Stud Ranch (The Boot Knockers Ranch Book 13), page 15
She’d come to the ranch to find herself again…and she gained something much, much better.
A former hockey player and a bull rider—two men who loved her, who had proved their devotion to her.
Two Boot Knockers to call her own.
Epilogue
Twinkle lights crisscrossed the deck, and the beat of the music added another layer of ambience to the dinner party.
“Here we go!” Piers set a huge platter of grilled chicken with a honey-lime glaze in the center of the outdoor table.
Dylan pulled out a seat. “Sloane.”
She looked up into his eyes, warmth trickling into her heart. She shifted Marigold in her arms, but suddenly Shaw was there, lifting her into his.
“Daddeeee!” The child’s squeal brought smiles to all of their faces.
When she glanced over at Sylvee, Ash had his big hand covering the growing bump of their child. The woman’s tender smile was so private, her eyes glowing, that Sloane felt like a voyeur and glanced away.
Shaw seated himself on the other side of Sloane with Marigold settled in his lap. She picked up a spoon and hit the table with it.
Dylan bobbed his head. “The girl’s got a good beat.”
Their child looked up at Dylan, her eyes wide and round. A huge smile spread across her face, and then she reached out her arms for him. “Da-da!”
“Oh no. You’re not hopping from lap to lap.” Sloane kissed her daughter’s forehead and started to distract her by filling a plate with food.
Sylvee gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry we don’t have a booster seat for her.”
Sloane shook her head. “It’s no big deal, truly. We’re used to managing. The food looks amazing. How are you feeling now that you’re in your second trimester?”
The two of them began discussing pregnancy and the changes that take place in a woman’s body while they all dug into the delicious food.
“We’ve got a business proposition for you.” Ash’s announcement had Sloane and Sylvee quieting.
Everyone looked to the handsome cowboy seated next to Sylvee.
“Piers struck a deal with some big restaurants in Alaska as well as the lower forty-eight. They want to buy our beef.”
“Damn, that’s great news, Ash.” Shaw held out a buttered roll to Marigold. She stuffed it in her mouth.
“It took months of negotiating, but it’s definitely worth our time. But we could use some help. There’s some travel involved, and we don’t want to go too far away from Sylvee right now.” Ash gazed at her, then Piers. All three were captured in a private moment of such love and light that Sloane reached out to touch both of her men.
Dylan stroked her fingers with his own, and Shaw clasped her hand under the table.
“How do we help?” Dylan asked.
Piers nodded toward Shaw. “Since you’re tied up with coaching, we were hoping that Dylan wouldn’t mind taking some trips to visit the restaurants we’re working with.”
He turned his head to meet her gaze before shifting it to Shaw’s.
“I hate the idea of you being away from us for very long, but we do need to make a living. I won’t be traveling to Hollywood for another three months for that movie deal,” she said.
“And since I got out of the bull riding business, all my sponsors dropped me.” Dylan leaned an elbow on the table. “I’ll go. Sloane can stay home with Marigold and support Shaw’s first season of college hockey.”
Shaw sliced a grin at their lover. The light in his eyes told Sloane that he’d make it up to Dylan the minute he stepped through the door of their home. Their lover had healed them and added a deeper layer of love to their trio.
“And when I’m off to Hollywood, you and Shaw will be in charge of our daughter,” Sloane added.
“That’s great news. We really appreciate you taking our offer. Now, a toast!” Piers lifted his beer in the air. One by one, they picked up their drinks and held them up.
Marigold looked around and reached for her sippy cup. Laughter rippled around the table.
“To good friends,” Shaw said.
“To good friends,” they all echoed.
“To love.” Sloane clinked glasses with Dylan before turning to Shaw.
Tears flooded her eyes. She’d ended up with two amazing men to share her life with and help her raise their wonderful daughter. The breeze whispered across the field, sending a tendril of hair across her cheek.
Shaw brushed it away with so much tenderness that her heart jogged in her chest. She spent a long minute staring into his eyes before turning to Dylan.
“To my friends and my family.” His low tone crooned across her senses.
“To stwawbewy milk!” Marigold’s toast and her inability to say her Rs correctly had them all bursting into laughter.
“I love you all so much.” Sloane was bursting with so much joy and warmth filling her soul that she threw her arm around each of them, dragging them close. They crushed her between them—and Marigold too. The little girl let out a squawk that made them all laugh.
Sloane had come to Alaska to find her groove again. What she ended up finding was so much better. She found everything.
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Em Petrova is a USA Today Bestselling Author who was raised by hippies in the wilds of Pennsylvania but told her parents at the age of four she wanted to be a gypsy when she grew up. She has a soft spot for babies, puppies and 90s Grunge music and believes in Bigfoot and aliens. She started writing at the age of twelve and prides herself on making her characters larger than life and her sex scenes hotter than hot.
She burst into the world of publishing in 2010 after having five beautiful bambinos and figuring they were old enough to get their own snacks while she pounds away at the keys. In her not-so-spare time, she is fur-mommy to a Labradoodle named Daisy Hasselhoff.
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