Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
REMINGTON
I need a break from the chaos. Dinner with everyone went better than I hoped, and I enjoy Erin’s family, but I’m not used to the noise, and I just need a minute of solitude.
So, I sneak off while everyone’s digging into my mother’s chocolate cream pie and sit on the back deck, watching the sun set behind the mountains.
I’m falling in love with her. I’ve known it for a couple of weeks now, but I didn’t acknowledge it. Tonight, watching her with her family and with mine, the way she so seamlessly balanced both broods, kept conversations running smoothly, and helped Holly when my little girl accidentally spilled her juice, only reinforced what I’ve known for weeks.
Erin is fucking incredible.
The door slides open behind me, letting the laughter and chatter spill out from inside. Will steps out and closes the door behind him, cutting off the noise once more.
“I saw you sneak off,” he says as he passes me a plate of pie. “You can’t walk away from pie. I think it’s a federal law. Mind if I sit with you?”
“I don’t mind at all,” I reply as I accept the plate and take a bite. “My mom is one hell of a cook.”
“Hell yes, she is.” Will grins over at me. “Food is my favorite thing. Well, besides my wife.”
“You’re still so smitten with her.” I frown when I realize that I said that out loud. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Why not? It’s true. I’m fucking obsessed with Megan. I have been since the day I met her, though she didn’t like me back then.”
“Why not?”
“Well, she worked on the pediatric floor of the hospital. She’s a nurse and worked with very sick kiddos. She’d contacted my agent a few times, asking if I’d come by and cheer up the patients. I never got the requests because my former agent always declined them right away.”
“That’s kind of them.”
“It was bullshit. Of course, I would want to go. So, when I found out about it, I got a few of my buddies from the team to go with me, and we took up a bunch of gear and merch for the kids and spent time with all of them.”
“I bet that helped put you in Meg’s good graces.”
“It helped,” he agrees. “She’s also partial to chocolate cupcakes, and I had those delivered, too. The key is to pay attention. It sounds silly, but it’s true. Anyway, I charmed her. And I can say with absolute certainty that my life wouldn’t work without her.”
“That’s what everyone wants in the end. To find the person that makes their life better.”
I feel him glance my way before turning back to the view. “I’m going to be brutally honest with you, Remington.”
“That’s the way I prefer it.”
“I don’t like your age difference. In my opinion, you’re too damn old for my daughter.”
“I would probably say the same thing if it was Holly in a similar situation.” I nod and take a bite of pie.
“My opinion doesn’t piss you off?”
“It’s reasonable. That doesn’t piss me off. Your daughter makes my life better. Not just because of how amazing she is with my kids, although that has to be a piece of it because Johnny and Holly are the most important part of my life.”
“I get that.”
“It’s more than that. She doesn’t give herself enough credit for how damn smart she is. She’s witty and fun. She loves my home—not just this house, but the land it’s on and Bitterroot Valley—and that’s important to me. I didn’t plan to fall for your daughter; it just sort of happened, and I’m grateful that it did. Sure, there’s an age gap, but she’s well into adulthood. She’s not a kid.”
“No, you’re right about that. It would be a different story if she were eighteen or nineteen.”
“I wouldn’t have been interested in someone that young, no matter how drop-dead gorgeous she is. Besides, I’m thirty-six, not seventy-six. It’s not creepy or anything.”
That makes him laugh.
“I can see with my own two eyes that you’re good for each other,” Will says at last. “I’m not blind. I like the way you’ve stepped up to protect her, and I can tell that you treat her, and all of your family, very well.”
“My father would kick my ass if it were any other way.”
Will nods thoughtfully. “Sounds like you were raised a lot like me. And I like that. Where do you see this going, Rem?”
“All the way.” I blow out a breath, and Will reaches over to pat my shoulder. “Scares the shit out of me.”
“If it wasn’t real, it wouldn’t scare you. Now, let’s change the subject. Who’s your favorite football team?”
