28. Talya
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
TALYA
R onan was probably the biggest alpha I’d ever met or even seen. He reminded me of a football player, all big, beefy muscles. He was imposing, which made all the sweet gestures and soft smiles even more special.
He set another box in the back of the side-by-side while I waited alongside him. The vehicle was this combination of pick-up truck and ATV, though it was still slightly different than the UTVs we’d been using. There were only two seats, and we’d be caged in as opposed to just a net-door.
It was still early in the morning, only just past nine. With the sun still making its steady crawl across the sky, the air remained chilled. The clear blue expanse was stunning today, looking like it went on forever.
When Ronan was finished, he offered me his hand and escorted me to the passenger seat. The machine wasn’t tall, but he helped me in as if I’d had to climb. Then he placed a blanket over my lap before shutting the door.
There were only plastic windows that zippered into place, but we had them rolled down. The front was a kind of plexiglass. Since this was a machine meant to barrel through trees and such by making its own path, they’d opted for the glass that was harder to break.
The engine on this machine was louder than the ones that I usually rode in. We drove along the side of the driveway toward town, but before we left the property, Ronan took a left, driving along the tree line.
The world passed by, and I drank in every second of it. Thoughts of the happy place we’d finally found fluttered through my head like butterflies across a meadow, and I felt a contentment that I hadn’t had before. Maybe because I knew to appreciate my surroundings and the people in my life more.
Ronan’s hand settled over mine. He spared me a glance when I looked at him, a small smile on his lips. Just that little smile… beautiful. It made my heart race.
He hadn’t told me what we were doing this morning or where he was taking me. He’d just loaded up the containers he’d given me weeks ago—had it really been weeks?—along with other things.
Wandering around Fort Killian had been one of the coolest experiences in my life. It reminded me of high school when Colby, Fenton, and I used to go exploring on the weekends. We found an old mine entrance just outside of town, and exploring that had taken up a lot of our weekends for about a year.
I didn’t know where we were going, but I was excited. Not just for another adventure but to be spending the morning with Ronan.
He was always very quiet, even when it was me, him, and Kasen. Ronan usually just listened, though he did so in a way that made it feel like Kasen and I were having a private conversation. Ronan was there for cuddles.
I loved his cuddles. He was big enough to wrap around me and Kasen, something that we endlessly swooned over while Ronan pretended to be put out. Secretly, I thought he loved it too.
After a while, the trees thinned out and opened to vast fields of wildflowers. We were immediately hit with the most beautiful floral scent. I grinned, closing my eyes and turning my face into the breeze that rushed by to fill my lungs with it.
Ronan released my hand once the vehicle slowed. I opened my eyes as he pulled up alongside the field of wildflowers. We were the only ones around, and I couldn’t even see any houses or the town from where we were. It was peaceful and beautiful. A picturesque place. I could imagine weddings and paintings and kids running around in the flowers, laughing.
As I stepped out of the side-by-side, a breeze picked up and the field danced like waves. It was one of the most breathtaking things I’d ever seen.
“This is so beautiful,” I said.
Ronan smiled as he rounded the vehicle and placed a kiss on the top of my head. “I’m glad you think so.”
For a minute longer, I studied the flowers, taking them all in. Reds and blues and yellows and whites swayed in the tall green grass.
“Is this part of the farm?” I asked as I turned to face him.
Ronan was loading the items he’d brought with him into a collapsible wagon. I wasn’t sure what was in the backpack or one of the boxes, but I recognized the container filled with little vessels to load memories into.
He shut the back and faced me. I grinned up at him, and Ronan sighed, a light smile on his lips. I eagerly gripped his hand when he offered, squeezing tightly. He pulled me close, and for a minute, I rested against his chest and just breathed him in.
The field seemed to enhance his natural scent of freshly mown grass, rainstorms, and especially the citrus. There were no citrus trees around us, so I knew that was all him.
