AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We quickly placed our bags in the bedroom, and I couldn’t help but stand in the middle of the room and spin in delight. The master bedroom was decorated like something straight out of a romance book, with white lacy fabric and roses placed all over the room. The scent hit me immediately, and I couldn’t help but smile when Ty pulled a single rose out and ran it over my face while he looked at me like he wanted to strip me naked and make love to me. Somehow he managed not to, and we headed over to the lake in his truck with a large picnic basket that had clearly been prepared ahead of time.
I gasped when I stepped out of the truck. The lake was even more beautiful in person. It was the most vibrant color blue.
“The color . . . ,” I whispered.
“I think it’s from the reflection of the sky.”
I nodded. “Are all lakes in Montana this beautiful?”
Ty laughed.
I looked up at the mountains and around at all the trees. Birds sang together in what almost seemed like a practiced harmony.
I froze when, off in the distance, I saw a moose at the edge of the lake on the other side.
“Ty! Oh my gosh! It’s a moose!”
He grinned and laid out a quilt and then set the basket on it. “You haven’t seen a moose yet?”
I shook my head, staring at the large, stunning animal as he wandered back into the thick forest. What an amazing treat that had been. “No, that was my first one.”
“It’s like he was here to greet you,” Ty said.
I nodded and then turned to see him sitting on the quilt. The spread of food before us. “Wow!”
“I may owe Lincoln a pretty big thank-you. Actually, she’s already called in the favor.”
With a chuckle, I took the glass of wine he gave me and sat down, tossing a little piece of cheese into my mouth and nearly groaning at how good it tasted with the wine. “What’s the favor?”
“She’s booked a getaway this fall with Brock, and she said you and I are on kid duty.”
“For a whole weekend? She’s trusting me with both kids?”
He laughed. “Well, I’ll be there too.”
“I think that sounds fun. We’ll spoil them and let Blayze stay up late and watch horror movies.”
Ty’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re kidding, right?”
I took a sip of wine and shrugged, trying not to break out into laughter.
Ty looked out over the lake for a few moments before his eyes met mine.
“When I was a little boy, my granddaddy used to take us four boys up to this lake that was way up in the mountains. It was called Hidden Pines Lake. I loved going there with him and would sit for hours and just fish with him and my brothers. Beck used to hate fishing, but he loved being with my granddaddy, like we all did. He would tell us stories about when he served in the marines. I really think that was where Beck got the desire to join the military. He wanted to be like Granddaddy. Tanner, he was the one who always caught the most fish, and all the bastard ever did was put earthworms on his hook. Used to piss me and Brock off.
“The final time we went up there, we all knew it would be the last. Granddaddy was getting older, and just trying to get the four of us to spend a weekend up in the mountains was like pulling teeth. Each of us was always going in a different direction.” He looked off, the memory hitting him. “Brock and I had spent hours in the sporting-goods store in the fishing department, asking the guys who worked there about all the lures. We thought for sure we’d have Tanner that year. ‘This will be our year,’ we declared. We’d spent all the money we’d made that summer hauling hay and riding in the semi circuit buying those damn lures.”
I smiled. “Did you catch any big fish with them?”
Ty shook his head and laughed. It was such a beautiful sound, hearing him laugh. I couldn’t explain it, but it somehow made my soul feel happy.
“Not one. Tanner, on the other hand—his basket was full of fish. Even Beck caught a few. Granddaddy said Brock and I didn’t know how to turn off our minds and just be in the moment. At the time, I had no idea what he meant. By then, Brock and I were both bull riding competitively, and I remember the four of us bitching to my dad about having to go that weekend. I’m glad we did, though, because it was the last time the four of us were all together . . .”
His voice drifted off, and I could hear the sadness in it. I placed my hand in his and gave it a soft squeeze.
