Epilogue
Scotty—Five Years Later…
The chair rocks beneath me, the old wood groaning as I sit with Silas tucked against my chest. My son’s a furnace, cheeks flushed, little fists bunched in my T-shirt. Nine months old and he’s already got a grip like a damn ranch hand.
“She always did have a way with horses.” Hudson sits in the chair beside me, nodding toward his daughter.
Out in the pasture, Adrienne and her mom brush down Priscilla and Rosa.
Before I sold off the ranch, I spoke with Hudson and Deven about bringing the girls to their barn since they had the room.
They were happy to have the girls move in when Adrienne and I decided to make her house on the ranch our home.
“Guess she always did,” I murmur, adjusting Silas when he stirs. She’s got a special bond with Priscilla. Makes sense since they’re both the most stubborn females I’ve ever met.”
Hudson chuckles, a deep, knowing sound. “You got that right. Stubborn as the day is long.
“Hell, I don’t think anyone could ever tell her what to do. Not you, not me, not anybody.”
“When she was nine, she broke her arm falling off a barrel horse. The doctor told her not to ride for eight weeks. Two weeks later, I caught her sneaking out to the barn, trying to climb back on with the cast still on.”
I can’t help but laugh, picturing it. “Yeah, that tracks. She still doesn’t listen worth a damn. Tells me she’ll take it easy after the baby was born… next day she’s out here, brushing down the mares like nothing happened.”
Hudson’s grin fades into something quieter, thoughtful. “That fire in her—it worried me at times. Worried she’d chase too much, too far. But looking at her now…” He takes a long sip of his beer, eyes still fixed on her. “She’s right where she’s supposed to be.”
I follow his gaze, my chest tightening at the sight of her. My wife. My whole damn world.
Selling the ranch should’ve been the hardest decision of my life.
I thought I’d feel like I was cutting out a piece of my heart and the memory of my old man with it.
But building our home here, watching Adrienne with Silas, seeing my mares grazing in the best pastures, loved and accepted by her family the same way I was, it felt like my dad was telling me it was the right thing to do.
Hudson glances at me. “You take care of her. You take care of both of them.”
I nod, no hesitation. While Hudson and I are on much better terms, he still doesn’t miss many opportunities to remind me how much his daughter still means to him. “Always.”
The sun dips low when Adrienne walks up to the back porch and tugs on my hand. “Come on. We’re taking her out.”
“The Mustang?” I ask, even though I already know.
She grins. “The Mustang.”
“Go have fun,” Deven waves at us, Silas snug in her arms.
“No crazy business,” Hudson wags a finger at her, then looks at me. “I mean it, keep her in line.”
“Dad, be serious, we both know no man can do that.” Adrienne laughs as she practically drags me down the drive.
She looks like a teenager again, legs bare beneath that sundress, hair wild from the breeze. My chest aches just watching her slide behind the wheel with that big smile, just like when we were kids.
I climb into the passenger seat, and she fires the engine. The familiar rumble fills my bones. She takes off down the gravel, heavy on the gas, and I shake my head with a laugh. “Jesus, woman. You’re gonna burn out the clutch before sunset.”
She just smirks, eyes on the road. “Don’t tell me how to drive my own car.”
I rest my arm along the back of her seat, watching her. She’s glowing in the fading light, locket glinting with every bump of the road. My hand slides over hers on the console.
She tugs my hand, lips curving slyly. “You know,” she says, voice dropping low, “when I was sixteen, I used to sit in this car and dream about what it’d be like with you.”
Heat spikes in my gut. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Her tongue flicks across her lower lip. “I had this whole fantasy of pulling over somewhere quiet… of finally getting you to look at me the way I wanted you to. And since it never happened…” She slides her hand onto my thigh, squeezing. “Maybe it’s time we live it out.”
“Christ, Adrienne.” My cock’s already thickening under her touch, my chest tight with how fast she undoes me. “You know I’m not gonna say no to that.”
She pulls onto an empty stretch of road, eases the Mustang to the shoulder, and kills the engine. The night air hums around us, crickets singing like background music. She shifts toward me, reaching down to undo my belt. “Let’s start where I left off last time we had fun in this car.”
“Fuck, baby.” My head falls back as her mouth wraps around me, hot and wet. I fist her hair, knuckles white. “You really were a dirty little dreamer, weren’t you?”
She hums around me, sending shockwaves up my spine.
“Goddamn… still can’t believe you’re mine. Five years and you still suck my cock like you’re starved for it.” My voice breaks into a growl when her lips slide deeper, throat tightening around me.
