Page 61 of Buck This
She climbed inside the cab of his truck, and he tossed the duffle bag into the back seat.
The drive was pretty. He took them right out of town and onto the back roads, and he held her hand the whole time. Twice, he kissed her knuckles, and she didn’t know why, but it made her want to cry. Not with sadness, but with joy.
“I missed you,” she said honestly.
His smile was so handsome in that sunset lighting that filtered through his truck window.
He turned off on a dirt road and took a winding road up a hill, through lush green pines, and he didn’t come to a stop until he reached a clearing with a gravel driveway to park his truck. There was a small house with wood siding that had seen better days and needed some work. Beside it was an old greenhouse, with a few of the windows busted out, but stacked in front were new window panels still in protective wrapping. There was a huge deck on the front of the house, and that was the part she couldn’t take her eyes off of.
Quickdraw was there with Annabelle. And Raven and Dead of Winter, and Tuff Enough and Luna, First Time Train Wreck and his mate, Amber, Two Shots Down and his mate, Cheyenne. They seemed to be waiting for them.
“What’s…” Torrey frowned. “What’s going on?”
“This is what I’ve been working on. They’re here for the housewarming party.”
“Housewarming party,” she repeated softly as hope bloomed in her chest.
He pointed to the greenhouse. “I figured we could keep your feral cats in there until they see this place as home, and then we can let them out to run this place. They can be barn kitties. I got some litter pans and something called cat towers, but I don’t know what kind of food or toys to get them yet. I’ve never had a cat. You can teach me.”
“You want…” She blinked back tears. “You want to bring my cats here?”
“Well, eventually, when you decide to move in.”
She looked at this place with brand new eyes. “You bought this place? Near me?”
“Yep. It’s a fixer upper, but it’s on sixty acres, and it’s damn-near paid off.”
“You spent your money on this place,” she whispered reverently. It was covered with beautiful pine trees and had a hammock in the middle of the yard, and a firepit to sit at.
“Do you like it?” he asked, and there was such hope in his tone.
“Iloveit.”
“Want to see the rest?” he asked.
She nodded, trying so hard to keep her deep emotions in check so she wouldn’t fall to pieces and ruin the moment. “I have to tell you something.”
“Uh oh,” he murmured.
“I love you, Buck This Storme.”
A slow, handsome smile stretched his face. “Are you sure?”
“I was sure since the first day I knew you.”
“What was the moment?”
“That I realized you are important?”
“Yeah.”
She inhaled deeply. “When you asked me to stay. You came back to the box after your buck, and you had almost gotten into that fight outside, and you were frustrated with me, but you took the time and you came into the box and you made it right, and you asked me to stay. And also you shotgunned a beer, and that was really hot.”
He belted out a laugh.
“Did you have a moment?” she asked.
“You mean besides when you told me you were a crazy cat lady and crochet queen?”
