UNDER MY SKIN

twenty-five. it'll be fun

eight years later

Tyler smiled as he stepped out onto the porch of the farmhouse he and Sam had built together in the middle of a 200 acre lot. It stood two stories tall, and had a wrap-around porch that circled the entire house. The windows had dark blue shutters, and the roof was made of tin.

About fifty yards away sat a huge bright red barn, which they had also built nearly seven years before. The shutters and the trim were white, contrasting the red.

Next to the barn was a huge field where the horses grazed and ran around a little pond that sparkled in the morning light.

Closer to the barn, in a fenced-in pen the ducks and the newest additions to the Owens Ranch – little ducklings – ran about. In the next pen over, there were a couple small, pink pings that lounged in the warm mud.

In another pen, several goats ran around, climbing up the structure Tyler had built for them. And in the pen next to them, the chickens pecked the ground looking for worms.

And on the other side of the ranch was the cow field, though the cows had grazed their way towards the far end of the property.

He took a breath of the early morning air, raising his mug of coffee to his lips. He loved everything about the life he and Sam had built together over the last eight years.

But it was oddly calm.

When he had woken up, Sam's side of the bed was empty. When he made his way to the kitchen to fix his coffee, the house was quiet.

It was odd, which was why he'd made his way out on the porch.

But the yard was quiet, too, albeit the sounds coming from the various animals they'd come to own.

Then a whistle broke the silence, echoing from the barn. His smile grew, he knew that whistle.

So with his mug in hand and his boots on his feet, he made her way across the yard towards the barn and the closer he could, the less quiet it actually seemed.

Little giggles filtered through the air, followed by a random shout or two, then a bark.

And just as he reached the door, he heard her, "no, DJ, don't jump from-"

"Wheee! -oof"

"Or do." She mumbled as he stopped in the doorway as Sam bent down next to their oldest, Delilah-Jane, who was laying in a pile of loose hay that was in front of the wall of hay bales. "You okay, slugger?"

"I'm okay," the seven-year-old nodded, her smile wide as she pushed herself up. She had hay stuck in her hair and sticking out of the pockets of her overalls. And without so much as a backwards glance, she was climbing up the wall of hay bales.

"Just like your father," Sam mumbled, shaking her head a little as a fond smile rested on her lips. "Just don't jump again, okay? If you do it, Juni's gonna wanna do it. And she just got her cast off yesterday."

"Okay, Mommy." DJ mumbled, stopping to pet the black lab that laid in a hay bale about halfway up the mountain.

Koda, the black lab, had been glued to DJ's side the minute they brought him home after finding him on the side of the road a few months back.

"Thank you." She hummed, before turning to see her youngest sitting on the hay covered floor with Grizzly – they had been attached at the hip since the moment they brought the kid home from the hospital. Where Cameron went, Grizzly went. "Now, where did Juni go? Huh, Cami?"

Cameron babbled, her words not yet formed completely. She was barely a year and half old. But she had one word down really well, "mama."

Sam grinned as she squatted down, kissing the top of the baby's head, "do that in front of daddy, yeah?" She hummed and Tyler just smiled. "Now, I gotta find your sister."

A little giggle sounded and Sam shook her head a little as she looked up just in time to see a blonde head of hair hanging over the edge of the loft and next to her, the nose of a white lab, Peaches.

"Of course," Sam hummed.

Juniper, or Juni, loved the loft. It was her favorite place in the entire world – even more so since Sam and Tyler had bought some beanbag chairs and a bookshelf for all of her little picture books.

DJ had just made it to the top of the hay bales, her smile wide – she loved being on the highest ground possible. And Koda was by her side, a protective eye on the girl.

"Okay, kiddos, we can't play for too much longer," Sam told them, getting a couple of groans in response. "Well, I'll just have to call Aunt Aspen and tell her we can't make it."

"No!" Both of the other girls shouted in sync, making Sam laugh.

"Okay, five more minutes, then we gotta get y'all dressed and packed for the party."

And just as DJ nodded her head, something by the door caught her attention, "daddy!"

Sam turned to see her husband by the door with a coffee mug in his hand and she smiled, "look who's finally awake."

He chuckled, smiling at her with nothing but love and adoration, which hadn't faded at all over the years.

"Daddy!" This time it was Juniper who shouted, as she and DJ raced – the oldest making her way down the hay bales and Juni hopping down the stairs. Both with their dogs in tow.

"Munchkins!" He squatted down – putting his coffee down – then he held his arms out wide as they reached them. When they were tucked against him he rose to his feet, grinning as he kissed their cheeks and foreheads, both giggling as they held onto him.