“I’ve always liked Denver.”
“And now you’ve fucked it up.” He punches me on the arm, and then we laugh.
“It’s so quiet with the kids gone,” Erin says a few days later. Dad just drove away with a car full of kids and luggage and Mom in the passenger seat, on their way to Washington. “I mean, I know they’re gone when they’re at school, but this feels… different. ”
“It always throws me for a loop,” I agree and sling my arm around her shoulders, tugging her against me. “I enjoyed spending time with your family this week.”
“Me too,” she says and smiles up at me. “I was sad to see them go.”
“I have plans to keep you busy over the next few days so you don’t think about that.”
I grin at her and drag my knuckles down her cheek. I’d love nothing more than to spend every minute of those three days in bed with her.
“I know that look,” she whispers. “We won’t survive that.”
“But it would be fun trying.” I grin. “First on my list is a more thorough tour of the property. The tour we gave your family just skimmed the surface.”
“ Yes .” She pumps her fist into the air. “Yes, please.”
“It’ll take us all day, so we’ll take some food with us. And lots of water.”
“But there’s a lot of water on the property. Streams and ponds and stuff.”
I shake my head. “We’d need filters for that. You don’t want to drink that water. You could, but there’s likely bacteria from the cattle.”
“Bottled water for the win.” She grins and starts pulling stuff out of the fridge and cabinets. “I can make us sandwiches, and we have lots of protein bars and chips. Fruit.”
“That’s great, thanks. I’ll go out and fetch a cooler from the garage to keep it all cold.”
By the time I return with the cooler and empty all the ice from the freezer into it, Erin has a nice pile of snacks for me to put in it.
“It’s just one day,” I remind her, eyeing all the food. “Not a week.”
“I’m not taking any chances. I get hangry when I haven’t had enough food.” She grins and cuts the last sandwich in half before sliding it into a sandwich bag. “Okay, that’s done. What should I wear?”
“Jeans, for sure. Hiking shoes or something similar. Layer the top. It might get warm this afternoon.”
“I’m on it!” She runs through the house, and I finish packing the cooler and carry it out to the Jeep.
I’d much rather do this on horseback, but that would turn into a several-day tour, so we’ll go motorized this time. Hopefully, someday, I’ll get Erin on a horse and teach her how to ride and help her get over that fear.
Today is not that day.
I’ve just slid my own hiking boots on when Erin comes rushing back in. Her hair is up in a high ponytail, and she’s dressed for an adventure in the woods. I can’t see how her jeans hug her ass because it’s covered by a flannel shirt that’s open in the front, showing off a grey T-shirt. She makes outdoor gear look fucking hot as hell.
“You’re staring,” she says, looking down at herself. “Is this wrong?”
“No.” I step to her and nudge her chin up. “It’s perfect. You always manage to look amazing.”
“Aww, you’re just saying that because you’re hoping for some forest sex.”
“Counting on it.” I laugh and step away. “Let’s get this show on the road, Doc.”
“Happily, Grumpy.”
Once we’re settled in the Jeep, we set off in the direction of my parents’ house.
“I didn’t know that there was a bunch of property this way,” Erin says and rolls her window down. “I mean, I know your parents and Brady live over here, but I thought it was the edge of the property.”
“No, we’re pretty much smack in the middle of it. I thought I’d start over here because you haven’t seen much of it.”
“You’re the guide,” she says with a smile as she slides her sunglasses on. “Show me everything. ”
When Brady’s cabin comes into view, I point at it. “That’s the oldest cabin on the property. Brady lives in it now. Before that, it was empty for a while. My mom and dad lived in it when they were first married.”
“It looks tiny,” she says.
“It is. But it works for one or two people.” I follow the bend in the road. “And you’ve seen Mom and Dad’s place.”
“It’s adorable.” Erin smiles. “It’s really perfect for them.”
