Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
A few days later they touched down at Denver International. The flight had been long, but since they’d arrived at the airport before the crack of dawn, they’d spent most of it napping. It left them a little disoriented, and in Allegra’s case, a little hangry.
The many restaurants they were passing lured her like a siren’s call and she kept asking to stop and get some breakfast, but Carter just shook his head. “No time to sit and eat. We need to grab our luggage and meet the shuttle outside.”
“But I’m starving and this place is huge,” she grumbled, trotting to keep up with him.
“There’s going to be a welcome brunch when we get there.” The four-hour flight had involved going back two time zones, and it was still early in the morning here.
“Welcome for what! You still haven’t told me what we’re here for. What’s in Colorado anyway?”
“There’s lots of things in Colorado. It’s a very popular place,” he pointed out in a mild tone. By now she had to know he wasn’t going to tell her anything.
“For skiing maybe, but there’s no snow this time of year.” She huffed. “And I don’t ski anyway.”
“You’re probably going to do a lot of new things on this trip, sweetheart. Best set your mind to it now.” He stepped onto the next moving walkway and turned back to flash her a grin. “I know how much you love new experiences.”
Her scowl was adorable. “Ha ha. I take it back, you’re not the best Daddy at all.” Her voice dropped when she got to the end, but a quick look around showed no one was paying attention to them anyway.
“Really? That’s a shame because I was going to say we could stop and grab a pretzel up there.” He pointed to the end of the walkway, where the bright lights of the popular pretzel chain shone like a beacon. “I thought you might like a quick snack to tide you over, but—”
She loved the cinnamon-sugar pretzels they were known for and immediately lit up. “Yes, let’s stop.”
“I mean… only a very good Daddy would—”
Her eyes narrowed and she blew out an exasperated breath. “That’s blackmail and you’re abusing your power.” She sounded way more scandalized than she should have, considering how well she knew him.
He was not above a little blackmail to keep things harmonious. “Yes.”
“Fine, you’re a good Daddy, but I want two.” She shoved her travel bag back behind her and crossed her arms over her chest.
He let one eyebrow rise. “You sure you’re not trying out the Little role?”
His wife rolled her eyes. “You’re full of jokes today, huh? I was going for brat, not Little, thank you very much.” She sniffed and turned her nose up at him dramatically.
There was no chance of holding back the loud bark of laughter, and it sounded extra loud in the early morning quiet of the concourse. He could feel people looking, but he didn’t let it bother him. He was already enjoying the trip.
The pretzels helped with the long slog through the giant airport, and by the time they were outside with their bags Allegra had gotten over her grumpiness. Excitement for the vacation was starting to peak. “So, where are we supposed to meet them?” she asked, looking around.
“Right here. They are probably circling or parked.” He checked his phone and sent a quick text to say they were waiting outside.
He did have to wonder if the secret was about to come out.
Second Chance Ranch was sending their own shuttle, and he wasn’t sure if it would have their name and logo plastered on the side.
Since they had a few minutes, he decided he might as well fill her in. “So, before they pick us up … I guess it’s time to tell you what we’re going to be doing for the next three weeks.”
She set her travel bag down next to the wheeled case she’d been pulling. “Yes. Finally. Tell me it’s a five-star spa resort. I am dying to relax and—”
“We’re going to be working on a ranch.”
“I … what?” She closed her eyes, shaking her head as if in disbelief. “We’re what?” She repeated slowly.
“We’re going to be working on a ranch for the next three weeks. I know that probably sounds a little—”
“Carter, what the hell? You took me on vacation to work?” Her arms waved wildly. “What kind of vacation is that?”
“Calm down, sweetheart.” This was exactly why he’d waited until they arrived to tell her.
“It’s a special ranch and the work is just part of it.
It’s—well, I guess you could call it a marriage rehabilitation kind of thing.
The people who run it have been doing this for years now and they’ve helped a lot of people get their relationships back on track.
” He tried to pull her into his arms, but she held up a hand between them.
“We don’t need marriage rehabilitation! We worked everything out, remember? We talked, we started a new dynamic, and now everything is fine. What I really could have used was an actual vacation. You have no idea how exhausted—” Her voice got louder with every word.
