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“No! I didn’t say that.” Marshal sounded indignant and Ryker fought back a smirk.
“What are you saying then? You’ll support me in the background, never ask for anything. Does that include giving me away at my wedding?”
“The fuck you say!”
Okay…now there was the fighter he knew. That was the Marshal who didn’t back down or back away from a fight. No, Marshal wasn’t the type to sit back and Ryker wouldn’t be the cause of it.
He wanted an equal partner.
“You lied to me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You lied to me for years.”
“I’ll be sorry for the rest of my life.”
“You won’t lie to me again.”
“I will never.”
“Do you love me?”
“With all of my heart and soul.”
“You’re going to have to earn my forgiveness,” Ryker said.
“I’ll do whatever it takes,” Marshal swallowed hard.
“You won’t be able to stay in the background any longer.”
Marshal’s eyes glittered beneath the brim of his hat. “I can do that.”
“I need a partner, not a yes-man.”
Marshal finally released his death grip on the fence and turned to him.
“I can be that.”
Ryker tipped his chin. “Time will tell.”
Emotion tightened Marshal’s face, and Ryker caught the sheen that hit the older man’s eyes.
“I want to ride.” Ryker held out one gloved hand and Marshal gripped it tightly.
Together, they headed toward the barn.
Six months later…
It hadn’t been easy.
But Marshal figured the difficulty with earning Ryker’s forgiveness had been his penance for deceiving the man for years.
He stood on the stage with Bishop and Tristan at his side. Marshal stared a hole in the church doors at the end, willing it to open.
He gazed past the people crowded in pews and white and red roses littering the floor.
Cohen and Aspen sat in the front row and Aspen waggled his fingers. Marshal wasn’t sure if it was to him, or more than likely to Tristan, who snorted under his breath. Aspen and Tristan were attached at the hip and being so close in age, it made sense.