“It’s not part of the farm,” he answered, though I’d already forgotten that I’d asked him a question. “It’s one of the protected parks on the island. There aren’t any paths or structures except for a lone bench about a mile to the east, so it doesn’t get many visitors.”
“That’s a shame. It’s stunning.”
He nodded, then, with another kiss to the top of my head, he turned. With my hand in his and the handle to the wagon in his other, he led me to the flowers. “It is. I agree that more people should appreciate it, though I’m not sad that they don’t since it means there’s rarely anyone here when I want to visit it.”
“Do you come here often?”
Ronan looked at me with amusement, and I realized that it sounded like a cheesy pick-up line. I laughed.
“Often enough to appreciate that people don’t visit here much.”
I hesitated at the edge of the flowers, realizing that since there was no path, we’d be stepping on them. Ronan smiled again, and I followed. While I tried to be careful, the field was completely covered as far as I could see, which made things difficult. Glancing back, I noted that our footsteps didn’t leave much of a discernible path but the tire wheels of the wagon did. However, most of the flowers bounced right back up again.
We walked for a while. I let my free hand swing at my side, brushing my fingertips along the tall grasses and the flowers. There were butterflies fluttering around and bees going between flowers. Everything about this environment said soft and pretty.
Then I switched my attention to Ronan, who looked like a brick house in the middle of a flower patch. The contrast made me smile.
We stopped after some time. He rustled around in the pack and pulled out a plastic cylinder that reminded me of an extra-large shaker of seasoning. There were even seeds in it.
“We’re going to be picking flowers, but there’s a place up ahead where we’re going to be dropping some seeds so you don’t need to fret about the flowers we’re picking.”
I grinned. I wasn’t surprised he’d anticipated my reservations about picking the flowers.
“Choose your favorites.”
“How many?”
“I have a project that’s going to need a whole lot, but for right now, pick some that you’d like to preserve.”
“How do you preserve them?” I asked as I turned to the flowers, spotting a purple one a little ways off.
“There are a few ways, but we’re going to be pressing them.”
I imagined him throwing a book in the backpack and grinned. I started choosing my favorite flowers, always finding another one another step away. As often as I picked one and added it to my bundle, I stuck my face in them to sniff.
They weren’t as aromatic as those you might get from a flower shop, but they were still beautiful. Still wonderful to smell.
When I had a big bundle of flowers, I brought them back to the wagon. Ronan was close by with a bundle of flowers in his hand too. I watched him with a big, sappy smile. Look at this man! It was so endearing, like watching a big, gruff lumberjack with a tiny little kitten or a leathered-up biker covered in tattoos with one of those little prissy yappy dogs wearing a pink bow in their fur.
It was just beautiful. This man was beautiful!
Ronan turned, his dark eyes meeting mine. I must have been grinning like the Cheshire cat because he gave me a somewhat bemused smile in return as he walked toward me.
“You look good with flowers,” I said.
He hummed in acknowledgment and placed his bundle into the bottom of the wagon, then he pulled out a wooden box that looked like it held sheets of thick paper. But when he pulled one out, it opened like a book.
“Choose a couple flowers,” he said.
I handed him a couple, one at a time, and he arranged them into the book until he’d taken up as much room as he could without making them overlap. He carefully shut it and slipped it back into the box, then he pulled out another and we started over.
After he’d done a few, we swapped. He held my shrinking bundle of flowers while I chose the ones that went into the pressing book. When I slid the book home, I could feel the resistance and it made more sense. There was something there that helped them press flat.
It took some time to get through the entire bundle, and there was still one book thing left. I’d even made a mini bouquet within one of the presses. I was so excited to see how they turned out.
“How long will it take before we can take them out?” I asked as he sealed up the box.
“I’ve experimented with different lengths of time, and I like the results after four weeks best.”
“Were you a florist in a past life?” I teased.
He smiled. “My most recent past life, I was a bartender, but I’ve worn many hats, and yes, one of them was a stint in a flower shop.”
