She knew he was grinning because she could hear it in his voice.
“You will be fine! Let me know if I’m going too fast for you. Hold onto your
hat, we are almost there.”
She smiled and moved her hands further up his chest. She didn’t mind if they had to ride all night long and into the next morning, as long as they were together.
She took his advice and pulled the hat down to cover her ears. The wind was picking up fast, and she didn’t want the hat to blow off her head. Keane had been waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs with the hat, a jacket and a pair of boots.
He had handed her the heavy sheep skin jacket, and the warm pair of waterproof leather cowboy boots. She had peeped at the label that was sticking out at the back of the jacket and saw that it was a size six. And the eight and a half boots were exactly her size too.
He had held the jacket out to her, and she had slipped her arms into the sleeves. Then he had pulled her hair back, and tucked it under the thick multicolored wool scarf and done up the zipper. And he had helped her into the knee-high sheep-skinned lined boots just before they stepped out the door, and done up the zipper for her. And she was good to go!
She was surprised that everything fitted her so perfectly—and she was sure
that they weren’t hers. She knew she didn’t wear cowboy boots and sheep skin jackets! She was a city gal! And she wondered when and where Keane had shopped for them.
She hadn’t seen him coming back to the house with any shopping bags for the brief times he had gone into town. And no packages were delivered to the house since she had been there. She would have known because she was always there. Maybe he had a personal shopper.
“Is that a ski slope up there?”
He slowed the horse and turned to look in the direction she was pointing.
“Yes. I had it done about five years ago.”
“It’s empty. I can’t see if anyone is up there skiing.” She squinted as the afternoon sun shone into her eyes.
He laughed lightly. “That’s because it’s private property. It’s not a regular ski slope that’s open to the public. It’s for my personal use.”
“You built a ski slope so that you can have it all to yourself! Isn’t that a little over the top! I thought only celebrities did such crazy things!”
“My friends and extended family are always welcome to use it. I have also extended that invitation to the local schools. They can come and ski as much as they like, but just not when I am here. I don’t get to come here as often as I would like, but when I do, I make sure I have a hell of a time! Do you ski?” He
glanced over his shoulder at her.
“I am not sure that I do. I am probably not much of an outdoorsy person.”
“Then how do you keep that lovely body of yours in such remarkable shape.” He flashed her a mischievous grin.
“Maybe I worked out at the gym in my spare time! Maybe it’s yoga. Maybe I did Pilates, and took Zumba classes!” She gave him a terse answer.
He chuckled. “You don’t have to convince me, darling! Knowing what I do now, I see that’s quite plausible.”
Becca gave him a playful nudge in the back. She knew exactly what he was insinuating!
“I will be happy to take you out for a run tomorrow, or whenever you feel like it.”
“Sure.”
She wasn’t exactly thrilled about the idea, but he sounded excited about doing it, and she didn’t want to disappoint him. Besides, it might be fun; skiing with him!
“It’s a date then!”
“But I don’t have any…”
“Don’t worry about it!” he told her quickly. He knew exactly what she was
going to say. “I’m sure we can find a pair of ski boots with your name on it. If
not, we will just get you some.”
“There is no way I can get out of going, is there?” she asked him bluntly.
“Nope! You need your exercise.”
“But I thought I was getting more than enough with you, honey,” she told him in a coy voice. She leaned in and hugged him tighter.
One of his hands went up to cover hers. He rubbed them gently.
“I’m talking about a different kind of exercise here, darling. Don’t worry; I will
be right there to catch you if you fall. And you never know, you might just like it.”
“I bet I will! Now I have absolutely nothing to worry about!”
“No, you don’t!” He chuckled, and guided the horse forward.
She rested her head on him as the horse made its way through the snow, hoping they would get there soon.
They dismounted not long after. Keane lifted her from the back of the stallion. He took her by the hand and helped her through the snow to the front of the barn. He didn’t bring his cane with him and he wasn’t limping as much.
She noticed there were several other large barns nearby.
The ranch was spread out over acres and acres of land—as far back as her eyes could see. And she could tell that some of it was farmland too. There weren’t any more farms within miles of this one.
It was a beautiful place, surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of tall trees.
Keane had told her that wildflowers of every kind bloomed in abundance in the
spring, and all through summer, into early fall.
She wondered if she would be around in the spring to see any of them.
He had also pointed out a nearby river where he fished. And she had seen a herd of deer and wild turkey wandering through the nearby woods. The ranch was a complete antithesis of city life. No wonder he loved coming here.
“You can warm up in there if you like. There’s coffee in the thermos.” He handed her the large leather saddle bag with the food Lila had prepared for them, and led the stallion into one of the empty stalls.
“I’m fine,” Becca told him. “It’s really not that cold.”
