The Cowboy’s Curvy Sunshine Bonus Scene
Madison
I walk with my five-year-old twins to the paddock where Callan is standing with a group of ranch hands.
“Daddy!” Benjamin and Priscilla yell in unison.
He turns and mock scowls at them. “What did I say about interrupting me when I’m working?”
“That we come first!” Priscilla says, already wrapping her arms around one of his legs.
My handsome cowboy husband smiles down at her and lifts her into his arms.
Ben props his little boot up on the fence and pushes his hat back. “How are the horses lookin’?”
Everyone laughs because he sounds like a carbon copy of his father.
“You tell me,” Callan says.
“Looking good.” Ben rubs his chin and nods his head.
Priscilla spots Ford approaching and asks to be let down.
My friend Brooklyn’s brother won the kids over by always having a treat for them no matter how many times Callan tells him that he’s spoiling them.
Callan comes to stand beside me and wraps an arm around his waist. Since he decided to hire someone to handle the home-building business, he smiles a lot more often.
Other than having to show up at the office a couple of times a month, he’s been able to devote himself full-time to the ranch.
His schedule works out better for us since my practice is thriving. I’ve been able to bring in an additional doctor as well as hire more nurses. My guess is that within a year I’ll have to start looking to expand the space we’re in.
“Not having second thoughts about pulling back from daily operations?” I say.
He shakes his head. “Not even once.” He takes my hand in his. “You said you had something to tell me.”
“My mother stopped by the office and said she’d like the twins to come to her house. It’s unusual for her to want us to bring them over during the day like this. I thought she had plans.”
Callan shrugs. “We may as well take advantage of the time we get alone.”
I grin at him. “Did you have plans?”
“I’m thinking we can stop by that skydiving place that opened.”
I give him a look that doesn’t need words.
“So don’t pencil you in?” He’s still giving me that teasing grin of his as he begins to coral the kids.
“Our idea of fun differs greatly.”
Callan gives me a quick kiss before he leaves with the kids.
I take time to shower and get ready.
When Callan returns, he quickly showers before we head out.
“Where are we going? It’s too early for dinner.”
“I want to swing by and check on a project in town. We can walk in the square after that or do some window shopping before we head over to The Outlaw Barn if you’d like.”
Callan turns the truck onto Main Street and as we pass by the building where my practice is located, I can’t help but smile at how much things change over time. I went from being the doctor who couldn’t get a single patient to being the doctor the townspeople trusted.
I went from being the lonely, stressed-out newcomer to being a wife, a mother, and a loved member of the town. I’m so thankful I came to Lucky River.
The truck slows just past the town hall building before Callan guides it into the empty parking lot of the building next to it.
Right away, I notice something. “The realtor’s sign is gone. There was talk that the town bought the place to relocate the—”
I stop when Callan starts shaking his head and holds up a key. “We bought the place.”
Frowning, I look at the building and back at him. “What do you mean we bought the place? Who’s we?”
He sighs, then points to me and back to himself. “You and I we, that’s who.”
“We bought a building?”
“To move your practice. You’re going to need the space sooner than you think. The renovations will begin tomorrow so you’ll need to handle that since I haven’t a clue what you’ll need.”
“Callan…” I don’t know what to say to this man who’s always so aware of what’s going on in my life. The man who tries to stay a step ahead of what I might need or want—the man who loves me without holding back.
He smiles and reaches across the seat to smooth back a strand of my hair. “Do you know how beautiful you are? Every time I wake before you, I lie there marveling at how fortunate I am to have you in my life.”
I take his hand. “Waking up next to you is still after all these years the highlight of my day.”
“That’s because I’m so handsome.” He pretends to preen in the rearview mirror.
I laugh.
“Seriously though. You give me so much Madison. Sometimes I’ll hear the kids laughing and see them playing and it stops me in my tracks right then and there. I walk into a room and see you and my heart squeezes. Now and then I think about how lonely, how empty my life was before you roped me.”
I playfully nudge his shoulder. “You were such a grump to me.”
“That’s because I took one look at you and knew you had the power to make all my defenses crumble. I just knew that if we got together one of us would get hurt. That’s why I didn’t want to gamble it at first. I’d rather hurt than hurt you.”
“I know that.” I trace a fingertip across his lips. “But you’ve never once hurt me.”
I pick his Stetson up from the seat and put it on my head. “Because I roped this Stetson, I landed the best cowboy in the world.”
“I saw it being scooted across the dirt and I remember I was mad. Then I looked at you and that threw me for a loop I never recovered from.”
He opens the truck door and gets out.
I meet him at the front of it and we join hands to start walking down the sidewalks in front of the shops.
This is the town where we’ve built a life and our beautiful family.
Whatever comes our way, I know that with each other, we’ve found a love that will last.
***
If you loved Callan and Madison’s story, you’ll enjoy reading The Cowboy’s Curvy Crush with Jack and Cassidy. Preorder the book now!