Sam grinned as she bent down and picked Cami up, sitting her on her hips as Tyler crossed the barn towards her, "good mornin'." She greeted and he leaned in to press a quick kiss to her lips.

"Morin'." He hummed, pecking her lips again, which had DJ and Juni sharing a look before they giggled.

Then his attention was on Cami, who had tangled her fingers in Sam's hair, he leaned in and kissed the top of her head, one of her short pigtails just barely missing his eyes, "how are my girls?"

"We did all the chores," Juni told him almost like she was scolding him. "Mommy helped."

"Yeah, hun, you slept through the whole thing." Sam added, never one to pass up on teasing her husband. But he merely narrowed his eyes at her, a smile still playing on his lips.

"Daddy! I can fly!" DJ shouted as he put them back down onto the ground.

"Really?" He asked, his eyes wide like it was her coolest thing ever

She nodded, "Mommy said I can't do it anymore though."

"I'm sure Mommy just doesn't want you to get hurt, kiddo."

"I wanna fly!" Juni declared, her boots stomping against the floor as if that would make it happen.

"Race ya to the top!" DJ shouted then both were rushing up what they dubbed Hay Bale Mountain.

"J – just be careful, please!" Sam called after them, knowing there was no stopping them.

"Let 'em have their fun," Tyler chuckled, wrapping his arm around Sam's shoulders as he tickled Cami's belly.

"We don't need to make another hospital visit this week."

"They got plenty of cushion," he waved off her concerns, but only because he had jumped from the top bale just to make sure and he came out perfectly fine.

"Let's have three kids, it'll be fun." Sam mumbled, mocking what he had told her before they had gotten pregnant with Cami. She made her way over towards a hay bale and sat down. Buck pushed himself up and made his way over to her, jumping up onto the hay bale before resting his head in her lap – Tyler just smiled because he knew he had lost his dog to her, hell he knew years ago. She simply smiled as she scratched behind his ears, where some of his brown fur was going grey.

After all, he was nearly ten years old.

Tyler laughed as he sat next to her, pulling Cami into his lap, but he did keep an eye on the other two – a skill he had mastered fairly soon after Juni had started walking.

And though having three kids was a bit hectic, mostly because they were also juggling a few businesses – they boarded horses for people, raised beef cattle, Sam helped run a rodeo school, they sold eggs at every farmer's market, the raised honey bees, Tyler even gave a few lectures on storm chasing at the local college – she loved her life and she wouldn't trade her kids for anything.

Sam and Tyler watched as DJ stopped and held her hand out to Juni before pulling her up onto the higher bale.

"I can't help it, we make cute kids."

"No more," she shook her head, her eyes on his.

"But we gotta try for a boy."

"Not gonna happen," she shook her head and he just huffed playfully before leaning over to press a kiss to her cheek, but he would never force to have another kid. "Besides, you're the best girl dad."

It was true. He was a hit at tea parties. He could do a mean French braid. He always let the girls practice their makeup skills on him. He always made it to DJ's little league games, and he was always cheering the loudest. Even going as far as to paint her number on his cheek. He practiced with her whenever he had the time, sometimes even when he didn't have the time.

He made it to all of Juniper's dance recitals, and even though there wasn't supposed to be cheering during the show, he did. He even wore a pink tutu, per her request, when he was helping her learn the choreography.

He taught them how to ride their bikes, and when they would fall Sam was right there with those little pink band-aids. He tucked them all into bed at night, before reading them a story and kissing their foreheads. And before he cut the lights out, he checked for monsters in the closet and under their beds.

"Mommy!" Sam looked up to see DJ and Juni at the top of the stack, both with smiles on their faces as they waved. She smiled, it reminded her of her and Kate when they were little.

"Can we jump?"

Sam sighed, looking over at Tyler, but he was busy playing with Cami, who giggled uncontrollably.

"Yeah. Aim for the pile of hay, please!" She nodded, because one thing she and Tyler always agreed on in parenting was making sure the kids had fun, and that they were safe. Besides, both of them had jumped off stacks of hay bales when they were younger and they turned out great.

"1... 2... 3!" DJ counted then she and Juni jumped, landing in a fit of giggles against the hay.

Tyler and Sam smiled at the two, the former putting Cami on her feet when she reached for her sisters. And once the baby was on her feet, she made her way towards them and flopped into the hay next to them.

"We have the best kids in the world," Sam mused, leaning into Tyler's side as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"We really do."

>>>>> • <<<<<

Laughter filled the air, a mix between the giggles from the kids as they played on the inflatable water slide and in the lake on Boone's property and the warm chuckles of the adults as they all caught up.

It had been a while since everyone had the chance to actually get together. In the three years since the Tornado Wranglers disbanded, they'd managed to get a few of them in one at any given time.

