She blinked away her tears, then grabbed my hand. “How did I get so lucky?”
“I don’t know if luck has anything to do with it, baby.”
“No?”
I shook my head. “Things happen for a reason, I reckon. And you may be the reason I go to town, or the reason I look forward to getting out of bed now, but I won’t hang that up on luck. The world knew I needed someone to pull me out of my head, and it sent me you.”
She looked at me for a moment, really looked at me, then leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine. It felt like we were made to fit together like this.
Pulling back, I squeezed her hand once. “Ready for some enchiladas?”
She nodded, and I led us out of the room toward the kitchen.
“Is it done?” Avery asked from where she sat in the middle of the living room.
“All ready for a special birthday girl to dig in,” I replied as I dropped Sage’s hand to grab an oven mit.
“Why don’t you go wash your hands and we’ll have it all set at the table by the time you get back?” Sage asked.
Avery got up from her spot and her tiny feet padded down the hall to the bathroom.
I pulled the dish out of the oven, closed the door, then switched the knob to off. Sage set some heat-resistant mats on the table, so I placed the dish on top of them as she set plates and utensils out.
“That’s a lot of sauce,” Sage pointed out as she eyed the enchiladas.
I smirked, coming up behind her as she rounded the table to wrap my arms around her waist. My nose nuzzled her neck as goosebumps crawled up her skin.
“I could give you some special sauce,” I mumbled.
Despite her grin, she tried to pry my hands from around her. “Please do not tell me you just compared enchilada sauce to that.”
I chuckled, but it was cut short by Avery saying, “That’s a big enchilada!” as she came into the dining area.
Sage’s cheeks turned a deep shade of red as I unwrapped my arms from around her. I stepped to the side of her, keeping one hand on her lower back, and cleared my throat.
“It’s a bunch of enchiladas,” I corrected. I wasn’t sure if she thought the entire dish was just a single one.
Avery took her seat at the head of the table and I dropped my hand to Sage’s ass, giving it a quick pinch before I slid into my own chair.
She pursed her lips, shooting me a glare as she sat down.
“So, Avery. Do you know the cowboy blessing?” I asked.
“No. What’s that?”
Sage watched the two of us talk as I said, “Well, it’s this saying some people do before dinner.” I didn’t do this all that often, but with Avery’s interest in the ranch, I thought she might like it.
“What’s the saying?”
I set my napkin on my lap. “May your belly never grumble, may your heart never ache. May your horse never stumble, may your cinch never break.”
Her smile grew as I spoke. “Is that what all cowboys say?”
Sage reached forward to grab the spatula so she could dish Avery up a portion.
“Some of them,” I told her.
“Is that what you and my mama are gonna say now?” she asked.
“If I’m here, sure,” I replied.
“Aren’t you dating my mama?”
The enchilada balanced on the spatula toppled on top of the others as Sage’s hand fumbled. “What?” Sage asked, surprised at the question.
“You guys are always touching and doing yucky stuff,” Avery said.
I bit my lip to hide my smile as I looked to Sage on this one. I really wasn’t sure how to tread on this.
“Well, Aves—” Sage started.
“You don’t have to keep it a secret, you know,” Avery stated.
Sage gathered herself and finished dishing Avery’s food up, then glanced at me before saying, “We’re dating.”
Avery used her fork to tear a bite of enchilada off instead of cutting it. “Okay.”
Sage reached over with her fork and knife, cutting her food for her. “Are you okay with that?”
