Epilogue - Harper
I'm on all fours, gripping the sheets, moaning as Colt pounds into me from behind.
We fuck almost every single day, have been for the past year since we met.
We can't get enough of each other. Can't keep our hands off each other for more than a few hours before we're tearing each other's clothes off again.
His hand fists in my hair, pulling just hard enough to make me gasp, and he thrusts deeper, hitting that perfect spot that makes my toes curl.
"Fuck, yes," I moan, pushing back against him. "Right there, don't stop—"
"Not planning on it," he growls, his other hand gripping my hip hard enough to leave marks. I love it when he leaves marks. Love seeing the evidence of what we do together.
I'm so close, right on the edge, when the doorbell rings.
"Fuck," Colt mutters, but he doesn't stop. Keeps thrusting, keeps pulling my hair, like whoever's at the door can just wait.
The doorbell rings again.
"Colt," I gasp, torn between wanting him to finish and knowing we need to answer that door.
He looks down at me, frustration clear on his face, and slows his movements. "That's gotta be Boone and Nicole. But they're early. We still had fifteen minutes."
"Apparently not," I manage, even as he gives me one last deep thrust that makes me cry out.
Then he's pulling out, and I whimper at the loss. My pussy is throbbing, aching, so fucking close to orgasm that it's almost painful to stop now.
"Sorry, sweetheart," Colt says, already reaching for his jeans. "I'll make it up to you tonight. Promise."
"You better," I tell him, trying to catch my breath as I grab my clothes from where he threw them on the floor twenty minutes ago. "I'm gonna spend the whole day frustrated."
He chuckles, pulling his shirt over his head. "You're not gonna be the only one. My dick is still hard as a rock."
"Good. Suffer with me."
The doorbell rings a third time, and Colt curses under his breath. "Coming!" he yells toward the door.
I'm still buttoning my jeans when he heads out of the bedroom.
I take a second to check myself in the mirror—hair messy, cheeks flushed, lips swollen.
Yeah, it's pretty obvious what we were just doing.
But honestly, I don't care anymore. Everyone knows Colt and I can't keep our hands off each other.
I hear the front door open, hear Boone's voice saying, "Took you long enough. We could hear you from outside, you know."
"Shut up," Colt mutters, but there's no heat in it.
I take a deep breath, smooth down my hair one more time, and walk out to greet them.
Boone and Nicole are standing in the entryway, both trying not to smile. Boone looks like his brother. Same dark hair, same strong build, though maybe slightly taller. Nicole is beautiful, with short blonde hair and a warm smile that immediately puts me at ease.
"Hey," I say, probably blushing. "Sorry about that. We lost track of time."
"Clearly," Nicole says, but she's grinning. She walks over and gives me a hug. "It's good to see you, Harper. You look... glowing."
"Glowing," Boone repeats, raising an eyebrow. "That's one word for it."
"Fuck off," Colt tells his brother, but he's smiling too.
Over the past year, I've gotten to know all of Colt's family: his brothers, their girlfriends, the whole Promise Ranch crew.
At first, I was nervous about meeting them, worried they'd judge me for showing up out of nowhere and immediately falling into bed with Colt.
But they welcomed me with open arms, treated me like I'd always been part of the family.
Wade and Sierra invited me to dinners. Tucker's daughter Emma dragged me out to see the horses. Marley, Tucker's girlfriend who's also the town vet, became one of my closest friends. And Boone and Nicole, they were the best. Always checking in, always making sure I felt included.
"Come in, sit down," I say, gesturing toward the living room of the cottage Colt and I now share. I moved in six months ago, and it's been the best six months of my life. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?"
"We're good," Boone says, settling onto the couch with Nicole beside him. "We're just excited to hear the news."
Right. The news.
The reason we invited them over today, even though we see them almost every day at the ranch.
I look at Colt, suddenly nervous. We found out three days ago, and we've been sitting on it, trying to figure out how to tell everyone. Trying to process it ourselves.
