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“Stormy is yours now, angel.” The look on her face was everything he had hoped for.
“He’s mine?” Her eyes sparkled as she stared at the blue roan, standing saddled in front of her.
“Yup.” Shane grinned. “I’ve already sent in the paperwork to transfer his registration to you.”
She glanced at the sun sinking low in the Western sky. “Do you think we have enough time to take a short ride?”
Grinning, Shane nodded. “I thought you might want to do that. That’s why I had one of my men saddle Stormy and have him ready.” As Lissa mounted her horse, Shane walked into the stable. He returned with his stallion and swung up onto the saddle. “We should have time to ride to the trailhead that leads to Rainbow Falls and make it back before dark.”
“Thank you for everything.” Riding the roan up beside his sorrel, Lissa leaned over to kiss his cheek. “This is the nicest, most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.” Her delighted expression suddenly turned to a teasing grin. “You are going to get so lucky tonight.”
“Then let’s get the hell out of here,” he said, nudging his stallion into a lope.
“What’s your hurry, Cowboy?” she asked, laughing as she urged Stormy to follow.
“I want to get back.” When she caught up to him, he grinned. “I could really use some…luck.”
As they rode across the valley back to the stable, Melissa couldn’t keep from smiling. “I love it here.”
“Really?” It sounded as if Shane had a hard time believing she meant what she said.
“Who wouldn’t love this?” Twisting around in the saddle, she took in the majestic beauty of the surrounding snowcapped mountains. “This has to be the quietest, most peaceful place on earth.”
“Some people would rather live where there are people around and things to do besides sit and listen to the grass grow,” he said, staring straight ahead.
She shook her head. “I’m not one of them.”
“That reminds me. There’s something else we need to discuss before we get married,” he said slowly. “Where do you want to live?”
Confused, she stopped her horse. “This is your home. I assumed you’d want us to live here.”
Reining in the stallion, Shane turned to meet her questioning gaze. “I do want to live here. It’s home. But I also know and accept that once the snows start, I may only get out of the valley a handful of times until the spring thaw. I accept the fact that there isn’t a convenience store just around the corner. It’s a good ten-mile drive if you forget to buy something while you’re in town.”
It was almost as if he was trying to talk her out of living on the ranch. Once they were married, didn’t he want her to live with him?
“I remember you telling me the first day you brought me here that the road leading into the valley sometimes gets closed off for several weeks.”
His intense gaze caught and held hers. “Do you think you can stand being snowbound for that long?”
She stared at him for several moments before she spoke. “I can’t answer that right now because I’ve never been in that situation, Shane.” She flicked the reins to urge Stormy into a slow walk. “What I can tell you is this. I understand all the drawbacks of living here and I’m still more than willing to give it a try.”
Each lost in thought, neither had much to say as they rode into the ranch yard. Dismounting the horses, by the time they had the animals groomed and turned into their stalls, Lissa had started yawning.
“I have to send an e-mail to a potential client. Why don’t you go on upstairs and take a hot shower?”
Shane asked, when they entered the house. He caught her to him for a quick kiss. “I promise I won’t be long.”
“I think I’ll do that,” she said, hiding another yawn. She smiled apologetically. “I’m beat.”
“I know, angel.” Kissing her again, he released her and took a step back. “I’ll be up in a few minutes.”
Shane watched her climb the stairs before he went into his study and opened his e-mail. Quickly composing a message with a quote for his architectural services, he pressed the send button, then turning off the computer, sat back in his desk chair.
The evening couldn’t have gone more perfectly. Lissa had loved the engagement ring he’d bought her and couldn’t have been happier when he gave her the roan gelding. The ride to the trailhead had gone well, too—right up until she mentioned how much she enjoyed the peace and quiet of his ranch.
What had gotten into him anyway? Why couldn’t he have taken her at her word that she wanted to live on the ranch? Why had he felt compelled to point out all the drawbacks of living on the Rainbow Bend?
