Chapter 42
DELANEY
“Why are we at Steele Ranch?” I ask.
Darren taps the steering wheel. “I’ll give you two guesses.”
I stare out the window as we pass the tall, heavy gate with the Steele Ranch sign and crawl up the gravel road. It’s been years since I’ve been here. Over a decade, at least.
The largest cattle ranch in Alberta is the same as I remember.
Open, bright, with rows upon rows of thick trees along the road leading up to the ranch house that seems to expand and expand the closer we get.
There’s a second stable across the way, settled beside the original but far newer.
Beyond them, you can see out for miles and miles, nothing but empty pastures and the towering scape of the Rocky Mountains.
I pat Darren’s thigh as he starts to turn us onto the grass in front of the ranch house. “Mm, are we here to pet the donkeys?”
“And risk having my ribs dented when I piss one off? No chance.”
“Oh, I know. We’re Eliza’s special baking testers.”
“I’m pretty sure Johnny and Brody have that covered, unfortunately.”
I pout and remove my hand. “Well, then I don’t know why we’re here. Surely, you didn’t bring me here to go horseback riding.”
Silence.
“Darren . . .” I start cautiously.
“We deserve a redo. The last time you were on a horse, we were young and too obnoxious to actually try. I want another chance.”
“You can’t be serious. This isn’t a date idea— it’s a sure way to piss me off!”
He reaches for my hand, taking it despite my stiffness. Bringing it to his lips, he kisses each one of my knuckles, as if I’m so weak-willed to let him have his way with a few kisses.
“Please, Elle? Don’t you want to do something out of the box with me? Live a little to make up for the time we lost?”
My pulse skips at the intensity in his eyes. I groan, scowling at him. “You’re such an ass.”
“Me? Are you sure?”
“There better be something incredible in it for me after this, or I’m going to be one very, very grumpy girlfriend.”
“Girlfriend?” he teases, almost purring at the term.
My scowl grows deeper before I exit the car and close the door very pointedly.
“You’re not escaping me that easily,” he calls, his door closing.
I stand in front of the hood and cross my arms, waiting for him to join me. “Is girlfriend not the correct word for what I am to you?”
“Do you think that’s good enough?” He closes in on me and runs his fingers up the length of my arm. “It doesn’t feel like it to me. You’ve been my girlfriend once, and I lost you.”
“And you think that it will be different this time because we won’t label me as that?”
He cracks a smile, cranking my temper. “Not exactly. I just consider girlfriend the term couples use when they’re still on the fence about long-term commitment. ”
“And you’re . . . not on the fence?”
“No, baby. I’m long term or no term with you.”
Heat rushes through me from my toes to the tips of my ears. “So, no girlfriend, then.”
“No girlfriend. You’re just mine. My Elle,” he declares, voice low and rasped like it was when he was between my legs last weekend.
The reminder of those hours together sparks the dormant lust that’s been driving me crazy for days.
I’m not doing well with the lack of time we’ve been able to spend together this week, but with both of us fully devoted to our careers, things were always going to be different from what they were when we were teenagers.
Days are long and nights are short. There are so many hours available to see one another, and unfortunately, we haven’t been able to fit each other in much besides sporadic texts and calls.
Today is exactly what I needed, even if we’re at the ranch instead of snuggled on the couch again. It’s the best way to end a long day of teaching high-intensity children.
“I can live with that,” I tell him.
His smile is bashful while I wrap a hand behind his neck and pull him down to kiss me. I sigh against his lips, too happy to hide it.
Darren palms my waist and jerks me toward him. I laugh at the sharp movement, and he does it again, as if he just wanted to hear me laugh again.
“Well, I can’t say that this isn’t a bit startlin’.”
Brody’s voice interrupts the moment, but I linger, unable to back away just yet. I steal one more kiss from my not-boyfriend before trailing my hand down his body and linking our fingers.
“You’ve got amazing timing,” Darren grumbles at his friend.
“It’s good to see you, Delaney. Too bad you’re here with this grumpy guy.”
I grin, soaking in the banter. “Oh, he’s not always grumpy.”
