Chapter 18
Dante
“If you think I’m gonna stay in this bed for one more goddamn second, you have another thing coming,” I growled, pushing my way toward the door.
But Nick grabbed my hand, holding me back. “It’s only been three weeks since the accident, Dante,” he said, his voice firm, but still concerned. “You need to rest.”
I whirled on him, pointing a finger threateningly at his chest. “Do you know what it’s like being confined to a bed for three weeks? It’s terrible! There’s nothing to do, nothing to see, and nothing on the whole internet that’s worth looking at.”
Nick just stood there, a stubborn hand on his hip. “You seemed like you were enjoying being in bed to me,” he grinned. “Especially last night.”
“Are you going to fuck me all day long?” I countered. “Because if not, I need some fresh air, some sun, and some fucking shred of independence back in my life.”
“Okay, okay,” Nick sighed, putting his hands up in mock defeat. “We’ll go outside. But nothing else. You can walk and look and sit. That’s all. Got it?”
“Yes sir,” I answered, putting extra emphasis on that last word. I knew it drove Nick crazy and teasing him was probably my favorite thing to do. His eyes darkened, pupils dilating just a fraction. Got him.
“You’re gonna be the death of me,” he muttered, but there was heat in his voice that made my stomach flip.
Twenty minutes later, I was standing on the porch of the main house, breathing in the crisp Montana air like it was the first breath I’d ever taken.
The sun was warm on my face, cutting through the morning chill, and I could smell pine and grass and something sweet I couldn’t quite place. Maybe wildflowers down by the creek.
“Better?” Nick asked, standing close enough that his shoulder brushed mine.
“So much better,” I admitted, closing my eyes and tilting my face up. The breeze moved across my skin, cool and perfect, and I could hear the distant sound of cattle, the creak of the barn door, someone calling out instructions across the yard.
I’d been so focused on getting out of that room that I hadn’t really thought about what being outside meant. It meant people. Ranch hands. Eyes on us. On me.
My chest tightened. Would they be able to tell something had changed? Would they care? And if they did, would word get back to my father somehow?
“Hey,” Nick said softly, his hand finding the small of my back where no one could see. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I lied. Then, more honestly. “I don’t know. Feels weird being out here now.”
I felt exposed standing there, like someone might look at me and just know what Nick and I had been doing behind closed doors. Like they’d see the marks he’d left on my skin under my clothes or somehow sense the way everything between us had shifted.
“Weird how?” Nick asked, his hand still resting against my back, hidden from view.
“Like everyone’s watching.” I scanned the property, taking in the ranch hands moving about their business. Most of them didn’t even glance our way. “Like they know.”
“They don’t know anything,” Nick said firmly. “And even if they did, this is our ranch. Our business. Not theirs. Besides, did they expect us to hate each other forever?”
Our ranch. The way he said it, like we were actually partners in this instead of me being the guy who’d forced him into marriage, made something warm bloom in my chest.
“Your dad’s waving us over,” I said, spotting Mr. Wesley near the barn with Angelo.
Nick’s hand dropped from my back as we started walking, and I immediately missed the contact. We kept a careful distance between us as we crossed the yard, close enough to talk but far enough apart that no one would think twice about it.
“Morning, boys,” Mr. Wesley called out as we approached.
He looked better than he had in weeks. There was more color in his face, less tension in his shoulders.
Working with Angelo seemed to have reassured him that I wasn’t planning on killing off the entire family in the dead of night.
Still, he wouldn’t look me in the eye for long. “Ribs doing better?”
“Better every day,” I said, which was mostly true. They still ached, especially when I moved wrong or when Nick got a little too enthusiastic in bed, but the sharp, stabbing pain had faded to a dull throb.
“That’s good to hear.” He nodded toward the barn. “Angelo’s been telling me about some ideas he has for expanding the cattle operation. Thought you might want to weigh in, since you’re the one signing the checks.”
I glanced at Angelo, who looked uncharacteristically nervous. The big guy shuffled his feet and wouldn’t quite meet my eyes.
“What kind of ideas?” I asked, genuinely curious. Angelo had surprised me more than once since we’d gotten here. Maybe he had another one up his sleeve.
“Well,” Angelo started, then stopped. He looked at Nick, then at Nick’s father, then finally at me.
“I was thinking we could maybe use some of that back pasture land. The stuff that’s just sitting empty right now.
Jim says it used to be good grazing land before they had to cut back on cattle numbers. ”
“We could support maybe fifty more head if we utilized it properly,” Mr. Wesley added. “Would mean more work, more hands, but also more profit down the line.”
I considered this, my mind automatically running through the numbers. The initial investment wouldn’t be small. We’d need to repair fencing, possibly drill a new well, and hire at least two more hands. But the Wesley’s knew this land better than anyone, and if he said it could work...
“What do you think?” I asked Nick, wanting his input. This was his family’s legacy as much as anything.
Nick looked surprised that I’d asked. His eyes searched my face for a moment, like he was trying to figure out if I was serious. Then his expression softened.
“I think it’s worth considering,” he said slowly. “That land’s been sitting idle for too long. My grandfather used to run cattle on it before...” He trailed off, and I knew he was thinking about the financial troubles that had led to all of this.
“Before your family hit hard times,” I finished for him, not bothering to sugarcoat it. “But that’s different now. We have the capital to make it work.”
“We’d need to move fast if we’re gonna do it,” Jim interjected. “Get the infrastructure in place before winter hits. That means we’ve got maybe four months, tops.”
Four months. That was doable, if we started now.
And it would give me something to focus on besides being cooped up in that tiny house, counting ceiling tiles and slowly losing my mind.
