Page 70 of Power Play

The ride is quiet, and I know he’s lost in his thoughts. I let him, but I’m careful not to let go of his hand in case I need to pull him back to Earth. Finally, we pull onto the street where the little farmhouse he’s renting sits.

But as he’s driving, he goes right on past it.

“Where are we going?” I ask, looking out the window. This is one of my favorite roads in Crooked Creek. It’s long and windy with big, open farmland on either side. A few houses speckle it every few miles, but other than that, there’s not much else here. Trees in the distance, stars above, and just land.

I wait for his answer, but he just smiles.

“You’ll see,” he says.

A minute or two later, he turns off the road onto a gravel driveway. He drives about a quarter of a mile up it and puts the car in park, right smack dab in the middle of one of the fields. He leaves the engine on and turns on his brights. He gets out and comes around to open my door.

“Where are we?” I ask as he helps me step down. But he still doesn’t answer. He just takes me by the hand and walks me farther into the field. I see bright lines in the grass, and as we get closer, I see that it’s staked out. Red tape connects the stakes from end to end, in perfect square and rectangular boxes.

“We’re home,” he says. We walk a little bit farther into the grass and step over one of the pieces of tape. “This is the foyer,” he says. Then we walk a little farther. “Over there would be a half bath. The kitchen and dining area are back here,” he says, leading me to the back of the taped-off area. “And this would be a guest suite.” He looks at me. “Or maybe an in-law suite one day. Who knows. Then this,” he says, leading me in the other direction, “will be a study or an office. The stairs would be over here,” he says, bringing me back toward the foyer area. My heart is thudding in my chest.He’s going to stay.“And then up there, we would have four bedrooms—two to the left, one in the middle of the hall, and then the master suite to the right. It would face that way,” he says, pointing out over the rolling hills and woods. Mountains perched in the distance. I stop for a minute, picturing what that would be like to wake up to. “Then the other three would face that way,” he says again. He pauses for a moment, letting me take it all in. Finally, I turn to him and smile.

“This will be amazing,” I tell him. “I’m so excited for you.”

He smiles faintly, dropping his head.

“Yeah, it will be,” he says. “But of course, if you want something changed, there’s plenty of time to do that. And Harp can have her pick of the rooms.”

I flick my eyes up to him. Now my heart ispounding.

IfIwant something changed?Harpercan pick her room?

Did he mean an in-law suite for…for my dad?

“Wha—what?” I ask. He takes both of my hands and faces me.

“Lo, I brought you here to show you where I want to build a house. I bought this lot a few weeks ago. And I had these plans drawn up then, too. We finally got it staked out last week, and I have been dying to bring you here. Tell me what you think.”

I pull my hands from his gently, walking around the imaginary house again.

This would be amazing. And I bet sunrises from this house…the view would be unreal. And it’s so close to my family and close enough to downtown for him. But…I don’t deserve all of this. I really don’t.

“Lo?” he asks after a few moments. “Where’s your head?”

I turn to him and force myself to look him in the eye.

“I want to be excited about this,” I tell him. I see his body stiffen, his eyebrows knitting together. “I really do. I want to let myself dream and hope and make plans. God knows I have to fight those thoughts every damn day. But I’m not the girl who gets the famous hockey player. I’m a mom. I don’t get to dream like that. Because if my dreams get crushed, then so do my dreams for her. If I get hurt, then so does she.”

His head drops slightly, and his eyes are at the ground. He takes a few steps toward me, pushing a hand through his perfect hair.

“Lo, I don’t know who told you that once you become a mom, you don’t get to dream. But it’s just not true. You’re just dreaming formore. And now, that’s what I’m doing. Every dream I have now includes the two of you. And I really hope you’ll join me in that. Because all of this,” he says, holding his arms out, “means absolutely nothing without you and her. You are my dream now.”

He lifts his eyes to me slowly, and I feel mine starting to fill with tears. My lip starts to tremble, and he reaches out to grab my hands, holding me steady, bringing me back down to Earth.

“If you can’t join me in it yet, I understand. I won’t push you, because I know your situation is different. I’ll just spend my days showing you that it’s safe to dream with me. And until you’re ready, I’ll dream big enough for the three of us.”

I smile, tears in my eyes, and kiss him harder than I’ve ever kissed someone.

“No one will ever love you like I do, Levi Buck,” I tell him. “And I’m ready to dream with you.”

one year later

epilogue

LO

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