“Lord have mercy.” Early took his hand for a second. “You happy with this?”
“I have been happy since I got here. But yes. I’m happy with this. I know you are; I can see it in your eyes.”
“I am. I’m thinking this is a new beginning.” Early was…glowing.
“I’m thinking I have never been more in love with you than I am right now.” Connor had a lot to work out still, but he definitely had a job to do. It wasn’t lawyering, which he still wanted to fit in somehow, but it was going to keep him plenty busy until they had this place rolling.
He pulled Early in close. “I get to kiss you at work. What’s better than that?”
“I got nothing, darlin’. Not a thing.” His husband took a deep breath and let it out. “Did I tell you I got you a purse dog?”
He laughed. “A what?”
“Two lab puppies for the boys and a Shih Tzu for you. Little, fuzzy—it’ll be perfect.”
He was still giggling. A Shih Tzu. How fucking adorable. “I better be careful, something on the ranch might eat him. Did you get me a purse too? Oh, he can ride on my Harley!”
“Googles, little leather vest and cap…” Early was onboard.
“Stop that.” God, this man could make him laugh. A Shih Tzu. Well, he’d teach it to growl at people he didn’t like.
“A pretty little puppy with fuzzy ears and lots of wiggles.” Early hooked arms with him. “They’ll be here this afternoon.”
“What? Today? Do we have food? Kennels? Dog beds? Things to chew on? Do the kids know? I better get the house ready.”
Early blinked at him. “Yes. No. No. No. No. No, and okay.”
“Stop that too.” He glared at his husband. They weren’t ready for one puppy much less three. “I need to go shopping.”
The boys appeared wrapped in towels. “Are there more doughnuts?”
“No more doughnuts.”
“Chickens,” Early pointed.
“They’re best fried,” Jayden shot back.
Early snorted. “Eggs. Chickens. Feeding. Now.”
He watched them go. Early was so good at that. The boys always pushed him a little harder. “What’s on your chore list while I’m getting D.O.G. things?”
“Getting Reese up to date, getting you all the paperwork for the finances that I have, cleaning the hot tub, normal stuff.”
“Normal stuff.” Connor chuckled. He didn’t have a normal yet, but he would. Or maybe not. Maybe this was his normal now, wrangling kids, running errands. Maybe normal was a day-to-day thing now. Maybe that wasn’t such a bad situation. “Go on. I love you. I’ll be back with stuff before lunch. There’s chicken salad.”
“I love you, darlin’.” Early went to get another cup of coffee, waving at him.
22
All of Reese’s paperwork was done, Demming’s move-out date arranged, the ladies’ move-in date set. Early had called his dad, done some work, fed and corralled kids, and made them get out and currycomb horses until they were pooped.
Now Connor was home, with his new Range Rover filled to the brim with god knew what, the dogs were on the way, and Early was…well, he was wanting a beer and a steak.
Lord, he was a spoiled man.
Connor climbed the porch steps. “Hey, you. Help me unpack? There’s dog beds and crates in the back of the car. I’ve got bowls and chewy toys and stuff here.” Connor rattled a big bag he was carrying.
“I will. The boys are in the pool again.” Early chuckled and shook his head, tickled as shit. Connor was so excited about the dogs, and that suited him to the bone. “They are going to sleep tonight. They brushed all the riding horses for their afternoon chores.”