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CALDER

“I feel like I haven’t seen you fully clothed in days.” I grinned as I looked over at Shane. He was getting dressed for the day, complete with his blue jeans and cowboy hat in place.

It’d been a whirlwind since we’d confessed our love to each other, everything fitting together like it’d always been that way.

I’d been staying over at Shane’s cabin, practically moving all my stuff into his bedroom closet.

We’d still been finding work to do around the ranch, but so much of our time was spent in Shane’s bed that everything else felt like a blur.

“I feel like I haven’t seen anyone else but you in a few days,” Shane replied, a thoughtful look on his face. “Maybe I should check in with people.”

“They’ll understand.” I playfully shrugged. “It’s normal, I think. The honeymoon period and all that.”

“I think it’s a little more serious than that,” Shane replied as he walked over to me. “I have a feeling we’re going to be that annoying couple who’s all over each other, all the time.”

“I promise not to be annoying around your family, at least.”

Shane laughed at that. “Are you serious? They’re some of the worst offenders. They’re all disgustingly in love with their partners.”

“Disgustingly in love, huh?”

“You know what I mean.” Shane offered me a quick kiss. “Hey, you need to get dressed, too.”

“Why? Do you need my hand with something?”

“Something like that,” Shane said, his tone vague. “Wear something sturdy, good for the elements.”

“Are you taking us surprise camping or something?”

“I’ll tell you more when we get there.” Shane turned to leave the cabin. “I’ll be waiting for you in the car.”

“But if you wait to tell me when we get there, how am I supposed to know what to wear—Shane!” I called out for him, but it was already too late.

I shrugged, heading for the closet, quickly searching through my clothes.

I decided on a comfortable jacket, layering it with a shirt underneath.

I pulled on a pair of work boots, and soon made my way to Shane’s car, with him already waiting in the driver’s seat.

“Where are we going, Shane?”

“You’ll know when we get there.” There was a light smile on his face as we headed towards the nearest trail.

“Is that the Yellowstone River? Over there?” I pointed out my window, amazed at the view. We were clearly heading away from Stratton Ranch, but not too far, since I could still see it in the distance behind us. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

When I looked over at the driver’s seat, Shane simply nodded.

He then turned up the radio, the car filling with old school country, men singing about thunder and lightning, relationships that were so powerful they shook the world underneath them.

He seemed nervous about something, his grip on the wheel a little too tight, his eyes staring straight out at the road.

I leaned back in my seat, concern filling my features.

A part of me wondered if Shane was taking me somewhere remote so I wouldn’t make a scene, just so we could talk .

My stomach roiled as I thought about him wanting to put the brakes on our relationship, wanting to slow down until he was more comfortable with?—

No.

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. I knew that Shane wasn’t like that. He was open, honest and direct, traits that I loved about him. If Shane wanted to talk to me, he would’ve just done it back at the cabin, no need for any of the dramatics.

I let the music float over me then as I took in the view from the road.

It really was beautiful out here, wherever Shane was taking us.

About half an hour later, Shane came to a complete stop, right beside a cluster of tall trees.

I hopped out of the car right after him, following him to a clearing just beyond the trees, a seemingly unending amount of acreage suddenly revealing itself to us.

“Whoa.” It was all I could think to say as I looked around the clearing, a sense of awe washing over me.

I’d seen plenty of beautiful country before, but somehow this felt different.

My gaze went up to the sky, spotting an impossible blue, which matched the just as impossible green of the trees behind us, the Yellowstone River off in the distance only adding to the majesty that surrounded us on all sides.

“Do you like it?” Shane’s voice was quiet, his nerves showing.

“How could I not?” I shook my head. “This place is… perfect. Is that why you brought me out here? Because you wanted me to see it?”

Shane let out a deep sigh. “I’m so happy you like it, Calder. Because it’s… what I bought.”

“Wait. What?” My eyes went wide. “Oh, my God. Shane, this is your land?”

I couldn’t contain my excitement, my arms wrapping around him. “Shane! You did it! This was your dream! You really made it happen. You did it.”

