Page 43 of Rory's Haven

All three of us were starting the next phase of parenting. We were done with babies. At least, I thought we were. I looked over at Mark. “You and Meg having more children?”

“Nope.” He spoke without hesitation. “Meg made me get snipped when Allie fell pregnant with Lincoln. She decided at that point it wasn’t worth the risk.”

Calvin shrugged. “Interestingly, Allie made me get snipped when she fell pregnant with Lincoln as well." He turned to me. “You did yours a while before that right?”

“A week after the positive pregnancy test for Pen.”

Rory had made it clear that either I get the vasectomy or she will be keeping her legs closed. Considering how much I loved fucking my wife and I’d had two beautiful children and another on the way, it was an easy decision to make.

It was hours later when the tourists had left and most of the town folk had started to pack up.

After spending an afternoon feeding the town, I scanned the area for the only person I wanted to see. It didn’t take me long to locate the love of my life and her bright yellow boots. Rory leaned against my truck, smiling at me with her arms folded. She was my beacon, my sanctuary. The reason everything else in my life worked. She gave me three children.

“Grouchy. You ready to call it a night? All three kids are still awake, so we’ll need to fix that first.”

I popped my head into the truck, and eyed my three children. All three of them looked moments away from passing out. “Awake is a relative term. You want to take them up to the house and into the bath? I can walk back.”

She shook her head. “If they fall asleep, we’ll deal with it. I’ll wait for you.”

I pulled her into me and inhaled. She smelled like vanilla and smoke. “You sure we’re going to get through the whole bed time routine before they fall asleep?”

“You sure you weren’t too busy being one of the Kings of the Cliffs?”

I let out a loud groan. “Please, not you too.”

“Hey, if it means I get to be a queen, I can live with it.” She turned in my arms so she could watch everyone as they left. “Though, I will need to get a tiara to go with the title.”

“I’ll buy you a crown.” I promised as I pressed a kiss to her temple. “Fuck, I’ll build you a castle if you want it.”

She giggled against my chest and I was hard pressed to find a sound I loved more. “I don’t need a castle, Grouchy. I grew up in one and it hurt so bad when it all came crumbling down.”

“I’ll make sure they never hurt you again.”

She looked out toward the darkening pasture where the fireflies were just starting to blink into the night. The noise of the party had faded, cars were driving away. The generators were being powered down, the noise replaced by the crickets were chirping.

I followed her gaze. For once the fences were all mended, the cows were where they were meant to be. The land was peaceful, breathing. I had no doubt our next crisis was just around the corner. That was the life of a rancher. It wasn’t an easy life. But everyday Rory chose it for herself and our children. She chose to have dust in her hair, and mud on her boots. Her children were cowboys, and the idea didn’t scare her off. It wasn’t the life her father wanted for her and it was a far cry from the life she was born into. But I knew she would never want for anything.

I tightened my arms around her. “Do you ever regret it, City? Trading your silk shirt and designer denim for flannel and overalls? All the clean Kentucky air for dust?”

Rory twisted in my arms so she could look me in the eye. All the humor faded from her features, and instead a fierce and quiet certainty took its place. A look that still managed to make me hard all these years later.

She rubbed her hand against my jaw, brushing against the stubble. “The dust settled just fine, Grouchy.” Her voice was almost a whisper. “I didn’t lose my fortune. I just reprioritized what and how to invest. I wish my sisters could see how happy I was.”

I knew she missed her sisters. But until her brother was neutralized, Tex had advised to stay separate and hidden.

Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed a kiss under my jaw until I lowered my mouth to hers. She tasted like brisket and the apple juice she probably stole from one of the kids.

“Now drive us home, Grouchy. The heirs are asleep and the queen is ready for bed.”

I opened the truck door and lifted her in like I always did. As I drove along the gravel road, the woman beside me had fallen asleep with her mouth open and I could see our children just as safe in the rear view mirror.

King of the Cliffs? It was a title I could live with. After all, there were many ways a man could build his kingdom.