“Hey,” he said.
“Hey,” she answered a little breathlessly.
He smiled.
She grinned.
“Angel’s missed you,” he said. “I’ve missed you too. I thought you left.”
She shook her head. “I like this spot better than I like my spot at the Lucky Lane Trailer Park.”
He glanced around. “It is a nice spot.” He looked back at her and she saw that he was nervous too. It made her smile even more.
“What happened to you leaving?” she asked.
“It turns out that leaving Simple is hard to do.” He paused. “Or maybe what was hard to do is leave the woman I love.”
Talk about being blindsided, Maisy felt like she’d just walked straight into a brick wall. Or not a brick wall as much as a wall of happy bubbles that burst and surrounded her with such joy she couldn’t believe she’d heard right.
“You love me?”
He moved closer and cradled her face in his hands, brushing away the tears on her cheek that she didn’t even know were there with his thumbs. “Yep, I love you, Maisy Sweeney.”
She stared at him. “Why?”
“Because you’re worth loving.” If Maisy had ever needed anything in her life, it was those words. And Sawyer had known them. As more tears fell, he leaned in to kiss them off one by one as he continued to speak in a soft voice that strummed her heartstrings. “You’re strong. You’re kind-hearted. You’re tenacious. You’re funny. You’re loving.” He drew back. “You’re uniquely you, Maze. And I love everything about you.”
She sniffed. “But I lied to you and gave you a concussion that could end your career.””
“You didn’t give me the concussion. Maytag did.”
“But you thinking I was pregnant made you jump into the arena.”
Sawyer shook his head. “Me jumping into the arena had nothing to do with a baby. It had to do with you being my friend. I liked you long before I loved you, Maze. We fit together. I didn’t realize how well we fit together until the last few weeks, but I knew from the first time we met that we were two peas in a pod.”
“I knew we fit too, Sawyer. And I couldn’t understand why you pulled away after the wedding. But I understand now. I know Lincoln warned you away from me and that’s why you were so shocked to see me in your shower.”
“I wasn’t just shocked about you being there. I was shocked by how my body reacted to yours. I thought you were just this cute cowgirl. I didn’t realize you were also a hot woman.”
Maisy felt her cheeks blush. “I’m not hot.”
“Hell yeah, you are. Damn hot.” He leaned in and kissed her. Suddenly, she felt hot. Hot for Sawyer. She could stay kissing him all day, but he drew back suddenly and sniffed the air. “Are you cooking bacon?”
“My bacon!” She pushed out of his arms and hurried over to the grill. But the bacon was already charred black. “Shoot.” She took the pan off the grill and set it on table next to it. “There’s goes my plan to feed you bacon until you forgive me.”
Sawyer wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. “I don’t mind a little char and I’ve already forgiven you. I realized that what you, Dixie, and the Double Diamond boys did was only because you cared.” He paused. “Tad Miller’s wife laid out a pretty good case for why I shouldn’t return to bronc riding.“
Maisy turned in his arms. “So?”
He looked at her for a long moment before he spoke. “I think it’s time for this cowboy to hang up his spurs.” The relief she felt was overwhelming and she sagged against his chest.
“Thank God. Darlene Miller was my last hope.”
Sawyer snorted. “I doubt that. If she hadn’t been able to talk me into quitting, you would’ve thought of something else. You are the most tenacious woman I know, Maisy Sweeney.”
She lifted her head and grinned. “You’re right. I wouldn’t have given up. But I’m glad I don’t have to keep fighting you on it. So what are you going to do? Do you have a plan?”
“Actually, I do. Would you like to hear it?”
“I’d love to.”
“Well, I think I’m going to take you into that trailer and make slow, passionate love to you.”
Maisy’s body suddenly felt like the bacon grease still sizzling in the pan. “And then?”
“And then, I’m going to get down on one knee and ask you to marry me.”
Maisy didn’t need him to get down on one knee. She started to say “Hell, yeah, I will,” but he placed a finger over her lips and stopped her. “It will have to be a long engagement, Maze. I want to go to veterinary school and that will take at least four more years.”
Maisy pulled his finger away. “Why do we have to wait?”
“Because I’m not going to marry you unless I have a career and something to offer you.”
“You have your heart to offer and that’s all I want. And I have a career. With Cord Evans’ sponsorship, I can keep us afloat until you graduate.”
“I’m not going to let you support me.”
That was the wrong thing to say. She poked him in the center of his chest. “Don’t you dare pull that macho gender crap with me, Sawyer Dawson. If I was going back to school and you were making money, you’d have no problem supporting me. Well, I have no problem supporting you. And if you think I’m going to wait four years to marry you, you’ve got another think coming. I love you and you love me and together we’ll do what it takes to survive. It doesn’t matter who is bringing home the burnt bacon!”
Sawyer stared at her for a few seconds before he tipped his head back and burst out laughing.
She swatted his chest. “It’s not funny. Four years is forever.”
He sobered, but his mouth still quivered with humor. “It’s not forever, baby. And I’ll work hard to keep you happy during those four years. Starting now.” He scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the trailer.
She wasn’t about to give up on talking him into getting married sooner. But when he started making sweet, slow love to her, she decided to postpone the argument. She postponed it again when after the sweet, slow lovin’, she decided she wanted some rowdy, cowgirl lovin’. By that time, she was so tuckered out she took a little nap. When she woke, Sawyer was gone and she smelled bacon cooking. She climbed out of bed and slipped on his western shirt. She found him outside cooking at the grill in nothing but his boxer shorts. Walking up behind him, she placed a kiss between his sexy shoulder blades.
“I guess you didn’t like charred bacon that much,” she said against his warm skin.
“I ate the charred. This is for you.” He flipped the bacon. “And I found something when I was getting more bacon out of the fridge. I don’t think you should keep such a good sign hidden so I put it up on the trailer.”
She turned to the trailer.
There on the side for everyone to see was the silly sign she’d made of a ranch entrance with two dog-like horses’ heads. Her face heated with embarrassment.
“Go ahead and laugh,” she said. “I know. It’s the sappiest name ever.”