Page 89 of A Cowboy's Bride
“Sweet.” Jinx headed for the door. She paused then dashed back and grabbed Zachary by the wrist, tugging him along the same way Petra was hauling Aiden. “Come on, Grandpa Zach. You don’t want to miss this.”
Yep, totally amusing. Aiden exchanged a smile with his soon-to-be father-in-law then obediently switched his footwear and jerked on his winter coat, stepping into the crisp December day.
Sun sparkled off a million snowflakes, the fields around them stretching pristine and white with the new snow that had been drifting from the sky since the previous evening. The paths to the artists’ studio were well defined, but it was cold enough that with each step of their winter boots, the new snow squeaked underfoot. Each inhale stabbed sharp and crisp against the back of his throat.
By the time they arrived at the base of the staircase, they had a parade following them. Jake and Pamela marched down the stairs, Pamela waving excitedly.
“Is it time?”
“It is,” Petra announced happily. She tugged Aiden to a stop and fully faced him. “This is a Christmas present partly from me, but mostly from your family. To both of us,” she added before blowing a kiss at Declan and Jake.
Jinx was there, bouncing on the spot. “Can I show him?” she asked eagerly.
It seemed everybody was in on the surprise except him. Minor miracle considering how closely everybody had worked together over the past weeks.
“It’s okay with me,” Aiden offered. “As long as I get to see it soon, because the suspense is killing me.”
Jinx hurried past them to the end of the building and the farthest door.
The door to his future mini suite. The one where they’d started their fight and set off a whole chain of events that changed his world completely.
Petra slipped her hands around Aiden’s arm and slowed their pace, head leaning in to speak privately. “Again, if there something you don’t like about it, it can be changed. But I’m pleased, and I think you will be too.”
Jinx pushed the door open and stood back, grinning as she continued to bounce. Behind them, everyone seemed to slow enough that when they stepped through the doorway, it was him and Petra alone.
He’d thought maybe the painting would be done. Maybe the window trim and baseboards would be up, but what he saw in front of him was a completely furnished home.
With windows to the south and east, the living room and kitchen were small but perfectly sized for a couple in love. A small table with four chairs around it was arranged next to a couch that faced a big-screen TV. Tucked in the corner between the windows was a loveseat—identical to the one currently in their bedroom, with side tables and lights and a view over the prairies.
“How did you do this?” Aiden asked in amazement. He kicked off his shoes without thinking, pacing forward over hardwood flooring and soft area rugs.
“You’ve been preoccupied planning with Jake and helping with the ranch hand quarters. Every time you worked on that, we worked in here,” Petra shared, love in her voice.
He ran a hand over the small island and admired the very basic kitchen. “You did a fantastic job.”
She joined him, slipping their fingers together. “We don’t need much of a kitchen or dining room because this is mostly for when we want to do things by ourselves. Or maybe have Jinx over, or a couple at our place for cards. But we’ll be doing most of that at the ranch house. This isourplace.”
Everyone crowded in the door and stood watching.
It suddenly hit. Aiden glanced at the three inside doors. “How is there so much room in here?” He paced toward the most northernly door and peeked in to find a sparsely decorated office space. “This was supposed to be the bedroom.”
Declan cleared his throat. “Always good to change plans when it’s necessary. I don’t need that much room and there are two of you. We punched down one wall and put it up a little farther to the north.”
“With an extra sound barrier built in.” Jake offered dryly. “So you can haveloud discussionsif necessary.”
Aiden laughed, and he hurried to the second door, poking his head into a Jack and Jill bathroom. One door off the living room and one door that looked as if it led into a second bedroom.
“If we have guests, then we share the bath. Otherwise we can lock this one.” Petra came to his side and pointed at the south wall. Instead of being solid, a windowpane partially covered with a stained-glass image let natural light into the windowless bathroom. “Jinx came up with that idea.”
Aiden whistled in admiration then turned back and offered Jinx a thumbs-up. “I like it. Good job.”
He let his curiosity carry him into the bedroom. It was perfect, this place for him and Petra, with a dark brown quilt on the queen-size bed and a board over the bed with the handwritten saying,Family is forever.
He turned, grabbed Petra, and pulled her back into the living room, shaking his head as he met every one of his family’s eyes one after the other. “This is fantastic. Thank you. I never expected this in a million years.” He twisted to Petra. “And you. Holy secrets.”
She grinned. “You like it?”
He shook his head. “No, I love it.”