Colt takes my hand, squeezing gently, and I know he's feeling the same mix of excitement and terror that I am.
"So," I start, my voice shaking slightly. "We have something to tell you."
"We figured," Nicole says, leaning forward. "You've been acting weird all week."
Have we? I thought we'd been subtle.
"Harper's pregnant," Colt says, just blurting it out. No build-up, no slow announcement. Just the truth.
The room goes completely silent for about three seconds.
Then Nicole screams and launches herself off the couch to hug me. "Oh my God! Harper! That's amazing!"
Boone is grinning, standing up to clap Colt on the back. "Holy shit, little brother. You're gonna be a dad."
"I know," Colt says, and I can hear the wonder in his voice. "I'm gonna be a dad."
"How far along are you?" Nicole asks, pulling back to look at me.
"Only about eight weeks," I tell her. "We just found out a few days ago. You're the first people we're telling."
"We wanted to make sure everything was okay first," Colt adds. "Before we told the whole ranch."
"They're gonna lose their minds," Boone says, still grinning. "Wade and Tucker are gonna be impossible. And Emma… Jesus, Emma's gonna want to babysit every day."
I laugh, imagining Tucker's seven-year-old daughter's reaction. She's going to be so excited.
"Are you scared?" Nicole asks quietly, her hand finding mine.
"Terrified," I admit. "I mean, we weren't exactly planning this. We've only been together a year. We're not even engaged yet—" I cut myself off, realizing what I just said.
But Colt just laughs. "Yet," he emphasizes, squeezing my hand. "Key word there, sweetheart."
"So, you're happy?" Boone asks his brother. "This is what you want?"
"Yeah," Colt says, and there's no hesitation in his voice. "It wasn't planned, but... yeah. I'm happy. We both are."
"We are," I confirm, leaning into Colt's side. "Scared, but happy."
"That's how it's supposed to be," Nicole says wisely. "If you're not at least a little scared, you're probably not taking it seriously enough."
We spend the next hour talking about doctor's appointments and due dates and names and all the million things that come with having a baby. Boone and Nicole share stories about friends who've had kids, offer advice, promise to help however they can.
And through it all, Colt keeps his arm around me, keeps me close, like he's still processing the fact that we're doing this. That we're going to be parents.
When Boone and Nicole finally leave, promising to keep the news quiet until we're ready to tell everyone else, Colt pulls me into his arms.
"You okay?" he asks, kissing my forehead.
"Yeah," I say, meaning it. "I'm good. Better than good, actually."
"Even though I didn't get to finish earlier?"
I laugh, swatting his chest. "Even though. Though you do still owe me."
"Oh, I'm very aware." His hands slide down to my ass, squeezing. "In fact, I'm thinking we have the rest of the afternoon free..."
"Colt Sullivan, are you suggesting we spend the afternoon in bed?"
"I'm not suggesting anything," he says, already walking me backward toward the bedroom. "I'm stating a fact. We're spending the afternoon in bed. And tonight. And probably tomorrow morning."
"What about ranch work?"
"Fuck ranch work," he says, kicking the bedroom door closed behind us. "Right now, the only thing I care about is making up for leaving you hanging earlier."
"Well," I say, pulling my shirt over my head. "When you put it that way..."
He has me naked in seconds, and then we're back on the bed, picking up exactly where we left off. Except this time, there's something different. Something deeper. Because we're not just fucking anymore. We're making love. Building a life. Creating a family.
And as Colt slides inside me, as I wrap my legs around him and pull him close, I can't help but think about how far I've come. A year ago, I was running away from everything. Running from heartbreak and betrayal, and a life that didn't fit.
Now I'm running toward something. Toward this man who loves me exactly as I am. Toward a town that's become home. Toward a future I never knew I wanted but now can't imagine living without.
"I love you," I gasp as he hastens his pace.
"I love you too, sweetheart," he groans. "So fucking much."
And this time, when we come together, there's no doorbell to interrupt. No one to stop us. Just us, this moment, and the promise of all the moments still to come.
Thank you for reading it!