Dexter had been teaching a metrology course at the University of Arkansas, and he loved it. Lily had been teaching night classes for aspiring engineers, Dexter had gotten her the job with the university.

Dani had been managing a couple new YouTubers, a few that chased and a few that didn't and she was pretty good at it. Her years managing the Tornado Wranglers had definitely helped, but she had since fine tuned her methods.

Boone had gotten married to Aspen, who he had reconnected with the night Sam had found out she was pregnant the first time. They had a couple of kids, Ellie-mae – the birthday girl, she was turning five – and Colby, who was six. They'd gotten the land that neighbored Tyler and Sam's ranch, and while he had several acres and a few animals, it wasn't any close to the operation Sam and Tyler had going. But he and Aspen loved their little plott of land.

He still took pictures, and he made pretty good money with it. A couple of his photos had even ended up in magazines and newspapers – all of which Sam had saved.

Tyler smiled, watching as Juniper held Ellie-mae's hand, both girls running around with wide smiles before they jumped into the lake. DJ and Colby slid down the water slide, both laughing as they hit the inflatable wall at the end.

Cami splashed in the kiddy pool close to adults, who all sat in folding chairs around a plastic table.

There were a few other little kids running around, they were in Ellie-mae's kindergarten class. And their parents had a ball asking the group about their old YouTube channel and the storms they had chased.

"Hey, Sam-" Aspen walked over, Boone rushing after her before taking the bowl of fruit from her hands.

"Sit, I'll get everythin'." He told her, waving her towards an empty chair as he put the bowl down on the table. "You're carryin' precious cargo."

She smiled lovingly at him before sitting down, her hand on her baby bump – she was seven months pregnant. Boone grinned, leaning down to press a kiss to her lips before he made his way back towards the house.

"Baby, maybe you should go help him," Sam looked over at Tyler as she lightly patted his thigh.

"Yep," he pushed himself up, kissing her cheek before he followed after his best friend.

Sam chuckled as she watched Boone shove Tyler before they raced towards the house, she loved that they still acted like little kids when they got together. It was relatively often, seeing as they were neighbors and their kids were inseparable.

"Hey, you heard from Kate?" Aspen asked, fanning herself with her hand – it was hot. The middle of summer in Arkansas and the sun had decided to be ridiculously hot.

"Yeah, said she was on the way. Should be here-" a honk cut her off and they turned to see a black pick-up pull onto the yard. "They're here." Sam hummed, looking over as Aspen, who chuckled.

Sam pushed herself up, going to meet her sister as she hopped out of the passenger seat, her smile wide as they hugged, then Sam pulled back.

"You're showing," she grinned, her hand on her sister's small belly – she was barely four months along. And it had been nearly as long since the two had seen each other, what with life and work getting in the way.

"Yep," Kate smiled, rubbing her small bump. "We just found out the gender, too." Her eyes light up, a big grin on her face at the pure excitement she says in her sister's face.

"Really?" Sam's wide eyes met Kate's, who nodded. "Is it a boy like you thought?" Kate nodded again, but before she could say anything, or even let out an excited squeal, little footsteps rounded the truck.

"Aunt Sam!" A five-year-old boy in bright orange swim trucks and cowboy boots rounded the truck, his smile wide as he barreled towards her.

"Knox!" Sam squatted down, wrapping her arms around the kid as he tackled her in a hug. "Oh my goodness, you're gettin' so big!"

"'Cause I eat my veggies, like my daddy." He nodded his head, his eyes a bright green.

"That's right, little man." Sam looked up to see Greg rounding the truck with a gift bag in one hand and a tote bag in the other.

Greg and Kate met at one of Sam's first rodeos back on the circuit, she had introduced them and they hit it off. Greg, being the impatient and slightly impulsive man that he is, asked her to get dinner with him that night.

Kate had been hesitant, she hadn't really dated anyone since Jeb, at least not more than a lunch with some guy her co-workers had set her up with in New York. But with an encouraging thumbs up from Sam and a long since forgotten warm feeling in her gut, she agreed.

And it was a whirlwind from there. They had gotten married the next year, he retired from the rodeo and opened up a rodeo school – which he and Sam ran together. Then they had Knox.

"Why don't you go say hey to Aspen, buddy." Sam put him down and ran off, his arms wide as he reached the other pregnant woman. "God, he looks just like you," she hummed, looking up at Greg, who grinned.

"Acts just like him, too." Kate hummed, shooting her husband a teasing look, which made Sam laugh as they started towards the others.

"So..." Greg started, nudging Sam's arm with his. "You and Ty gonna try again for a boy?"

