with his animal half as soon as he caught his breath!
Trey shifted. One knee went to the porch as he dug a hand into the back pocket of his jeans. “Proposin’.”
Cassidy couldn’t get his lungs to work. “We’re mates,” he gasped past the ball of emotion waiting to tumble out of control, along with the tears making his eyes ache.
“Don’t mean that I don’t wanna marry ya.” Trey held a tiny black pouch. “We may have gone ‘bout this in reverse. Sex then datin’, not that we’ve done much of that, but I’m hopin’ to change that.” He tipped the pouch, and a ring tumbled out. Cassidy could see it was not a traditional metal. “When you walked into my bar, you changed me in ways I wasn’t expectin’. Changed what I wanted from life. I hired someone to help Kendrick manage the bar, to free up my evenin’s. And the last piece, I wanted a place, a home for us. For our family.”
