“Oh, yep. He called me a couple days ago. Says the calves are doing just fine and growing faster than he can keep up.”
“That’s good. That’s so good, Flynn.”
“I’m thinkin’ ‘bout takin’ a trip out there soon just to check up on things.”
“I think that would be a good idea. You could stay for a week or two and give Bradley a break.”
“I don’t know if I’d wanna stay that long…” he trailed off.
“Well, I’ll come with ya if it helps,” I smiled.
Flynn had put his ranch hand on full-time duty, and Bradley checked in every once in a while, to see how things were going. Flynn had traveled back once since he’d arrived in Paris and when he came back, I could tell he had missed me. We stayed up that entire night feeding each other food and making love to one another on my couch, and when I’d woken up that morning he wouldn’t even let me go take a damn shower!
So, I knew that me going with him would help him to actually go back and check on things.
“I think I’d like that,” Flynn smirked.
“I know,” I winked.
Flynn and I had also moved out of the heart of the city. It was a massive transition for me, but because Flynn was determined to learn how to drive and have a car of his own, transportation was no longer an issue. I still took the busses and trains into town, but he was now able to get around on his own. I knew he liked the freedom.,
I came home one day to see all our things packed in the one truck he found in all of Paris, and I had no fucking clue what was up to his sleeve. He just told me he had a surprise for me, and when I looked up at my apartment, I could see other people already moving into it.
I jumped into his truck, fuming at the idea that he’d subleased my apartment without telling me about it, but when we hit the outskirts of the city, and the hills began to roll, I felt sort of like I was at home. My eyes darted along the wineries and vineyards, and beautiful sprawling French mansions peppered the roads we were traveling down, and when we took a sharp right and hit a gravel driveway, all the memories from the past few years came barreling back to my mind.
College. Flynn. His encouragement throughout my college years. The summer horse camps I helped with. Flynn’s home. The horse accident. How he cared for me. The first time I told him I loved him. The way he looked at the airport as I was leaving.
It all came flooding back, but tears crested my eyes when the beautiful home that was sitting at the end of it came into view.
“Oh my God,” I breathed.
“It still needs some work, but that’s sort of what I do,” Flynn smiled.
“Holy shi-... this is ours!?” I shrieked.
“Yep. Closed on it today. I was lucky to find a sub-lease that was lookin’ for a place quick.”
I slammed myself out of his truck and went running to the porch, and when I saw the beautiful rocking chairs over in the corner, I felt my tears streaming down my face.
And then, I heard whinnying in the background.
“Flynn…?” I asked.
“Come on,” he smiled.
I ran and took his hand, and he led me around back, and when the backyard came into view, I was absolutely stunned. Three horses were in the field with two different foals, and five bulls were over in another part of the yard altogether. Hills upon hills sprawled out in the background, and there was a silver barn way off in the distance.
“That’s the heifer barn. There’s seven of ‘em in there. And don’t worry, I plan to ride the horses out to it until I can get me a four-wheeler or somethin’.”
“Flynn! I breathed.
Apparently, one of the people he ran into at the rodeo owned this farm at one point, but were actually switching their profession and looking to sell. He’d injured himself pretty badly and was losing money bringing in people to take care of the animals he trained and took after they were retired from the rodeo circuit, and that shit was right up Flynn’s alley. The price he quoted included all the animals, and Flynn simply couldn’t turn it down.
Not when there were animals involved.
“I’m sorry, I’m just still in shock with the house,” I said after I swallowed a massive bite.
“I know, but I think I got somethin’ that’ll trump it,” Flynn smirked.