Page 70 of The Cowgirl's Chosen Love
It was easy to laugh at that and it helped lighten his mood. “Thanks, but I didn’t lose the weight until I went away to veterinary school, and it took a heck of a lot of work. Still does.”
“Thus, the morning routine.” Lisa stroked him again, hands running along his forearm and between his fingers. “Thus, the old, worn belt?”
Damn, she was good. “There’s a sense of power when you move a notch on a belt. It’s a warning sign, as well, if you have to go the opposite direction. I took a hammer and a nail to make new holes when I needed to.”
“Thank you for sharing with me.” She had meshed her fingers with his and she squeezed, glancing up. “You need to do what you’re comfortable with, but, Josiah? I do like how you look. Very much. I appreciate the muscles you’ve gained, but I also likeyou. The man who is caring and smart and funny. You don’t have to worry that I’m judging you.”
“I know.” He tipped her chin and moved in for a slow kiss. “It’s me judging myself, but I’m working on it. But pigs would fly before I’d strip down and go Magic Mike in front of a gathering.”
She caught him by the back of the neck and tugged their lips together. Their tongues brushed leisurely before she nibbled on his bottom lip. “I’m not much for sharing publicly,” she admitted between kisses. “But if you want to put on a private floor show at some point, I won’t say no.”
He turned her in his arms, grabbing the soap and proceeding to have a wonderful time getting her squeaky clean. If he left a trail of water across the floor to grab a condom from her present, he’d deal with it later.
He was taking one more step on the road toward forever and a few puddles were totally worth it.
15
Lisa pulled on clean clothes, catching herself grinning as she headed back to the bathroom to finish getting ready for the day.
Josiah had already left the room after giving her a peppermint-fresh, tooth-brushed kiss that sent her toes wiggling.
It had been a magical night. No doubts about it, and despite everything she needed to decide and the huge things her family had to deal with, the spot of happiness inside her was real.
She mentally shoved everything aside and laid that happiness down like a foundation. There were going to be tough things to face, even that day, but deep inside where it mattered? She was happy.
Lisa stepped down the hallway to the kitchen with Ollie at her heels. The scent of bacon in the air mingled with rich coffee. Finn and Zachary were poring over the maps spread across the entire kitchen island.
Finn glanced at her before smiling into his coffee cup without saying a word.
Zachary’s appreciation was a little more blatant. “Morning, sunshine.”
It only took two steps for Josiah to walk past the other man, “accidentally” nudging him backward so Zach had to catch his balance or flail into a wall.
“Sorry about that,” Josiah claimed bluntly. “Two eggs or three?”
Finn chuckled. “Don’t give the man a reason to hate you,” he warned Zach. “It’s a little cold to sleep in the barn.”
“I wasn’t going to touch,” Zachary muttered.
He was just charming enough to not be annoying. “Good thing,” Lisa offered. “I have Wookie in my background.”
At the stove, Josiah broke another set of eggs into the pan. “That explains so much.”
“Hey,” Lisa complained, whirling on him, but she matched him grin for grin.
“In other news, I have a question for you.” Finn grabbed a couple of maps and dropped them on the table. He pushed aside the chair beside him and patted it. “Come here. I need your opinion.”
She made her way forward, sliding into the chair and looking over the maps as Ollie settled on her feet. “I don’t know the area that well. If you have specific questions, I can find someone else to answer them.”
“Awesome, and if I need it, I’ll ask. I’m wondering which looks like a better view.” Finn tapped two different areas of the map where there were red circles at different elevations. “Existing buildings are here and here.”
Lisa eyed the roads and mountains and considered what she’d learned from her short time in the region. She tapped one of them. “This one would have the view, but I don’t think you’d want to live there unless you’re a kite-flying enthusiast.”
Josiah glancing at them, nodding in agreement. “My place is pretty protected because of the crown land to the west of us. Those tall trees absorb the wind when it gets roaring, but the farther south you go, the higher the gusts.”
“And by gusts, think hurricane-force. Last fall, Caleb said a big rig flipped. It was headed north and the winds from the west were strong enough to shove it right over.” Lisa pointed at a circle. “Where is this on your land?”
He drew a rectangular-shaped box around the circle. A big one.