“Only when I’ve got a buzzkill sniffing around,” Darren says .
Brody snorts a laugh. “If you’d prefer, we could skip the refresher lesson, and you could try helpin’ Delaney jump on a horse without me.”
The deep brown cowboy hat on his head keeps his eyes shielded when the sun flashes in our direction. I squint and lift a hand to try and block it from burning my retinas. It’s painfully ineffective.
Darren draws my attention when he slips his hand free and shifts behind me. I open my mouth to ask what’s wrong when suddenly, there’s a hat on my head. His hat. My pulse skips, contentment drowning out every other feeling inside of me.
The brim of the baseball hat droops down my forehead for all of a second before Darren’s tightening the strap at the back. When he removes his fingers and stands in front of me, the hat fits perfectly.
“Better?” he asks, hovering.
I start to ruffle his hair now that it’s not covered, and he lets me without complaint. The light in his open eyes exposes how similar he feels to the way I do.
“Perfect,” I answer softly.
“It’s not the same as a Stetson, but I’m sure the rule still applies,” Brody states, humour colouring his tone.
I take a step to the left and stare at him. “Do you still use that rule in your big age, Brody?”
“My big age,” he echoes, laughing. “We’re the same age.”
“Exactly.”
“I think she’s calling you immature, Pop Star.”
“Pop Star?” I ask.
Brody groans, and Darren answers, “He’s our resident pop star, Elle. Big and important, this guy. You should hear the drama that comes out of his mouth before a show.”
“I’d think Diva would be more appropriate, no?” I tease.
Brody starts toward the road, not giving us a glance back. “You know what? We’re goin’ to the stables now, and if you keep teasin’ me, I’ll be trappin’ you in there for the day. ”
“Are you sure you don’t wanna change into your fancy boots before we go? Are those ones comfy enough for you?” Darren taunts.
I choke back a laugh and elbow him. “You’re going to get us left in the middle of an empty field.”
“We both know I’d be the only one left. The girls would come get you the second Brody left.”
“It’s time you learnt the art of bribery, then.”
He drops an arm over my shoulders and tugs me as close as he can without me losing my footing. Ten minutes later, Brody’s bossing him around with the adjusting of Sky’s saddle while I lean against a pen door and watch.
The horse I’m riding today, Honey, is Poppy’s. She was the only reason I ended up agreeing to ride solo instead of with Darren on Sky. It’s nothing against Sky. Darren’s the one I don’t trust on horseback. Not with my life, at least.
I’m pretty sure he’ll be pouting about that for days.
“I bet Johnny would have been a bit more patient,” Darren says, huffing when Brody slides open the door and guides Sky and Honey outside.
“He would have, but my grandpa gave him the day off, so he’s been out riding with Rory. Haven’t seen them since breakfast.”
Darren nods. “I thought the stable looked a little empty.”
“Joker and Frost have been out at his place for a few months now. The construction on his stable finished a bit later than they expected.”
“Where’s Johnny’s place?” I ask.
Following the instructions Brody laid out for us in the stable, Darren pulls himself onto Sky’s back and says, “You know the cabin up by the road?”
“With all the trees?”
Brody leaves Darren and comes to me next. Honey’s tack is very Poppy, with pinks and even a light sparkle that glistens in the sun. I’d bet Garrison had it custom ordered for her .
“That’s the one,” Darren says, his voice wavering with a silent laugh.
My blood runs hot. “Oh.”
Looking between us, Brody starts to groan and scrunch his face. “You’re kidding. Here? On the ranch?”
“Don’t fucking say it like that. I know for a fact you had sex in this very stable when you were sixteen,” Darren retorts.
“But in the cabin? Does Johnny know that you defiled his home?”
“We didn’t defile his home!” I argue, debating fanning my face. “It wasn’t his place then.”
Darren adds, “And it was very respectful sex.”
“Alright, that’s enough of that. I’m already goin’ to have to decline his invites over for a few months, maybe years now,” Brody says with a dramatic sigh.
“Give it up, Diva. Help my girl up on her horse so we can go before we scandalize you more.”
