“You don’t like partners? What’s wrong with that word?”
“It’s too business-y sounding. I like husband and wife better. Mom and dad work, too.”
Leaning forward, I kiss her again before standing and placing Sprout in the baby bassinet provided. I don’t want to set him down, but I want to hold my future wife even more. Climbing up next to her, she rolls to her side, and I scoop her into my chest.
“How about if we just call us a family?” I say into her hair, and Scarlett snuggles closer to me, wrapping her arms over mine around her body.
“I like the sound of that. Family.”
Epilogue
Scarlett
Five months later
It’s a beautiful May day. The sun is shining. A slight breeze warms the air, and Bull and I are under the Engagement Tree. Last night, our five-month-old slept through the night for the first time, and we both feel a little stunned by a good night’s sleep.
“We need to celebrate,” Bull suggested, so we drove here. I watch as Bull carves our initials into the sacred family tree. B.E. + S.R. A heart surrounds the initials once he’s done.
Bull’s wearing my ring, and I’m wearing his mother’s engagement ring with a wedding band Bull purchased. It’s the first diamond he’d ever given a woman, and we were married at Christmas in a small ceremony by a family friend priest in Colebury.
Bull sits next to me, stretching out his legs on the blanket. A picnic basket rests in the corner, but for now, we’re just enjoying the sound of a light breeze and the rustle of the leaves overhead.
That night at the Gin Mill changed everything for me, and like Rita said, change is scary but sometimes necessary. The Busy Bean Café needs that on their chalkboard beams.
As my red curls blow in the wind, Bull scoops a section over my ear.
“I love you,” he says so easily, telling me every day that ends in day.
“I love you, too,” I say before leaning in to kiss him. Harley sleeps in his car seat at the other corner of the blanket, and Bull and I stay quiet. We’re quieter when we make love. We take time to savor those rare moments between duties on the dairy and raising our son. I’ve embraced motherhood. At forty-three now, I lived a full life with a career, but I’m living my best life as a stay-at-home mom. It’s not the most glamorous job. In fact, most days, it’s full of shitty diapers, spit-up shirts, and leaky breasts, but I wouldn’t change a thing.
“What’re you thinking about, sweetheart?” Bull says, breaking me from a stare at our son in the car seat.
“I’m thinking about that first night,” I say, which isn’t a hundred percent true. “How I would never have thought it’d bring me here.” I look up at the budding foliage.
“Still like it here?” Bull asks, picking at the blanket before him.
“I love everything about Vermont, and you, of course.” He looks at me, and I smile.
“I think we need a return visit to that room in the Green Rocks,” Bull says, watching me.
“Why?” I giggle.
“Sprout needs a sister.”
My mouth falls open. “Oh, he does, does he?”
“Yep, he told me.” Bull scoots closer to me, wrapping his arm over my waist and tugging my middle, so I fall to my back next to him. Perched up on an elbow, Bull looks down at me. His hand coasts along my side, rubbing over my hip.
“Really? What did he say?”
“He said, can’t get it up twenty times a day, old man, but you can at least get it up once a day ending in day, so get after it.”
I laugh and then cover my mouth, afraid to wake Harley. “He did not say that,” I mumble through my fingers.
“He said take her to bed, partner,” Bull continues, leaning in to kiss my neck.
“Bull,” I whisper to him.
“He said love her the rest of your life.”
“I plan to do that to you,” I tell him.
“Same, sweetheart. Now, about that baby-making . . .” His hand comes to my dress, lifting the hem for the promised land, and soon enough, he’ll be buried in me, which is exactly where I want him to be all the days ending in day, and the nights, too.
T H E
E N D
Thank you for reading Cowboy by L.B. Dunbar! Want another sip of Bull and Scarlett? Get your bonus epilogue here.
You can get all the links to all the Busy Bean books here. Or turn the page for more great recommendations for L. B. Dunbar and World of True North titles
You Will Also Enjoy…
More Busy Bean:
Sweetheart by Sarah Mayberry
Cakewalk by Claire Hastings
Friendzoned by Rachel Blaufeld
L.B. Dunbar’s Sexy Silver Fox Romances include:
Silver Brewer
Living at 40
After Care
More World of True North:
Blindsided by Victoria Denault
Slapshot by Rebecca Jenshak
Holdout by Jaqueline Snowe
Acknowledgments
(L)ittle (B)its of Gratitude
First and foremost, I want to thank Sarina Bowen for the World of True North. As a reader, it’s a series I loved! And as a writer, I’m honored to be included in this wonderful adventure in Vermont. Heart Eyes Press also comes with a team: Natasha, Jenn, and Jane, who tackle all of us, rope us in and keep things going smoothly. Also a shout out to my fellow writers in the Busy Bean Café. It’s been a mouthwatering blast to work with you.
As always, I need to thank Melissa, not only for her patience but her knowledge as this city girl knows very little about dairy farms. Yet, in writing this story I recalled how the father of one of my best friends as a teenager ran a major dairy farm for Michigan State University. As that was eons ago, the memories had faded.
Thanks also to Jenny and Karen for eagle eyes in edits and proofing. You make my words prettier . . . or is it, more pretty?
Thank you always to the wonderful ladies (and a few gentlemen) in Loving L.B. on Facebook. Your laughter and inspiration keeps me going . . . as well as your love of a sexy silver fox.
And finally, to my family: Mr. Dunbar, who is not a farmer, and our four sprouts who are now adults: MD, MK, JR and A. Here’s to 2021. We survived quarantine and 2020 together, and I still love you most because you’re you.