39. Montana
39
Montana
Three Months Later
I sit on our brand new California king mattress in a white sports bra and booty shorts while Gunner gets our brand new bedsheets in the washing machine. We’ve been sleeping on the floor for the past three days since we moved into our new home, and I know I’m going to sleep like a rock when we go to bed tonight.
I have my hair in box braids that Gunner helped me put in. It probably took three times as long as it would have if I’d gone somewhere to get them done, but we had time to kill, and he wanted to learn, so I taught him, and we had a lot of fun together.
My purse sits on the edge of the bed, and I grab it, pulling out my strawberry lipgloss. When I look inside, I see my wallet. Even after weeks have gone by, I still feel the need to pinch myself, in disbelief that I have a driver’s license again. And a cell phone. My fiancé bought me a new phone. I’m still only allowed to have the phone numbers he plugged into it, but I don’t care. It’s not like there’s anyone else I feel like talking to anyway.
I stand up and go to our bedroom window, marveling at the mountains in the distance. Gunner was right. I do love Snoqualmie. Violet and Skye love it too. Gunner was already obsessed from the first time he came here.
Colt’s Camero is in our driveway. I guess I should start calling it our Camero. When he found out we got engaged, he gave it to us as an engagement gift. We’re hoping to invite him out soon to say thanks. He’s been tied up with a lot of family and personal business in Georgia, but hopefully he’ll get everything smoothed over soon. Apparently his father’s sick, and when he got back in town, he found out he was a father himself. Of a four-year-old. His best friend Jamal died five years ago, and apparently a hookup with Jamal’s baby sister after the funeral was the cause. He left town and never knew about his child, and now he wants to get his family back together.
Dallas wants to come out and see us too, but I think his interest has less to do with seeing us and more to do with getting away from Cali. Gunner and I are moving forward with our ranch and working on our family business, but Dallas is still a hitman on the side. He keeps talking about killing Cali, and I’m scared he might. I’m not sure about Colt’s side hustles. He seems too sweet to do anything like that. At least that’s how he seems on the outside.
My stomach growls, and I know we need to eat lunch soon. I’m getting ready to go look for Gunner when he comes back into the room from doing his chores. His hair is a little longer than it was a few months ago, like mine, but he stays clean-shaven for the most part.
“Don’t you look cute enough to eat?” he growls, playing with the puff at the top of my white beanie.
I wrap my arms around his neck and stand on my toes to kiss him. “I do. But you can eat me later. I need real food right now.”
He lifts me by my ass, wrapping my legs around his hips. “Semen has a lot of nutrients.”
I wiggle when he tickles me. “Yeah. But it’s not nearly as filling as a burger is.”
He sighs and puts me down reluctantly. “Fine. Go put something on, and I’ll take you wherever you want to go.”
I nudge him playfully and move my hands down my body. “I’m already dressed.”
His eyes nearly pop out of his head, but he relaxes when he realizes I’m joking. “You better find something to cover that ass if you plan on leaving this house. No one gets to look at my wife’s body but me. ”
Gunner started calling me his wife the night I agreed to marry him, and it’s one of my favorite things. I still like to give him a hard time about it though. “I’m not your wife yet.”
He slaps my ass. “You will be. Hurry up and get dressed. I want to get home quickly so we can break in our new bed.”
I change out of my outfit quickly, slipping into a white sweater with white skinny jeans and beige heeled boots. Gunner puts on a beige sweater and blue jeans with a beige hat, and once his shoes are on, he scoops me up and carries me downstairs.
When we’re in the car, he pulls up his GPS on his phone. “Fast food or sit-down?”
Fast food would be the easiest option, but I’ve been addicted to this restaurant right down the road. “Sit-down. The diner.”
Gunner pulls onto the main road, a hand on my thigh and the other on the wheel while he drives. I turn on our heated seats, keeping us warm with the cool temperature outside. We got groceries early this morning as we may get snowed in later. Fortunately we have enough firewood and hot chocolate to last us several weeks.
As soon as we get to the restaurant, we’re seated right away. I love when Gunner sits right beside me at the table, but I also love nights like this when he sits across from me and I can look into his eyes.
Before our menus are brought out, he grabs my left hand, playing with my engagement ring. It’s vintage and belonged to his grandmother on his mother’s side. I was so nervous to accept it, worried I’d destroy the heirloom, but he insisted, and I’m really glad he did.
When he turns my hand back and forth, the diamonds sparkle through the windows as if they’re brand new. We haven’t started planning the big day, but I think we might just end up eloping.
Our server finally arrives with menus, but Gunner declines them, ordering what we already know we want. “Two waters, two burgers, a plate of fries, and one large cookies and cream milkshake.”
After our order is put in, he grabs my hands again, rubbing his fingers over my knuckles. “You wanna go to a movie after?”
“I’d love to.” Going to the movies is one of our favorite dates. Sometimes we watch the film, sometimes we do other things. Regardless, the experience is always fun. “I thought you wanted to get back home right away to eat your favorite meal though.”
He smirks. “I can just do that during the film. ”
We’ve done a lot in movie theaters, but never anything like that. “We will get kicked out if you go down on me in the theater, Gunner.” With the cinema being one of my favorite places, I’d rather not get banned.
He wraps his legs around mine under the table. “We won’t get kicked out if we go to a drive-in.”
I try to hold back my laughter but can’t. “We took the Camero out. There won’t be enough room.”
