happiness spilled out, washing over them both. “Yes, what?”
Just to be certain.
“Yes. I’ll marry you. July first, here at Wild Rose ranch. But between now and then you have to promise me—”
“Anything. I’ll do anything for you.”
Dana poked him in the ribs, laughter rising up. “Just love me. Promise to keep listening and keep loving. That’s all.”
“I promise.” He said it quietly, but somehow the words echoed in the room and bounced down the hall, slipping into the farthest corners of the house.
The place he would make sure was filled with listening and love. Because it wasn’t only a house. It was more.
Mark had truly come home.
28
October, Six Pack ranch
Blake caught Jaxi as she flew past him at high velocity. “Whoa, slow down there, Slick. I need to talk to you.”
“I’ve got two minutes,” she warned before wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tight. “Hey, love. Missed you this morning.”
“Travis had problems, and I was on call.” He slowed her enough to be able to kiss her, deep and lingering by the time he stopped.
She sighed happily. “Okay, you have my attention.”
“Anything else you need me to do for the party this coming weekend?” he asked.
Jaxi considered then shook her head. “Jesse and Joel came out yesterday and helped get everything ready in the space we’ve cleared in the barn.” She pressed her fists against her hips and looked annoyed as all get out. “Of course, there’s supposed to be a huge snowstorm this weekend, way ahead of normal.”
“I don’t know that it’s early. This is October in Alberta, sweetheart,” he reminded her, “but I’m glad we’ve got the barn as backup. If you think of anything else you need, let me know.”
“I will.”
She went to head away, but Blake kept hold of her fingers, tugging her back against him so he could hold her a little longer. “How are you feeling?” he asked softly
Her expression went dreamy. “Really good. Really.”
He slid a hand between them, fingers spread over her belly where their baby was growing. “I still can’t believe it.”
“I guess we needed to have sex on a pool table sooner,” she teased.
“Still not telling anyone?”
Jaxi shook her head. “There’s a lot of other stuff to celebrate right now. Let’s let the rest of the family be the focus.”
Which was pretty much what he’d expected her to say. “Agreed. Love you, Slick.”
“You’re pretty much my favourite guy as well,” she agreed, dancing out of reach. “Go. Do big cowboy stuff.”
So he did.
He was on his horse and heading out the front gate when he saw another figure sitting tall on horseback across the road. Blake directed Thunder toward where his father sat waiting.
Mike leaned on the saddle horn as he grinned contentedly. “Was going to ride for a bit before that storm decides whether it wants to arrive or not.”
“Want some company?” Blake offered.
“Always.”
They turned their horses toward the trail along the extreme eastern border of the Coleman land. A little farther from the Rockies, with the knowledge that everything between them and the mountains was Coleman country.
It was an incredible feeling. An incredible rush to have the privilege of being a steward of the land and a part of something so much bigger than himself.
Blake stared off into the distance, thinking hard. Trying to figure out what it was that wanted to come to the surface, because the past year…
He’d watched and listened and learned, and there was a truth even bigger than the Coleman land that he needed to share with his father.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what you told me at the start of the year.” Blake glanced over at Mike. “You know, there’s a big difference between what you had to do when your dad passed away and what we’re looking at going into the future.”
Mike lifted his eyes, surprise there. “You think?”
“Oh, some of the differences are pretty clear. The equipment we have, the technology. The amount of land that the Coleman clan has cleared and is using in different ways. Hell, the number of Colemans, period. All of that’s a lot more than you faced.” Blake shook his head. “That’s not what I’m talking about, though.”
Maybe it was a combination of having spent the past year looking through pictures, dredging through memories. Listening to his uncles tell stories about the things they’d dealt with, so often needing a bit of luck and a prayer to try and get through.
Today the wind blew cold, clouds building on the horizon, but where they