Chapter 38
SANTIAGO
Blake has made herself at home in the dining room. I have no problem with that. In fact, I welcome it. I just wish it were because she’s doing something she loves, rather than something that makes her so stressed she doesn’t eat.
Which has been the case.
She didn’t even touch the food we got her from Main Street Diner.
Two days ago, she was ready to end it all—an event I don’t like thinking about. I’d prefer to focus on the result.
She made her choice, and it was us.
But as soon as we got back to the house, she hopped right into the investigation. Now my dining room looks exactly like the wall did in her room at Moose Gap Lodge, except it’s bigger.
The first floor of my home is open-concept, yet Blake has managed to create an invisible barrier around the dining room that not even Bear dares to cross.
When I got up this morning, Blake was already awake, dressed, and sipping a coffee. Her ass was planted in the dining room as I stalked off to the temporary horse stalls for morning chores. It’s past noon now, and she still hasn’t moved.
Levi already held a few appointments in the space I’m lending to him in the barn. Now he’s resting on the couch, with his feet up on the coffee table, a book in his hand.
And no shirt.
Just his scrub pants and a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. His lickable abs on full display.
Yeah, I’ll lick those later.
I have a more pressing matter in front of me.
It’s a nice day outside. Temperatures are above freezing, the sky is clear, and the sun is shining.
Time to touch some grass.
Or snow.
Strolling into the dining room, I deliberately step on a pile and knock it over. “What’re you working on?”
Blake doesn’t look up from the notes in her hands as she responds. “Same thing I’ve been working on for the last few weeks.”
This won’t do.
I stomp straight for her and mess with her system, as she calls it, along the way, trying to draw her attention. Her focus doesn’t even waver until I’m right beside her. Snatching the papers from her, I toss them over my shoulder.
Blake reaches for them as she shoots me a disappointed look. “Hey!”
“You’re coming with me,” I inform her, offering no alternative.
She quirks a brow, leaning away from me in her chair. “Excuse you?”
I shoot her a smirk. “Wasn’t a request, mi Cielo.” Gripping her waist, I bend and lift her onto my shoulder.
She lets out a yelp. “Levi!”
From his spot on the couch in the next room, his nose remains in his book as he replies, “I’m not getting in the middle of this.”
“Traitor!” Blake shouts back, sounding so indignant that momentarily, I fear she’ll smother Levi in his sleep tonight.
But she made her choice.
Blake kicks her feet as I grab her coat off the hook by the back door. “You can’t do this every time I refuse to follow you around like a dog.”
“Watch me,” I taunt her.
“Bear, this is your time to shine,” she prompts the pitbull.
I fail to stifle my amusement. “He won’t.”
“Yes, he will,” she argues back.
With my hand on the knob, I wait, letting Bear prove my point. “No, he won’t. Dogs don’t bite the hand that feeds them.”
Bear lifts his head from where he lies on his cushy bed that Blake insisted on buying for him. That dog is going to be spoiled, but he does his job when needed. Bear assesses the situation, humphs, rests his head, and resumes his nap.
“I feed him,” Blake contends.
“So do I.”
She pushes on my back, attempting to straighten her spine. “Have you been sneaking him treats?”
I let my silence speak for me.
“Santi, you can’t do that!” She pounds a fist on my back.
Returning her blow with a slap on her ass, I carry her out onto the back porch. “Too late.”
The heat from the sun warms my skin, and I relish it. I may have lived here my whole life, but a change of pace is always nice.
Marching across the worn path in the snow from the porch to the barn, made by my treks back and forth, I tote Blake to the spot where Jack waits with Ace and Shadow. I asked him to get them saddled when I went up to the house earlier.
I deposit Blake on her feet and slip her arms into the sleeves of her coat. Securing the zipper, I whip out the gloves I stashed in my pocket and slide them on.
Blake frowns at me like a petulant child. “Are you done dressing me, Dad?”
Her insult has the opposite effect, and I feel my cock stiffen.
“You can call me Daddy any time,” I reply with a wink, and her cheeks fill with a perfect pink color. Motioning to the horses, I retrieve the reins from Javier. “Let’s ride. Shadow is already tacked up for you.”
“Have fun,” Javier salutes, making his way deeper into the barn to get back to work.
Blake’s obstinacy dies as she caves, seizing Shadow’s straps. “This feels irresponsible.”
I wave off her concern, mounting Ace. “You’ll be fine. The case will still be there when we get back.”
