Page 26 of Chasing Shelter (Sparrow Falls #5)

ELLIE

The doorbell rang for the third time, and Gremlin let out a series of high-pitched barks, running down the stairs. “Just keep your pants on,” I grumbled, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. Who rang the doorbell at seven-fifteen in the morning on a Sunday ?

I picked up Gremlin, tucked him under my arm, and then yanked open the door, wearing my best scowl. “What?” I grumbled.

To add insult to injury, pure hotness greeted me.

Trace stood there in worn jeans, and not by a designer’s false wear and tear but from everyday use.

And given that he’d paired them with honest-to-goodness cowboy boots, I was guessing they were worn from working on his family’s ranch.

And the soft flannel he wore over a tee had me wishing for one of my own.

Trace’s dark green gaze swept over me, lingering on my bare legs for a moment. “What are you wearing?”

It was the first time I’d given any thought to what was on my body that morning. I glanced down at myself, taking in the bright pink shirt with a sparkly rainbow creature emblazoned on it under I’m fucking magical. “A T-shirt,” I said with a huff.

One corner of Trace’s mouth kicked up, pulling it into a slightly off-kilter smile. “I like your unicorn.”

I should’ve been embarrassed that he’d found me in nothing but a ridiculous tee, hair in what I was sure was a ginormous tangle atop my head from going to sleep with it wet, and no pants on. But I found I wasn’t. Instead, I lifted my chin. “It’s a pegacorn.”

Trace stared back at me, unblinking. “A pegacorn…”

“Yes. It’s a cross between a unicorn and a Pegasus.”

Those beautiful lips twitched. “I didn’t know those two cross-pollinated.”

“Well, they do, and it’s to create the most magical creature in all the land.”

Trace laughed then, the sound husky and a little raw. It skated over my skin like what I now knew the pads of Trace’s fingertips felt like. “Cute,” he muttered.

I pressed my thighs together. This man was going to kill me. “What are you doing here at seven in the morning? On a Sunday.”

Gremlin let out a low growl as if to punctuate my point.

Trace wasn’t deterred by my menacing dog or my clipped words; he just grinned at me. “Can you keep a secret?”

I wanted to be the keeper of all this man’s secrets, and that was a serious problem. Still, I found my mouth pulling into a smile. “I could be convinced. Might take some bribery, though.”

Trace chuckled. “I think the bribery will be contained in the secret.”

That had my brows pulling together. “Okay…”

“You’re going to need pants, though.”

I couldn’t hold in my laugh. “Now, where’s the fun in that?”

Trace raked a hand through his hair, pulling on the strands. But then he stepped into my house, backing me up and closing the door behind him. “You’re killing me, Blaze. And there’s only so much I can take before I break.”

My breaths came quicker, escaping in short pants as Gremlin growled. “And what happens if you break?”

“Neither of us will leave this house for days, and I really want to show you something. So, do me a favor. Turn around and walk that perfect ass upstairs and cover it with some pants, okay?”

I tugged my lip between my teeth, fighting not to laugh. “Okay.”

And that’s exactly what I did. But it cost me.

Trace was quiet as he drove, his SUV bumping down the gravel road. For a while, I’d thought he was taking me out to Nora’s house, but nothing there could’ve been the secret. Then he’d turned down another road—one called Monarch Way.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Where are we going?”

My mind had been churning since Trace showed up this morning.

And it had taken us a while to get going.

I’d had to change, take Gremlin out, feed him and my nameless goat friend—who was already doing a number on my back lawn—and put Grem in the little pen I’d gotten him, complete with chew toys, pee pads, and water.

Plus, there’d been the required coffee. Always coffee.

So, over an hour had passed where I was trying to put together the pieces of what Trace could possibly want to show me. I’d tried a handful of questions, but he’d dodged them all.

Trace briefly glanced my way before turning his focus back to the road. “You’re not one for patience, are you?”

I did the only mature thing I could and stuck my tongue out at him.

Trace barked out a laugh.

“This is cruel and unusual punishment,” I muttered, pulling a leg up onto the seat so I could rest my head on my knee.

“We’re almost there. Do I need to promise you candy if you don’t ask how long again, just like I do with Keely?”

I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. “I do have a thing for Twix bars.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

We drove for another few minutes, and I let myself really take in our surroundings.

To the east, the Monarch Mountains, four craggy peaks that never lost their snow, even in the height of summer.

To the west, Castle Rock, golden rock faces looking permanently sun-kissed.

And a mixture of fields and forests leading to both.

God, it was beautiful. But more than that, there was power in it. A raw realness that took my breath away every time.

“I love it out here,” I whispered.