He looked around, seeing a lot of people looking their way.
He hadn’t minded the attention earlier, but a woman shouting at a man sparked a different kind of awareness.
He cut her off, keeping his voice low. “Allegra Cassidy Dalton, slow your roll.” He waited until her mouth snapped shut. “Now, take a deep breath, okay?”
She did, and then she took a few more, but they came quicker than he would have liked and he had a feeling she was gearing up to start again. “Let me talk,” he said in a firm tone that was not quite an order.
Her brow furrowed, eyes narrowing, but she kept her mouth closed.
“Our problems aren’t magically fixed because we’re trying a different kind of dynamic.
I promise you that it’s not so easy. We’ve made a start, yes.
A good one, I think, but just a start. Problems in a marriage are never caused by just one thing, and dropping the D/s part of our relationship was probably a symptom of issues we were already having.
” He stopped, giving her a chance to speak.
She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something but then closed it with a snap. There was a faraway look in her eyes as she looked to the side. The silence drew out until he decided she wasn’t going to respond at all. Then, finally, she nodded once.
It wasn’t much but he’d take it.
“I don’t know much about therapy, to be honest. And, really, the idea of spilling our issues in front of a stranger makes my skin crawl.
” It wasn’t just a phrase, even saying it made his back itch, and he rolled his shoulders and sighed.
“I’d do it, if we had no other option, but this ain’t that, and I thought it was worth trying.
Plus, I had other reasons for wanting to do this with you. ”
She fidgeted. Her hands twisted the bottom of her shirt into knots, until she saw him watching, and then she shoved them into her pockets out of sight. “So, what is it then? If it’s not marriage counseling.”
“It’s a place to grow closer and learn how to listen to each other. It’s hard to explain it better than that. Ma and Pa both have degrees in psychology, but—”
“Wait… Ma and Pa? I thought your parents were dead,” she blurted. And then she seemed to understand how it sounded and winced.
“They aren’t my parents. That’s just what everyone calls them, and you’ll get it when you meet them.” He hesitated; this wasn’t the best time or place for a long story. “Remember when I told you about how I worked on a ranch for a few years after my parents died?”
She nodded. “Yeah, you said it helped you get better, but you’ve never given me a lot of details.”
“Well, this was the ranch.” He sucked in a deep breath and blew it out.
Even briefly mentioning his past tended to make him tense.
“I’ve wanted to bring you here for a while, but life got away from us.
Never seemed to be the time, but now I think we need this.
And I’ve seen firsthand how much they can help people. ”
Allegra took a minute to think it over. “I guess I can give it a try.” The tone was flat, and her expression showed nothing of what she was feeling.
“It’s not all work. There’s a lot of fun to be had on a ranch.
This might not be the vacation you expected, but I think if you let yourself, you could enjoy it.
” He made his tone light. “Will you try? For Daddy?” he asked, coaxing her as he reached out to stroke the back of his hand across her cheek.
Her expression shifted from blank to pouty immediately with the Daddy word in play. “Fine, but you owe me, Daddy. I get to pick our next vacation, and you don’t get a vote.”
That was going to cost him. He’d had to veto a lot of her vacation ideas in the past, and for good reasons. He sighed. “It’s a deal. But—”
“Yes!” burst from her, as if she hadn’t thought she’d win that concession.
“But,” he repeated. “You have to really try.”
It got another eyeroll, but she agreed. Promising her the world was apparently all it took to put her in a good mood, because she was all smiles and bright chatter when the van from the ranch pulled up. The name was emblazoned on the side, and he was glad he’d taken the time to warn her.
As it turned out, they were waiting for another couple, but they arrived as Carter was helping the driver load their luggage into the back.
There were introductions all around, and then the driver, Manuel, urged them to climb in.
“I’ll be making this trip twice more today,” he said as he pulled into traffic. “First day is always busy.”
“How many couples are you expecting?” Jim asked from the row behind them.
Carter turned sideways, so he could see the two men who had joined them.
It felt rude having his back to them, especially when they were talking.
“It’s usually fifteen, or at least that’s the max, according to the website,” he said, when it became obvious that Manuel was only paying attention to the road.