Shane wrapped his arms around me, tight. “It’s going to be a lot of work, getting everything ready, setting up structures. I’ll also need to figure out the logistics of where the barns will go, where I’ll put the horses?—”

“Yeah, but you already know what you’re doing. You’ve got this.” I pulled away from him, wanting to look at his face. “And it’s not like you have to do everything alone. Your dream doesn’t have to just be your dream, Shane, now that we’re together.”

“You’d really help me? Because you don’t have to, Calder. You never said you wanted any part of this?—”

“I’m saying it now,” I cut him off before pressing a soft kiss against his lips. “I want to be a part of this, Shane. I want us to build something that’s ours.”

“I want us to build something that’s ours, too.” He grinned against my mouth. “It feels like the only thing I’ve ever really wanted, in a long, long time.”

We stayed there that way for a moment, a comfortable silence building around us.

Eventually, we turned away from each other, just enough to take in the view around us, the breeze blowing gently through the grass.

It was easy for me to imagine our lives out here, working side by side, building something from the ground up.

Although, it was always easy to imagine myself next to Shane.

I honestly couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else.

“How would you feel about me having a farm?” I asked, when we were back at Shane’s cabin. “Just a place to grow some veggies, maybe. So, we can have them fresh, whenever we want.”

“That sounds like a good idea to me.” He nodded as he pulled out a map of his newly purchased lot. He was drawing something on it, and when I looked over his shoulder, I realized it was my garden. “Anything else you were thinking about?”

“An area for the horses, definitely.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve already got that covered.”

“What if I wanted to raise rabbits?”

“What kind of rabbits?”

“Flemish Giants.”

“Are you talking about those huge, dog-sized rabbits people keep as pets?” Shane seemed amused by the prospect. “Are you raising them just to keep on the property?”

“Maybe. We could also take them on the road, put them in a few shows.” I shrugged. “Honestly, I never thought I’d ever get this far.”

“This far, meaning?”

“You just letting me have whatever I wanted.” I laughed. “The rabbit thing was always something in the back of my mind, but I never thought anybody would take me seriously.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Calder,” Shane said as he added a place for the rabbits to his map. “I personally think raising rabbits is right up your alley.”

“Really?”

“Yep. Matches your quirky personality.” He smiled. “You seem exactly like the kind of person who’d have rabbits like that.”

I smiled right back at him, just as another idea popped into my head. “Wait. What about guest cabins?”

“Like to rent out to strangers?”

“No, just for friends and family.” I shook my head. “We’re not trying to run a bed-and-breakfast type deal, are we?”

“Nope. The thought of having to deal with strangers on a regular basis makes me a little nauseous.”

“Same.” I nodded in agreement. “Okay, so we have the garden, the rabbit area, the horse barn… anything else we should add in the meantime?”

Shane seemed hesitant as he looked over at me. “What do you see? When you think about your dream house?”

“My dream house?” I hummed, thinking it over.

“I think I see windows, big enough to let in all the natural light I could ever want. I see a porch, where I could just catch up with people over beers or over tea, whatever they prefer. I see white pillars, but not to be pretentious, just to be classic, you know? I want people to see the house and just know that it’s home to someone, that someone really cares about the place.

Painted bright blue, maybe, something to match the skies out here. ”

When I finished talking, I brought my gaze back to Shane. He nodded towards the map, where he’d drawn a sketch of the home I’d described. “Something like that?”

“Wait. Shane…” I looked between the map and Shane, my eyes moving fast. “Is that… what are you…”

“It’d be ours, if that’s what you want,” he said, voice clear as day. “Is that something you want with me, Calder?”

I didn’t answer with my words. Instead, I practically leapt into Shane’s arms, wrapping myself around him tightly.

“I’ll take that as a yes?” He smiled at me.

“Yes! Obviously. Yes.” I let out an excited laugh. “Oh, my God. We’re going to build my dream house.”

“Together,” Shane added. “Your dreams and mine. We can do it all, Calder, as long as we’re doing it together.”