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5
ANDREA
The next morning, Carter wakes us early, telling us that he has a surprise waiting. As he cooks us a breakfast of eggs, sausage, hash browns, and biscuits, Sadie eagerly guesses what the surprise might be. Carter has fun teasing her, sayingmaybein response to too many of her guesses.
I’m still processing the fact that Carter kissed me last night. That was all it ended up being, a single kiss, but my world feels rocked by it. I know I was secretly hoping for something like this to happen between us, but I guess I didn’t believe it would happen for real.
But that kiss that he gave me last night was the most real thing I’ve ever felt.
It scares me a little how much more I want from him. It took me forever to fall asleep last night because I couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to be ravished by him. To be pinned down on the bed by him, to feel his hard muscles against my curves, to be plunged into and filled up and claimed…oh, God. I can’t be thinking about that right now.
I take another bite of my breakfast, forcing myself to focus on how delicious it is. I was a little surprised to walk into the kitchen this morning and find Carter standing at the stove, since he has hired staff, but it turns out that he likes to cook. Everything he made is cooked to perfection, especially the buttery, flaky biscuits.
“All done!” Sadie declares, wiping a napkin over her lips. “Can we go see the surprise now?”
“Whoa, cowgirl,” Carter says. “Your mom and I have to finish eating first.”
Sadie sighs. I give her a look to remind her that we’re Carter’s guests, and she grabs her plate and brings it over to the kitchen sink.
After breakfast, we get changed, then go outside with Carter. He takes us on a walk across his property, not giving away any clues as we make the trek. But as soon as we crest one of the hills, the surprise is revealed: a little ways further on, there’s a giant hot air balloon waiting for us.
“No way!” says Sadie with a gasp.
I gape at the hot air balloon, then look at Carter. “Carter, you didn’t need to do something like this for us.”
“Remember when we were talking about the hot air balloon festival in Albuquerque?” he says, referring to some of our old letters. “Well, one of these years, I’ll take us to it. But in the meantime, I thought you’d enjoy a hot air balloon of your own.”
“That’s really sweet of you,” I say, feeling a little emotion in my throat. It doesn’t feel like I deserve all of this attentiveness.
As we approach the balloon, a pilot greets us and explains a few things about how the balloon works before helping us get into the basket. I wrap my arms around my daughter as we lift off. It’s a smooth ascent as we climb up into the air, and aside from the blasts of hot air from the burner, it’s serenely quiet.
Soon we’re floating high above Carter’s ranch, and the view of his property takes my breath away. The trees and all the cattle become miniaturized. The shimmering lake that we visited yesterday turns into a little puddle on the ground. And as we drift higher still, I see how Carter’s ranch is part of the greater whole.
I look over at him, studying his ruggedly handsome face as he looks out admiringly at the view. Are those tears in his eyes?
“Is this your first time doing this, too, Carter?” I ask him.
He blinks away the dampness in his eyes and smiles as he looks at me. “Yep. Sure is. I’ve thought about doing it before, but I wanted to wait for you.”
We stay in the air for about an hour, then slowly make our descent. It’s a gentle landing, and as I’m climbing out of the basket, I thank our pilot for such a wonderful experience.
“It was my pleasure,” he says. “Enjoy the rest of your day, folks.” Then he looks down at Sadie, gives her a big smile, and says, “Quite a treat from Mom and Dad, wasn’t it?”
My heart hiccups at the innocent mistake. Sadie glances at me, then smiles at the pilot.
“Yes,” she says. “It really was. I had so much fun.”
The three of us begin to make our way back toward the house. Once we’re out of earshot from the pilot, Sadie grins at Carter and says, “Sooo, what are we going to do now,Dad?”
My heart hiccups again. I open my mouth to try to nip this in the bud before it becomes uncomfortable, but Carter speaks before I’m able to.
“Well, since you asked, kiddo,” he says. “I think you better do some chores now.”
“Ohno,” Sadie groans.
I’m relieved that Carter is taking it in stride and joking around with her, but I’m still worried that joking about him being her dad could make him feel uncomfortable. To change the subject, I clear my throat and say, “Hey, Sadie, why don’t you tell Carter about the play you’re rehearsing in school?”
And, as I knew it would, that prompts my daughter to launch into a long and vivid explanation.
