Chapter 11
ELEVEN
CASPER
“Are you excited?” Hattie asks, glancing at me from the passenger seat of the truck. Her cheeks are flushed with excitement, eyes bright with the future that lays ahead of us. For the first time in years, I feel alive with the same emotions.
I meet her stare briefly before turning back to the road ahead and the looming airport we’re driving towards. “Of course, I am,” I reply, heart racing. “I’m with you.”
Hattie snorts, though I still feel the weight of her eyes on me. “You’ve never been to New York. Or Paris.”
“I’ve only ever left the state for work, and barely anywhere exciting,” I point out, grasping her knee with my free hand. “This will be an adventure to tell the grandchildren about.”
“Grandchildren?” Hattie covers my hand with hers, surprise coating her voice. “You want children?”
I spare her a quick look, taking in her raised brows and wide eyes. “With you? Of course,” I reply easily. “That’s if you want them.”
I’ve always been pretty fifty-fifty on the children thing.
There’s enough of them on the ranch now that I could get my fill with babysitting or being the cool uncle.
But now that I have Hattie, I can see us together in ten years with a couple of our own, and the thought of her pregnant has me thinking some pretty inappropriate things.
Hattie stays quiet for a moment while the radio plays softly. From the corner of my eye, I catch her staring at the airport, lips pursed.
“Have I totally overstepped?” I ask, squeezing her knee before shifting my hand so I can take hers. “Or…”
She shakes her head, squeezing my hand in return. “I guess I never thought it was in the cards for me. I gave up on love a long time ago, Cas. Like, totally thought it was not going to happen to me. So, I guess I just never thought about kids.”
“Never?” My heart races as I wait for her response, but I know I won’t care either way. Any life with her is better than the alternative.
“I used to,” she whispers. “I really did. And part of me still does. Part of me always will. I just…have to reconcile that with the part of me that decided it wasn’t for me.”
“You decided it wasn’t for you because of your family? Work?” I look at her and find her eyes already on me. “Because of everything that happened?”
Hattie shrugs. “All of the above?” Her eyes flicker to the airport. “I think I gave up because I didn’t think I deserved it. If I couldn’t find love, then should I be allowed to have kids of my own? I know it sounds silly—”
“It doesn’t,” I tell her. “And you do. I won’t push either way, shortcake. But I would so fucking love to have them with you.”
A laugh bubbles from her lips, surprised and cut short. “Deal then.”
“Alright. A deal,” I chuckle, sparing her a look. “In a year, we can come back to it. Or maybe we should just let nature take its course.”
“So, what, no condoms?” she asks, shifting in her seat. “And we just…let it happen?”
Something about this turn in conversation has me going hard. We’re almost at our terminal, and my brothers are driving right behind us to take my truck when we go. The last thing we need is Calder and Reed seeing my hard on.
“Yeah,” I reply, clearing my throat. When I look at Hattie, her cheeks are flushed for an entirely different reason. “But just know, I want you to be my wife before that happens.”
Hattie stills, eyes widening. “Are you proposing to me, Casper Sterling?”
“No.” I shake my head with a smile. “Not yet anyway. I wouldn’t disrespect you like that, shortcake. I love you too much to give you this kind of lousy proposal.”
“How would you propose, then?” she asks teasingly.
“I’m not telling you that, it would ruin the surprise.” I glance at her and wink.
Hattie sighs, but a smile plays at her lips now. “I look forward to it then.”
I can’t help but laugh as we pull into the terminal. First stop, her place in New York for a month, then wherever the agency takes her. I never thought I’d actually be excited to travel beyond ranches and small towns. But with her, I can’t wait to see more of what her life looks like.
Parking the truck, I pull Hattie’s hand to my lips. “I love you,” I tell her, meeting her eye.
Her eyes shine with unshed tears and happiness. “I love you too, horse boy.”
I grin, but our time is quickly disrupted by Calder and Reed, who appear at Hattie’s door.
For the first time since telling everyone our plans, I feel a twinge of nerves.
Not only will this year be the first time I’m away from the ranch for an extended period of time, but it’ll be the first time I’m away from my twin.
I hadn’t thought much about him moving out. Technically, it’d been an adjustment, something to get used to. We’d spent our entire lives either sharing a house or a wall. Him moving in with his girlfriend changed a lot, but I still saw him every day when he came to work with the horses.
But this will be different. This will be the first time I don’t see him for more than a few days.
My chest tightens, but I know we’re both entering different stages of our lives. He has the woman he loves, and now, I have mine.
“You okay?” Hattie asks, bringing our joined hands to her lap.
I look from my brothers to her and smile. “Yeah. Just thinking about how this will be a change. But a good one.”
“We’ll be back,” she points out. “There’s like, a whole wedding and probably more we’ll need to come home for.”
I chuckle, finally unbuckling my seatbelt, then hers. “You’re right. And we’ll be back in a year for our own.”
“I have to say yes first.” With that, she opens her own door and slides out of the truck. “Come on, we don’t want to be late,” she says, grinning. Outside, my brothers start talking about me being a wuss for wanting to stay, so I grab my shit and get out.
Rounding the truck, I toss my keys at Reed. “Don’t fuck my truck up while I’m gone,” I tell him as I reach Hattie. “And don’t let Darcy drive it.”
Reed’s cheeks turn pink. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll finally admit his feelings for her while we’re gone. But one can only dream.
Calder moves to stand in front of me, his smile strained. “Can’t believe you’re tearing us apart,” he says, voice thick with emotion. “Damnit man.”
I snort. “Come on, you split first.”
Calder shrugs, grinning. “Yeah, okay, I did.” He throws an arm around me and pulls me into a hug. “Have fun. Be wild. And pull that stick out of your ass.”
Before I can punch him, he pulls away and looks down at Hattie. “Thanks for coming back, shortie. Missed your face on the ranch.”
Hattie rolls her eyes, leaning into me. I release her hand to wrap an arm around her shoulders. “I missed you too, Calder. And I’ll miss you both while we’re away.”
“By the time you’re home, maybe we’ll be neighbours,” Calder jokes with a wink. “I’ll make sure your land is clear for when you return. Doubt you two will want to live in the bunks—or worse, with Ma and Dad.”
I shudder, thinking about how awkward both options would be. “Appreciate it, Cal. Seriously.”
“Land?” Hattie murmurs, frowning up at me.
“We all have a bit of land,” Reed explains. “We can pretty much do whatever with it. Everyone else is building houses…”
“While you live between the main house and Darcy’s,” I say, pointing a finger at him. “You think you’ll get a start on yours?”
“For what?” He crosses his arms, lifting his chin. “I don’t need it.”
Calder and I share a look. “Sure,” Cal says, clapping him on the shoulder. “But Darcy won’t deal with living at the main house, you know.”
Reed’s cheeks turn red. “You two are a bunch of assholes. Wouldn’t blame you if you left him, Hattie. He’d deserve it.”
“I didn’t say anything!” I motion to Calder, but Hattie pulls me away before we can start bickering.
Her arms go around my torso as she looks up at me with those beautiful, green eyes. “You ready?” she asks, smirking. “Or do you need a few minutes to say goodbye.”
I shake my head and dip my face to hers. “No, I’m ready,” I reply honestly. “I’m ready for this new life with you.”
We won’t be gone forever, and anyway, it wouldn’t matter. As long as I have her, I’m ready for anything.
“Best deal I ever made in my life,” I whisper.
Hattie raises a brow. “Really?”
“Really.” I drop a kiss to her lips, brief and soft. “I love you.”