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“I think we can do that.” I gave Tea a squeeze with my thighs, and she picked up her walk into a trot. A few minutes later, we were galloping free in a field. The smile on Morgan’s face was like a gift from God. She looked so happy and carefree. I loved moments like this with her.
We stopped by the side of a small lake to let the horses take a break and graze for a bit. Morgan stood at the shoreline and stared at the mountain range in the distance. The sky was a beautiful deep blue with puffs of clouds that looked like someone had painted them on. The lake had a reflection of the sky and the mountains, and it was so calm it almost looked like glass.
“It’s so beautiful,” Morgan whispered. “It’ll be snowing before we know it. It already is up in the mountains. Look at how white the snow seems from here.”
I wrapped my arms around her, and she leaned back against my body. We stood there in silence as we took in the beauty that was Montana.
Morgan let out a long, deep sigh. “I don’t ever want to leave here.”
“Me neither. Bailey called me earlier.”
She spun around in my arms and looked up at me. “Tell me she found some land.”
“She found some land.”
Morgan’s eyes lit up. “Where? Is it close to Hamilton?”
I nodded.
“Close to your parents’ ranch?”
“Oh yeah…pretty darn close.”
She playfully hit me on the chest. “Tell me where, Ryan!”
Smiling, I said, “It’s a fifty-acre ranch a mile west of here. So, it’s closer to the mountain range.”
Her eyes went wide. “The price?”
“The owner happens to be a good friend of my parents.”
“Okay, did he say how much he wanted to sell it for?”
“Eight-hundred fifty-thousand.”
Morgan’s mouth dropped open. “For fifty acres? It’s worth so much more.”
“Do you want to go see it right now? I already told Bailey we might want to go look at it this afternoon.”
She jumped into my arms and wrapped her legs around me. “Hell yes, I want to go see it!”
Chapter Thirty
MORGAN
I had never been so excited in my life. Okay, that wasn’t true. I was excited when Georgiana asked me to be partners with her at the boutique. And when Mary asked me to design wedding gowns for her new line. But owning land with Ryan, knowing we were taking a step toward our future, was a high I would never get again. I was positive of that.
Mr. Owens asked if we wanted to drive around the property in his side-by-side utility vehicle. Bailey sat up front with him while Ryan and I sat in the back. I nearly died when we came upon a herd of bighorn sheep. It wasn’t like I had never seen them before, but there they were, grazing on our future land.
“It has an amazing view of the Bitterroot and Sapphire mountains,” Ryan said as he laced his fingers with mine.
“It’s stunning.”
Mr. Owens craned his neck to talk to us. “There’s a bridge up here that my grandfather built for my grandmother. This part of the land was her favorite. It goes over Lone Man’s Creek, which runs right through the property. It really flows with the spring melt.”
He came to a stop, and I got out of the vehicle and stared at the picture in front of me. A crystal-clear creek flowed at a decent clip—and standing at the edge, drinking water, was a herd of wild mustangs.
I hit Ryan in the chest. “Oh my God. Oh my God! Aunt Timberlynn would freak out right now!”
Ryan chuckled softly. “She would.”
My aunt owned a horse rescue business, and wild mustangs were her favorite. I couldn’t wait to show her this property. “Are they always on the land?” I asked Mr. Owens.
He nodded. “For as long as I can remember, and I grew up on this ranch. Getting too old to take care of it, though. I’ve also seen them with my horses in the pasture over by the ridge.”
I slowly shook my head in disbelief.
“We can drive over the bridge,” he said, “but I thought the two of you would like to take a stroll.”
“That’s a wonderful idea. Why don’t you guys go walk for a bit? We’ll be right here,” Bailey said.
“I’d love to walk around,” I said. “Thank you!”
Ryan and I started toward the bridge. As promised, it was wide enough for a truck to drive over, but I honestly wasn’t so sure I’d want to attempt it. The thing looked pretty old.
“Not sure I’d want to drive over this bridge.”
Laughing, I squeezed Ryan’s hand. “I was thinking the same thing.”
We walked along the creek in silence as we took in the views.
“I’ve been on this property plenty of times,” Ryan said. “Up that hill right there is where I shot my first mule deer.”
