by Sasha Burke
Without missing a beat, Cade barks back with a well-concealed smile, “We all know you’re going to live until you’re a hundred and no doubt drive us all up the wall the entire time, so quit the theatrics you old geezer.”
While the pair continue to bicker, the guys are all laughs and so am I.
The past couple of months, whenever my professor would ask what exactly I was searching for when I’d sneak onto Cade’s land week after week, I didn’t have an answer for him, really.
In fact, I don’t think I even knew.
Truth is, I may have started out just looking for something to connect me to my past. And given everything that happened with my father, maybe I found more than I’d initially bargained for.
But, I also ended up finding my future crazy, wonderful family.
And they’re perfect.
Epilogue
| Cade |
= Seven Months Later =
It’s been seven months since Katelyn agreed to marry me and I swear, every damn day is better than the last.
In my mind, she’s basically been my wife from the moment I proposed. But according to the state of California, today’s the official date she became mine and I became hers.
To be honest, before today, I’d been sort of a giant stubborn ass about the whole thing (that ‘giant’ qualifier being Katelyn’s opinion on the matter).
The entire summer she spent up north, whenever I’d go visit her, I’d simply refer to her as my wife when we were out and about. And every time she’d correct me and say she wasn’t my wife yet, just my fiancée, I’d simply growl and simmer and wait until I got her beautiful naked butt in bed to show her what I thought about that temporary term being applied to what she was to me.
In fact, it sort of became a thing. I’d even suggested she and I get a judge to declare us officially husband and wife months ago, arguing that we could still have the ceremony and reception as a big party to celebrate that already-legal bond.
Winston and his rifle had fairly strong opinions about that idea, however. And if there’s one person alive in this world who has almost as much sway on Katelyn’s heart as I do, it’s that curmudgeonly old drama king.
All that said, the second I saw her walking down the aisle toward me this morning in her white gown and veil, every bullheaded argument I’d had on the topic over the months vanished into thin air.
Exchanging vows with Katelyn and sliding that wedding band on her finger had truly been one of those profound, defining moments in my life. So much so that I even went up to Winston right after the ceremony to thank him for not letting me rush that moment, and all the other moments from today.
The old bastard has of course been lording it over me all day. Hell, I fully expect him to be even more unbearable about it at the breakfast table tomorrow morning.
And yeah, I’m looking forward to it.
We all started eating supper together again from that first night she moved into the ranch for good. Then early the next morning, all my guys just plain showed up in our dining room for breakfast with empty plates and shameless puppy dog expressions for Katelyn, which, unsurprisingly, just pleased her and her gushy heart to no end.
Since then, we’ve all been eating breakfast and supper together as a big, dysfunctional family pretty much without fail. Even in the months she was living up north, we all made sure to have our cereal breakfasts and nightly cans of chili together at the table.
Speaking of dining traditions that began without any say so from me…
Winston ended up moving in just a few days after Katelyn did, and just before the first meal he sat down with us for, he up and called forever dibs on the end chair opposite me at the other head of the dining table by glaring at whoever had been sitting in it at the time. It’s been his chair since, which is fine by me because Katelyn’s always sat right next to me at every meal, and I could give a rat’s ass what formal dining etiquette dictates about that.
In a way, I guess it was also a little symbolic that he claimed that seat as his own because we all did kind of adopt him as the second patriarch of the ranch from that day on.
All teasing complaints aside, I’m glad he’s here. He’s Katelyn’s permanent companion now when she’s doing her daily rock exploring, which is the only reason I don’t worry about her going out to have her little adventures like I used to. Because I know he’ll wrestle a rattler or shoot any other threat that may possibly come her way without hesitation.
And as for life beyond the bedroom and dining room, for me, everything’s been blissfully the same ranch-wise, but Katelyn’s had a couple new career developments. The biggest one is her having started teaching a few sections of the freshman Intro to Geology course over at the university. And she’s been fucking amazing at it.
Her mentor was able to get special permission from the department for her sections to be taught completely outdoors on a trial basis. Sure, this is only the first semester of her teaching it, but judging from the fact that there were waiting lists to get into all her sections, and a slew of budding geology majors now begging Katelyn to teach more undergraduate courses at the university, I’d say her trial sections will become permanent very soon.
In addition, Katelyn’s even started hosting some grade school science visits on site as well, meaning these days, we’re now seeing a regular stream of students, from kid to college-aged, wandering the ranch and staring at rocks the way my wife does.
They pretty much have free reign to explore, with the only section of property off limits to them being the area where the mustangs run, of course. Because just as she’d promised as she’d laid down each of her granddad’s rocks up there as a memorial to my brother, Katelyn’s been protecting those wild horses and the area they call home to honor my brother’s life and sacrifice.
