Page 90 of A Cowboy's Bride
She wiggled nearly as hard as Jinx. “One more thing.”
She tugged him to the wall beside the front door where a collection of eight by eight pictures were arranged neatly in exact rows. Aiden suspected that was Jake’s handiwork.
Then he looked a little closer, because it wasn’t only the straight-as-a-ruler frames that impressed him—it was the pictures. One of each of his brothers. A smiling picture of Jinx. There was one of Kevin, and one of Dixie with her tongue hanging out—that one made him laugh—then more pictures of familiar faces from the past months and straight from memory.
Sydney. Tansy. Zach and Julia, Caleb and Tamara. Chance and Rose. People they were getting to know better. People who were making a difference in his life.
The image in the center was him and Petra, and he squeezed her happily as he admired how good they looked together.
When he hit the picture in the upper right corner that held his mom and Jeff, arms wrapped around each other and their heads thrown back with laughter, Aiden turned to Petra and pulled her in for a hug. Mostly so he could bury his face in her neck and try to get a hold of himself.
She squeezed him close, and he stood there, letting happiness leak through his eyes.
When he finally got himself together, wiping at his face with his knuckles, they were alone. Out the window, the High Water family walked together, snow gently falling around them.
“I would say that was awkward, but it wasn’t really, was it?” He brushed his nose against Petra’s.
“It was not awkward. It was beautiful, to be honest.” She slid her thumb over his cheek. “What was the part that got to you the most?”
“That we’re doing it.” He said it softly as he tilted his head toward the wall. “We promised that we’d make a difference. That we would pay it forward, and we’re doing it. I know we’ve still got a long way to go, and there are going to be hard times mixed in with the good. But here’s the thing I didn’t realize.” He smiled, taking her hand and brushing his thumb over the spot where his ring sat. “I never realized exactly how much this was going to changemylife. I kept thinking about how good it would be to give to others, to change their worlds. I feel as if I’ve gotten far more than I deserve.”
“I’m glad you’re happy, but I think you deserve it.”
“I’m hanging onto it, no matter what.” He tipped his chin toward the picture of his mom and dad. “They didn’t raise a fool. I’m holding on with both hands. That means to you, Petra. Thanks for being willing to build a home with me.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed so tight he had to pick her up and spin her in a circle, just because.
They headed outside, eager to rejoin the rest of the family. Aiden held her hand tightly in his as they walked, “We’re not going to move into our new room yet, though, right? I don’t want to leave Jinx all alone in the big house by herself.”
“Soon,” she said, mischief dancing in her eyes. “Declan and I have a plan.”
Aiden shook his head. “Why do I get the feeling that means Jake isn’t going to like this plan?”
Petra’s jaw dropped. “Wow, you’re good. Now stay quiet.” She pressed a finger to her lips.
“I have no idea what’s going on, so trust me. That’ll be easy.” Aiden curled his arm around her and tucked her close as they neared where the family were now engaged in an impromptu snowball fight. “The only thing that we need to do right now is discuss dates.”
Petra hummed, laughing as Jinx’s well-aimed snowball knocked Jake’s toque off. “What date is that?”
Aiden tapped on Petra’s ring finger. With the sun shining down on them, her eyes sparkled as much as the ring did. “We need to set a date for the wedding so that you can officially become this cowboy’s bride.”
Epilogue
The longer the night went on, the louder the music got. Jake didn’t mind, mostly. Loud music meant he didn’t have to talk to anybody, and he wasn’t in the best of moods these days.
Which wasn’t anybody’s fault, but until he got his shit together, it was far better to keep his mouth shut.
Thankfully, it was pretty easy to do it at home. The to-do list was almost done, with the things that still needed to be accomplished to get High Water operational under control by the end of January. There would be no holding back after that. Jake could not wait. He needed more to occupy his time because…
Just because.
Lying to myself is such a mature option.
He finished his beer, making his way across the floor to where the rest of the family had started their New Year’s Eve gathered around a high top.
Jinx had asked if she could spend it with Sasha at Silver Stone ranch. With the girl happily celebrating with her friend, all the adults had been free to go out for the night.
Petra and Aiden were bundled together like the lovebirds they were. Jake couldn’t find it in him to be annoyed at how sickeningly sweet and happy they were. His brother deserved an amazing woman, and Petra was that.