I meet his stare and shake my head, smirking. He winks at me before I focus on mounting the horse. Brody stands close, but I can almost feel the watchful glare coming from Darren every time he tries to help me. The stool works wonders for me, and finally, I get myself up.
“Alright. I’m goin’ to let Johnny know that you’ll be on your way, and he’ll check on you every few minutes. Keep to the road, and the horses will do all the work for you. Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”
“It’s not my first time on a horse, Brody.”
“You’ve only had a few lessons, though.”
“Lessons,” I ask, startled. “When did you take horseback lessons?”
Darren shoots daggers where Brody stands.
“A few weeks ago,” Brody answers for him.
“Why?”
Reluctantly, Darren lifts his glare and looks to me. The sheepish expression on his face calls to me .
“Just in case.”
Instead of asking more questions here, I let it go. Brody’s a great guy, but he’s not who I came here to spend time with. Especially with all of these revelations appearing.
I lift a hand to the road. “Ready to go?”
“Very.”
“Just keep your phones on you, and call if you need anythin’. I’m still sendin’ Johnny to check on you,” Brody calls when Darren leads Sky into action. “I’ll be here when you’re done!”
Honey follows Sky without needing me to tell her to, and I swallow my nerves when we get onto the road. Moving side by side, the horses bring us together. I look over at Darren and grip the reins.
“Is there a reason behind why you wanted us to do this ride here that doesn’t include going on a date?”
“This place is special to us. It’s not the same as the drive-in, but we’ve made memories here.”
“It feels different now,” I confess.
“Everyone’s older. They’re gone doing their own things. Rory and Johnny will always be here, Anna and Brody too, whenever they’re not gone touring. Bryce will stay as long as Daisy wants to. But even with Poppy’s new house, she’ll still be hours away. Her life has expanded far beyond Cherry Peak.”
“We always knew she would be the one to leave. Her dreams were too big for this place. There aren’t enough possibilities here.”
“I know. It’s been hard, though.”
Nerves swirling, I transfer the reins to one of my hands and use the other to reach across the gap between us. He chuckles and does the same, taking my hand.
“How is the house designing going? You have to be close now, right?”
“We’re working on finalizing the plans next week. For a guy who claimed he didn’t care much about what the house looked like, Garrison’s been the one with all the changes,” he says .
“This is their forever house, isn’t it?”
“For all this effort, it better be.”
I release a light laugh. “A forever house needs to be perfect. Let them be picky.”
“Have you thought much about your forever house?”
His thumb draws circles on the back of my hand as our arms sway between the horses. I dart my eyes across the space to find his already there, watching me with a soft certainty that electrifies me.
“It would be here. Plenty of bedrooms so everyone had a place to stay if they drank too much during game nights and a fireplace in the master bedroom. I’d want a mountain view too.”
He hums. “What about a yard? How big?”
“A chunk of land would be nice, Somewhere I’d be able to have a garden and a pool in the summertime.”
“With plenty of trees,” Darren adds, keeping my eyes hostage.
“It would be a beautiful house.”
“Come over this weekend and have dinner with my parents,” he says, voice soft and low.
My hand almost slips free, but he clutches it. “What?”
“Mom extended the invitation when I picked Abbie up Monday morning. She really wants to see you.”
“I don’t know. Isn’t that too soon?”
“I don’t think that exists with us,” he argues gently.
My initial response is yes. Spending time with Darren’s mother was always a no-brainer for me. At the time our friends were nervous to spend time with the “in-laws,” I was excited. They were always like family to me.
But things aren’t the same as they once were. Sure, it’s not like I’m meeting them again, but so much time has passed.
“Don’t talk yourself out of saying yes, Elle. We both know what this is now. We’re not dating. This isn’t something fleeting.”
I can’t admit that to myself yet .
“Will your sister be there?”
“No. I wouldn’t overstimulate you like that already.”
I can’t help but laugh at that. “Okay. I’ll have dinner.”
He answers with a squeeze of my hand and a grin that makes my nipples tighten beneath my sweatshirt. It’s a tilt of his lips and a promise all in one.
One that tries like hell to convince me that this time will be different. All I have to do is believe it.