She just shrugged, a smile on her lips as Tyler and Boone put the rest of the food on the table.

"Food!" Tyler called out, but it seemed none of the kids had heard him, so Sam whistled. The giggles stopped and they all turned towards the sound.

"Come eat!"

"Food!" DJ shouted, and all the kids raced towards them, making the adults laugh as they skidded to a stop. And DJ made sure Ellie-mae was at the very front, it was her birthday after all.

They all quickly got their food, the kids sitting on the blanket Aspen had laid out.

Sam laughed, reaching over to wipe the pizza sauce from Tyler's cheek. His eyes met hers, darkening a little when she tucked her thumb between her lips, licking the sauce from her skin.

He swallowed hard, shifting in his seat before he cleared his throat. Then he leaned forward, his voice low, "wanna meet me in the barn?"

"Ty," she scolded, her voice just as low as his as his hand rested on her knee before drifting up her bare thigh – she'd worn a white sundress to combat the heat and he loved it. "It's Ellie's party."

"That a no?" He smirked, his eyebrow raised and his hand inching higher.

She swallowed hard, her mouth painfully dry and not because of the heat. It had been seven years since they got married, and he still managed to surprise her, he still managed to make her heart race, he still made her feel like she had when she was twenty-two and he has kissed her for the first form.

But they couldn't just leave in the middle of the kid's party, "wait 'til we get home, cowboy." she patted his cheek before she leaned towards him, her lips ghosting over his and he hummed. "Besides, we're gonna have the whole house to ourselves tonight."

His eyes lit up, his smirk wide and she could practically see the gears turning in his head, "oh, I forgot about that." He burshed his lips against hers, and she giggled as he left little kisses across her cheek to her jaw.

"Geez, Ty, keep it in your pants," Boone hugged playfully, making a few of the other laugh as Sam settled back into her seat, her eyes still on Tyler.

"Keep what in his pants, Uncle Boone?"

Boone turned around, his eyes wide as he looked down at DJ who stood next to him with Juni, Colby, Ellie-mae, Knox and a few other kids – Cami had made her way over to Greg, who was more then happy to play with the kid.

Boone swallowed nervously, looking around for help and Sam bit her lip to keep from laughing, "Ty-"

"All you, brother." Tyler smirked, shaking his head and Aspen sipped on her water to keep from laughing at her husband.

"Well, DJ, I just meant..." he trailed off before his eyes went wide, "-his phone. Ya know, 'cause we agreed parties are a no-phone zone." Which wasn't technically true, but it was better then having to explain what he really meant to the seven-year-old.

She narrowed her eyes skeptically, looking from her uncle to her dad for a moment bedore she shrugged and turned around, "race ya to the waterslide!"

With that all the kids took off in laughter and Boone deflated into his chair in relief, which had everyone laughing.

"Nice save, honey." Aspen smiled warmly, rubbing his thigh and he hummed.

"If my kid walks around saying keep it in your pants I will have to hurt you," Sam told him, though an amused smile rested on her lips. "You already got her sayin' bad words."

"Yeah, that was an accident." He defended himself. "Mostly," he mumbled, making them all laugh. "And at least I didn't teach them how to flip people off." He added, and all eyes turned to Lily would had sunk down on her seat with her cup tipped towards her lips.

"I apologized!" She defended, getting more laughs from the group. And the teasing went on for a while, a little of goodhearted back and forth.

Sam smiled, her eyes scanning the group before she looked over the check on the kids, who had all piled up at the top of the waterslid. Next to her, Tyler kept his hand on her knee, her thumb brushing against her softly.

And she knew that though life had taken some twists and some turns. Taking a few of them away for a little while or dropping them all in the same place... they could weather the storm, whatever that may be, because they were Tornado Wranglers, through and through.

the end

NOVA SPEAKS

and we've reached the end !!

i almost can't believe it, because i love them and i love this book so much but their story has officially concluded !!

i wanna thank all of you for reading this book and all the love and support that i've gotten on this book. it's been a bit insane how much love this book and these characters have gotten. i appreciate all of you and all the comments, they really make my day when i see them !!

also, here's a little college of sam and Tyler's future and a bit of information...

dj has a pig named wilbur, a horse named bowser, and she loves the ducks. she named to mama duck willow and the ducklings are mayonnaise, ranch, mustard, ketchup, and hot sauce. she also has a mini cow named tobias.

juni has a pig named pepper, a horse named rocky, and she loves chickens, her rooster is named roscoe, her hen is named sunday and the babies are lulu, mavis, elvis, and junior.

cami doesn't have her own animals yet, but she loves the goats, her two favorites are named eva and wall-e courtesy of dj.