“Okay, then we can get to work. We don’t have many more hours of daylight left, so we better make use of it.” He handed her a pair of work gloves and clippers. “You can start with those bundles of hay over there.” He pointed to a large stack in a corner of the barn. “You can cut a couple open to feed the horses. You will need to clean the stalls first. They wouldn’t touch the hay if it’s mixed in with the old one.”
She cast him an uneasy look. She didn’t know that she would be doing any of this when she agreed to come here with him. She didn’t remember much about her old life, but she was certain that being a ranch hand wasn’t something she had
ever done before.
“Are you sure you are up for the task?” He peered at the reluctant look on her
face.
“I am,” she replied in a small voice. “I wouldn’t be here if I thought I couldn’t do it.”
“Just wanted to be sure, honey. It’s hard, dirty work!” He pecked her on the forehead.
“And you think I’m afraid of it!” she retorted in a bold voice.
“Absolutely not!” He gave her a cheeky grin. “There’s a bunch of rakes over there.” He pointed to a number of tools hanging on hooks on a far wall. “The regular guys will be here later to finish up. Don’t make it easy for them.”
He slipped his fingers into his gloves and headed to the door.
“Where are you going?”
“To mend some fences, and to check on the cows on the other side. There have
been a couple of coyote sightings in the area.” He came back to where she was standing. “You will be okay with this, won’t you?”
“Sure,” she told him with a small nervous laugh. “I will be fine!”
He put his arm around her shoulder quickly. “You will do a great job, honey.” He winked at her. “Just shout if you need me. I will be back in an hour, two at most. Don’t tire yourself out.” He winked at her and walked away.
Becca watched him go. She stood there until he disappeared. Then she reached for the rake and walked around to
the stalls. The horses poked their heads out to nuzzle her as she passed. She patted their heads and pushed them gently out of
the way. There were about twenty stalls.
She entered the first one and began to remove the old hay and any mess that
was there. It was hard work, but she got a hang of it by the time she got to the fourth one.
She was just finishing up the last stall when Keane made an appearance. She wasn’t aware that he was back until he snuck up behind her and grabbed her playfully around the waist. She dropped the rake and let out a loud scream.
She pounded him lightly on his hands and spun around quickly to glare at him.
“You almost give me a heart attack.” She pressed her right hand to her chest
and met the wide grin on his face with annoyance. “Don’t ever sneak up on me
like that again!” She warned him, holding out the rake at him.
Then she noticed the string of fish in his left hand, and glared at him some more. “You went fishing!” she asked him with a frown.
“Our dinner.” He held up the three large fish he had caught for her to see.
“I thought you were mending fences, and checking for coyotes.” She pointed out to him.
“Yes, I did some of that too. The guys were already working on those things
when I got there. They didn’t need my help. But I stayed and watched them anyway. You wouldn’t believe how many ways there are to catch a coyote.”
“Are you serious!”
“No, hear me out.” He continued quickly before she reached for the rake again. “I believe in trapping them into cages and letting them go miles from here hoping they wouldn’t come back, but the guys have a completely different way of dealing with them.”
“How interesting! Do tell! And what exactly does your story about trapping coyotes have to do with the discussion we are having! Your attempt at trying to talk your way out of this is simply amazing!” She shook her head a couple times and frowned at him.
“Sarcasm doesn’t become you, honey.”
“I will be sure to make a note.”
“There you go again! It’s rather sexy, though. You blush when you are getting
angry! I love it!” He chuckled.
“I’m not angry!” she retorted. “I just want to know why you didn’t come back when you found out that you weren’t needed there.”
“Because I know you could handle this all by yourself. I saw you were doing
such a good job when I popped by, I just grabbed my fishing gear and headed right back out. I didn’t expect you to tire yourself out doing it all by yourself, darling. I would have stopped you if I knew you were going to clean all the stalls. I did mention that the guys who did that would be by shortly, didn’t I?”
“Ahh!” She shook the rake at him.
“I didn’t think you would clean all of them!”
She took off one of the gloves and used her free hand to push back her hair
from her face.
“You came back here to watch me! I guess you had a really good laugh at my expense!”
“Oh, darling, do you realize what this it?” He let out a hearty laugh. “We are having our very first fight. We sound like an old married couple!” He reached in to hug her. “We are bickering!”
“This is not a fight!” She corrected him quickly. “I’m just upset that you left me here and went fishing.”
“I went to get our dinner, honey.” He insisted with a guilty grin. “Besides, I
thought you would come looking for me when you got bored.”
Becca shook her head in disbelief. “You were counting on me giving up after two minutes, weren’t you?”
He tilted his head back and grinned at her. “To my defense I thought you would
rather this than sitting in the cold waiting for the fishes to bite. But now that I am
here, you can take a break. I will finish up.”
She took off the other glove and tossed them both at him. “It’s finished!”
He gave her a surprised look. “Everything?”
“Yes, everything! I mucked out the stalls, every last one of them and fed the
horses!”