“I agree. It was a good move on Dad’s part. Most of the property over here is wooded. We thought about clearing some of it out for more pasture, and that could happen in the future if we keep adding to our herd, but for now, we like the woods. They insulate the property during bad storms in the winter, and all the critters can live in there.”
“Don’t bulldoze Bambi’s house,” Erin says.
“No, ma’am. If local hunters ask for permission, we allow them to hunt in here, away from the cattle.”
“Oh, good idea. Are you asked often?”
“Every year. They’re regulars, been hunting here for a long time. But they always ask first, which we appreciate. There’s a nice little lake back here.”
Her eyes widen as I drive us over a little hill, and then there’s a lake with the mountains in the background.
“Holy shit,” she whispers. “Every time I think your land can’t get any prettier, I see something new.”
“The water is high right now because of the spring snow runoff. It’s not big enough for motorized boats, but we like to take paddle boards and canoes out here in the summer. Sometimes, we fish.”
“I would love to learn to paddle board,” she says with excitement. “Is it deep?”
“In the middle, it’s about fifty feet deep, so yeah. But the shorelines are shallow. The kids love swimming over here in the summer.”
“We’ll be out here every day.”
I drive on, looping back around to the farmhouse and then past the barn and further out.
“I pointed out those old buildings that we don’t use anymore, but I thought you might like to go explore them a bit.”
“Uh, yeah .” She bounces in her seat. “I love abandoned buildings.”
“You do?”
“Hell yes. I like to think about who lived there before and what it looked like when it was new.”
“Well, that was the first barn built on the farm.”
“Why so far away from the first house?” she wonders.
“We don’t know for sure. Anyway, my three times great-grandfather bought this land almost a hundred and fifty years ago. So, that structure would date back that far.”
“Crazy,” she says. “The walls are caved in.”
“Yeah, we don’t ever go inside. It’s long past the days of being stable. But it’s fun to walk around and look at. There are a couple of other smaller buildings, too. One was a feed shack, and we’re not sure what the other was used for.”
I pull to a stop and cut the engine.
“Wait here for a second. I need to make sure we’re not disturbing any wildlife.”
“Bears?”
“Among other things.” I take my gun out of its case and walk around the perimeter, happy when I don’t have any altercations with animals. I walk back to the Jeep and open Erin’s door for her. After she steps out, I stow the gun away. “There’s nothing here.”
“Good.” She walks over and peers through the door of the barn. “Wow, it just collapsed in on itself.”
“Before I was born,” I agree. “Dad always talked about using the barn wood for other projects, but he never got around to it.”
“Are you kidding me ?” Erin turns to stare at me. “This could be used for so many things. Flooring or furniture, jeez, anything. But it would make a really gorgeous floor.”
“Do you hate the floor in the farmhouse now?”
“Not at all. But someone could use this. It’s been all the rage for years now, Remington. Someone would pay a lot of money for it.”
“Dad used some of it on their new house. We won’t sell it or take it off the property. It stays here.”
“That makes sense.” She props her hands on her hips, looking in again. “Do you know if the wood was harvested from trees here on the property?”
“They likely grew right where we’re standing,” I confirm. “There’s too much timber here to bring in wood from somewhere else, especially back then, when it was all by horse and buggy.”
“Good point. I hope you find a project for it. Or you could even reuse it right here.”
“How so?”
“Well, you could take it apart, board by board, and then rebuild it, adding in fresh lumber to keep it sound. Hell, use it for something. A guesthouse, an event space for weddings and big parties—heck, you could do anything. Weddings would be huge out here. With that view?”
She points to the mountains.
“Can you just imagine the photos? Holy shit, that’s every girl’s dream. A beautiful, rustic event space and this incredible view for the best photos ever. That’s what I would do.”
I can see it, plain as day. “It sucks that it’s in the middle of one of my pastures.”
“Could you move the pasture?” She taps her lips with her finger as she paces back and forth. “Fence off just this acre or two? So guests could still see the cows, but they won’t wander into someone’s nuptials.”
