Page 31 of Claimed By the Cowboy
“Please.” She holds up a hand. “I was born at night, but notlastnight.” Her gaze sharpens on Tom. “I’ve seen the tension between you, the way you keep finding excuses to be near each other. You don’t look at me the way you look at Kitty. Like you’re holding your breath whenever you’re in the same room. You know what you want, Tom, but you’re scared to admit it.”
“Admit what?”
Delaney studies us for a long moment, then closes her notebook with a decisive snap. “That youwant to marry my sister.”
The words hang in the air like a challenge.
Tom looks at his brothers, then at me, his gaze full of everything we did by the creek. Of the moments and intimacies we’ve shared over the last ten days—not just physical, but also the quiet confessions when we opened up to each other.
“Yeah,” he says quietly. “I do.”
My eyes widen in shock.
Henry releases a breath.
Angus raises an eyebrow.
But instead of anger, Delaney's face shows something like relief. “Thank God.”
I would speak, but my jaw is currently trailing on the floor.
Tom frowns. “I… You’rerelieved?”
Honestly, the look on his face would be comical if the situation weren’t so fraught with tension.
“You think I wanted to marry a man who looked at me like I was a business deal?” She lets out a hollow laugh. “Tom, I came here for security.Safety. A partnership, not love. But watching you two?” Her gaze shifts to me. “That’s real.”
Tom shakes his head. “But the arrangement?—”
“Was about survival,” she cuts him off. “Not about soulmates. The will says you have to marry. Doesn’t say who.”
“You're really okay with this?”
“I wanted security for Kitty and me. A home.” Delaney’s voice softens as she looks at me. “But I won’t marry a man who’s in love with my sister.”
“What are you saying?”Henry asks quietly.
“I'm saying that if your brother and my sister want to be together, they should be together. I’m releasing Tom from his contract with me.”
Angus nods, respect glinting in his blue eyes as he regards Delaney. “And what about you?”
Delaney shrugs, but I see the vulnerability she tries so hard to hide in her eyes. “I’d like to stay… if you’ll let me.”
Tom turns to her, his voicefirm. “You have a home here for as long as you want, Delaney. You belong here too.”
“Thank you. That’s... generous. I’m starting to think Montana might suit me,” she says quietly. “Even if it’s not the way I pictured.”
“Then it’s settled,” Henry states. “Tom and Kitty get married. Delaney gets a fresh start. And the ranch survives.”
Everyone smiles. It’s tidy. Neat. Wrapped up in a bow.
“Not quite settled,” I say, my voice rising with my anger above the hum of satisfied agreement. “Has anyone askedmewhat I want?”
The room goes still.
All eyes turn to me. It’s like the air gets sucked out of the kitchen.
“I mean,reallyasked me,” I continue, my chest tightening. “Not assumed I’d go along with the plan. Not made decisions around me like I’m a...footnotein someone else’s story. All my life, decisions have been made for me. Where I live.What I eat. Whether I can go outside if the pollen count’s too high. Whether I remembered my damn inhaler.” I turn my gaze to my sister. “I get it—you worried, Delaney. But I’m not a child anymore.”
