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“He isn’t big on strangers riding him, but you can try.”

He punches a fist in the air. “He’s going to love me. Just like all of you do.” He boops my nose.

Fucking boops it.

I slap his hand away and watch him vanish from right in front of me.

“Ah, fuck,” I grumble, rushing outside onto the porch.

Everyone follows me to see the mess Lorcan is about to create. Kentucky and Oklahoma flank my sides, and we lean against the rail, waiting for catastrophe.

“This should be good.” Kentucky smirks.

Oklahoma shakes his head as we watch Lorcan slowly inch towards Mustache Man, hand stretched out for my horse to sniff. “He’s going to get himself killed.”

“If he could die, this would definitely be his end,” I say through a big smile that hurts my cheeks.

I hold back the tears burning in my eyes, refusing to let them fall. It means the fucking world to me that Leo worked so hard to plan this, to have everyone here to celebrate.

My family.

“See?” Lorcan shouts from down below, petting Mustache Man’s side. “He loves me.”

“Until you get on his back,” I grumble under my breath.

“What?” Lorcan yells from down below.

“I said, ‘Well, why don’t you look at that!’”

Kentucky and Oklahoma hold in their laughter, covering it with fake coughs.

“You’re so damn mean,” Oklahoma says from the side of his mouth before raising his arm and waving at Lorcan. “You realize we wouldn’t be here without him, right? He has helped us so much.”

“It’s why he’s family. The crazy uncle no one understands.”

“Exactly, Kentucky.”

I focus on the bond, checking in to make sure Leo and Eleni are okay. Nothing but pure happiness.

“What’s everyone doing out here?” Leo calls out, his light footsteps getting closer.

I turn to see him holding our daughter, who has wild, unruly curls just like her father. She was born with a crazy amount of hair, and it only seems to get thicker and longer as she ages.

“There’s my favorite girl.” I pick her up and swaddle her in my arms as she naps.

She’s milk drunk.

“Oh, no. That can’t be good.” Leo points to Lorcan. “He knows Mustache Man doesn’t like anyone else riding him but you, right?”

“I warned him.”

Lorcan jumps onto Mustache Man’s back, snags the reins, and smiles proudly at us. “See? He likes me!”

Just then, Mustache Man’s ears fold back over his head and he hooves the ground. Lorcan holds out the spine lasso,

“Lorcan! He isn’t happy. You need to—” But my warning dies on my lips.

Mustache Man leaps forward, bucking his back legs.