Kyla shifted, drawing in the chill, chin angled toward the side mirror where aspens clung to their last color.She stayed quiet.He traced the line of her throat, the loose strands of hair lifted by the breeze slipping through the window, dark curls catching along her jaw.
His hand stayed fixed on the steering wheel.Every instinct pushed him to reach.Habit stopped him.He had been raised to keep that distance, to wait.She would not wait forever.
That truth settled in him without argument.Sunlight crossed the dash.Her nails, blunt and square from work, tapped a slow rhythm against her thigh, and something tight pulled low in his chest.
The overlook felt emptier than usual.A line of cattle moved below, small from this height, edging along a fence.The sky darkened toward evening.Wind moved across the hood.The only sound between them came down to breath and the faint whine of the parking brake.
He stepped out.Cold met the sweat at his neck.His boots pressed into loose gravel as he walked around the truck, stirring the sharp scent of sage.He paused at her door, drew a steady breath, and opened it.Not for show.For her.
Kyla tipped her head, studying him.“Since when do you go full gentleman?”
He answered without speaking, palm up, waiting.Her hand slid into his.Warm.Certain.No hesitation.
Her boots met the ground.Wind moved across their faces.Dry leaves rattled overhead.She glanced toward the mounted binoculars, one brow lifting, then back to him with the hint of a smile.Her thumb pressed at the base of his hand.His skin tightened under the touch.
He led her toward the concrete barrier without rushing.Their hands swung once between them, easy, unforced.The valley opened below in long lines.Fences stretched across pasture.Barns stood spaced with purpose.Cattle moved slow along the land.
He kept his grip steady so she would understand.This was not routine.His thumb traced along her fingers, catching the rough places shaped by work.
She stepped closer until her shoulder met his.He stopped at the ledge.The air cut clean into his lungs.Cold settled across his skin, sharp and steady.She stayed beside him.No words.No need.
A gust lifted her hair.Loose curls brushed the inside of his forearm.He drew in a breath, not entirely from the cold.Her mouth curved as if she noticed.He kept his jaw set.
They stood together, taking in the land that shaped him and the woman who had shifted everything inside it.She scanned the valley with focus, as if searching for where she fit.His throat tightened.Words would not help.He let his hand say what he could not.
Everything narrowed to the space between the mountains and her hand against his.Titus set their joined hands on the rough concrete edge and kept them there.He released her only long enough to reach into his pocket.
The valley stretched wide below them.Fences, barns, cattle, all laid out in a way that made everything feel earned.Not pretty for the sake of it.Real.
“This is where I come when I need to think,” he said.His voice came out quieter than usual, but it held.
She glanced at him, then back out.“Figured it was something like that.”
A small pause settled between them.Not empty.Just enough space for what he meant to do.Their hands stayed linked.His thumb moved once over her knuckles, then stilled.He let the moment stand on its own.No rushing.No filling it with talk.
Then he drew a breath and let her hand go.Her gaze snapped to him.He didn’t make her wait.
The ring came from his pocket, warm from being carried.He turned it once between his fingers, not fidgeting, just feeling the familiar shape.
“I’ve had this a while,” he said.He stepped closer, enough that she had to meet him and not the view.“It was my mom’s.”
Kyla’s expression shifted, attention sharpening.
“I didn’t get why she wanted me to have it at first,” he added.“She told me one day I would.”A breath moved through him, steady this time.“I get it now.”
He took her hand again, slower, more careful, like the moment deserved that much.He turned her palm up and set the ring there.His fingers stayed against hers.Not gripping.Not pulling away.
“I don’t have anything fancy for you,” he said.“No speech I practiced.No big plan.”His thumb brushed once across her skin.“But I brought you here for a reason.”
She looked down at the ring, then back up at him.He didn’t look away.
“I want a life with you,” he said.“Not part of one.All of it.You and me, on that land, building something that’s ours from the ground up.”
A beat passed.
He went down on one knee.“Marry me, Kyla.”
Wind pressed against them, tugging loose strands of her hair across his wrist.He let it happen.Didn’t shift.She stared at him, really looked this time.Not quick.Not guarded.Then her fingers curled around the ring.
