Epilogue
KATIE
“Come on, wake up,” the little voice repeats close to my ear. The bed moves and a small weight lands on me. “Katie. It’s time to wake up.”
I groan and try to roll over, but there’s a solid wall of heat behind me.
“Morning, princess,” Dallas murmurs into my ear, brushing a kiss against my hair as Sadie climbs over us both.
“It’s today. Scout will be waiting for us.”
“Alright, I’m up,” I say. “Wouldn’t want to keep Scout waiting. Go get some breakfast and I’ll be right out.”
Sadie scrambles off the bed and disappears into the kitchen of the little farm cottage that’s now my home.
After our mishap of a first date, I never really went back to my house in town. I finally rented it out around Christmas-time and officially moved into the cottage with Dallas and Sadie. In a way, it feels too fast, but at the same time, I know there’s nowhere else I ever want to be .
“Ready for today, cowboy?” I ask as I roll over, into Dallas’s waiting arms.
“I’ll never be ready for today,” he says, then brushes his lips against mine for a long, slow kiss.
“Dad! Katie! Stop kissing, we’ll be late.”
“Uh, fine,” Dallas grumbles as I pull away from him, overtaken by laughter.
“Come on, cowboy. You promised her.”
Two hours later, we’re pulling into the Kauri Creek Showgrounds where the annual rodeo is held at the end of every summer.
Olivia and Flynn have saved us a parking spot and Sadie scrambles from the horse truck the moment Dallas stops.
We unload the horses—Scout, an elderly gelding named Paddy, Olivia’s mount Bruno, and Aurora, ready for her first event.
“Team’s race is at ten-thirty, so we better get you ready and over to the arena,” Olivia says, handing me Aurora’s lead.
We tack up and head for the main arena.
“You good?” I ask Dallas, as we watch Sadie trotting Scout around the warm up arena.
“Absolutely not. I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”
“You got this, cowboy.” I reach up for a kiss, then give him a little shove of encouragement as he turns and swings up into Paddy’s saddle.
When Sadie first learned of the team’s barrel race she desperately wanted to compete, despite me explaining it’s an open class and everyone else will be racing at a full gallop. There’s no way she’d be competitive.
I suggested the individual race, where she’d be pitted against other kids her age. She agreed to that, but wanted to race with me too.
When she learned about the requirement for three riders in a team, her little heart had almost broken. I was ready to suggest Olivia, who herself is a champion racer, but before I had the chance to open my mouth, Sadie decided Dallas should be our third.
Completely incapable of saying no to his daughter, he reluctantly agreed and now the day is here.
Both Sadie and Dallas have come a long way with their riding in the past few months and Dallas is mostly over his fear of horses, but it doesn’t mean he’s really up for a competition barrel race.
We warm our horses up, Aurora keeping a watchful eye on every new sight she comes across, but staying calm and relaxed under me. She’s come a long way too and now that Sadie is riding Scout most days, Aurora has become my main mount.
We watch some of the other teams race, Sadie’s eyes wide with wonder as the horses streak by. Dallas’s hands grip his rein’s tighter and tighter, until his knuckles are white.
“It’s all good,” I murmur, running my fingers over his hands. “It’s just for fun.”
“I know.” He blows out a breath as the announcer calls our names, playing up our local connection and family team.
“Our youngest competitor in her first ever race, Sadie McLeod,” he booms over the loud speaker as Sadie and Scout trot into the arena, waiting in the starting area like I explained to her. “And her dad, Dallas, also in his first race.” The crowd cheers and claps as we ride side by side into the arena. “And rounding out their team from Wildflower Ridge, Katie Barton—soon to be McLeod, no doubt.” The crowd makes even more noise and I ignore the heat in my cheeks, instead running a soothing hand down Aurora’s neck as she skitters at the ruckus.
The race starter counts us down and as the flag drops, Sadie claps her legs against Scout’s sides and the horse trots through the starting gate.
Despite being the slowest racer in the competition, the crowd is fully behind Sadie as she reaches each barrel, carefully guiding Scout in the correct pattern and breaking into a canter in a few places between the barrels. On the final stretch home, she stands in her stirrups and pushes Scout even faster until the crowd is whooping and hollering.
“You got this, cowboy,” I say as Dallas fidgets by my side. I give his thigh a rub, then smack my hand across his ass as he repositions himself in the saddle and moves forward, ready for his run as soon as Sadie crosses the line.
If I thought the crowd was cheering loudly for Sadie, I was wrong. The noise goes to a whole other level as Dallas carefully makes his way around the course, everyone knowing he’s only doing this to make his daughter happy.
Sadie bounces in Scout’s saddle, screaming her head off for her dad as happiness and pride glow from her.
He canters home, laughing and a fist in the air in celebration of a successful ride .
Then, it’s my turn.
Aurora blazes through the starting gate, powering towards the first barrel. She’s laser focussed on the task at hand, not even registering the crowd cheering or the flags waving in the breeze all around the arena. We reach the first barrel and I sit back, guiding her through the turn. Aurora spins and powers forward again, then again as we reach the third barrel.
A straight gallop home, where my family waits for me, their arms in the air cheering and screaming.
We cross the finish line in a flash and come to a stop beside them. Dallas reaches out and wraps his arms around me as Aurora leans into Paddy.
He kisses me square on the mouth.
The crowd whoops and hollers.
“Fucking incredible,” Dallas says.
I tuck Sadie into bed that night, her third place ribbon from the individual barrel race already hanging on her bedroom wall.
“Goodnight, Lady Sadie,” I say.
“Night, Katie,” she murmurs, already half asleep. “So excited you’re going to be my stepmum. The ring is so pretty and sparkly.”
I smile at her words. She hasn’t been shy about encouraging Dallas and I to get married, and she’s often talked about the ring her dad will one day give me. She’s also mentioned a tiara a few times.
I pull her door closed behind me and head for the lounge where Dallas is waiting for me on the couch. I curl into him the moment he opens his arm for me.
“Sadie is apparently excited for me to be her stepmum,” I say. “She mentioned the ring. She said it’ll be sparkly.”
Dallas’s arm tightens around me, then he lets out a sigh. “I should have known she’d be shit at keeping the secret.”
“What?” I push away from him and sit up. “What secret?”
“This secret.” He reaches behind him and pulls out a dark blue velvet box. He holds it out to me. “We chose it yesterday.”
I take the box, my hands shaking, and flip the top open. My breath catches at the ring inside. It is indeed very sparkly.
“Yes,” I breathe.
Dallas laughs. “I didn’t ask you anything yet.”
“Do you need to? Of course it’s yes. Yes to you, yes to Sadie. It always has been.”
He takes the box from me, pulls the ring free and slides it into place on my finger.
“I guess that pretty much covers everything then,” he says, pulling me in for a kiss.
I throw myself at him, climbing into his lap so my knees are on either side of his hips. “There’s one more thing we could cover,” I say as I press kisses down his throat.
“Oh, yeah. What’s that?”
“I need to show you what I bought yesterday too.”
I reach for the hem of my t-shirt and pull it over my head, revealing the lilac coloured bra.
Dallas’s eyes flare with lust and desire and I press my hips forward, feeling his cock already hard in his jeans. “Matching set?” He says, his voice a thick rasp .
I nod.
“You’ll be the death of me.” He leans forward and mouths at my breast, right along the edge of the lace.
“Well, it’s ‘til death do us part now, cowboy.”
He lets out a low moan. “Bedroom, now.”
He stands, hauling me up with him and carries me, giggling to our room.
Being home has never been this perfect.
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