Chapter 44
CHAPTER
FORTY-FOUR
Reeves loved holding Bailey in his arms, the slow afternoon seemingly coming to a stop. He’d been a touch uneasy about leaving to go camping this weekend as it was, as he’d only seen Bailey once since their discussion on Monday night.
He wanted to honor her request for time, and they had been texting, with a phone call here and there. She’d cooked on Wednesday night, and they’d eaten dinner with Stockton and Ronnie.
Reeves liked them a lot, and Ronnie seemed set to take over his father’s role in the massive energy company here in town.
Stockton had started seeing someone new, after the woman he’d been dating for most of last year had ended things with him.
Bailey could get a lot of information out of them without being pushy, and Reeves only added that ability to her long list of admirable traits.
He’d sat with the things she’d said too, and her concerns about his fame had followed him around the farm and into his office.
He normally did his camping trips in the middle of the week, as the campgrounds were empty then, but Yellowstone National Park hosted millions of visitors every year, and he’d taken the campsite he could get, when he could get it.
“I should probably call the ranger and let him know I won’t be using the campsite at the lake.” He simply didn’t want a screen in front of his face right now.
“Mm.” Bailey didn’t move, and he really liked the way she’d curled into his chest and wrapped one arm around his waist.
“Bay,” he whispered. “I don’t want to rush you, and I can give you more time.”
She hummed again, and Reeves took that as permission to keep talking.
“I came home, because I want to be with you this weekend.” He took a breath, the words he needed to say practically foaming in the back of his throat.
“I came home, because I didn’t want to do the video.
I just want you to know I would give up the filming, the channel, all of it. ”
He gazed up into the brilliant blue sky above, with wisps of clouds floating through it. “I came home, because I’m in love with you, and I wanted you to know. Maybe it would—I don’t know—influence some of what you’re taking time to work through.”
Bailey sat up, pushing her palm against his chest to do so. Her gorgeous eyes searched his, and Reeves simply let her look. He had nothing to hide from her. Not anymore.
“You’re the one I want to see me for who I really am,” he said.
“Not some camping guy online.” He reached up and brushed her hair back off her face, tucking it behind her ear.
“And I want you to know I see you clearly. I see our life together here, on these two farms that we’ll merge into one, in great detail.
I’ve felt it for a while, and every time we’re together, another piece falls into place. ”
He smiled at her, enjoying the surprise in her expression a little too much. “You’ve made my life so much brighter than I ever thought it could be. I wasn’t living until I met you, and now it’s like there’s color and life everywhere.”
He swallowed, though everything he’d said so far had come out fairly easily. He just had a few more words to say, and then he prayed Bailey would respond.
“I love you,” he said, feeling the simplicity in the words as they left his throat. He grinned again, the beauty of his feelings filling him over and over again. “Yeah, that’s all I wanted to say.”
Silence rained down on them then, and Reeves knew Bailey well enough to give her time to absorb his words, examine her thoughts, and then react.
“I don’t want you to quit the channel,” she whispered. “I’m fine with you being Reeves-the-Teton-Mountain-Man, as long as I’m the one who gets Reeves-the-Man, and as long as we can figure out a way to keep our personal lives out of the frame.”
“We can,” Reeves promised. “I know we can, wildflower.” He shifted, because he bore the bulk of her weight against his sternum, and she quickly lowered herself to lay her cheek against his chest instead.
“I think we can too,” she murmured. “Which is great, because I’m in love with you too.”
Reeves let her words enter his ears in the soft voice she’d used and grow in volume until they shouted through his soul. He chuckled then, the sound morphing into full-blown laughter a few seconds later.
He threaded his fingers through her hair, so many new things they needed to talk about. After all, he currently owned two parcels of property along the highway, each with a home—one of which he didn’t use as such at all.
She lifted her head, a smile on her face again.
Reeves matched the gesture. “What’s that look for?”
“I didn’t think anyone would ever be able to love me,” she said. A giggle followed. “And I don’t know. It feels…good. Really good.”
“I’ve never been in love before,” Reeves said. “It does feel great, like this fizzy, vibrant feeling in my whole body.”
“Or you could just be sick from your expired protein shakes.”
Reeves burst out laughing, and he tucked Bailey back into his side as she joined him. “I threw those out.”
“I don’t believe that,” she said through her laughter.
“I did,” he insisted. Reeves sobered, and he sighed happily up into the sky. “I never wanted anyone else in my life,” he said. “I thought all humans could do to one another was hurt each other.”
Bailey’s fingers slid up his chest, and she curled them around the side of his neck. “I’m sorry, Reeves. I can’t promise there still won’t be people like that in your life.”
“I know,” he said. “What’s that quote? Something about it being better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all?”
