Epilogue
Jacob
One Year Later...
Watching the sunrise is still my favorite way to start a day.
Lying in bed, staring down at the beautiful sight I am blessed to wake up to each morning, I let out a little sigh. Jillian curls closer to me, reaching for my hand as it rubs over her belly. I wake before her to get these moments to watch her sleep, watch her dream.
That first day I fell all over her, I had no idea our dream life together was just starting. I thought I might have a good time that night, might even get to kiss a pretty girl from the city. What I got was the other half of me, the woman I would start a life with, build a home with.
“You stare too loud, cowboy,” she mumbles with a smirk.
Grinning, I bend to kiss her throat, her shoulder, the slope of her breast. Her breathing picks up and I smirk against her skin, licking her nipple as it buds up beneath my touch. Letting my hand slide lower, I let out another sigh as I feel her grow wet beneath my fingers.
“Hmm, sunrise looks so good on you, honey,” I whisper gently, stroking her softly, admiring the pinks and oranges on her bare skin.
It ought to be a beautiful day, but I don’t plan to let her out of bed. We’re just back from trip to Heart Harbor with her best friend Wynn and Wylder, my new best friend. We got closer after he and Wynn got married a few months before our son was born.
That little mood killer cries down the hall just as I start to climb on to get our morning going. Laughing, I kiss her on the mouth with a smack and demand she does not move. I am not done with her yet. Not by a long shot.
“Morning little guy,” I whisper as I pick up my son, my chest swelling the way it does anytime I see him or think of him. Becoming a father is the best thing that ever happened to me. Jillian once said I would give the people who matter to me everything—and she was not wrong.
We might have joked about me building her a castle, but I did just that. It just so happens to be a castle fit for a cowboy and his cowgirl, on a ranch where we rehabilitate horses and other animals we rescue. Jillian still does travel agent business—mostly for her wanderlust friend Wynn—but we’re both here on the ranch most of the time.
Leaving Iron H Ranch was never something I planned. Coming to Fellow Falls, just a few miles from Wylder and Wynn’s farm, was the right move. It is where Jocie’s father Elliot is, where my woman grew up, and where we want our kids to grow up.
“Mama needs some daddy time, buddy,” I tell him as I change him, taking time to kiss his little feet, his round tummy, and laugh when he gives me little giggles.
My woman is pregnant—I don’t need tests or pink sticks to tell me. After being there during her pregnancy with Judd, I just know. Her skin glows, her eyes get darker, her soft body gets softer. I love it and if I have my way, I am going to keep my sweet Jilly Bean pregnant as long as she lets me. I would have a dozen little foals with my pretty filly if I could.
Jocie is a little princess and I adore her. Elliot is a good man, a good father, and now one of my closest friends. It might be weird to others how we all work but who cares. He lives across the road from us, raising chickens, farming sprouts, living his best life as a true country boy. Our life is intertwined because of how we love Jocie, how we love Jillian and if you ask me, it’s a good thing.
Even asked for his blessing before buying the ring I am about to put on my woman’s hand.
“I love you my little cowpoke,” I whisper, rocking him as he starts to fade back to sleep, drool on his tiny mouth, peace on his beautiful face.
Settling him back in, I head back down the hall. Jocie is with Elliot for the weekend, and he will be coming to take Judd later. I want to spend the entire weekend celebrating my future wife and the life we’re building. Taking a deep breath, I go back in, almost stumbling over my own feet.
Jillian lies in the bed, bare, the sunshine glowing on her skin. One hand cups her breast, toying with the nipple, the other is between her thighs. Yeah, my woman is pregnant. Hornier than ever when she is with child, and I love it. Standing there for a moment, I enjoy the show.
“You’re so goddamn beautiful,” I rasp as I saunter towards her, pushing at my sweats, letting my thickness spring out.
“You’re pretty damn beautiful too, cowboy,” she pants, her fingers rubbing at her clit as she spreads her thighs, giving me a good view.
“I love you, Jillian,” I whisper, crawling over the bed, kneeling between her legs to watch her play. “I love you so damn much I can’t breathe for it sometimes. But I make room for how much I love Jocie, how much I love Judd. How much I will love that little one you’re growing right now,” I continue, laughing when her hand pauses as mine goes to her belly.
“I have not taken a test but…I thought…”
Smiling, I nod because we both know. Leaning over her, I pepper her skin with kisses, my fingers closing around her wrist. Brining it back to her pussy, I tell her to play for a little longer. While she does, I take my time worshiping her body, whispering how beautiful she is, how perfect she feels against me, how it’s always so right, so close to heaven. Pressing my mouth against her ear as my cock pushes against her, I sink inside slowly as I whisper the words above our moans of pleasure.
“Be my wife. Marry me, Jillian. Let’s live our dreams forever. I love you, honey. Will you do good on that first bid and buy me forever?”
Pulling back, I feel my chest explode as she nods, a beaming smile on her face. God, I love her. It was not the moment we crashed to the ground or on that first horseback ride. Wasn’t the day at the lake or our first time making love. It was all of it and every single moment since. I was a lonely cowboy who never hung my hat anywhere for very long.
Because before her, I had no home, no place I belonged.
“Yes, yes, I want to be your wife. I am not afraid to do it again. I love you so much, Jacob. I thought I had one dream, but I was wrong. We can have all the dreams we want, and I want them all with you.”
Hand entwined, we make love as we whisper how much we love each other, how blessed our lives have become. How we cannot wait for another baby, another thing to love, to share, to build more dreams with. I was a little envious of the other hands after their auctions found them happiness. It didn’t happen for all of them of course but I was one of the lucky ones.
Jillian bought one night with me but now we’re getting forever together and as I said once—that is one hell of a dream come true.