Page 118 of Set It Right
That afternoon, we’d found Steven out with Caleb in the stables, doing manual labor. Steven had looked right at home, and he and Caleb had bonded through grunts and sweat. It was kind of cute.
I felt his grin against my skin as the tips of his fingers danced over the tattoo on my hip. “Sounds like a tough life your brother leads.”
“Oh yeah. Crazy in love with a hot husband. Real tough.”
He flattened his palm over our words. “I’m sorry for taking you away from them.”
“You have nothing to be sorry for.” My hand froze on the back of his head. “This was my choice.Youare my choice. And did yousee how easy it was for Zane and Steven to get their butts here? I have a feeling we’ll see more of them than we even want to.”
Pressing his forehead to my navel, his breath was warm as he exhaled. “I don’t believe they have a shot of ever overstaying their welcome.”
I smiled. “You’re right. I’ll never get enough of seeing my brother. It’ll suck sometimes not living nearby, but we’ll be intentional about staying close. Zane and I are locked in. We’ll be okay.”
“Yeah, you will.” He propped himself up on his elbows so he could look at me. “You know who else is locked in with Zane?”
I snickered. “I heard. Mrs. Keller is his number one fan.”
“That’s right. I had coffee with her this afternoon, and she told me all about the dashing young man she met while on a river hike with you. She said he even looked at a spot on her arm and assured her it was only a bruise, not cancer.”
A laugh burst out of me. “Zane didn’t mean to charm her. He couldn’t help it. Now he’s stuck going on a private trail ride with us tomorrow.”
That got Cormac laughing too. “Oh god. He’s never going to come back to visit us.”
“Not when the Kellers are in town.”
“Knowing Mrs. Keller, she’ll pay someone off to inform her of his arrival and hop on the next plane.”
I traced the bottom of his smile with my thumb. “And Zane will love the attention, even if he pretends not to.”
“Yeah.” He let his head fall back to my stomach and sighed. “I love seeing you happy.”
“I love feeling this way.” My fingers slid through his hair. “You know you have a lot to do with it, right?”
He kissed my hip. “It’s good to hear you say it.”
“Are you happy?”
A choked grunt rumbled up from his chest. “That doesn’t even touch how I feel. But yeah, we’ll go with happy for now, until they come up with a better word.”
We’ll go with happy.
I liked the sound of that.
Chapter Forty-one
Zara
Forallhermoney,lavish lifestyle, and constant need for attention while she visited the ranch, Mrs. Keller was a damn good rider. It was my own brother slowing us down.
“It’s no wonder cowboys are bowlegged,” Zane whined as his horse meandered along the trail. “My ass is not cut out for a saddle.”
Mrs. Keller laughed airily. “That’s because it’s far too bony. Come visit me in Monterey. My chef will fatten you up.”
Zane scoffed. “My husband thinks my ass is just the right size, thank you very much.” Then he straightened his shoulders. “I won’t say no to a visit to Monterey, though. You cantryto fatten me up, within reason, of course.”
I laughed. “Of course.”
When we arrived at a shaded area along the river, the three of us slid off our horses to give them a break.
