38. Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Eight
Cash
We made it back to Alpine Ridge in record time, but well after the sun had set. We called and said goodnight to Stetson, giving in to letting him sleep in the main house, promising him breakfast in the morning, and then the cab of the truck finally sat in silence. Throughout the seven-hour drive, we never once stopped planning our future together. The plan was simple: I would spend the night here and then in the morning, leave for Bozeman. I’d put my place up for sale and hurry back to Hartwell Hills. Home. Abi would talk to her brothers, Lachlan, and her dad, and the steps to make the ranch Rhett’s would take effect.
“We’ll have to hire someone,” she mentioned at one point. “I handled all the finances. I’ll need to teach someone how to do that. Wyatt and Rhett are both useless there.”
“Lachlan?” I suggested.
“No, he’s on the land. He doesn’t have time to look at numbers. We may have the extra wiggle room to hire someone.”
I could practically hear the gears in her head turning, trying to come up with all the plans, but once that goodnight phone call was made, her mind cleared. She laid her head back on the seat and looked at me, a sweet smile on her lips. There was a different kind of calm to her that I hadn’t seen before. The past ten weeks, all I had seen was stress and sadness in her eyes, the happiness only breaking through when she was around her family and, most recently, with me. But this look, this time, all I saw was contentment.
“What are you going to do with all your free time?” I asked her as we pulled onto the dirt road leading to Hartwell Hills.
“Ha, free time. What’s that?” she joked, her head rolling to look out the window. “My task list won’t change too much.”
“Well, since you won’t be working the books anymore, and you’ll delegate other tasks to ranch hands and new employees—”
“Okay, okay, I get it.” She inhaled. “Maybe I’ll read.”
“Read?”
“Yeah, a few weeks ago I was in the kitchen just thinking if I didn’t have to do this…I could read. I haven’t finished reading a book in…well, since before Sylas died.” Her eyes widened at the realization. “I would read.”
I reached out and threaded my fingers through hers, bringing her knuckles to my lips. “We can make one of the rooms in the house a library, fill it with all the books you could ever want.”
She chuckled. “Ha…I don’t need a library. Just a bookshelf.”
“I’ll make that happen.”
I pulled up to the house, the porch lights the only indication there was life. Darkness took over the ranch, everything was so peaceful and quiet and…
“It’s perfect,” I said aloud.
Abi leaned forward, her body completely shifting in the seat until her lips met mine. Last time we were parked in this spot, she climbed in my lap and kissed me until all thought left my brain. Tonight, this kiss was pure and simple, a promise of something more.
“Let’s go inside.”
Our hands met again once we were out of the car. We left our bags in the bed of the truck. The house was dark as she unlocked the door, locking it behind her once inside. She led me up the stairs, opening the door quietly to peek at a sleeping Stetson before leading me to her room.
She turned on the bedside lamp, giving a soft glow to her bedroom. A blue quilt sat on the queen bed, pillows lining the white barn-style headboard. A salt lamp lit the corner, and a perfect soft glow illuminated the photos she had hanging on the walls. There were photos of Stetson, her horses, Luna and Sylas…and their wedding photo.
He held her from behind, his face nuzzled into her hair, his smile still visible even though his attention was full on her. Sylas wore his dark hat and a dark suit with a blue flower popping out of the chest pocket. Abi’s hair was down, wavy over her shoulders, her head turned to face him. Her eyes were closed, complete serenity settled on her expression. Her dress was stunning, elegant against the fall backdrop. They were perfect, in love and happy. I lifted my fingers to touch the frame, taking in Sylas. It had been far too long since I had seen a photo of him. Even now, I was grateful it was here.
“It wouldn’t be weird if I kept that…right?” She whispered, her arms wrapping around my waist from behind, her chin resting on my shoulder.
“It would be weird if you got rid of it.” I lightly touched the gold frame, taking in Sylas’s wide smile. “I miss him. A lot.”
She spun until she faced me, nuzzling her head in my chest. “Me too, but…” She rested her chin on my chest. “I’m so happy he brought me you.”