He squeezes my hands. “We’ll make it work. You’re flexible, little fox.”
When our food comes out, Gunner comes to my side of the table to sit next to me so he can feed me fries easier. He’s still been doting all over me since he saved me, and I hope he never quits.
We eat quickly, both starved from our chores this morning and organizing our new home. Our milkshake is brought out right after our plates are cleared, and after putting the straws in, Gunner lets me take the first sip.
“God, that’s so good,” I say with my mouth half-full.
“My turn,” he replies quickly. I expect him to grab his straw, but he grabs my chin instead, pressing his lips to mine and sucking what shake I have left in my mouth off my tongue .
I don’t know whether to laugh, swoon, or chastise him, so I just give him another kiss and grab my straw at the same time he grabs his.
We drink it down so quickly that we end up ordering another, but we drink our second one slowly, taking turns patiently with the same straw.
After we’re all paid up, we go back to the car, and Gunner drives us to a nearby park to spend time at before the movie starts. We pull up to a private spot under some shade, and Gunner parks, rolling down our windows. “I hope you like living here.”
I rub his shoulder. “I love it here.”
“I do too. Do you want to go for a walk?”
“That’d be nice.”
He helps me out of the car like he always does, and we walk hand in hand down a trail not too far from our car.
It’s cold out, so we won’t walk too far, but our sweaters give us enough warmth with the help of the sun. We stop at a little bench, and in the distance I see a woman playing with her toddler. She pulls something out of her bag, and when she hands it to her daughter, I realize it’s a snack. “She’s so cute,” I say effortlessly while I watch the little girl.
Gunner drapes his arm over the bench behind my back, following my gaze. “She is. Do you want one?”
I nearly choke on my spit. “Do I want what? ”
He rubs my arm with his palm. “Do you want a kid, Montana Elizabeth?”
Something stirs inside me, but I don’t know what. Probably all the dairy I had at the diner. I’m starting to second guess if going to the movies is a good idea.
Do I want a kid? I don’t know. I didn’t think that was a possibility for us. And I’m nearly thirty. I thought if I ever had kids I’d do so before now. Plus, everything in my life is great. I don’t feel like I need to be a mother to be happy. I know that I don’t. But I’m not completely turned off by the idea.
“You can’t have kids, Gunner.” I learned very early on that my man got snipped long before I came into the picture.
“Yes I can.”
I raise a brow at him and he shrugs his shoulders. “After a doctor’s visit, I can.”
I move my braids to the side and try to brush him off. “We don’t have to. I like things the way they are.”
He shakes his head at me. “That’s not what I asked you. I know we don’t have to. I know we like things as they are. I’m asking if you want to. It’s a simple yes or no. I won’t be mad either way. ”
Feeling put on the spot, I look away from him to try and think more clearly. “I don’t know. Maybe. Yes, I guess. Yes, I’m open to it.”
He nods his head, and I elbow him. “What about you?”
His embarrassment shows this time when his cheeks turn red. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
My eyes roll. “After you just made me answer, that’s all you have to say? I thought you said it was a simple yes or no answer.”
He bites his lip, smirking. “It is.”
“Then answer honestly. I won’t care either way.” I prepare for his answer, knowing that I’ll be happy with whatever he says.
His arm that’s behind me wraps around me, pulling me closer, and he lowers his voice. “I think you’d look beautiful carrying my baby, Montana. If you want to, of course.”
I look back into his bright eyes and see they’re just as vulnerable as mine probably are. “Okay.”
He squeezes my arm. “Okay?”
A million different questions pop up in my head at once, but I ignore them, knowing we’ll figure it all out along the way. “Okay. If you want to try, I want to try. After the wedding maybe. ”
He nods his head and lets out a breath, smiling. “Alright. After the wedding, we’ll see if we can make a baby.”
We spend some more time by the lake until we get closer to our movie showing, and then we get ready to go and head back to the car. I can hardly focus while Gunner drives, wondering what the future looks like for us. But the future’s not real, and all there is is right now, so I remind myself to enjoy the moment, looking out the window at the gorgeous view I get to see every day. And our horses get to enjoy it too.
Skye adapted way quicker than I thought she would, accepting Gunner like he never left. She’s sweet to me too, but I know he’s her favorite, and I’m alright with that. Violet’s mood has been a lot better in the past few days too, and the girls get along really well together.
The movie showing isn’t too far from the diner, so we get there quickly, passing our house when we go the opposite way. Gunner’s mind is clearly somewhere else too as he’s quiet during the movie and stays on his best behavior, only holding my hand and giving it gentle squeezes here and there.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so nervous. I lean against his shoulder, pressing my cheek against his arm. It’s what I do whenever he’s worked up, and it always makes him relax. As the show goes on, his hands start to roam a little more, and I laugh to myself, happy he’s feeling better. My minds starts to go back to normal too, and when the movie starts to get really scary, Gunner holds me through every jump and scream, pretending to hold it together when he’s terrified too. Even when he’s scared, he holds it together for me. That’s how he’s always been.
When the movie ends, we go back home, feeding Skye and Violet then making the bed before we get dinner started. Gunner still cooks most nights, and I get to sit at the counter and taste test his creations.
After locking up for the night, he gets the fireplace going, and we sit beside it, finally discussing our wedding. We decide we want to get married right here at home on the ranch, with Gunner’s close friends by our side. I hold my hands to the fire getting warm, thinking about how excited I am for everything to come.