“Take it all, baby. Yeah, just like that. Fuck, you look so pretty with my cock in your mouth.”
Her nails dig into my thighs as she works me harder, wetter, swallowing every inch. My hips jerk despite myself, and I mutter curses that dissolve into raw, hungry groans.
“You want my cum? You gonna swallow it down for me like the perfect wife you are?”
Her moan is answer enough, the vibration sending me right over the edge. With a guttural shout, I spill down her throat, hand gripping her hair tight as she swallows it all like she’s been waiting years for this exact moment.
When she pulls back, lips swollen, eyes shining wickedly, I can barely breathe.
“Guess that teenage fantasy was worth the wait,” I rasp, dragging her into my lap and kissing her hard.
She smirks against my mouth. “Told you it was a good one.”
I chuckle, still breathless. “Hell, Adrienne. Any fantasy you’ve got, I’m happy to indulge.”
She pulls back from my lap, lips swollen, eyes sparkling with mischief. My cock is still rock hard, pressing against my jeans like it’s about to tear through. I drag a hand over my face, groaning. “Baby, I need to fuck you right now.”
Adrienne leans across the console, kissing me sweet and slow before pulling back just enough to whisper, “You’ll have to wait.”
My laugh comes out rough, strained. “Jesus, you know it only makes it worse when you tell me no.”
Her grin turns wicked, and she bats her lashes like she’s the picture of innocence. “Curfew’s almost up. I have to get home before I get in trouble. Don’t you remember? Daddy’s waiting on the porch lights to flick on.”
I fist her hair, tugging her mouth back to mine, kissing her hard enough to make her moan.
When I pull away, my voice is nothing but gravel.
“You keep playing with me like that, and I’ll bend you over the kitchen table the second we walk in the house.
Parents, brothers, half the damn family already there. I won’t care, and you know it.”
Her laugh bubbles up, cheeks flushed as she pushes me back into the seat and climbs onto me, leaning in and whispering. “We'd better make it quick so dad doesn’t find out.”
“You always did want to be a naughty girl, didn’t you?” I rasp, still gripping her thigh as I indulge in her role play. “Let’s make that happen.”
She’s already soaked when she pulls her panties aside and slides down my cock. It’s quick and frenzied, her pussy milking me so good I come in a few minutes.
“Shit, sorry, baby, that was so fast,” I pant, looking up at her.
“It was so good though,” she groans, biting my bottom lip. “Now you’ll be dropping from me all night, just how you like.”
I'm still barely breathing when she climbs off of me, smoothing down her dress and checking her reflection in the mirror before she starts the car.
“I’m the luckiest man alive.” I shake my head, tucking myself back into my jeans and trying to wipe the freshly fucked look off my face.
I look over at Adrienne. She smiles back at me like she’s not the same woman who just swallowed me whole, and winks. “Then you'd better behave until after dinner now that you’ve been handled, Mr. Bescher.”
I groan. I love it when she’s bossy with me. My cock’s still throbbing, my patience paper-thin, but I promise her I’ll behave.
When we get back to the house, headlights sweeping across the wide porch, it feels like we really are sneaking in after curfew.
But the second we step onto the porch, the noise hits like a wave.
A Slade chorus of kids squealing, a screen door slamming, the smell of grilled steak and fresh bread spilling out of the kitchen.
Hudson has Silas in his arms, pretending to “fly” him around while he squeals with laughter. On the steps, Milly grins widely the second she sees us. “Well, look who finally got back from their little joy ride.” Adrienne rolls her eyes, but she’s blushing, which only makes Milly cackle harder.
“You’re still shit at pretending you weren’t doing something naughty.” Brooklyn bounces her eyebrows.
“True,” Aiden calls from the grill, flipping a steak one-handed, beer in the other. “She was always the one who got us in trouble as kids because she was too honest. It was always written all over her face.”
“Yeah, well, in my field that’s called ethics, and it’s very valuable in an attorney.” I laugh at how defensive Adrienne immediately gets. She’s the one the cousins love getting a rise out of, and it usually works.
“A very rare quality in your field,” Aiden adds under his breath.
“I heard that.” Adrienne points toward him. “Keep talking and I’ll have Dad ship your ass back to Texas early.”
“Adrienne’s been in charge since the womb,” Axel says around a mouthful of pasta salad.
“Damn right I have,” Adrienne fires back, snatching a roll off the tray before Decker can slap her hand away. She winks at me like she’s daring me to deny it.