“Ryder? He’s the guy she knew?”
“Yep. I will bet you a million dollars she is not home to stay.”
“Why?” I asked.
Jase laughed and shook his head. “If I know Ava, she’s fallen in love with Ryder and coming home to pack up her shit and head right back up there.”
“So Ryder lives there?”
Looking at me he winked, “I know it’s so damn confusing. No, he lives in Austin but will be moving back to Montana.”
“Wow. It’s like a soap opera.”
“When it comes to Ava, you have no idea. I’m pretty sure there were bets placed that the two of us would end up together.”
My interest was piqued. “And? Did y’all ever date?”
“Nah. We messed around together a few times in high school with a bit of kissing and touching, but it never led anywhere. Afterwards we laughed our asses off. She really is like a sister to me. I like this guy Ryder, so I hope things work out for both of them.”
A streak of jealousy zipped quickly through me before I pushed it away. It was high school and I had no reason to be jealous.
I studied him more before he turned and captured my eyes. “What?”
Slowly shaking my head, I softly spoke, “Nothing. I’m just trying to figure out how this all happened. I feel so happy and I’m so afraid something is going to pull the rug out from under us.”
With a squeeze of my hand, he replied, “I refuse to believe anything will ever come between the two of us again.”
He turned left and took off down another country road.
Deciding I needed to push my negative thoughts away, I looked back out the window. “So, your parents and Walker’s bought y’all land? That was really nice of them.”
“Yeah it was. An older couple, Mimi and Frank, had a huge working cattle ranch next to ours. Not as big as my dad and Reed’s, but big. Frank got too old to take care of it and offered to sell to my father. They bought it up and left some land for Mimi and Frank and divided up some for the four of us.”
“What will Ava do with hers if she moves?”
He shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I never even thought about that. If she wants to keep it great, if not I may buy it from her since it backs to mine.”
We drove for a little bit in silence when Jase pulled over on the side of the road. “What are we doing?”
“Come on, I want to show you something.”
Opening the truck door, I went to get out, but Jase quickly was there helping me down. “Do you often stop on the side of the road for no reason?”
With a smirk, he took my hand and led me up to the fence. Looking out over the land, I smiled. “Wow. It’s beautiful. Whose land is this?”
“Ours. In this very spot is where my father saw my mother for the very first time.”
My heart skipped a beat. “How do you know?”
Pointing to the fence, it was painted red. “My father and mother have told us so many times how they met. They didn’t hit it off at first. My mother was a city girl from New York with a broken down car and my father was as much of a cowboy as humanely possible.”
My smile grew bigger while I watched Jase’s face light up when talking about his parents. “My father comes to this exact spot and sprays it with paint so he never forgets the spot where his life changed.”
Dropping my shoulders, I teared up. “That’s so romantic.”
Jase’s grin grew wider. “Yeah they are disgustingly romantic, but I love when they both talk about each other. You see the love in their eyes, their smile. Hell the way their voice changes. I’ve always looked at that and wished like hell I would be lucky to find it.”
My heart rate spiked as Jase looked away. “For the longest time I thought I wasn’t good enough for you.” His eyes met mine. “You’re so beautiful, Taylor. Not only on the outside, but on the inside as well. The thought of you looking at me like my mother looks at my father . . . it’s something I have never wanted so badly before in my life like I do with you. After all the shit I put you through, I wanted to stop here . . . in this spot were true love first found each other. To tell you I swear I will do everything in my power to make you the happiest woman on earth if you let me.”
Tears pooled in my eyes as my heartbeat filled my ears. No one had ever made me feel like Jase had. Even when he pushed me away, he had a way of letting me know how much he loved me.
I searched for the words to say. His eyes focused on my face for some kind of clue to what I was thinking.
“I . . . I’ve never been so happy as I am right now. I keep saying it, but I feel like I’m in a dream that I never want to wake up from.”
Taking my hands in his, he smiled the most beautiful smile I’d ever seen. In that moment I knew, we would be together forever. “God I feel the same way. I love you, Taylor.”
“Oh, Jase,” Throwing myself into his body, he wrapped me up in his arms and lifted me off the ground. “I love you too.”
A horn honked as Jase put me down and we both turned to see a Ford F-350. “Who’s that?”
“My dad.”
“Oh,” I mumbled.
“Come on, he’s probably wondering what in the hell I’m doing and praying I’m not asking you to marry me.”
Marry me.
The idea made me happy and scared me at the same time.
The window rolled down and I almost gasped when I saw Jase’s father. He was an older version of Jase. His blue eyes stood out against the black cowboy hat he had on. I imagined he had dark hair under the hat and would look even more like Jase when he took it off. Turning to look at Jase, my mouth dropped open. They looked almost alike. “I know. Everyone says I’m a mini version of my father.”
“I’d say,” I replied so only he could hear.
“Dad, this is Taylor Atwood. Taylor, this is my father, Layton Morris.”
I attempted to reach up and in to the truck to shake his hand and failed. Everyone laughed as I made a face and felt my cheeks heat up. “I guess I’m shorter than I thought.”