I could feel Trace’s eyes on me. A beat longer this time before he turned back to the road like the responsible driver he was. “Me, too. Can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

“I can’t imagine what it was like growing up here. Having all this wildness around you.” Maybe that’s what called to me about Sparrow Falls and its surroundings. That it was just a little unkempt, free. Almost dangerous. It tempted me to be all those things, too.

“What was it like in New York?” Trace asked.

I thought about that for a long moment. “There were good things. The Natural History Museum is a dream for a kid. The Central Park Zoo, too. The park itself is beautiful. But how I lived… It was stifling—never experiencing the things that make a city like that so rich. And at some point, it just started to feel like I couldn’t breathe. ”

Trace took all that in, mulling it over before he spoke. “And here?”

“Here, I’m trying to learn to breathe again.”

“Seems like a good place to start.”

It was. The landscape. The people. The air. It all seemed to help.

Trace flicked on his blinker, even though there wasn’t a car in sight, and turned onto a drive. He stopped at a gate and cattle guard, hopping out of his SUV but leaving it running. “One sec.”

He unlocked a chain, swung the gate open, and then ran back. Just as he’d promised. I was starting to realize that about Trace. He did everything he said he would. I didn’t know anyone else I could say that of.

“I hope you’re not breaking and entering,” I said, studying him. “I happen to know the sheriff. ”

Trace’s dark green eyes flicked my way. “Pretty sure you only know a chief of police, and we don’t have one of those around here.”

A soft laugh left my lips. “Touché.”

He grinned as he guided the SUV down a gravel road. Trees were scattered on either side of our path, making it difficult to see much beyond what was right in front of us. But after a few minutes, the drive dumped us into a wide-open space.

I couldn’t help the audible gasp that left my lips.

There were fields and meadows that felt like they went on for miles before morphing into forests and then unobstructed views of the Monarch Mountains and Castle Rock.

My fingers were undoing my seat belt before I consciously gave them the command.

I opened the door before Trace even shut off the engine, sliding out and into that openness.

A barn stood off to my left, paddocks and pasture beyond it. It looked solid and sturdy but aged—the kind of time-lapse that spoke of weathering storm after storm.

That called to me, and I found myself moving toward it, pressing my hand to the worn wood. Even the feel of it had character. I traced a seam with my fingertips and turned to see something else in the distance. Not a structure but something mapped out on the ground.

Trace sauntered in my direction, not in any hurry. “You want the tour?”

I nodded, heading toward him. His mouth split into a grin like a little kid about to show you his favorite Christmas present. “There will be a walkway here.” Trace moved his hands like he was guiding a plane into place.

“Tons of windows so you can see right through the house downstairs. It’s shielded from the road, and we’ll have a gate with security codes, so no need to worry about people you don’t want seeing in.”

I grinned at him. “Safety first, Chief?”

Trace shook his head at me. “Always.” He turned back to where the house would go, laid out with string and posts. “Walk in here, and you’ll see all the way through to a wall of windows at the back.”

God, it would be stunning. “Like the mountains are right in your living room. ”

Trace nodded. “Kitchen and family room there.” He pointed to the left. “Living room and office to the right.” He gestured again. “Below us will be a basement with a playroom for Keely and a gym for me. Upstairs will be the bedrooms and laundry.”

But I was stuck on the view. I could see Trace and Keely here.

What an amazing life they would lead. How wild and free Keely could be.

My mind painted pictures all around me, Trace cooking in a chef’s kitchen, Keely coloring in front of those towering windows.

I kept building their beautiful life until pressure built behind my eyes. “It’s perfect,” I croaked.

Trace moved to stand right next to me. He was so close that his heat bled into me. “I can get water and power in the barn. I thought we could move your goat friend out here as soon as it’s running. That way, I don’t have to write you a ticket.”

He glanced down at me. “But you can’t tell anyone. Shep’s the only one who knows about it. I wanted to surprise Keely when it was closer to being finished.”

Everything hurt in the best way. Trace didn’t know what a miracle he was.

A good man when, except for Linc, my life had been full of so many bad ones.

The way he cared for his daughter, making her dreams come true.

How thoughtful he was in building their life together.

That he would let in someone he barely knew so she could have a place to put the goat she’d rescued on a whim.

I swallowed hard and looked up at Trace. “You’re getting Keely a horse, aren’t you?”

He grinned down at me. “She’s been begging since she could talk.”

“You’re a good dad.”

Something passed over Trace’s face. “Best thing you could say to me.”

“It’s true. And you’re a good man.”

“Blaze.”

“Truth.”

“You’re killing me.”

“Thanks for letting me keep my goat here. ”

“Stop it.”

“And for showing me this beauty.”

A muscle fluttered in his cheek. “You can come out here anytime you want.”

And I knew that was a gift, too. I turned to the horizon again, letting the unique pine air fill my lungs. “Chief?”

“Yeah?”

“I can breathe.”