“That’s so cool,” I said.
Ronan shrugged. “It’s… something.”
“I bet you always smelled like flowers. It probably enhanced your natural scent. You probably even had alphas hanging off you!”
He chuckled, though his amusement didn’t make me miss his lack of an answer.
We continued to pick flowers for a while, loading them in the wagon. Ronan moved us further and further into the field so we weren’t removing flowers from a single spot.
“What’s your plan with all these?” I asked as we entered the clearing he’d referred to earlier. This was where we’d spread the flower seeds.
“I make arrangements for weddings in town on occasion. As long as they’re okay with me using wildflowers, then I usually agree.”
The image of Ronan making flower arrangements for weddings had me grinning. I could just picture my big grumpy alpha hauling a whole lot of flowers into town.
I thought my wide grin gave away my thoughts as he sighed. I didn’t miss the hint of a smile on his lips though.
Ronan pulled out his backpack. Underneath was a blanket that I hadn’t noticed—now covered in petals. He spread it out in the field then opened his backpack. I’d never seen one that was insulated like this. From the inside, he took out strawberries and cold sparkling juices.
He gestured to the blanket, and I didn’t think I was imagining the shyness in his face as I took a seat. Ronan joined me a moment later, handing me an opened glass bottle of sparkling drink. His dark eyes never left mine as we clinked our bottles together and took a sip.
As with the day in the garden, he fed me strawberries, sensually brushing my lips and making my heart race. Yep. I was only more convinced now that eating could be an erotic event.
When our snack was finished, we laid on the blanket and watched the clear sky. His fingers twisted with mine, and I sighed. It was new and exciting to be spending so much time outside, knowing and feeling that I was safe. Not worrying about the outside world.
And lying with this giant alpha, such a sweet man who even played with flowers!
The thought didn’t cease to make me feel warm and kind of giddy.
“Why aren’t you also courting Kasen?” I asked.
Ronan’s abrupt laughter made me smile. He rolled onto his side to look down at me. This was the biggest smile I’d ever seen on him, and it made my stomach flutter. He was so damn beautiful.
“Despite his teasing, he doesn’t really want that, Talya,” he said, his finger tracing my jaw. “Believe it or not, we’ve discussed it. There was a brief window when he arrived that I did court him, but that’s just not where we’re at.”
I stared at him in shock. “He didn’t tell me that.”
His grin remained big, and my heart raced at the sight of it. “I love Kasen, and I would do anything to protect him. I enjoy spending time with him despite his incessant need to rib me. I like to make him happy. But…” He shook his head. For a minute, he didn’t speak. Then his hand gently landed over my heart. “I can feel right here that you are my omega. I’ve been waiting my entire life for you, sweetheart. I don’t feel the same way about Kasen or the others. I love them with all my heart, but this feeling right here, it’s different.”
“That’s the difference between a pack and a mate,” I noted.
Ronan nodded.
“I imagine you feel the same way about Kasen. And maybe Lohtus and Blakely?”
I sighed. “I hadn’t tried to put it into words or distinguish between them, but I know exactly what you mean. I appreciate that it makes more sense now.”
“Your pack is forever. It’s home and love and support without question. Your mate is something a little deeper. It’s pleasure and peace and intimacy that’s just a different tone, a different color and feeling. It reaches your senses differently even though it’s inherently the same.”
This explanation was something I hadn’t realized I wanted, but it cleared up feelings I hadn’t truly given myself time to think about.
“Thanks,” I said.
Ronan’s finger tangled in a strand of my hair. “You’re welcome.”
I brushed my fingers against the stubbly dark hair on his chin. “You know,” I said, trying to keep the teasing from my voice. “you can kiss me any time now.”
His smirk made me grin, but it only lasted a minute before he took me up on my offer and pressed his mouth to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and for a very long time, we laid in the field of wildflowers, kissing.