“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Taylor.” Layton looked over to Jase. “What are y’all doing on the side of the road?”
Jase pointed back to the fence and the exact spot we were standing at. “I was showing Taylor where you and Mom met.”
Layton’s eyes lit up and I could see the love for his wife on his face as he glanced over to the spot. “One of the best days of my life. That’s a good spot.”
“Yes, sir, I’m sure it is,” I said peeking back over to it.
“Well, get her back in the truck and head on to the house. I’m sure your mother is wearing the floors out waiting to finally meet Taylor.”
With a light chuckle, I looked away and then to Jase as he replied to his father, “Yes sir, we’re right behind you.”
Placing his hand on my lower back, I got that silly feeling in my stomach again as he led me to his truck.
After helping me up into the truck, he stepped up and slid his hand behind my neck, pulling my lips to his. With a fast kiss, he whispered, “One down. One to go.”
My hands shook as I walked up the stairs to Jase’s parents’ house. His father must have floored it to get here and in the house before us.
Stopping short of the door, I grabbed onto Jase’s arm and pulled him to a stop. “Wait. I know you said before you told your parents everything, but . . . what if they don’t like me?”
Jase cupped my face with his hands and gave me a panty-melting smile. “Yes. They know everything and they are happy we’re together. It’s the past. All we have in front of us is our future. That’s all we concentrate on from this point on? Okay?”
Pressing my lips together, I nodded my head. “O-okay.”
With a kiss on my lips, he took my hand in his and we walked through the front door. Standing in front of me was Layton, Walker, and a gorgeous woman I was assuming was Jase’s mom, and a beautiful brown-haired, blue-eyed woman holding a little boy who was trying with
all his might to get down.
All eyes were on me as I focused on the baby for a little too long. “This is Nickolas and all he wants to do is get down and crawl,” Jase said with a chuckle.
Smiling, my eyes bounced between everyone.
“Holy hell. Nothing like overwhelming her with a welcome committee,” Layton said while giving me a reassuring smile.
“We were just so excited to meet you, Taylor. I hope you don’t mind if I asked Walker and Liza to be here when you got here,” Whitley said.
“Um . . . no of course not,” I said trying to do something with my nervous hands.
Jase placed his hand on my lower back again, guiding me into the living room. “This is my sister; Taylor is her name also. She goes by Liza though.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Liza.”
Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked at Jase and then me. “I’ve heard so much about you, Taylor. It’s so wonderful to have you here. It really is.”
Feeling the heat sweep across my face, I replied, “Thank you. It’s been an amazing couple of days.”
She winked as she leaned in closer. “I bet.”
Oh lord.
“You already know Walker.”
Reaching my hand out to Walker, he pulled me in for a hug and whispered, “Don’t worry. They won’t bite.”
When I pulled away, he winked and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Next came Jase’s mom. Please don’t let me say something stupid.
“Taylor, this is my beautiful mother, Whitley. Mom, this is my Taylor.”
My Taylor.
Both Whitley and I looked at Jase and smiled. “Your Taylor, huh?” Whitley said with a chuckle.
When he wrapped his arm around my waist, I couldn’t help but relax into his side. I felt so safe with him.
“Let her go this instant, Jase Adam Morris.”
Letting his arm drop, Whitley engulfed me in a hug and whispered, “It’s so wonderful to finally meet you. You have no idea how happy I am right now.”
She pushed me back at arm’s length and looked me over. “You’re more beautiful than Jase said.”
Tingling swept the back of my neck and I was pretty sure even my ears were red. “All right, Mom. You’re embarrassing her. You’ve already met my father.”
“Mr. Morris,” I softly spoke with a slight nod.
“It’s Layton. Please no Mr. or Mrs. Morris in this house.” Layton turned to Jase and grinned. “I only need you to do me one favor and that is to mend the fence in the southwest pasture next to the gate. It looks like someone was trying to get in. After that you’re free to spend the next few days off.”
“I’ve got the fence, Layton. Jase has been working non-stop and deserves a few days off.”
Jase shook Walker’s hand and said, “I owe you one.”
Clearing her throat, Whitley asked, “Will you be home for dinner? Reed, Courtney, and Ava will be here. I’m sure they would love to meet Taylor.”
With a quick peek at me, I nodded. “What time?”
“Seven.”
With his arm back around my waist, Jase replied, “We’ll be here.”
Whitley’s expression was one of pure elation. “Perfect!” Taking my hands in hers, Whitley forced the wetness in her eyes down. “Taylor, it really was so wonderful to meet you. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Sounds great,” I replied with a polite smile. I wasn’t sure why, but I had the strangest feeling after tonight my life would never be the same.
Taylor
Jase led me away from everyone and to the stairs. I quickly peeked around the house. It was huge.
“Want a tour?”
“How about tonight,” I replied as we headed up the steps. Walking down the hall, Jase opened the door to his room and I instantly grinned from ear to ear. It looked like we were walking back in time. Trophies adorned the dresser, a collection of baseball caps hung on the wall along with a football jersey. The thing I noticed the most was how clean it was. Even the bed was made.
“Wow. Are you a neat freak or something?”
Looking around, Jase asked, “No, why?”
