Page 115 of My Cowboy Trouble
"Love you too," she whispers. "So help me, I love all of you crazy cowboys."
Boom. The walls are down. At least I hope so.
We follow her over the edge one by one, and then we collapse together on the floor, cushioned by anoriental rug Trent found stored in some far corner of the house.
"So," she says after a long moment, her voice slightly hoarse. "What happens now?"
"Now," Trent says, helping her sit up, "we figure out how to make this work. All of us, together."
"You sure you want that? All the complications, all the messiness?"
"Princess," Gavin says, grinning as he smooths her hair back from her face, "we wouldn't have it any other way."
She looks between the three of us, and for the first time since Clara Mae spilled our terrible secret, I see something that looks like hope in her eyes.
"This isn't going to be easy," she warns. "I'm still hurt. Still angry. It's going to take time."
"We've got time," I tell her.
"All the time in the world," Trent adds.
"And we're not going anywhere," Gavin finishes.
She nods slowly, allowing herself to believe it. "Okay. But we do this on my terms. No more secrets, no more bets, no more treating me like I'm something you won instead of someone you chose.”
"Deal," all three of us say at the same time, which makes her roll her eyes.
"And I want to know everything. About the bet, about what you really thought of me, about how your feelings changed. All of it."
"Everything," Trent agrees.
"And if I decide to stay,if, we figure out how to make this work as equals. Partners."
"You keep your business," Trent says, gesturing around the office. "You keep your independence. You keep being exactly who you are."
"And we keep being the idiots who fell for you," Gavin adds.
"Reformed idiots," I correct.
She shakes her head, but she's smiling. Actually smiling, for the first time since this whole mess started. "I must be out of my mind."
"Probably. Definitely." Trent agrees. "But so are we."
"Good thing we're all crazy together, then."
And for the first time since Clara Mae opened her mouth, I think we might actually pull this off. Whatever the hell this is we're doing.
Just like Maybelle probably planned all along.
17
KENZIE
I standin the barn the next morning, surrounded by three men who look like they're waiting for a jury verdict. The morning light streams through the windows, catching dust motes in the air, and somewhere in the distance, I can hear Sir Clucks-a-Lot terrorizing somebody or something. For ranch life, it's such a normal moment, except for the fact that I'm about to make the most important declaration of my life.
"So," Gavin says, breaking the silence that's stretched on too long. "What's it gonna be, princess?"
He's trying to sound casual, but I can see the tension in his shoulders, the way his hands are shoved deep in his pockets like he's afraid of what they might do if leftto their own devices. Asher's leaning against a stall door, arms crossed, but his knuckles are white. And Trent, Trent's just standing there, solid and still, but his jaw is clenched so tight, I'm surprised his teeth don't crack.