But it also meant cutting it close on those profits my father wanted to see by the end of month six.
However, things had been going very well thus far, and the numbers were looking good.
“Let’s do it,” I decided. “Angelo, work with Mr. Wesley to put together a plan. I want cost estimates, timeline, everything. Nick and I will review it and make a final call.”
Angelo’s face lit up like I’d just given him the best news of his life. “Really, boss? You mean it?”
“Yeah, I mean it.” I couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. “Just don’t make me regret it.”
“You won’t, I promise!” Angelo looked like he wanted to hug me but thought better of it. Instead, he turned to Mr. Wesley with renewed energy. “Come on, Jim, let’s go take another look at that land. I’ve got some ideas about where we could put the watering stations—”
They headed off together, already deep in conversation, leaving Nick and me standing there alone.
“They’re on a first name basis now?” I scoffed, unable to stop the grin from forming on my face. “Angelo’s getting awfully cozy with your family.”
Nick’s expression softened as he watched his father and Angelo disappear around the corner of the barn. “Yeah, they are. Mom too. He told me a couple days ago that she’s been teaching him how to make pie.”
“Your mom’s teaching Angelo to bake?” I couldn’t help but laugh at the mental image. “That’s... actually kind of sweet.”
“Don’t let it go to your head,” Nick said, but there was warmth in his voice. “Just because they like Angelo doesn’t mean they’ve forgiven you.”
“I know.” The reminder stung more than I wanted to admit. “But it’s a start, right?”
Nick looked at me then, really looked at me, and something in his expression made my chest tighten. “Yeah. It’s a start.”
We stood there for a moment, the silence between us comfortable in a way it had never been before. It almost felt… normal.
“You want to walk down to the creek?” Nick asked suddenly. “It’s not too far, and the fresh air might do you good.”
I knew what he was really asking. He wanted time alone with me, away from the prying eyes of ranch hands and family members. Away from the careful distance we had to maintain in public.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’d like that.”
We started walking, taking it slow for my benefit.
The path down to the creek wound through tall grass that swayed in the breeze, golden in the morning light.
I could smell that sweetness again, stronger now.
It was definitely wildflowers, mixed with the clean scent of water and earth that was so much different than the world I’d come from.
As soon as we were out of sight of the main buildings, Nick’s hand found mine. His fingers laced through my own, callused and strong, and I felt some of the tension I’d been carrying drain away.
“Better?” he asked, echoing his earlier question.
“Much better.” I squeezed his hand, marveling at how natural this felt. How right. “Though I feel like I’m the one that should be comforting you, not the other way around.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because this is all new to you. The whole being-with-a-man thing.” I glanced at him, trying to read his expression. “I keep waiting for you to freak out. To realize what we’ve been doing and decide it was all a mistake.”
Nick stopped walking, turning to face me fully. His green eyes were serious, intense in a way that made my breath catch.
“You think that’s going to happen?” he asked quietly.
“I don’t know. Maybe?” I hated how uncertain I sounded. Dante Valenti was cool and confident, not this soft-hearted person I’d become. “Your whole life, you thought you were straight. And then I came along and fucked everything up—”
“You didn’t fuck everything up.” His free hand came up to cup my jaw, his thumb brushing across my cheekbone.
“Yeah, this wasn’t how I expected my life to go.
And yeah, I’m still figuring out what it all means.
But Dante...” He paused, searching for words.
“What we have, what we’re doing... it doesn’t feel like a mistake.
It feels like the first thing that’s made sense in a long time. ”
My throat felt tight. “You mean that?”
“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.” He leaned in, pressing his forehead against mine. “I’m not going anywhere, Dante. I’m in this. Whatever this is.”
I closed my eyes, breathing him in. “I’m in this too. More than I probably should be.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I pulled back slightly so I could see his face. “It means this was supposed to be a business arrangement. A way to secure the ranch, keep my father happy, fulfill the contract. But somewhere along the way, it became... more. You became more.”
His eyes searched mine, and I could see the question forming before he asked it. “More how?”
“More like something I need instead of something I want.” The admission felt dangerous, exposing parts of myself I usually kept locked away. “More like if something happened to you, it would destroy me.”
Nick’s breath hitched, and for a moment I thought maybe I’d said too much. Pushed too hard. But then he was kissing me, his mouth hot and insistent against mine, and I forgot to worry about anything except the feeling of him pressed against me.
When we finally broke apart, both breathing hard, he rested his forehead against mine again.
“I know what you mean,” he said quietly. “When that heifer charged, and I saw you go down... I’ve never been that scared in my life. Not when my dad lost the ranch, not when your family showed up with that contract, never. I thought I’d lost you before I even really had you.”
“But you didn’t lose me.” I wrapped my arms around him, careful of my still-healing ribs. “I’m right here.”
“I know.” His arms came around me too, holding me close. “And even though it’s all new and strange to me, I’m not letting go.”
We stood there for a long moment, wrapped up in each other, the creek babbling nearby and the Montana sun warm on our backs.
This was what I’d been craving during those long years back in Newark—not just the fresh air and sunshine, but this.
Nick’s arms around me, his body solid and real against mine, the knowledge that whatever we were building together was strong enough to last. A real partner.
“We should probably head back,” Nick said eventually, though he didn’t make any move to let go. “Before someone comes looking for us.”
“Probably,” I agreed, but I tightened my hold on him instead of releasing it. “Just... give me another minute.”
“Take all the time you need.”
So I did. I stood there holding my husband, breathing in the scent of him, memorizing the feeling of his heartbeat against mine. There was more I wanted to say, but the words terrified me. For now, I was happy to just exist in this moment with Nick. The words could wait.