Chance
Ican’t believe that just happened.
I was nervous as hell. I can’t deny it. I was shaking like a leaf, but we did it. There’s no way the entire town of Kensley won’t know now. But Noah was so damn strong and determined, there was no way in hell I was going to stop him.
And it feels so damn good, now that it’s over.
We drive back to the old farmhouse that’s now my home, as well as Noah’s, and we immediately head out to the barn. One of the calico cats is very pregnant, and I’ve been keeping an extra eye on her.
I see her almost immediately, her stomach still popped out on both sides. The poor thing looks miserable. “Should we get her some milk?” I ask, wanting to spoil the sweet mama a little.
Noah chuckles and kisses the tip of my nose. “It’s not really good for them. But I did buy some of that wet food crap, so you can spoil your girl.”
I chuckle and can’t deny that makes me happy as hell. “Thank you. She deserves it. How many kittens do you think she’s carrying?”
He shrugs, petting another kitten who comes up and demands attention. There’s five now, including the mama cat. “The most I’ve ever seen a mom have was five.”
“Five?” My eyes widen in shock. “Holy hell.” I pet her soft fur. “Poor girl.”
He smiles, looking at me so damn fondly. I love when he looks at me like that. “She’ll be okay. I promise. My grandparents and parents always had a lot of barn cats. I’ve seen my fair share of kitten births.”
I scrunch my nose up at the thought, and it only makes him laugh harder. He pulls me to him by my hips and kisses me softly.
“I’ll walk you through it.”
“Oh, God. Can we just skip to the cute-kitten part?”
“We’ll see.” He kisses me again, and instead of asking him what that means, I let him deepen the kiss.
I’m completely gone for this man. “Are you worried?”
He shakes his head, placing his forehead against mine. “No. LeAnn was right. I’ve given enough to this town. It’s time they either give me something back or let me go. I can’t live my life in secret anymore.”
I nod, my forehead sliding against his. “You’re an amazing man, Noah Asher.”
“You’re more amazing, Chance Leighton.”
I kiss him, and my body responds to his.
His fingers slide through my hair, tugging tightly in a way that goes straight to my balls.
I’m about to suggest we go inside before we give the cats a show that’ll likely traumatize them, but he pulls back, releasing me before he takes my hand and doesn’t let me argue, leading me to the house to get the canned food for the mama kitty, who we named Mama.
We feed her and the other cats before heading back inside.
I know going back to school next week is going to be a big deal. There’s no way our being a couple in Kensley won’t be. There’ll be whispers in the hallway and snickers in the locker room.
But I’ll hold my head high, and I’ll be as strong as I can for him because he’s right. No matter what happens, it’ll be okay. We have nothing to be ashamed of.
This isn’t like the situation that led to me being forced out of Big Bend. I was alone then. I had nothing. But here, I have Noah by my side, and he has me.
We have each other, and that’s really all we need.