I grin, unable to help myself. She’s so damn proud already, even though she just decided it.
“Are you sure that isn’t a lot of responsibility for you, princess?” I tease, dragging the word out to get a rise out of her.
She shoots me a look that could level a grown man, narrowing her eyes in warning.
“You’re the literal worst, you know that?” she huffs, crossing her arms.
I lean in close, my lips hovering over hers, my voice dropping into a low baritone that I know she feels straight through her core.
“And yet, you’re still in the tub with me. Naked.”
She scoffs playfully.
I pull back just enough to see her face, her cheeks flushed, her eyes bright and shining. She’s practically vibrating with excitement over her new dream, over the life she’s finally starting to choose for herself.
I tuck a damp strand of hair behind her ear, letting my thumb linger along her jawline, committing the sight of her to memory. She’s so fucking beautiful it hurts.
And happy.
Happier than I think I’ve ever seen her since she’s been here.
I press my forehead to hers, breathing her in, that faint scent of brown sugar and vanilla that somehow always clings to her. “I love seeing you like this,” I whisper, “I’d do anything to keep you this happy. Anything.”
She doesn’t say a word. She kisses my lips ever so softly, the gentleness of her touch driving me wild.
I fucking meant every word, she just doesn’t know it yet.
I’mup before the alarm even thinks about buzzing. The coffee maker gurgles, the rich scent of espresso filling the air. I grab two mugs down from the cabinet, pouring Catalina’s first. Two sugars, splash of cream. Exactly how she likes it.
I’m setting her cup down on the counter when I hear soft footsteps padding across the floor. I turn. Fuck me—there she is.
Catalina stumbles into the kitchen looking like an absolute trainwreck. Her hair’s a wild mess, eyes half-lidded, and she’s wearing an oversized distressed tee that says ‘How the fuck we feelin’ baby’. It practically swallows her whole. Still, even like this, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.
She groans, rubbing her face. “I hate mornings.”
I grab the coffee and walk it over to her. “Drink up, princess. Big day today, gotta check on the heifers.”
She glares at me over the rim of her cup, taking a long sip. “Ugh, I forgot. Do I have to touch them?”
I chuckle low in my chest, ruffling her hair as I grab my hat and tug it low over my brow. “No touching required. Just looking, mostly.”
She narrows her eyes like she knows I’m full of shit.
I just chuckle, draining the rest of my cup, setting it down with a heavy thunk. “Finish your coffee, princess,” Isay, tugging on the brim of my cap. “You’re about to earn your honorary ranch girl badge today.”
Out in the pasture,the early morning sun burns off the last of the mist. We check the pregnant heifers, and walk the fences, making sure none of them are lying wrong or in distress.
Catalina sticks close at first, her arms crossed tight, wrinkling her nose at every squish of mud under her boots. When we get close to one particularly swollen cow, she edges backward like the thing might explode at any second.
“She’s looking at me funny,” she hisses, tugging on my sleeve.
“She’s chewing her cud, darlin’. Relax.”
“She’s plotting my death. I can feel it.”
I snort, shaking my head, turning back to finish tagging the gate. When I glance up again, she’s wandered off, barefoot somehow, into the tall grass near the fence line. I stop what I’m doing, my hands falling to my sides.
Catalina is a few yards away, kneeling in the grass, her fingers plucking wild pansies from the earth. The morning light catches her perfectly, her hair loose and wild, brown waves rippling in the breeze.
