Rescued by the Ranger (Camp Hardwood 2)

Mrs. Cyprus has been good to me and I know how protective she is over the girls around here. Mr. Cyprus is the protective shadow behind her, supporting whatever she says. I don’t think she’s going to just let Moose take me, even though she can’t really stop us. I’m eighteen now and I can do what I want, but I don’t want anyone fighting over this. I just want everyone to be happy.

I know that the Cypruses are close to Moose and I don’t want to come between anyone, I only want to be a part of it. All I’ve ever wanted was to belong somewhere. I have a feeling Moose was a loner once upon a time. I can spot one after being one myself. He has roots here now and I don’t want to mess that up for him or anyone.

“I’ll make it okay,” he tells me. He leans down a little so we’re more eye level. “You have an adventurous spirit, Zara, but the world has made you leery to take what you want.”

I swallow because I think he’s right. I always get myself into messes, like me getting lost in the woods isn’t shocking. I’ve always been curious, but being in the system stifled me in so many ways. His big hand slides into mine and I love how he can be both gentle and hard when it’s needed. I don’t know how he mixes the two for me but he does it perfectly.

“You get to be your adventurous self and not worry because I’m always going to be next to you. I’ll make sure you’re always taken care of. That you’re loved and protected as you always should’ve been.”

“Love.”

“Yeah, sweetheart. I love you,” he says, and I fling myself into his arms.

“I love you too,” I mumble against his neck and close my eyes.

“Good. That makes keeping you a lot easier.”

I smile as I lean back to look at him, and his whole face is lit up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile like this before and he holds me close as I cling to him. I catch Honey and her husband standing on the porch to the main cabin watching us and Honey has a secret smirk. Her husband is holding her close with his arms wrapped around her waist, and I can see that this isn’t going to be a fight. If anyone knows what true love is, it’s them.

It looks like I’m getting my happily ever after too.

Epilogue

Moose

Two years later…

“My back is killing me,” Zara says as she braces her hands on her bare hips and tries to stretch it out.

“Come here and let me ease it for you.” I pat my thighs and she looks over her shoulder at me.

She raises an eyebrow and a smile tugs at her lips. “Is that all I’m getting?”

“No,” I admit honestly. My cock is already hard against my thigh and I’ll take any excuse to sink it into her warmth.

“Just go slow, I’m too damn big to be pounded into.”

She waddles over to me with her belly so round and swollen everyone keeps asking if it’s twins and if she’s due any day now. The truth is she’s got a few more weeks still, and it’s just one baby. But our son is so big inside of her that she’s having a hard time holding him.

We took our time getting pregnant and wanted to enjoy one another first. I begged to put a baby in her right away, but Zara needed that time to soak up all the attention she’d been without for so long. As soon as she went off the pill, there was a baby in her that night. Now she’s getting close to the end and it’s been a long, hot summer.

The doctor put her on semi-bed rest because she became so swollen. I’ve fretted over her this whole pregnancy and only allowed her a few hours of the day to stand up and walk around. She’s been sitting on the porch swing and out to the garden to pick some tomatoes to go with our lunch, but I wouldn’t let her do anything beyond that.

As she walks over to me I stare at her belly with her bare pink skin stretched tight with small dark lines that show the rate at which our boy is growing. I reach out when she’s close to me and touch them with my fingers. She tries to put her hands over her belly to hide them, but it’s no help and I push them away.

“Don’t you dare keep this from me,” I say as she stands between my legs and I caress her belly. “Your body is working so hard to make our son strong.” I lean forward and kiss her belly tenderly, laying my cheek on it. “There’s so much more of you for me to love.”