Page 10 of January's Bad Boy: Shane

"Hey, I need to check the back acreage of the ranch and see what I need to stock up the cabin out there. I'm thinking of renting it out for a year or two since it's just sitting there. Want to come with me?"

"Yeah, that sounds like fun," I say, following him outside.

After he loads up a few things on a four-wheeler, we’re on our way. I'm very aware of how close I am to him. We might have jackets and thick clothing on, but I still feel his hard body. With my arms wrapped around him, my chest pressed to his back and the inside of my thighs alongside his, I’m enjoying the ride.

He points out a few places along the way. “Over there, along the creek there’s good fishing in the summer.”

When we cross the creek and come up on an open field, he stops and turns to me.

"Remember in middle school when I broke my arm?"

"Yeah," I say. Though I don't even know how he broke it or remember much else.

“I was riding my horse in this field trying to do trick stunts like I saw at the rodeo earlier that summer. I fell and broke it and then had to have the horse take me home because my parents had no idea I was out here. I was grounded for months because they knew I was lying about what really happened when I said I fell off my horse. I don't think they ever knew exactly what I was doing." He has a faraway expression on his face as he recounts the memory.

Continuing on, we drive through the field and into the woods along an older trail. Clouds are gathering in the sky, and by the time we come out on the other side of the woods, a light snow has started. There’s a chill in the air that wasn't there before.

"The weather didn't call for snow at all this week." I stare up at the sky as the snow spits down in large, fluffy snowflakes.We have been on the four-wheeler for over an hour."How far are we from the barn?" I ask.

"Too far to go back right now. The cabin is up ahead. We can get in there and get warm." He takes a left and follows another old trail through some more trees. When we come out of the trees, there is a cabin to our right, down a ways. The roof isalready covered in snow, and it's starting to stick on the ground. Shane parks the four-wheeler against the cabin and turns it off.

"Grab the door for me?" he asks, lifting the large chest off the front of the four-wheeler that he had strapped down earlier.

The cabin is all one room with a small kitchen off in one corner and a large stone fireplace against the far wall. There is a queen bed against the wall opposite the fireplace.

"Dad kept wood ready out back. I hope there is still some out there."

When he goes outside, I look around.

Opening the door to what I expect to be a closet, I find a bathroom. I'm kind of shocked they have plumbed all the way out here. I close the door and head to the small kitchen.

There’s no stove or oven, just a hot plate and a small sink. Hearing Shane return, I turn to look at him.

"Plenty of wood out back," he says. Walking over to the fireplace, he starts getting a fire going.

"I'm surprised you have water out here," I say, joining him.

"There is a water tank that fills when it rains. The toilet is compost, it's not much. But it's not meant to live in, just to shelter in place for days like today or when my dad was working out here for a few days at a time."

When Shane finally gets the fire started, he goes back to get the chest from the four-wheeler.

"I have water and MREs in here. I was planning to leave at the cabin if needed. The MREs don't taste the best, but it's food," he says holding up the brown plastic bags before setting them on the kitchen counter.

"Once the snow stops, we will head back. But the fireplace will keep us warm," he says, suddenly looking nervous.

He sits on the couch facing the fireplace and removes his boots and outerwear, so I do the same. We hang them near thefire to let them dry and warm up for when we need to go back out.

With the fire going, we relax on the couch. He talks about growing up on the ranch, and I tell him about the different projects I've done in New York. We talk for hours, and I love watching his face light up as he tells me stories and memories about the ranch.

"All this ranch talk makes me wish I'd hung out with you and Atlas more when he was here," I say.

"We did have fun. He was like the brother I never had. When he was around, I didn't hate being an only child so much." He smiles, thinking about their adventures.

Sitting here, next to him, makes my heart race.I wonder if he’s feeling it too.

When I look at Shane, he has an intense look on his face and his eyes are locked on me.

Based on that hot, searing look on his face and the way he’s smiling, I’m sure he’s feeling what I am. Suddenly, I want him to kiss me more than I want my next breath. The longer he stares at me, the harder it is to breathe.

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