“Where did you get all that energy? You surprise me, darling! I thought you
wouldn’t get through all of them, and certainly not so quickly!”
“Well I did! I’ve been here for almost two hours!”
He appeared remorseful. Then a silly grin covered his face. “It’s been that long!” He lifted his hand to look at his watch.
She didn’t buy that innocent act of his!
“Yep, it has been that long!” She glared at him.
“Now we can head to the hot springs. We both deserve a break.”
“Not so fast!” She held him back by the arm. “Your deception is going to cost you.”
“Am I being punished?” he asked her eagerly. “Please say yes!”
“Dinner is on you tonight. You will receive absolutely no help from me, not even with the dishes.”
He let out another effusive laugh. “That’s it! I thought you had something
naughty in mind! I deserved to be punished for leaving you here alone to do all
that hard work!”
“I’m not finished; and not just tonight, for the entire week, and with no help
from Lila or any of the staff.!”
“Sounds good to me!”
She was surprised. She thought he would protest.
“You don’t mind cooking dinner? Remember we are not talking about a couple
nights here. And you can’t order in or have anyone else do it for you, and pass it off as your own.”
He grinned. “I know darling, and I don’t mind, not one bit, as long as I’m cooking for you. Now let’s go put these fishes away.”
“Who’s going to clean them?” She gave the fish a distasteful look and took a step back. “You don’t expect me to help with them, do you?”
“I’m responsible for dinner, remember?” He reminded her with a grin.
He grabbed the saddle bag and headed outside, and she followed him.
He led the way to a large cabin about ten minutes away. She held onto his arm as they trekked through the snow together. She was surprised at how large the cabin was when they got there. She expected it to be small and cozy, like the ones she read about in romance novels; where the hero whisked the heroine away to have his way with her.
She couldn’t help feeling that this cabin was their mountain hide out, and magical things were going to happen between them here. She had no doubt that Keane felt something for her. But was it enough? He hadn’t exactly come right out and professed his undying love for her. But to be fair, she hadn’t told him how she felt about him either.
There had been very little pillow talk between them. They were always too exhausted after they made love. Instead, they just held each other until they fell asleep. She wasn’t complaining. She loved every moment of it. It made her feel whole.
Being with Keane made her happy too. It made her forget about the accident, and what was going on with her. And no matter where this journey with him took her, she knew she would never regret any of it, no matter what!
A huge smile appeared on her face. She slipped her arm into his, as he led her up the snowy path and to the front door. He paused to retrieve the extra set of keys from under the large clay planter at the side of the door, and she watched as he inserted the keys into the locks and unlocked the door.
The cabin had a rustic look from the outside, but when she walked inside, it was a completely different lay out. She had stepped into the lap of luxury. This certainly wasn’t your typical rustic mountain cabin. They dropped their things at the door and Keane gave her a quick walk through after he had stuck the fish in the refrigerator for later.
There were two floors—three bedrooms, including the master one, a living
room, a gaming room, and two full bathrooms occupie
d the top level. Another large bedroom with a full bathroom, a powder room, a large open sitting area, a spacious dining room, and a state of the art kitchen were on the main floor. A large sauna and green room were at the back, and a huge Jacuzzi was in the
master bedroom upstairs.
Every room was tastefully decorated. Clearly no expense had been spared on either the eclectic designs or the aesthetics. The high beam ceilings with the massive sunroof were an added touch. Everything had a warmth and comfort about it that made you want to stay here forever.
A honeymoon suite came to mind, but she quickly dismissed that thought. She didn’t want to think that far off, not just yet. The place was just dripping with romance! And she couldn’t stop staring. She was that mesmerized! She was impressed.
“This place is magnificent!” she finally told Keane. “I can’t get over how beautiful it is.”
“Glad you like it. I designed it myself.” There was great pride in his voice.
She turned around and gave him a stunned look. “You? I thought you were
Military guy.”
“I am a mechanical engineer, honey. But I’ve always had an interest in architecture. I designed in my spare time. I worked with the crew to build this cabin. I was here from day one, until it was finished. And to answer your question, I dabble in quite a few other things, in case you were wondering.”
“Where do you find the time?”
“I make time for the things I like and enjoy. It helps me to unwind. When I came back from Afghanistan with my injury, I spent months up here recuperating. The place did something for me that not even a hospital could.”
She went over and wrapped her hands around his neck. “A man of many, many talents! I’m impressed!” She gave him a beguiling smile. “What other talents do you have in that brilliant mind of yours, darling that I don’t know about?”
She trailed one of her fingers down the side of his face, touching his lips when she got close to his mouth.
“Isn’t it obvious!” He took her finger in his mouth and drew her to him.
He pressed his hands firmly on her buttocks and kept them there, smoothing his fingers over the taut surface.
“I’m clueless.” Her hand found its way into his shirt.
“Liar!” He reached in and pecked her on the lips, teasing them apart with his
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