“Sure,” Bailey said. “I’ve heard that.”
“That’s how it feels,” he said. “I had a great life before you moved in next door, but it was flat and gray. I didn’t even know I was unhappy, because I didn’t know what happiness looked like, felt like, or sounded like.”
He shifted again, sending the hammock swaying a little. “Anyway, I’m fine if you need more time to work through things. We have a lot more to talk about now.”
She lifted herself again. “We do? Like what?”
“Where we’re going to live. If we’ll keep your farm and absorb it into this one. How many horses you want.” He grinned at her. “Important things.”
She scoffed, but her eyes danced with joy. “Important things, sure.”
“Kiss me again,” he whispered, and he reached up to curl his hand behind her head, bringing her closer and kissing her like the fool in love that he was.
Reeves whistled as he stepped into one of the ballrooms at The Oaken Barrel.
“Wow-wow-wow-ee,” he said. “Look at this place.” He’d put on a brand-new button-up shirt for Graham’s retirement party, so he should’ve expected to see men in suits and ties, women in gowns, and then cowboys in dark wash jeans and plaid shirts all in the same room.
And he did, and it made him smile.
Bailey tugged him to the right. “Over here,” she said, and Reeves went with her, spotting her parents only a moment later. Graham and Laney stood with Andrew and his wife, Becca, who Reeves knew still worked in the public relations department at Springside Energy.
“Hey, Daddy,” Bailey said, and she released Reeves’s hand to sink into a hug with her father. Reeves gave Laney a light hug and swept a kiss across her cheek.
“Mm, how are you, Reeves?” she asked.
“Real good, ma’am.” He smiled at her and then took in the party again. “This place is beautiful.”
“Bailey saw to every detail,” Laney said.
“That’s not true, Momma.” Bailey moved over to hug her. “You finalized everything.”
“I just approved your choices.” She grinned at her daughter and they all faced the ballroom. “The food will be good, we know that.”
“Yes, we do,” Reeves said.
“Oh, Stockton brought Hannah.” Bailey pulled in a breath and met Reeves’s eyes. “Let’s go say hello.”
“He looks a little lost,” Laney said just as Reeves found the man immediately inside the entrance. His father, Graham’s brother Eli, entered too, and Reeves let himself get swept up by Bailey’s hand in his.
They crossed the room to her cousin, and she once again leaned in to embrace Stockton, leaving Reeves to his own devices. He looked at the pretty brunette he’d only listened to Stockton talk about.
“Howdy,” he said. “I’m Reeves Dur—”
Her eyes widened, and all of her nerves fled. “You’re the Teton Mountain Man.”
Reeves grinned at her. “Only when the camera is on,” he said. “Today, I’m just Reeves, Bailey’s boyfriend.” If he had his way, he’d be her fiancée soon enough, but they still had plenty of things to talk through, and Reeves didn’t want to rush anything.
He extended his hand toward her. “I think Stockton said your name was Hannah? He’s been fairly quiet about you.”
“We’ve only been dating for a couple of months,” Stockton said, having finished his hug with Bailey. “Hannah, this is Bailey’s boyfriend, Reeves. And my cousin, Bailey McAllister.”
“It’s so great to meet you,” Bailey gushed, and she skipped the handshake and went straight for the hug. Hannah didn’t seem to know how to handle that, but she did okay and patted Bailey awkwardly on the back.
Bailey stepped back and smoothed her hands down the front of her shiny, almost foily, silver dress. “All right,” she said. “I need a drink, and since I went over the bar offerings, I happen to know there’s something fruity and tropical over there calling my name.”
She beamed around at everyone. “Reeves? Stockton? Hannah? Who wants something to drink?”
“I do,” Reeves said, because this party had a full soda bar too. “Let’s all go get something to drink.” He wouldn’t know even ten percent of the people here, and six months ago, he’d have been terrified to even consider attending this party.
Now, he held his head high, took Bailey’s hand, and stepped willingly into the gathering crowd separating him from the bar on the other side of the room.
He felt stronger than ever, and he knew a lot of that came from the woman at his side. Plenty of people looked at her, and Bailey handled their gazes with grace and sophistication. She hadn’t even been back in town for a year yet, but everyone seemed to know her…and love her.
Reeves didn’t mind being her arm candy, because he knew that they were so much more than that. Behind her closed door, she’d peel back the layers of her makeup, jewelry, and clothing, and Reeves would get a different version of her—the soft, slow, small town version of herself she only gave to him.
They joined the line to get a drink, and before Bailey could get swept up into another conversation with another stranger, Reeves leaned over and touched his lips to the soft spot below her ear.
“I love you, wildflower,” he whispered.
“I love you too, Reeves,” she said, and he would go anywhere, in any sized crowd to hear her say those words.