mate?” I couldn’t help but gloat by calling her that. It felt so good to have claimed her. To be able to legitimately call her that. “She’s great. In fact, I need to get back to her.”
The guys all chuckled. “I’ll bet you do,” Clint said.
“Yep, you get back to your mate,” Boyd said, thumping my back.
“Give her a big hug from me,” my mother said. “We’ll have you both over for lasagna later this week.”
“I will,” I promised and walked out to my truck.
Nothing—not even Nathan Brown—could keep me down today.
Not when Natalie was in my cabin waiting for me. Not when she’d be there again tomorrow, and the next day and the next day after that.
Epilogue
NATALIE
The insurance adjuster’s truck turned onto the main road, leaving Rand and I to stand in front of the rubble that was my house.
“So, know a good builder?” I asked, not looking at him.
“How will you pay, Red? I only take payment in sexual favors.”
I spun and faced him, poked him in the ribs, which made him grin.
“From all your clients?”
He pulled me into his arms, planted a kiss on my lips. “Only you. Guess we’ll have to get some plans drawn up. Time to build your dream house.”
“Don’t you mean our dream house?”
It had been five days since the fire-—not that I was counting—and I’d spent almost all that time with Rand. I wasn’t sure if it was because Rand didn’t want to let me out of his sight or if we were newly mated. Either way, I didn’t care. Either way, I agreed. I wanted Rand to be where I could see him at all times, waking up in the middle of the night with nightmares.
He’d soothe me with his touch, making love to me which always put me back to sleep. And when we were awake… it was almost impossible to keep our hands off each other.
But with the sobering sight of the house, all that history of Uncle Adam that had burned to rubble and ash, reality was right in front of us.
“Our house,” he replied. “Got something in mind?”
I pursed my lips. “Besides no creepy basement with spiders…”
He grinned. “Besides that.”
“I’m thinking log. One story. Big windows across the back to take in the view.”
He slung an arm around my shoulder and stared at the rubble, as if he could picture what would be put in its place.
“A three car garage,” he added.
“A deck off the back.”
“Five bedrooms.”
I turned in his arms to face him, tilted my chin back to meet his eyes. “Five? I thought you didn’t want a B&B.”
“I don’t. I was thinking more along the lines of kids.”
I did the math. “You want four kids?”
“That’s if they have their own rooms. But if they shared…”
I punched him in the stomach. “Rand Tucker, what you want is a football team.”
He laughed, and I loved that sound.
“How about we start with one.”
He went still at my words, his dark eyes meeting mine. “You ready?”
I shrugged, and my cell rang. I pulled it from my jeans pocket. “Hello?”
“Hey, Natalie, this is Kurt from the Barn Cats.”
“Hi, Kurt,” I replied and Rand nodded, knowing who it was.
“I heard about your house. I’m glad you’re all right.”
“Thanks. I’ll rebuild.”
“That’s good to hear. I was hoping you wouldn’t leave town after that.”
“Oh?”
“Not sure if you know, but I’ve been the music teacher at the high school for the past twenty-six years.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Well, I’ve been planning to retire, even bought an RV to go roaming the west. There just haven’t been any replacements, being that the school’s so small, and Cooper Valley isn’t exactly a metropolis. But now, I’ve got one.”
“That’s great! Congratulations on your retirement.”
“It depends on you, though.”
I frowned. “Me?”
“I think you should be my replacement. You have the qualifications. You know your way around an instrument, and the kids will love you. Know how to lead a marching band?”
I stepped back, and it was Rand’s turn to frown. He snatched the cell from me. “Kurt, why are you upsetting my woman?”
I bit my lip at his protectiveness.
“Uh huh, uh huh. Oh. That’s good then. Here.” He thrust the phone back at me.
I couldn’t help but laugh as I took the phone back.
“Kurt?”
“You got a good one there, Natalie. A little bit bossy though.”
I laughed some more which made Rand frown.
“The job’s yours.”
“I know nothing about a marching band. I don’t even have a teaching license.”
He made a funny scoffing sound. “The job’s yours,” he repeated. “Think about it and get back to me. School starts in a few weeks.”
I thanked him and ended the call.
“Well?” Rand asked, pulling me back into his arms again.
“Well, it’s a job. Doing music. Here.”
“I think you’d be good at it.”
I’d never considered teaching high school before. But the idea was appealing. Kids were the ones who needed the nudge toward music, to discover how it could enrich their lives. God, there was so much I could do with a music program although I wasn’t sure about the marching band part.
“I wouldn’t have to open the B&B after all.”
Rand chuckled. “Do I get to call you Miss Sheffield now?”
I felt the hard prod of his dick against my belly.
“Got a school teacher fetish?” I asked.
“I’ve been bad.”
I hopped up into his arms, and he made a funny sound of surprise as he caught me with his hands on my ass. I grinned at him. “You want sexual payment to build my new house, and you’ve got a teacher thing. Any other kinks I should know about?”
He squeezed my butt playfully and walked me back toward his truck. “Let’s get back to the cabin, and I’ll show you every single one.”
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About Renee Rose
USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR RENEE ROSE loves a dominant, dirty-talking alpha hero! She's sold over a half million copies of steamy romance with varying levels of kink. Her books have been featured in USA Today's Happily Ever After and Popsugar. Named Eroticon USA's Next Top Erotic Author in 2013, she has also won Spunky and Sassy's Favorite Sci-Fi and Anthology author, The Romance Reviews Best Historical Romance, and Spanking Romance Reviews' Best Sci-fi, Paranormal, Historical, Erotic, Ageplay and favorite couple and author. She's hit the USA Today list five times with various anthologies.
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About Vanessa Vale
Vanessa Vale is the USA Today bestselling author of sexy romance novels, including her popular Bridgewater historical series and hot contemporary romances. With over one million books sold, Vanessa writes about unapologetic bad boys who don't just fall in love, they fall hard. Her books are available worldwide in multiple languages in e-book, print, audio and even as an online game. When she's not writing, Vanessa savors the insanity of raising two boys and figuring out how many meals she can make with a pressure cooker. While she's not as skilled at social media as her kids, she loves to interact with readers.