Accidentally Kidnapping the Cowboy (Accidentally Kidnapping)

Epilogue

DAISY

When we get to Wildfire Ranch, I meet the other half of the Lowry family, the sisters-in-law who married Zane’s intimidating brothers.

But Sinclaire and Paisley are the exact opposite of their husbands, and in the blink of an eye, I go from being an only child to one of three sisters.

“We didn't have a ton of notice,” Sinclair says, “but we did our best and…”

Paisley takes my hand and leads me away from where Zane has gotten caught up in a conversation with the ranch housekeeper and her husband. “We turned your room into a honeymoon suite.”

“My room?”

“Zane’s room,” Sinclaire says with a wink.

Paisley laughs, like there’s an inside joke I’m not quite getting. “But it’s yours now. I’m sure it won’t be long before he breaks ground on building you a house of your own somewhere on the ranch, but for now, this is your wing of the main house. Noah and I are down that hall, and Drew is upstairs.” She squeezes my hand as Sinclaire pushes a door open just ahead of us. “It’s going to be so nice to have another woman in the house.”

Sinclaire props herself against the open doorway, blocking my view. “Do you have any food preferences?” She starts to tick things off her fingers. “We got chocolate-covered strawberries, we got cheese, we got wine…I also stocked you up on beer and Doritos.”

Paisley cackles.

“What?” Sinclaire shrugs. “Sometimes,after spicy times, I get the munchies, okay?”

I gawk at her.

Paisley makes a thinking sound. “Mmm, okay, that’s fair. I like a peanut butter sandwich sometimes.”

“There’s peanut butter in the kitchen,” Sinclaire says.

My cheeks are flaming.

Paisley winces. “Are we embarrassing you?”

“No,” I say carefully. “It’s just unexpected to hear people talk so…candidly. I like it. And, um, I don’t yet have any snack preferences. But it’s only been one day.”

Sinclaire covers her face as her shoulders shake. “Okay, okay, okay.” She exhales and smiles. “We’ll keep that in mind. I just assumed…”

Paisley nods. “Because there's something about a Lowry man…”

“Oh, yes, Zane is…” I swallow hard. “That. He’s very much…that.”

They exchange a knowing look.

Paisley pats my arm. “Just wait until he gets you pregnant.”

I press my hands to my belly. Oh, my God. All the times that he has already come inside me. “It's something that he has already said that he wants, and I want it, too. Were Trick and Noah…?”

“Very attentive, yes,” Paisley says.

“Couldn’t keep his hands to himself,” Sinclaire adds. Then she blushes.

Now all three of us are pink-cheeked.

Paisley clears her throat delicately. “On that topic, don’t worry—the soundproofing in this house is amazing. But while you get settled, we’re all heading out. I have a class this afternoon at the community college in Climax Springs, and Noah and Drew are going to do a feed run. We won’t be back until dinner.”

“And Trick and I are going to head back up to our house. If you want to come visit tomorrow or the day after, I’d love for you to meet your nephew.”

My nephew.

I’m married, and I have three brothers-in-law, two sisters-in-law, and a baby nephew.

My head spins as they leave me alone in my husband's bedroom.

I take the opportunity to get to know him a little better. A large king-sized bed dominates the far wall. It’s covered in a faded quilt and a nice amount of pillows lean against the headboard.

Another wall has two doors on it, to a large closet and a bathroom with a huge shower, and the third wall has a desk and a dresser, but is mostly dominated by a cork board and a world map.

The cork board is covered in pictures of him and his brothers from over the years, and the map has thumbtacks pushed into it in Mexico and Japan, as well as a bunch across Western Canada, and a couple in the Caribbean.

“Do you see anywhere you want to go?” Zane asks from behind me.

I whirl around. “Hi.”

He grins, leaning against the door frame. “I like having you in my room.”

“Our room, now.”

His grin widens. “Paisley and Sinclaire teaching you to assert your dominance over the domain?”

I giggle and nod.

“Good.” He steps inside and closes the door behind him. “I like you looking at my big wall of adventure. It can be yours now, too.”

“You've been to a lot of places.”

“Some, yeah. But there are a lot more I haven’t made it to yet. Places I’d love to go with my wife.” His voice lowers, and butterflies take flight in my chest.

I swallow hard. “I’ve never been anywhere. Hadn't even left the state until I drove us all the way to Nevada.”

“Oh, Daisy.” He wraps his arm around me, tugging me into his oversized frame. With his other hand, he grabs a pin from the side of the map and hands it to me. “We should put a pin in Nevada.”

Together we push one right into Jackpot.

He kisses my temple, his breath warm and his voice low. “But maybe our next adventure could be a little less criminal, hmm?”

I nod.

“Maybe when I let you up for air, we could go and get you a passport? And you can pick somewhere nice to go on our honeymoon.”

My heart lifts, but then plummets. “Oh no.”

“What?”

“I don't have any money yet.”

“No…Daisy, Daisy.” He cups my face in his hands. “I am your husband. You are my wife. It is my job to provide for you. What's mine is yours. We didn’t have a prenup. You are…” He laughs. “Oh baby, wait until you find out that you a part owner in Wildfire Ranch.”

My mouth drops open, and he kisses my shocked lips.

“We’ll get Drew to set up a bank account for you and give you an advance on the next dividend so you have money, but I'm paying for our honeymoon.” His voice is so stern, so strong and unwavering, that I can’t argue.

I don’t want to.

I love that Zane wants to take care of me.

I think he’s a bit silly to give me part of his ranch, but the honeymoon? Okay, he can pay for that.

I press my lips together, but I know my excitement is obvious.

He kisses the tip of my nose, then turns me back to the map. “Where do you want to go?”

As I peruse the map, his thumbs draw slow circles over my bare shoulders, which makes it very hard to think about travel.

“Well,” I managed to get out. “I always wanted to see the coast. So we could go to Seattle…”

“We're gonna get you a passport. Maybe we could go a little further afield?”

“Like Hawaii?”

“Don’t need a passport for that, either. How about Fiji? Or if you feel like a bit of culture, we could go the other direction.” His hand slides down my arm, circles my wrist, and points my index finger over to Europe. “How about Paris?”

He moves my finger over the map, murmuring other options, but my head is spinning.

“Zane?” My voice is shaking.

He makes a sound in response, and then I’m twisting in his arms, throwing myself at him.

“Let’s pick a trip later,” I moan as he catches me in his arms.

“What do you need, baby?”

I press my face into his neck as he hoists me up a little higher, palming my pass. “Just you,” I mumble, suddenly overwhelmed and turned on at the same time. “Just…Daddy.”

He groans and tightens his hold on me.

“Take me to bed, Zane.” I take a deep breath and kiss his jaw. “Take me to our bed and show me how soundproof this house really is.”