My heart swelled, and I couldn’t help but smile. Offering a glance at Huck, I saw the satisfaction I felt in his gaze. “I think Daddy needs to read, too.”

She bounced in Huck’s arms. “Yes!”

Huck set Claire down. “Go pick out two books, and we’ll be right there.”

She dashed up the stairs.

“I heard what happened,” Alice said, her smile slipping.

“It’s over,” Huck told her.

She nodded once.

“It’s finally time for you two to be together. I couldn’t be more pleased,” she said. “I’ll be in my room watching my show… in case you want to make any funny noises.”

I stared at her openmouthed as she walked off. “Did she just wink?”

Huck laughed. “She’s been our champion all this time.”

“Daddy!” Claire shouted.

He looked to me and rolled his eyes, but his expression screamed happiness instead of frustration. “We each read one book. Don’t let her sucker you into more. She’s smart and will try.” He spoke as if the five-year-old was a cunning legal expert. After I nodded in—supposed—understanding, he leaned in and kissed me. “Then you’re mine. All mine.”

Thirty minutes later Huck closed his bedroom door behind us. He’d been right. Claire had tried several different negotiation strategies to extend her reading time, which impressed me. I had a feeling she’d gotten away with it in the past, but tonight Huck wasn’t having it.

He was having me, and hopefully very soon.

Seeing him snuggled up in a single bed with Claire, reading a book about a bear and a missing button, definitely made my ovaries pop out a few eggs. There was something sexy about a man with his child.

When Huck pulled me into his arms and kissed me, I was beyond ready. Wet, eager, and needy. Lifting his head, he stroked my hair back and looked at me. His pale eyes held mine.

“When I saw that gun in Mandy’s hand, I panicked about you getting hurt,” he said.

“You? I was talking to Graham and heard the shot. I thought you’d been killed!” I tried to push back and break his hold, but he kept me snug to him.

His jaw clenched as his eyes roved over my face. “It’s over. We leave her behind, baby girl, with everything else. All we need to see is the future.”

I nodded, took a deep breath. “You’re right.”

“I want to start that future right now.” He tipped his head toward the bed. “Right there.”

“Yes,” I breathed, wanting that too. We’d lost six years. We’d almost lost each other today. But our time was now.

Before, we hadn’t even been trying to make a baby. Now we would be. The future was finally clear.

“Yes,” he repeated as he stepped back. Took my hand and led me to the side of the bed.

I burst out laughing when I saw the headboard. A wooden slat was missing right in the middle.

Huck looked to the bed and back to me. “We might need a new bed.”