Page 9 of January's Bad Boy: Shane

"Oh, that's a good idea!" She smiles enthusiastically. "I’ll set some mirrors around to bounce off light. Not the most masculine, but it is the easiest way to add natural light without adding a window."

She proceeds to point out a few more things like drawers under the bunks to save space, and extending the cabinets to the ceiling for storage.

As she talks, it’s obvious how much she loves what she does. Just knowing that she’ll be involved in this project for me has me falling even harder for her. I was in deep before, but I could stilllet her go and walk away. But I think I'm in danger now. There has to be an option or a way to keep her for good.

CHAPTER 6

CAITLIN

All day,I've been debating if I should do this. It’s my day off, and I'm on my way to Shane's ranch again. I can't help myself because I feel invested in this project. I want to see how it's coming and how else I can help. There is so much family history on his ranch, and I know he's trying to honor that. Just being a small part of this project fills me more than any of the large jobs I worked on back in the city.

When I pull up to the ranch, Shane's truck is in the driveway, so at least I know he's here. When I knock on the front door of the house, no one answers. So, I walk around to the back like we did when Shane showed me the bunkhouse. I head toward where I hear the sound of a radio. But before I get there, my interest is piqued by an old run-down building. Of course, I need to stop and take a look.

It's built of wood that is still in good condition and might have been used as a shed or small barn at some point. But it’s empty now. The room is open to the weather and the door on it is long gone. Why is it still sitting there? Maybe his family couldn't bear to tear it down? I smile, thinking about that, continuing on to the bunkhouse.

Since the door is open, I knock on the door frame. Shane jumps and looks out the door, but smiles when he sees me.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" He moves to turn off the music so we can talk.

"I wanted to come by and see how it's going. Is that okay?" Suddenly, I’m worried he might not want me here.

"You are welcome here anytime you want to come. For any reason." He smiles.

At his invitation, I step in and take a look around. He's got all the furniture moved to one side of the room and is working in the kitchen and living area. He's painted it a soft gray color like in my rendering. The cabinet doors have been removed and are leaning against another wall, primed and ready for painting. The wood floors are covered, and the old appliances are gone from the kitchen, leaving empty spots in their place.

"Wow, you have really been moving on this," I say.

"This is just what you can see. Atlas sent a guy out to fix the wiring. Though thankfully, there wasn't much that needed to be repaired. I guess Dad updated it a few years back. We upgraded the plumbing in the bathrooms and the new fixtures have been ordered. While I was at the Merc, I went ahead and bought kitchen appliances. Ruby had a ball helping me pick them out and order them."

"Well, I had another idea if you are up for it. If not, I totally get it," I say. Suddenly, I'm worried I might be overstepping with this one.

"I want to hear it. You have no idea how much your ideas are helping here."

"That old wood building I passed on the way out here?" I ask, waiting to see his reaction.

"Yeah, it needs to come down, but Atlas and I used to play in it as kids. Lots of memories there, so I can't bring myself to tear it down just yet," he says with a faraway look in his eyes.

"Well, I had an idea. Most of the wood on the walls looks like it's in good condition. What if we could repurpose it instead of tearing it down?"

His eyes light up, and he has a big smile on his face."What did you have in mind?"

"You could use the wood as an accent wall in here and even in the main house." I show him my ideas. The entire time, he's got a grin going while taking notes on his phone.

"Thank you. I love the idea of reusing the shed around the ranch," he says as we step out.

I hear a horse in the distance. "What was that?" I’m a bit confused because his neighbors aren't close enough for us to hear their horses.

"Let me show you." He tilts his head toward the barn, and I follow him.

When we walk in, I see there are two beautiful horses in the stalls.

"I didn't know you were bringing in animals so soon!" When I walk over the horses, they instantly back away from me. Frowning, I turn back to Shane.

"They were horribly abused, and were about to be put down. I couldn't stand the thought of it. They just need some love, so I brought them here. Even though they are really skittish, I'm hoping they will come around with time," he says.

Walking over to the next stall, I look at the second horse. Her eyes meet mine and we stare at each other for a few minutes. When I hold out my hand, she hesitantly takes a step toward me and sniffs it before retreating backward.

"They will come around." I smile.

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