“I love her. You, I’m not so sure,” she said, trying to hide her smile.
But Tripp just laughed. “Well, you think on that. In the meantime, I’ll love you enough for both of us.”
Her eyes lifted and met his. “You love me?”
He cupped her waist. “So damn much. I’ve been a wreck without you.”
The tension that had coiled tight in her chest the second she received the job offer began to unravel, but she held her ground. He was going to have to work a little harder. “A wreck, huh?”
He grinned. “Yep. I’m sure Bo and Cash would be more than happy to tell you about it, if you’d like.” He brought his hand to her cheek, his eyes searching hers. “Charlotte, I want to take you home with me and I want to love the hell out of you until you agree to stay forever. No matter where you go, I’ll chase you. And I’ll never stop.”
She gasped and swayed toward him. So much for holding her ground. Tripp was there, though, solid and stable and so very warm.
“Really?” she asked, so scared to believe it, but wanting to so much. A home. A family. The man she loved and little girl she was crazy about.
“If you’ll have me.”
Yes, please. Her heart fluttered wildly in her chest, but she managed to give him what she hoped was a prim look. “I will, but only because you and Gracie are a package deal.”
He smiled. “I can’t fault you there. I’d take her over me any day.”
“I’ll take both,” Charlotte said, unable to contain her smile.
Tripp cupped her face and kissed her so thoroughly, she had no choice but to believe in him and that warmth he’d planted in her chest the very first day they’d met.
“Let’s go home,” he said against her lips.
She smiled. “I’d love nothing more.”
Epilogue
“Daddy, Daddy, come quick!” Gracie yelled, running into the master bedroom.
Tripp sprang out of bed. “What is it, baby? You okay?”
“Yes,” Gracie said with a big smile. He glanced at the clock. It was 6:00 a.m. and Charlotte’s side of the bed was cold. Before he could ask about Charlotte, Gracie was yelling again for him to get up. “You have to hurry. Mama said we have to go outside now!”
Tripp got up and tugged on his jeans and followed Gracie to the front door. She barreled through it and toward the arena. The lights were on and the stall door was open.
“Mama!” Gracie called out. “Mama, I got Daddy. Can I see now? Please?”
Charlotte appeared at the stall door looking beautiful as ever. The sun was just starting to rise over the yellow hills of their land, and Tripp
had never been more grateful in his life. The woman he loved may not be the biological mother of his daughter, but she was the best mother and wife in the world.
It had only been a couple months since he’d gone to get Charlotte and brought her home, and every day since had been the best he’d known. She’d worked hard on launching the Montgomery website and was making a killing with all the branding and outsourcing of cattle and land. The ranch was booming, and Gracie had started calling her “Mama” just as soon as she figured out Tripp was marrying her.
“I have a surprise for you two,” Charlotte said as they approached the stall. She started to move out of the shadows, pulling Sparkles with her. Only Sparkles was just that, sparkly. And on the front of her head was a big horn fastened by what looked like twine.
“Oh my gosh!” Gracie shrieked and ran toward Sparkles.
Tripp smiled and kissed his beautiful bride. “How on earth did you manage this?”
“Well, Gracie and I were watching Unicorn Diaries the other day, and it talked about how the sparkly ones are magical, and at sunrise all their magic started glowing.”
“This is really incredible,” Tripp said. “Though I’m not sure how I feel about a horse covered in glitter.”
She laughed. “Don’t worry, the glitter is all natural and won’t hurt Sparkles. It’ll hose right off.”