When I once asked her why she never goes out that way to do any rock exploring on her own, she told me simply that there just wasn’t anything out there she wanted to discover. Because the most important and meaningful rock she could possibly find from those hidden caverns is the one I’d found and placed on her ring finger already.
Though if the insurance company asks, the stone is from origins unknown.
“So,” I say as I pull Katelyn onto my lap for a bite of wedding cake. “I had an interesting conversation with Professor Cooper just now.”
“Oh?” she replies innocently.
“He mentioned you finally agreed to go for your doctorate.”
“I did.” She smiles, eyes twinkling. “And I already know I’m going to learn so much over the next eight to ten years.”
I bark out a laugh at that. “Already planning on the scenic route again, huh?”
“Yup. Professor Cooper is definitely a little worried that he’ll need to retire later than planned now.” She grins. “But when I explained exactly why I’d want to take even longer than I took to finish my master’s, he had no objections.”
“Yeah? And what reason did you give him?”
She leans in to whisper that reason in my ear and it’s all I can do to resist the urge to whoop and shout the news to all our guests.
Best wedding gift she could’ve ever given me.
And unlike the crazy long timeframe we’d had to wait to receive all the backordered bunny slippers she’d bought for the guys after she and Winston—unbeknownst to the rest of us—toasted our engagement with some of his infamous moonshine, I’d say the nine-month-long delivery timeframe for this gift sounds pretty damn perfect.
-- THE END --
Acknowledgments
As is the case with all my books, there is a team of experts behind the scenes advising me on all the things I know absolutely nothing about. LOL. No joke, without them, my entire repertoire of things to write about would be limited to deeply fabulous mocktail recipes, a thousand and one ways to spoil your pets, and craft projects that look nothing like they do on Pinterest.
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DiDi, thank you for sharing all your knowledge about g
eology, and ranches, and all things outdoorsy. You didn’t laugh when I didn’t know my rocks from my piles of poop and just like with the last book, you just dazzled me with how badass you are in all things wilderness related. You know those what-if questions folks ask on who to bring to a deserted island? Well, unless it’s my husband doing the asking, my survival pick will always be you, babe.
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Ry, as I say after all our marathon research consultations, you and that legal encyclopedia you call a brain never fail to blow me away. And as I’ve come to find, your genius is only exceeded by your generosity. One day, I’ll figure out a way to out-argue you and get you to finally let me pay (in actual money) for your time. Until then, steaks and beers, it is. We’re even getting used to seeing your Heineken next to our Corona in the fridge. (Next to, behind. Tomayto, tomahto. Hee.)
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Viv, I just love that we’ve reached the point in our relationship where I can SEE you looking at me like the turkey from that Free Birds movie when you find something that makes your brow arch during copyedits. I have no idea how you’ve never been on Jeopardy before, but in the category ‘Copyeditors Who Know About Everything,’ you’ll be my answer all the time. Thanks for not just making me look smart, but also making sure I don’t look stupid. ((blows kisses))
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And to all my readers. Thank you for being so patient with how slow I write. LOL! I’m never going to be one of those super-fast writers, but I promise you, in all the molasses-like time it takes my stories to steep, I’m thinking up all sorts of ways to make it as fabulous as possible for you. <3
The Hard, Fast, and Forever Series
If you enjoyed Gruff Ass in Love, check out the other two books in the series!
Bare Ass in Love
(Jason & Summer)
https://books2read.com/u/3R11OL
Hard Ass in Love
(Logan & Nicole)
https://books2read.com/u/3J88Oe
Also By Sasha Burke
The Hard, Fast, and Forever Series
Bare Ass in Love
Hard Ass in Love
Gruff Ass in Love
-- Coming Soon --
The Off-Limits and HIS Series
His Shy Nerdgirl
His Skittish Soulmate
His Sweet Troublemaker
Sasha Burke has been reading romances ever since she discovered her local library would let her borrow whatever kind of books she wanted…probably far younger than she should’ve started.
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Possessive and protective alpha heroes have long been Sasha’s biggest weakness. Reading and writing about them, especially when there’s a feisty heroine involved, has resulted in her staying up many a night over the years.
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You’ll usually find Sasha out and about spoiling her many dogs, or trying to perfect the world’s greatest mac & cheese recipe (and tirelessly taste-testing practice runs in that pursuit), or hosting outdoor fajita nights for her friends as often as she can.
New Release Email List:
http://eepurl.com/cYJpUr
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Website:
www.sashaburke.com
