Epilogue
Epilogue
Ranger
T wo Years Later
Paul’s voice booms from the front yard as I look out the open front door. Leaves are starting to fall, and that scent of cooler weather is on the air. He’s fallen over in mock pain, holding Charlie up high above him. Our little boy is giggling uncontrollably as his uncle feigns injury under the midday sun.
Charlie is just a year old, and Maria is four months along with our next.
A girl, God help me, we just found out yesterday at the ultrasound appointment.
It’s early fall, and the farm is bustling with the usual daily activity. Maria is still upstairs, recovering from an hour of my face between her legs. Then another half hour with my cock finding its way from her mouth, to her sweet pussy, then into her ass. I ran her a nice bath and told her to take some time for herself.
She’s on break, just finished the last of her dissertation and advisory courses, and now it’s a few loose strings to wrap up back at school and some waiting.
Turns out we didn’t have to take up permanent residence in Bozeman for her to work on her PhD. We did spend a good bit of time there, which was fun. I loved fixing up that huge old Victorian house.
We went back and forth to the farm, helping Paul learn the ropes, which didn’t take too long. After a bit of a rocky start, he got right down in the dirt with the help and found out what a good day’s work can do for a soul.
He’s cleared up his debts and has even started a bit of a side business with Maria. Turns out he’s got a knack for tech, and he and Maria came up with this accounting advisory service online. It’s geared toward Latina women trying to get small business loans through the government. The paperwork is ungodly. If English is not your native language, it’s nearly impossible to maneuver through the red tape.
It’s not about the money, really. They provide the services free of charge, but they get paid advertising on the website as it’s become quite popular, and the hits keep growing each month.
I watch as Paul carries Charlie off toward the barn, and I turn to walk into the kitchen. I’m cooking a late lunch of ribs and coleslaw. Margaret is coming by in about an hour.
She and Paul have taken up quite nicely. While Maria and I were in Bozeman, Margaret kept her regular schedule here cooking for the hands and cleaning the house. And, well, Paul was here as well. And the rest, as they say, is history.
He put a ring on her finger last week.
I sigh as I catch the first scent of Maria. Her hands glide around my waist as I turn to see my little piece of heaven tucking herself into me.
“I can barely walk, you brute,” she murmurs into my chest.
“Good. How’s that make you feel?” I wrap one arm around her shoulders as my other hand slips into her hair at the back of her neck, gently pulling back so she looks up at me.
Her eyes still make my stomach flip. They sparkle the same way they did that first day I saw them.
“Loved. That’s how I feel,” she whispers, and I lean down to kiss the crown of her head.
Her damp hair hangs down almost to her waist, and she’s wearing a slip of a cotton floral dress.
“That’s because you are, Little Bit. More than you ever could know.”
“Just got an email from Dr. Perkins.”
That’s her doctoral advisor.
“And?”
Her eyes twinkle, and I see her fighting a smile.
“He said he thinks I nailed it.”
I let out a whoop and lift her up under her arms, swinging her around the kitchen as she giggles.
My lips land on hers as I set her feet down, and I cup her cheeks. After a long, deep kiss, I pull back and admire this brainy beauty who, for some crazy reason, loves me.
“I knew it.”
“Yeah, well, you never know.”
“Oh, I knew. Just the way I knew you were the girl I’d waited for my whole life that day you got out of your dad’s pickup truck. Took a few angry turkeys and a tornado, but I got you just where I wanted you that day, and I haven’t let go since, have I?”
“Nope.” She smacks my chest playfully. “You are one stubborn cowboy, Ranger Stoddard. And I think I’m the luckiest girl in the world. You are an amazing man and an incredible father.”
“Little Bit, I’m the lucky one. You and I are riding off into the sunset together. Our happily ever after starts every morning when I wake up and see you lying there next to me. I’m the luckiest dumb cowboy that ever tipped his hat. I love you.”
I lift her up, and her legs wrap around my waist. I walk us outside onto the front porch, her arms around my neck and her head resting on my chest. And when I hear Charlie’s laugh peal out from the barn, everything in my world is perfect.