Page 80 of The Backup Bride Proposal

He leaned a hand back on the rock. “Wouldn’t it be great to live in a place like this someday?”

“A ranch? The thought never occurred to me. What about you?”

“This is where I want to live. I mean, not this ranch. It belongs to the family and I’ll always be a part of it. But someday I’d like to have a place to call my own.”

“You want space.”

“Yeah. A few horses, some dogs, several acres. Just some space to wander.”

“Sounds ideal. It would be a nice landing spot for you when you have a break from movies.”

He laughed. “I don’t intend to make movies forever.”

“You’re hardly over the hill. I think you’ve got a lot of years ahead of you.”

“Maybe. If that’s what I choose to do.”

She cocked her head to the side. “You’ve got something else in mind?”

“Maybe. Acting has been fun, but I’d like to move into producing. Directing, too. Put other people to work and go more behind the scenes. Search out projects, obtain the rights to them and see them through from start to finish. I’vealways been interested in the process of moviemaking, the way a project comes together.”

“I could see you doing something like that. If you produce, would you have to be on set for the entire movie?”

He shook his head. “No. I’d pop in periodically, take meetings with the key personnel, make sure the project stays on budget and on time. But otherwise no. And I could set up my office at home so I’d be free to do whatever I want wherever I want.”

“Doesn’t it take capital to be able to do that?”

“Yeah, it does. I’d probably start a company with a production partner or two, that way we’d be competitive.”

“Why the shift? I mean, you could act well into your later years if you wanted to.”

“I know. And I enjoy it, but I want to be able to have free time. I want to have a ranch, some land. I want to have a family and have the time to enjoy them, not go from one movie set to another.”

She stared at him for a minute, her expression revealing nothing, then said, “You have thought about this. About your future.”

“For a while now. I’m not saying I’m ready to do this tomorrow, but within the next few years or so? Yeah.”

“Wow. I’m impressed, Kane. You’ve got it all together.”

He laughed. “I don’t know about that, but I’m formulating a plan.”

They got up and climbed back on the horses, continuing their trek along the path. As they rode, Kane wondered if he’d revealed too much to Mae about his plans. He hoped he hadn’t sounded too full of himself. But just voicing his desires for the future had gotten him so excited that once he’d started he couldn’t stop. And Mae had asked questions. She’dseemed interested, so he’d just gone on and on about it. But maybe it hadn’t been so bad. She hadn’t rolled her eyes or told him it wasn’t something he should consider.

And why was he so worried what Mae thought?

Because you care what she thinks.

Yeah, he did.

They made their way back to the barn, unsaddled the horses and brushed them down while the horses enjoyed some feed and water. After they put the saddles away in the tack room, they walked out.

“You’ve been pretty quiet since we watched the sunrise,” she said.

“I was thinking that I’d vomited out my thoughts for the future and maybe I overwhelmed you.”

She stopped and turned to him. “Your thoughts about the future were fascinating to me, Kane. Don’t ever be afraid to tell me what’s on your mind.”

Okay, that was settled.

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