Page 76 of Sudden Summer

“Listen up, Ford Family members! Bernadette June Calloway just said SHE LOVES ME!” I shouted, spinning around in a circle while Birdie laughed, tightening her hold on my neck. “And…I want every single person here, but especially the incredible woman in my arms to know that…” My head tipped back, the sun searing my face. “I LOVE HER TOO!!”

I set Birdie back down on her feet while hoots and hollers and a few whistles sounded around us, my hands instantly on her face as I pressed my lips to hers. I was fucking gone for this woman. My best friend. My beginning and my end. Forever. “I love you,” I gasped as soon as the kiss ended. “Today, tomorrow, when the cows leave and when they come home. I. Love. You.”

A throat cleared over my shoulder. “Alright, alright, lovebirds. I heard you loud and clear about the damn hat I put on her head. Figured I should probably give you yours back.” Hayes smiled as he moved his hands from around his back. That asshole was holding my hat!

“What the hell? Did you come into my house and steal it?”

“Nope. I didn't need to steal it. Had an accomplice. A real pretty one, in fact.” He winked…but it wasn’t at me. I looked at the woman I loved, a not-so-innocent Birdie smiling back at me.

“Why in the world would you help him take my hat?”

She shrugged. “Look inside.”

I reached out and pulled the hat out of my brother's grasp. I rolled the hat over my calloused palms, flipping the brim so the inside of the hat was facing me.

The hat was just as I’d left it. No fake snake inside ready to jump out at me. No pink bows clipped on it to tease me about being a girl-dad…But what was in there made my throat instantly ache.

My brother had done the same thing to my hat that we’d done to Colt’s when Vi came back to town.

“We know you didn’t see fatherhood coming.” Colt’s hand landed on my shoulder. I’d been so wrapped up in looking at my damn hat, I hadn’t seen my brother walking towards me. “But you were made for it, Beau.”

I swallowed and let my fingers run across the branded word inside my hat that now sat next to my name.

DAD.

“Well, now I feel silly for being pissed at you for making me look all over for it.”

“I’ll take the heat for that,” Birdie laughed as she took the hat out of my hands. “Come on, Daddy. What do you say? Can I put it back where it belongs?”

She plucked the hat from my hands, and I used the new freedom to pull her in close to me. “Careful, Chickadee. You need to be very specific with what you’re talking about, seeing as how my family is here. Wouldn’t want to get our signals crossed.”

Her freckles faded into her strawberry blush as she plopped the hat back on top of my head. She turned, taking Juniper back from Jessie.

“I fell in love with a cowboy, berry girl. And I think it might be the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Beau

I’d seen the confusion on Birdie’s face when Ma scooped up Juniper and declared she was going home with her and Dad for the night. But Birdie hadn’t said anything, just looked at me with her big blue eyes. And when I smiled and shrugged, she seemed to accept that everything was okay.

But it wasn’t. Because I hadn’t had a single chance to do anything nice for Birdie since the day Juniper came home. She was safe, and that was important, but after everything had happened, especially with her fucked up work situation, I wanted to do something nice. To show her how serious I was about dating her.

So, I’d pulled a few strings behind the scenes. Even Denver and Kip had volunteered to help out with my plans. And while the sun set on the horizon, they should have been putting the finishing touches on the plans I came up with.

“How would you fancy a stroll this evening?” I asked, bowing low as I pulled my hat off my head.

“Is this…are we going to?”

“We’re child-free for the evening, if you haven’t noticed.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed. Your mom even told me she’d keep Juniper until tomorrow afternoon if we wanted to catch up on sleep, since she knew we wouldn’t be doing much sleeping tonight. I thought I was going to burst into flames!” The last few words came out lower than a hiss, and I was holding my side as the stitch hit from how hard I was laughing.

“No hanky-panky before I get to wine and dine my girl.”

“Wow…this is a special day, isn’t it?”

“The most special,” I admitted.

I wrapped my hand over hers, and she followed me down the road.