“He brought me huh? Not Lachlan?”
“Lachlan made the call, but Sylas pushed us together. I’m sure of it.” Lifting up on her tiptoes, she kissed me lightly. “I have something to show you. They aren’t done yet, but…come here.” Her fingers trailed down my arm until she pulled me to her vanity dresser.
Sitting on the top dresser were four framed drawings. A mountain range, two horses mid gallop, Stetson with Sylas’s grave, and Abi in the field with Luna. She framed my sketches. Every single one that I had drawn during these weeks here at the ranch.
“Abi…”
“I want to hang them in the stables. I want to see them every day.” She rested her cheek against my shoulders, her palm gliding around my waist.
“I…Abi I…” No words, there were no words to describe the emotion that swelled in my chest, and by the way she was looking at me, the way the tears were also forming in her eyes, she felt it too.
“Come on,” she whispered, pulling me away from the frames. “Let’s get some rest.”
We undressed—me keeping my boxers on and Abi putting on a loose t-shirt—and climbed into her bed. She cuddled up next to me and kissed my chest lightly before her body relaxed completely, her heartbeat and warmth lulling me into the deepest sleep I’ve ever had.
Sleeping in was not in Abi’s routine, and she made sure I was up before the sun as well. She woke me up with kisses all over my bare chest. We kissed until I couldn’t hold back, and when we made love, we were filling voids we didn’t know we had, coming together in more ways than one. I was hers, and she was mine.
We showered quickly, Abi fitting me into her daily routine as if I had been here every day. She even reminded me to take my medicine. She let me wake Stetson, saying he would be ecstatic to see me instead of her, and she was right. He opened his eyes quickly, wrapping his arms around my neck and pulling me in for a hug. I lifted him from his bed, ignoring the sting in my leg, and carried him downstairs where Abi already had a coffee mug full and waiting for me. The things she would need to make breakfast were already lined up; the only thing missing was the eggs.
“Mommy!” Stetson leapt from my arms and ran to his mother, wrapping his arms around her legs. “I missed you, Mommy.”
“I missed you too, bud.” She leaned, giving him a kiss on the crown of his head. “Eggs and bacon for breakfast?”
“Pancakes?” He asked, raising his chin.
“Eggs and bacon for breakfast?” she asked again, pretending she didn’t even hear his request for a different breakfast. “Go to the coop and get them for me?”
He let her go and turned to me. “Come get the eggs with me, Cash?” he asked as he slid on a pair of rubber boots over his fuzzy pajamas.
“Sure thing, Stet. Let’s go.” I grabbed my hat and slipped my boots on, giving Abi one last wink before we stepped out into the new day.
“So,” Stetson skipped. “You’re here to stay now, right? You’re Mom’s boyfriend?”
“I am.” I smiled at the admission. “But there are steps to take.”
“Like what?” he asked, opening the chicken coop’s door and taking a small step inside.
“Well, I gotta sell my place…”
“Can I come? It’s almost my spring break.”
I smiled. The idea of Stetson with me in Montana actually sounded like fun. “I’ll ask your mom. We also have to make sure your grandparents are okay with me moving in.”
“To my house!?” Stetson asked, his eyes wide as he reached and grabbed an egg, handing it to me gently.
I chuckle. “Yeah, in your house. Is that okay with you?”
He nodded rapidly. “I’d love that. We can go on more rides and get on the roof some more. You’ll teach me more things, right? I really want to learn bareback riding.”
“Not saddle bronc?” I raised an eyebrow.
He scrunched his nose and shook his head. “It’s cool watching you do it, but bare back seems more…”
“Dangerous?”
He furrowed his brow, trying to think of the perfect word to use. “Invigorating?”
“Invigorating?” I parroted. “Where did you learn that word?”
“School.” He shrugged a shoulder. “It makes you feel strong, full of energy. And I have a lot of energy Un—” He looked at me, stopping himself from saying ‘uncle’ I cocked a grin. “Cash.”
“Ha, that you do. I’ll teach you what I know, maybe get you trained to do junior rodeo once you get in high school, but”—I grinned, reaching up to rub his hair—“We’ll have to convince your mom.”
