colt winslow
—
“I stole it outta your nightstand,” Colt said with a grin. That was after he got the intel from Liv on that she was good with her old rings. But, he wasn’t gonna tell her that, his secrets could be his own secrets. “We’re off to a good start that you can speak, this time around,” he said with a wink and pulled the ring outta the box, and place it back on her finger. He’d gotten it resized to fit too, so it was right. Another tip of the hat to Liv for that as well. Otherwise it would’ve been a little — actually, a lot — embarrassing. Standing up was easier than getting down, believe it or not, so he was on his feet without so much as an ounce of pain.
In a fluid motion, one they’d practiced a thousand times on the dance floor, he spun her and dipped her into a kiss. There was something about a yes, both times around, that made him feel like he was an invincible giant. He liked to feel like that, because he didn’t often feel like it. At her question of his knee, he looked down at it. “Feels good now,” then, he was running high off the yes, so, that was suspect at best. “Horse kicked me at the practice. Was a bit of a rough day for the mare,” he said with a nod. “She was barefoot, and it was a graze. Better me than Trevor.” Colt didn’t like it when his employees got hurt, no matter if they knew that came with the job. He’d always been like that though.
Taking the keys out of his pockets, he moved to unlock it. “Locked the door so you couldn’t foil my plans,” he said with a grin. Opening the door, he turned around and before she could protest, he scooped her up into his arms, and walked her through the door. “New living room,” he said, not giving her up. “We need a new couch too,” Colt said with a nod, and looked up at her.
Her chest swelled as he mentioned her nightstand, hand shaking as she held it out for him. Alara laughed as he slipped the ring on, a motion that triggered the memory of the first time he did the same thing. Back then she was in shock, but just like then Colt knew exactly the right time to ask the question. Big gestures and theatrical performances were wasted on her, "I'm so happy—" She whispered, looking down to the ring once more. "My answer is always yes. Do you want to marry me again, too?" She never asked the first time, it took her long to answer back then, but Aly had always wondered how it felt to be the one with the question.
Their years together and the lonely ones apart, all sewn together with a year of trauma and healing, with this being the peak of the climb. She watched him carefully as he stood up, massaging his shoulder to ease any discomfort from his knee. Her mouth curled into a smile and his answer came in the form of a dip and a kiss. "I miss dancing with you," She mumbled as he lifted her up and frowned as he admitted to being kicked. "I would rather it wasn't you, or Trevor." It came with the career, she knew that, but seeing him in pain caused her some, too. "Just tell the mare that you need to stand to say I do again," She teased.
"First day in the new house and you're already locking me out?" Alara joked as she went to step inside, making a mental note to bring knee straps on her first trip back, just as her weight shifted to be supported by him, "Colt!" She laughed, letting him take her weight to carry her through the door. It reminded her of their house in Atlanta, except this door was wider. Everything was bigger, there was so much space and still, she couldn't believe it was theirs. "We have so much room, we're never going to see each other—" Alara laughed, her arms wrapped around his neck. "You'll never complain about not having enough room on it again," They needed a lot of new furniture, but most of it would have to wait a few months. "Take me to the kitchen, chauffeur." With her foot, she pointed in the direction of their new kitchen.

