“Yeah.” I turn in a circle, mapping it out in my head. “That could work. It’s a hell of a project.”
“It would be big,” she agrees. “And I’m just talking. It’s none of my business if you use this or leave it as is, but man, it feels like a waste.”
She’s right. It does. I’ll have to think it over and talk with my family about it. If we decide to move forward with something like that, I hope that Erin would be interested in helping. It’s her vision.
“So, you don’t know what this was for?” she asks, pulling me out of my own thoughts as she points at the smallest building.
“I’m pretty sure that was an outhouse,” I reply and laugh when she pulls her hand back from trying the door. “If there was anything in it, it’s long gone.”
“Still, I’m good here. And that was the feed shack?”
“Yep.”
“It has solid walls,” she says as she just walks right inside. “You know, you could make this a little bigger and turn it into a coffee stand for events or a bar area. Or you could make it a bridal suite, where the bride can privately get ready for her big day.”
“Not a bad idea,” I murmur.
“So, this is the mystery building?” Erin points to the last building, farther away from the other two.
“Yes. It might have been used in the fall and winter to store meat after hunting season, but we don’t know.”
“Huh.” She pokes her head in and then turns back my way. “This spot is fabulous.”
“I’ve always liked it, too.”
I can tell that her wheels are turning when she joins me, and we walk back to the barn.
“There’s still a lot to see today.”
“I could stay here all day, daydreaming,” she admits and laughs. “But I definitely want to see the rest. I’ll come back another time.”
“Not by yourself.”
She frowns up at me. “I don’t think my stalker is hiding in the barn, Grumpy.”
“It has nothing to do with that.” I shake my head and open the door for her. “I don’t want you to get hurt by an animal.”
“Oh, yeah. Bears. Okay, deal.”
I drive through some of the same terrain that we traveled the other day with Erin’s family. I slow down at my family’s favorite spot so we can take it in, and then I push on again.
“This ranch started out at fifty-thousand acres,” I tell her as I drive. “Now, we’re closer to eighty thousand. I bought the property next door. The former owners kept their house and barn and five acres for their horses, but they’re done ranching and didn’t have children to leave it to. They wanted the land to be worked and used, so we bought it.”
“Are we on that property now?”
“Not yet.” I grin over at her. “We’re getting there. It’s worked great for us because we also took over his cattle, and we now have more pasture space.”
“So, you can continue to expand,” she guesses correctly.
“That’s right. Now, hold on, because I’m going to climb that hill over there.”
“Like, in the Jeep?”
“Yep.”
I put the Jeep in four-wheel drive and push on the gas to get us up the steep grade and then stop at the top.
“Uh, Grumpy?”
“Yeah, Doc?”
“Did I mention that I hate heights?”
I glance over, and her eyes are clenched shut, so I reach out and take her hand in mine.
“You’re fine. We’re not even getting out of the Jeep, I promise. Open your eyes.”
“As soon as we get off this hill, I’ll be happy to do so.”
With a chuckle, I reach over and brush my fingers over her cheek. “Come on, pretty girl. The view into Bitterroot Valley is insane up here.”
That gets her to slit one eye open, and then they both go round as she stares at the view.
“How is this possible? We’re so far out of town.”
“We’re higher in elevation here, and it gives us the perfect view. It’s pretty wild at night, with all the lights.”
“I’m going to have to see that,” she murmurs.
“There used to be a fire lookout up here,” I continue. “The Forest Service paid to rent out this hilltop in the summer months, and they stationed a man to live up here and keep an eye out for fires.”
“Why don’t they do that anymore?”
“Technology. Some towers are still in use, especially in remote areas, but we have drones and satellites now.”
“I think that would be a lonely job.”
“Some people thrive in it. Okay, we have to go back down so I can take you to the next spot, where we’ll have lunch.”
“Oh, shit.” She sucks in a breath and clenches her eyes shut again.
I shake my head, laughing. “Your confidence in me is awe-inspiring.”