Stetson tightened his lips. “She doesn’t like the idea of me riding in a rodeo. Not after what happened to Daddy.”
“Can you blame her?” I raised an eyebrow as he handed me another egg.
“No, but I wish she’d let me. Like when you ride, she’s always smiling. With me, she’s scared.”
“She just worried about you, but”—he handed me another egg, so I had seven eggs in my arms—“you should have seen her at the rodeos. She loved it, and she wants you to travel with us.”
“Us?” he questioned, his hand midair with an egg ready to be dropped.
“Us. Before your dad passed, you were supposed to travel with him, remember?”
He pinched his brow, and twisted his lips. “A little? I remember some things.”
I huffed. “You were young. That’s ok. But you were going to travel to rodeos with him during the summer. She wants to do that again, with me…and you. The entire summer going from rodeo to rodeo. Watching Quinn and seeing Wyatt make an ass of himself. She’s even talked about getting me back on the boards—”
His eyes widened, so did his smile.
“Don’t get too excited. I’m not there yet. We’ll get you signed up for mutton busting at all these rodeos we go to. You’ll start to train if you really want to, and before you know it, you’ll be riding bareback just like your Uncle Lachlan.”
He smiled. “Maybe saddle bronc won’t be too bad.”
I shook my head, looking down at the now ten eggs cradled in my arms. “Whatcha’ say? Do you want to travel with us?”
“More than anything. We can leave tomorrow. I know Uncle Wyatt has some rodeos lined up. We can go with him!”
“Pretty sure you have school tomorrow.”
He walked past me, leaving the coop, not a single egg in his hand.
“Eh, it’s ok. I can skip a day or two.”
I laughed, shaking my head as I followed, carrying the eggs with care as we made our way back to the house.
I threw my last bag into the back of the truck. Nova was in her trailer and ready to move. She was content as could be, but her eyes looked towards the stables. Abi shut the trailer door, locking it before handing me the key. We had just finished breakfast, saying a quick hello to Leo and Lottie, and avoiding any tasks that Lachlan may give me by saying I needed to start the trip back home. Abi grasped my hand and pulled me to the stables where she kissed me for the last private moment between us.
“You should just keep her here,” she suggested. “She and Luna love each other and well, why cart her around when you’re coming back?”
“I don’t know when I will be back. I’m taking her so we can ride.” I placed my hands on Abi’s shoulders, squeezing gently before she stepped into me.
“I don’t like that you don’t know when you’ll be back.”
“A couple of weeks tops. I gotta get everything packed up and…shit…Stet asked if he could come along.”
“He has school, so as much as he would like to start all of our adventures…”
I kissed her, the pure thought of our future together making my heart beat faster. Our adventures called louder than I wanted to admit. If I could leave my place in Bozeman the way it was, I’d never go back.
“Couple weeks tops.” I repeated, listening to her sigh. “You have to talk to Rhett and your dad.”
She slumped into me. “I wish you could stay for that talk.”
“When’s it happening?”
She turned to look at Rhett’s house in the distance. “As soon as I can’t see your truck anymore.” She leaned into me, her arms wrapping around my waist. Our gazes met before she pressed her lips to mine, breathing in so deep as she kissed me. “I love you, Cash,” she whispered against me; almost so low I couldn’t hear it.
My heart stopped, literally skipping a beat before I processed what she had said. I knew she loved me, this past weekend proved that, but the words hitting my ears, creating my entire body to warm and melt in her arms. She loved me, she loved me. Moving my hands to tilt her head to me, I kissed her again, slow and smooth, tasting every inch of her and memorizing it. “I love you, Abi. More than anything.”
“Come home soon,” she murmured. “I don’t have anyone else to throw brushes at.”
I laughed, kissing her again. “I’ll be home soon. I love you. I love you. I,” I kissed her, “love,” I kissed her again, deeper this time, “you.”
She hummed, taking a step back from me, watching as I got in my rig…and slowly left Hartwell Hills Ranch.