Five Years Later
Hannah
Dinner has gone cold by now, but neither one of us cares.
Dean called us in an hour ago, but we couldn’t pull ourselves to go inside.
The heat of the summer finally fizzled out and the breeze began to swoop down into the valley.
It seemed to call to me while I sat inside on the couch reading a book to Lily.
One second we were laughing at the funny bunny on the page, the next we both stopped and listened as if the same wild spirit that runs through me was passed along to her.
Together, we quietly slipped on our boots, peeking in the kitchen to make sure Dean was distracted finishing up dinner.
Then we slipped out the front door, giggling as we ran to the barn to saddle up one of our favorite horses, Walker.
The sun turns the sky a brilliant gold, bringing our day to an end, but it seems to have slowed down, giving me another while longer with my girl.
Dust flies up behind our buckskin as he makes wide circles around and around.
There is nothing I love more than these evening rides, my baby girl in between my arms, her giggles and high pitched squeals floating along with the evening breeze.
I have one hand on the reins, the other wrapped tightly around Lily.
“Mama, faster!” And I laugh when I feel her little heels tap against Walker's sides. She’s begged me to let her go on her own, but I can’t bring myself to give up these little moments with her.
She was the best thing to ever happen to me; well, besides Dean.
That man still gives me butterflies when he enters a room, and the smile that he gives me when our eyes meet is one that is reserved for me and only me.
He kept his word after that summer ended—he retired from riding.
But like the cowboy he is, he never really slowed down.
His dad was over the moon when we asked to move permanently into the cabin down the hill from the main house, and damn near hugged Dean to death when Dean told him that he wanted to start a clinic for newer riders.
Now the Wilder men spend their summers hosting camps that help up and coming rodeo competitors perfect their skills.
Owen was ecstatic to be involved and took no convincing to jump on the back of an untamed horse Dean bought from Matty.
He was a natural, hung on to that damn thing while it took off around the corral throwing him from side to side.
Even though he walked funny for a week after, he still told Dean every chance he got that he would have been the best bronc rider in the circuit.
It’s been blissful to watch their relationship stitch back together.
Dean comes home smiling and I can hear his laugh booming from the practice arena.
Lily and I ride round and round until the sun sinks so low the posts around us begin to disappear in the encroaching darkness.
A familiar weight lands on me, one that can only mean one thing.
Slowing Walker to a walk to cool him down, I peek around, squinting into the blue shadows that have settled in around us.
Up against the wood fence post of the corral, I spot him.
Dean leans a hip against the wood, baseball cap flipped backwards, his white shirt fitting sinfully against his broad shoulders and wide chest. Butterflies take flight and my heart picks up the pace at the way he looks at me.
“Alright, girls,” he calls out to us as he easily slips beneath one of the rails and walks across the dusty ground towards us.
The pair of us are rosy cheeked and breathless from laughing so hard.
Dean tickles Lily Mae before reaching up and lifting our daughter into his arms. He smiles down at her and taps the tip of her nose with his pointer finger, which only makes her giggle harder and curl into him.
My heart melts at the sight of my whole life standing before me.
Walker huffs angrily at the abrupt end to his attention, so I slide off and hand Lily a mint.
We watch as she sweeps her wild brown curls out of her face, just for them to fall back over her forehead.
Dean places her on the ground and then crouches down in front of her. “I just got Wells to sleep, so stop your giggling and get in the bath. Auntie Mal and Uncle Kasey are coming tomorrow, so we need to get a good night's rest so we can show them the ranch tomorrow. Deal?”
We both laugh at the way her body bounces up and down in excitement. “And Papa Matty?” Her bright blue eyes widen and her little hands clap in front of her.
Dean smooths her hair down, his large hand covering her small head. “And Papa Matty. Now scoot.”
“Yes, Daddy!” she calls over her shoulder while she skips off towards the house.
I can’t help the content sigh as I watch her take off towards the house and how Dean watches her go the whole way.
When he finally rises and turns towards me, my entire body goes fuzzy.
There is a heat in his eyes that makes my knees feel weak.
“What's on your mind, darlin’?” he asks in that voice so deep I feel it vibrate against my soul.
“Just thinkin’ about how lucky I am.” He tilts his head at me, those lips I want to kiss so badly tipping up at the corner.
“Lucky that you broke all those rules and gave me this.” Throwing a hand out, I motion to the expanse of land around us.
Dean tosses his head back and lets out a deep bark of a laugh.
“I’m serious!” I slap his chest playfully.
“Honestly, Dean.” I wrap my arms around his waist, letting my chin rest on his chest. “My heart was shattered after my parents passed. I pulled away from my friends, let myself believe I didn’t deserve to be happy, told myself that love wasn’t an option because I was so afraid of losing it.