“It’s so clean in here. There isn’t anything out of place.”
With a quick laugh, Jase pulled me over to the bed and pushed me down. “Maybe we should mess up the sheets.”
I held up my hands and pointed to him. “No! Stay away, Jase. Your parents are right downstairs!”
He crawled over me and sucked my lower lip into his mouth. A low growl came from the back of his throat as I fought to keep my libido in check.
“No,” I whispered against his lips. “It’s not right.”
His hand laced through my hair where he pulled, exposing my neck to him. Running his tongue along my skin, I trembled. “You’re right, but remember this is where we left off because I intend on picking back up when we get back to your place and unpack.”
My thoughts were scattered. A part of me wanted to beg him to take me right there and the other part was excited for what waited for me later.
“What about you? You said you were going to use your days off to move and now you’re wasting them on me.”
Jase’s face fell. “Wasting. I’m not wasting anything. I only want to be with you, Taylor.”
Pushing off the bed, he walked to his closet and grabbed a duffle bag. Without much thought, he began throwing clothes into the bag. He wasn’t even folding them.
“Are you even paying attention to what you’re packing?”
“Yeah. Why?”
Shrugging, I took this as the chance to really look around his room. Standing, I made my way over to the dresser and looked at the few pictures stuck between the mirror and frame. My eyes immediately zeroed in on the blonde in a lot of the pictures. She was gorgeous.
“Who’s this beautiful blonde?”
Jase walked over and pulled one of the photos down. It was of him and a blonde who was on his shoulders. “That’s, Ava.”
Swallowing hard, I wasn’t sure why the tinge of jealousy rippled through my body. “She’s very pretty.”
Jase glanced at me and looked again. “Yeah, I guess she’s cute.”
Cute? She was a knock out.
Chewing on my lip, I looked at the next picture. It was of Jase and Ava again, but this time there were two other people in the photo. Ava was looking at Jase laughing when the picture was taken.
“You two must have been really close if you’ve got pictures of her in your room.”
The words came out of my mouth before I could take them back.
Jase reached over and pulled the other photos down, opened the desk drawer and tossed them in there. He pointed to another photo of him and Liza. Then another with Walker on what looked like a racehorse. “They were just good memories, Tay, that’s all.” He took the rest of them down and put them in the drawer as well.
I felt like a fool for feeling jealous. “I didn’t mean anything by it and I certainly don’t want you to think I’m being jealous, even though I was being jealous, but I know I have no reason to be so—”
His lips captured mine, bringing my rambling to a halt. “Stop,” he softly spoke against my lips. “I’d be upset if you had pictures of some guy in your room no matter how close you were to him. I really haven’t touched this room since high school. I sleep in here and that’s about all.”
I glanced down to the floor, feeling like a twelve-year-old. “Still, I shouldn’t have acted like that. I’m sorry.”
His finger lifted my chin as he captured my eyes. “There is nothing to say sorry for. Now let me grab my toothbrush so I don’t have to use my finger again.”
Giggling, I nodded and walked back over to his bed. The view from the window caught my eye as I leaned forward.
“Wow . . . the view from your room is amazing.”
All I could hear was banging in the bathroom before Jase rounded the corner. “You should see it at sunset. When I was little I would run up here to watch the sun go down. My
mother would get so mad at me. I would have my phone set and even if we were at dinner, I would jump up and come here. I was obsessed with it. Even now I love to watch the sun set.”
I found myself breathless as I listened to Jase talk. “That’s not something you would normally hear a guy saying.”
“Well, I was eight so . . . I guess I had an excuse.”
Jase turned and started rummaging through his closet. Cocking my head to the side, I asked, “What in the world are you looking for?”
“Found it!” he called out as he held a blanket in his hands. What in the world did he need a blanket for? “Are you ready?”
Smiling slightly, I asked, “Ready for what?”
“The plans I have for you today . . . and tonight.”
I was positive my face was beaming with happiness. “I’m more than ready.”
“Good, let’s get going.”
He grabbed the duffle bag and threw it over his shoulder and took my hand in his. There went my silly stomach. I swear every time he touched me, my body reacted in some way.
As we made our way back downstairs, I prayed this day would never end. The thought of going back to a somewhat normal life and not spending every moment with Jase made me feel sad.
“Are you heading out?” Whitley asked.
“Yep. We’re gonna stop at the store and pick up some food for Taylor and then head back to her new place.”
With an upturned face, Whitley’s eyes danced. “Taylor, are you excited about living in your own place? I know it’s a bit different from an apartment in the city.”
“I am. I’m excited about so many things, truth be told. The new job, learning something new. I’ve been around horses my whole life, but nothing this deep. It’s a bit strange to think I’ll be in a cabin in the middle of nowhere all alone, but in a way I think it will be good for me also.” Peeking up at Jase, I couldn’t help but grin bigger. “And I know I’m not that far from Jase, which is the most exciting.”
“That is a very good thing,” Whitley said as she walked up and hugged me. Pushing me back at arm’s length, she took me in with loving eyes. It was as if she was also trying to make sure this wasn’t a dream. “See you both tonight.”