It took two more weeks for Miller to finalize the house purchase and us to move in. I was so excited to have my own house. My parents were coming down toward the end of the next month, but I'd had a video chat with them to show the house and the little stone building out back that Miller insisted we would have ready for them to stay in when they came. He made it very clear to them that he wanted that done not so they wouldn't be in the house with us, but so they would always know they had a space here for them, and they would never be intruding.
I hadn't had much to bring over. Living in the bunkhouse meant I didn't have much as far as furniture or kitchen items, but we had Miller's whole house to unpack. He had run to town to get some things we left at his place, and I was working on unpacking the kitchen while trying not to step on the adorable gray furball that was winding himself under my feet. I reached down and scooped up the adorable little kitten that Miller insisted we had to have right away. “Alright, you,” I said, rubbing my nose to his. “You’re going to get stepped on in here. Why don't you go play in the sunroom while I unpack in here?” I carried him to the sunroom where Miller had set up an elaborate kitten condo. I set him on top of it and started to walk away, but he stared at me like I was banishing him to some faraway land. “I'm not abandoning you, Precious. I promise.” I grabbed the kitten toy that looked like a magic wand with a fluffy thing on the end and used it to distract him. Once I had him sufficiently wound up with the toy, I rolled one of the little balls with a bell in it across the floor, and he went after it as fast as his little kitten legs would go. That would keep him busy for a while.
I was headed back to the kitchen to finish the unpacking when I heard the rumble of an engine and the unmistakable rattle of a horse trailer coming up the drive. I went out front to find Reed and Ripley pulling in in his truck with Miller right behind them in his SUV. They had a horse trailer hooked up, and I could tell there was a horse in there, but I didn't know of any planned trips. I walked out to meet them, but they pulled right on by around the side of the house and out to the barn. Miller parked his SUV in the driveway and got out, walking up beside me. I stood there watching them as Reed expertly pulled past the barn and then back up so the end of the trailer was right at the corral gate. “What’s he doing?”
“I have no idea. I was coming back from town, and they pulled out of their drive onto the road headed this way right in front of me.”
“Well, I guess we better go see what's going on.”
“Ripley better not be bringing any damn goats over here,” he grumbled. “And no llamas either.”
I laughed, and we walked out to the barn, but when we got there, I couldn't believe my eyes. Reed was leading Bindy out of the trailer while Ripley stood at the gate holding it open.
“What are you two doing?” I asked.
“Delivering your horse, what does it look like we're doing?” Reed asked, grinning.
“But—”
“She's your wedding present,” Ripley explained. “You know she was always yours anyway.”
“But—”
“No buts,” Reed said. “You're family, and we're happy for you.” He glanced at Miller and smiled. “Both of you.”
“That's why you were so interested in whether or not my barn was horse ready the other day,” I said, laughing. “I thought you were just curious. Let's leave her out for now, and I'll get her all settled in a stall later.”
“She’s such a beautiful horse,” Ripley said, watching her run around checking out her new surroundings.
“Guys, I don't know what to say other than thank you.” We all knew a horse like Bindy would have brought a great price. Too good a price for them to just give her away, but I now knew that there would be no arguing with Reed. If he’d made up his mind, then the horse was mine.
“Nothing else for you to say.” Reed pulled me into a hug. “Just be happy,” he whispered in my ear.
I looked over his shoulder at Miller, and our eyes met. I didn't know what the future held, but I knew whatever it was, I would have him by my side. “I plan to.”
Epilogue
Miller
Five Years Later
I turned back to take one more look at the house before I turned out the light. The Christmas tree was all lit up in bright twinkling lights. There weren't any presents under it because we had loaded all of those in the back of the SUV earlier, but it was still a beautiful tree. Three bare stocking hangers sat on the mantle because we’d packed those as well. Precious was stretched out on the tree skirt like we had moved the presents just for him. I only hoped the tree was still standing when we got back. Raffie was coming to take care of the horse while we were gone and had agreed to feed him, but I wasn't sure how well that was going to go over. We had ourselves one seriously spoiled cat.
“Miller, are you coming?” Landon called.
“Yeah, babe, I'm coming,” I said, turning and walking out the door. He had the back door open and was juggling everything as always. I rushed down to him and reached for the bag that he'd slung over his shoulder. “Here, I'll take that while you get little miss buckled in.” I leaned around him to place a kiss on our daughter’s cheek. “You be good for Daddy, and don't give him a hard time for wanting to keep you safe.”
She’d just recently decided that she hated the car seat and threw a fit every time we put her in. We'd purchased a video player that you put on the back of the front seat, hoping that would help entertain her on the car ride. Landon was really particular about how much screen time she got, but six hours was a long time in a car for a little one, so he was making an exception.
“I hope this works. If not, this is going to be a rough ride,” he said, climbing in the front.
“We'll just stop often and take her out if we need to,” I assured him. “It'll be fine.” At least I hoped it would. I crossed my fingers as I pulled out on the road.
Evie had come to us unexpectedly last June. We’d decided we were ready to start a family and were looking into possibly hiring a surrogate. We were discussing the search and what all it would entail at Cap’s one day when the college-aged girl working at the shop approached us and asked to speak with us. She said her best friend was about to have a baby and didn't know what she was going to do. She’d decided to keep the baby, but the closer it got to time for her to have her, she was having doubts. She'd wanted to know if her friend wanted to meet us if we would be interested in adoption instead of surrogacy.
We'd said yes, and the next week, we'd driven into the city to meet with her. She told us about her hopes and dreams for this little one and for herself. She was a freshman in college on a full scholarship and was torn between the plans she had for her future and the love she already had for her baby. We'd left expecting her to decide against the adoption, but a week later, with only a month until her due date, she'd called us to say that she wanted us to adopt the baby. The only stipulation she'd had was she wanted to name her. We'd agreed and got Tristan on the paperwork immediately. He'd been fast, which was good because Evelyn Anne was born three weeks early.