Page 13 of Beauden & Yelena

The love and passion in his voice for his land is incredible. I actually have goosebumps on my arms and a newfound admiration of him.

“The perfect example of generational wealth. You’re doing exactly what I always preach to my clients.”

“You are in accounting, right?”

“Yes. What are your degrees in?”

“Numbers too but finance.”

I turn my head to face him, then comment, “No wonder.” He clearly understands the need to invest your money in items that won’t depreciate as soon as acquired. “You are an investor.”

“I try to invest in everything I want a nice return on,” he utters much closer to my ear and the innuendo in his words tell me he’s no longer talking about land.He’s talking about me.I keep my thoughts to myself and he continues. “This is the forest.”

I turn my head forward and notice a wooded area, filled with green Christmas trees. “Wow! You got the hook up with Santa?” I smile like a big ass kid. “They are so big, full, and green but how?”

It’s the dead of winter and these trees are vibrant and full of life. When we enter into the midst of the trees, their wonderful smell causes my smile to get ridiculously bigger. Fresh Christmas tree scent is one of my favorite smells of the season. I buy a live tree every year because of the beauty and the wonderful natural scent. Its fragrances fill my entire condo.

“They are called balsam fir. We are lucky because they grow here naturally. Most people in town get their trees from here.”

“Even the big one in the lodge?”

“Yes. The staff insists on one of the biggest ones each year, so I come out and cut it myself.” We ride deeper into the beautiful trees and we end up rounding a small lake. “And this is Lake Phox.”

“It looks frozen.”

“The top definitely is but not all the way through. It hasn’t gotten that cold yet but this is where your group is going ice fishing Saturday.”

“Just the guys. I have no desire to fish in frozen water. I would love to ice skate on a frozen lake though.”

“You ice skate?”

“I haven’t but I definitely want to.”

“There’s a small rink in town. It will be open this weekend for our annual Christmas event. You should let me take you,” he says and I smile hard, probably too hard. I’m so glad I’m facing forward.

“I would love that.”

“It’s Sunday but an all-day event.”

“How should I dress?’ I ask and he chuckles.

“I see you worry a lot about clothes. Just be warm.”

He taps Midnight Love’s side and makes that ticking sound again then we are off. As we ride, I start to recognize the area. We are heading back toward the barns. I try to count all of the cows I see out in the large fenced in areas on both sides but I keep losing count. There are too many.

“How many barns do you have?”

“Three and the small milking one.”

“Is that enough for all of these cows?”

“Yes. They are not always inside. Even in the cold, they prefer to roam outside.”

We ride past the barns then circle back to the stables. Instead of getting off him outside of the stable, we ride Midnight Love all the way inside. He gets off first, then helps me down. His hands grip my waist as I plant my feet on the ground and my breath hitches at his touch.

“Thank you,” I say, breathlessly. “I loved that.”

“I’m glad that you did.”

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