” He pulls my body into his while tucking my own wild hair behind my ear, holding it there as I lean into his touch.
“But you showed me that love is worth the risk, it’s worth the ride.
” I kiss his palm, watching as his eyes roam over my face, memorizing this moment into his heart just like I am in mine.
“Mommy!” a voice calls out the front door. “I need my jammies!” Lily stands in the open doorway, water dripping from her curls. Dean rolls his eyes while I step around him.
“I need to shower, too. See you inside?” I ask, leaning up to kiss his cheek.
Before I take two steps, his arm snaps out and pulls me back against him. Leaning in, he runs his tongue over the curve of my jaw and up to my ear. “Don’t shower without me.” His warm hand dips down over the swell of my ass, giving it a squeeze in his palm.
I can’t help but tremble against him, then I pull away, taking a step backwards. “Yes, Daddy.” I wink at him.
Dean
My parents' house is a frenzy of activity. Hannah and Mallory have been working for hours covering the porch in a balloon arch for Wells' first birthday. Owen, Kasey, and I have been put in charge of overseeing the kids and setting up tables on the front lawn. We haven’t made it very far considering the fact that between my own two kids, Owen’s three-year-old twins and Kasey’s wild duo of boys seem to need something every five minutes or wander too far from the front gate.
“Lunatics, all of them,” Kasey says, resting his hands on his knees after wrangling his oldest from climbing over the picket fence.
Owen races by in an attempt to catch his girl, Macey, from running to Vivi yet again because Owen told her no when she asked for a piece of candy for the hundredth time.
His son laughs at him and follows not too far behind.
Patting Kasey on the back, I look at the man who not that long ago annoyed the shit out me whenever he’d look at me with his smiling face.
“I love you, man,” I say sincerely, giving him another slap before flipping the table I’m holding onto its legs and moving it around in the grass to level it out.
Kasey opens his mouth to say something, but I put a hand out and stop him.
“Don’t ruin it.” Thankfully, he closes his mouth, letting it turn into a smile instead.
“You know that song by Trace Adkins?” Peeling my eyes away from the kids I look over at my brother. “He told us that one day we’ll miss this, but damn, can a guy get a break?” Owen huffs, falling to his ass in the grass and sprawling out on his back.
“No rest for the wicked.” I wink down at him, throwing a hand out to help him up.
Tires rumble up the drive, and we all glance towards the approaching dust.
“Papa!!” Lily shrieks from behind us, causing Owen to cover his ears and let out a long list of profanities.
Matty barely puts his truck in park before a herd of kids flood through the gate, bumping into each other in an attempt to get to him first. Matty wastes no time hitting his knees and tugging each kid into a big hug, his wife Tricia patting his shoulder as she walks around the group towards the front door.
I give her a quick kiss on the cheek as she passes by.
By the time we’ve sung Happy Birthday and the kids are tearing through the house high off the sugar we’ve been dishing out, I am beat, ready to call it a day.
“You doin ok, cowboy?” Hannah asks, sidling up beside me, resting her cheek on my arm. I reach around her and pull her body into mine, smiling at the instant calm that washes over me just by having her close.
“Am now, darlin’.” A kiss to the top of her head is the only thing I can manage before the song changes over the little speaker in the corner of the living room, and Lily bounces up and down, hands waving in the air.
“Mama, it’s our song!” Her sweet voice calls over to us.
Hannah gives my arm a tight hug before swinging her hips on her way over to our daughter, pinching Wells’ cheeks in my mom’s arms on her way.
I watch the pair of them dance along to Morgan Wallen’s Long Live Cowgirls.
Their identical, wavy brown curls fly around them as they spin each other around.
Every day since I met Hannah and from the first moment I held my babies feels like the buzzer just sounded after an eight second ride.
Like I’ve just conquered the impossible, that I’ve just ridden along the edge of death and finally landed on my feet.
Somehow she managed to tame the dark side of me.
She taught me that pulling away from love only made me crave it more.
My daze is broken when I feel a little hand in mine.
Looking down towards my daughter's rosy face, I let her haul me into the crowd of our friends and family.
“Show me those moves again, cowboy,” Hannah whispers against my lips before I drag her into me, dipping her backwards and kissing her deep.
Her laughter fills the room when I right us and begin to spin her around the room, dodging everyone else as I carry her around and around.
I thank God in this moment that she’s in my arms, never to ride out of my life again, but by my side through wildflower fields until we both take our last breath.
Grateful that I get to be hung up on this woman for the rest of my life.