Page 30 of Some Cowboys Fight for Love

“That’s weird, right?”

He grunted, ever the quiet, stoic one.

“The way the road went from not being here to suddenly being here.” It was getting darker out. She couldn’t see that far into the fields around them. “You’re not taking me out to some abandoned warehouse to kill me, are you?” Her tone was light, but there was a nervous edge to her voice as she recalled all the times Cayden had manipulated her into feeling like she wasn’t safe with him.

Her heart hammered and she shut her eyes, reminding herself that Daniel was nothing like Cayden. He couldn’t be more different.

“Well, it’s not a warehouse.”

Her eyes flew wide, and she snapped them over to Daniel. “But you’re not going to kill me, right?”

Daniel chuckled and lifted the hand she still held to his lips. He brushed a soft kiss to her knuckles and goosebumps erupted all along her arms.

“That wasn’t an answer,” she insisted. “You can’t just?—”

He slowed the truck enough that he could look her square in the eye. “I would rather lie down my life than see you get hurt.” There was no humor in his voice, only pure, raw devotion. Those words sent a shiver down her spine, and she found herself wishing she’d brought a warmer coat. The autumn weather wasn’t so bad that she needed one, but at this point it might have been wise.

They continued until they reached a grove of trees that had grown over the road that disappeared behind them. In thegrowing darkness, Aria’s eyes narrowed and she leaned forward in her seat. “We’re not going in there, right?”

Daniel chuckled again. “That’s where the road leads.”

“And you… do you own this?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know who owns it.”

“Daniel!” She jumped and faced him. “We’re trespassing?”

“Where’s your sense of adventure?”

She swiveled her head around just as he drove under the tree branches that scraped across the top of his truck. Then the world opened up to them.

The building was enormous—well, compared to most of the homes in Copper Creek. It was completely surrounded by trees and a stone wall. Vines wrapped around and tangled with other forms of foliage. But it was the structure that took her breath away. It had to have been built ages ago, and yet it was still standing. The windows weren’t boarded up, nor were they broken, but you could tell no one had been here in a while. It was as if the outside world hadn’t been able to touch this place.

Innocent.

That was how she’d describe this place.

In the darkness, the house appeared to be white, the bricks either white-washed or simply made differently than the standard red ones. The roof was covered with leaves from the tall trees surrounding them. There was no sign that people lived here, but it did look as though they kept up with the needs of the house so it didn’t completely get overtaken by nature.

There were two stories. One side of the house looked like it was meant to be a tower—shaped like a hexagon all the way around. But connected to it was the rest of the house that stretched toward the back. Beside the tower was a covered porch in a similar shape as it wrapped around the other side. Columns held up the awning, leaving it open for someone who might liketo come out on a Sunday morning with their coffee and watch the sun rise.

It was the perfect escape.

“You like it?”

She glanced at him with wide eyes. “It’s gorgeous. I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it.”

“It was built in the early nineteen-hundreds. They don’t make them like they used to.” Awe tinted his tone as he stared at the building as the sun set behind it. “I was out riding one day and came across it. The doors were unlocked and so I couldn’t help but take a peek inside. You want to see?”

Aria was drawn in by his excitement. They had to literally be breaking some laws simply by being on this property, and yet she couldn’t find the words to decline his request. “Is the inside as good as the outside?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know that I would design it that way, but you could go inside if you want.”

“Is that part of our date?”

Daniel craned his head down and pointed to something high up on the house. “Technically, I wanted to take you up to that little outlook. You can see the lights from town up there. And when it’s clear out like tonight, you can get a good look at the stars.”

Her pulse thrummed with excitement. She pulled her lower lip between her teeth. “You sure we won’t get caught?”

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