“Santi…” Blake expresses her hesitation as she places one foot in the stirrup and swings her other leg over Shadow’s back.
“Shadow missed you. She told me herself.”
“If the horses are speaking to you when you talk to them, then it’s probably time to put you in a home, old man,” she teases.
Widening my eyes, I repeat her last two words. “Old man?”
Blake’s smile is wide from our banter, lighting up her face. “You’re the one going senile.”
“I take offense to that,” I return, faking my affront.
Her answering smile is all I need.
Urging Ace forward, I begin our distraction, and Blake follows behind with Shadow. Just like the first time she rode, Blake coaxes Shadow so we’re trotting side by side.
From the moment she saddled up, I could see the difference in her eyes. In the dining room, her gaze was troubled. Out here with nothing but a horse, the earth, and the sky, her eyes are bright, and the tension in her shoulders is gone.
“Tell me about your life in New York,” I prompt her.
She shrugs, her eyes fixed forward. “Not much to tell.”
“I doubt that.”
Blake sighs, her gaze going far off. “I rent—used to rent—a studio. I canceled the lease when I came here. My best friend is Savannah. I miss her like crazy.” Her head tilts to the side as her smile becomes more subtle.
I understand Blake’s longing. She has spent a large portion of her life in New York City. Of course she’s going to miss it.
But I’m selfish enough to keep her here with me—with us.
“Why art?” I question.
Blake shakes her head, returning to our horseback ride. “What?”
“Why did you choose to pursue a career in art?” I ask again.
Blake flashes a contemplative frown, shrugging a shoulder. “I guess because it’s how I express myself.”
Wanting clarification, I inquire, “What do you mean?”
Blake nods her head as if the motion helps her find the words. “It’s cathartic. I started drawing after my dad died, then it just sort of stuck. I won a couple of awards in high school, and when I got to New York, I got my paintings in a few galleries, and it took off from there.”
“Do you miss it?”
She switches her attention to me, scrunching her brows. “What? New York?” Swaying her head from side to side, she seems to fully contemplate my question. “Sometimes. I miss painting more.”
It’s not hard to sympathize with Blake. If I had to walk away from my life at Falling Sky, homesickness would paralyze me.
Needing to see her smile again, I firmly squeeze my calves together, make a sound with my mouth, and tap Ace’s croup. Ace obeys my cues and widens his stride, quickening his pace.
“Santi!” Blake shouts after me.
Glancing over my shoulder, I shout back, “Come on, mi Cielo.” Lifting my face to the sky, I let out a loud, triumphant bellow and instruct Ace to run faster.
With the chilled wind numbing my face, I let a warm feeling spread through my chest. It’s moments like this that make the early mornings, little sleep, and grueling labor worth it.
In my peripheral vision, Blake and Shadow gain on Ace and me. I never taught Blake how to instruct a horse to run, but I’m not surprised she figured it out.
Blake’s hair whips behind her, and the expression on her face matches my own.
I direct Ace to pull back a hair, so I can watch Blake in this moment. She drops the lines to Shadow’s bridle and hesitantly spreads her arms wide. Her head tilts up, and the cheer she bellows is unleashed in the Wyoming air, dancing to a rhythm that is solely Blake Jennings.
This is what I choose.
Her.
This life.
This moment.
We race in tandem for another hundred yards, then slow. Blake releases a thrilled laugh, ending on a contented sigh.
I shake my head, unable to suppress a chuckle. I could watch this woman all day.
“There she is,” I say as if I’m uttering a reverent prayer.
Blake brings Shadow to a complete stop, angling her head toward me. “What do you mean?”
Halting Ace, I dismount, rounding to Blake’s side. I peer up at her and answer, “You’re free. Nothing weighing you down. Just you.”
Blake swallows and descends from the saddle, her eyes glassy. Engulfing her in my embrace, I add, “You’ve spent so much time surviving that you forgot how to live.”
“Don’t you dare make me cry,” she whispers, shaking her head. Her watery smile causes my chest to clench. “You going to teach me how to live?”
“Damn straight,” I promise her.
Blake lets out a humorless laugh. “Good God.” Her arms circle around my neck as she pulls me in for a soft kiss. “I love you, cowboy,” she says against my lips.
My breath catches, and a sweet warmth unfurls low in my stomach. Everything narrows to her—just her. I can’t stop smiling because she is my missing piece. With her, Levi, and Walker, the ranch truly feels like a home.
Pressing my head to hers, I whisper back, “Te amo, Mi Cielo.”
I love you, my Sky.