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“No. I’m building a house for Chandler at the edge of it and giving it to him for graduation, when he does, indeed, graduate.”
I watched him as he chewed his lip. “That’s…great, Rick. Can you?”
“Yes, yes, there’s a place at the edge of the BLM land that is beautiful, zoned for it and will be close enough he can be on hand for whatever needs done there. If he wants it. I wonder if he will, you know, after he gets away.”
“I knew it. You’re not just worried about his leaving but about him coming back.”
“Yeah. I mean, I get it if he doesn’t want it. He might find his dreams in a city or someplace far from here. Still, it’ll be there if and when he wants it, and there’s more. I saw you dancing that first night I was here on the sly, with the mask. I thought about it then and it grew for me.”
“What?”
“A dance studio in town. The old card shop went out of business last year. I really don’t want another coffee shop, which is what the city council is batting around, so I thought, what about a dance studio?”
My heart fluttered as I pictured it in my mind. I could see the rails in front of mirrored walls, the hardwood floors with dancing feet on them, the lights overhead, the locker rooms, all of it came to me in a second. “Rick…”
“What do you think? You’re not a farmer or rancher, and you could learn, sure, but it’s covered if not. Why not play to your strengths?”
“Rick, I would love that. I…that is…”
I felt the tears falling and he brushed them from my cheeks. “I want to give you the world, Kanan. You’ve opened mine.”
I moved to him, and he held me while my happy tears wet his chest. “I love you, Rick.”
“I know. That’s why I’m determined to make all your dreams come true.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Itwasatearygoodbye for us when we left the retreat that Monday morning. Rick was more choked up than I was, as he’d enjoyed the weekend so much, meeting people I was sure would be lifelong friends for us both.
Before we went home, he drove me to the farm. It was a gorgeous drive through the mountains, and once we neared, a huge sign told us we were less than a mile.
The acreage was massive, as it had to be. There were four separate areas for the chickens alone, a bard for each that served as the coops. There were rows and rows of cubbies where the chickens roosted, then yards for them to roam in the daylight hours.
There was a mechanical collector for the eggs. Once they were laid, they rolled gently to an elevator that took the eggs to a shed beside the barns where they were collected by an employee. Rick had maybe forty employees from town and the surrounding area.
Jace met us at the main barn where there was an office attached. The noise of the birds was loud, so he showed us into the office, where there were a few boxes stacked near the desk. “I’m reorganizing, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Make this yours, Jace,” Rick said as we both took seats in front of the desk.
“If you’re here to make sure I don’t spread it around…”
“No, Jace, of course, I trust you won’t say anything. It’s part of the membership, after all, if I remember the contract. But, if I can trust you with my business, I can trust you with that piece of information.”
“Thank you. I wouldn’t tell a soul. We need places we can go to be ourselves. I’d never hurt that.”
Jace was a handsome man, smiled easily, and had hard, intensely dark eyes that had a feather of laugh lines. All around, he seemed like a casual and happy person.
“It’s true. I loved it there this weekend. We’ll be at the rest of the weekends, barring something coming up, so you’ll be seeing us again.”
“I loved it. I had a date this time, but the next time, I’ll likely go stag and try my luck,” he said, laughing.
“I’m not allowed. I’m very attached,” he said, taking my hand. “Speaking of my partner, I was telling him of my plans for the house, to expand on the sheep, all of it. I was hoping you’d go with us to look around and let me know the best places for the sheep.”
“Love to. I’ve got a ton of ideas now that I’ve looked around.”
“Excellent.”
There were several golf carts and four-wheel off-road vehicles that were lined up in the back of the office, and we all got on one of the four-wheelers to take a ride into the property.
