Soaring with Fallon (Big Sky 4)

I grin and sip my coffee. “I didn’t appreciate it as much as I do now.”

Our voices are hushed as if to talk too loudly would wake up the world, and we want to keep it just for us.

“Did it always look like this?”

“Yes.” I sigh, stretching my legs out in front of me and enjoying the cool air. “Are you too cold?”

“No, it’s nice. It’ll get hot again this afternoon.”

I nod and sip my coffee. She’s not wrong. One thing I love about living in the mountains is even though it does get hot during the day, we cool down nicely at night.

“When I was a kid, we had horses out here,” I begin, picturing the way it looked when I was a boy. “We were a much smaller version of the Lazy K. My dad didn’t want the responsibility of a big ranch like that and didn’t love living out there the way Jeff does. So, when he decided to settle in Cunningham Falls, he and my mom bought this property where he was still out of town, could have a few animals, but not the rough, working-ranch life.”

“What did you have besides horses?” Fallon rests her chin on her knees, watching me instead of the sunrise. I can suddenly picture doing this with her every morning for years, which is completely new to me, and not unsettling, so I set it aside and focus on her question.

“Chickens,” I reply. “And I got to collect eggs every morning before school. I hated it in the winter.”

“I’ve never had farm-fresh eggs.”

My gaze whips to hers in surprise. “I’ll get some from Nancy for you. They’re delicious. We always had a dog and some cats running around. Over where the sanctuary is now, there used to be a big barn with some equipment, but Dad sold the equipment, and I remodeled the barn to be the flying building. It’s the tall, brown building in the back.”

As if she’s hanging on every word, her gaze follows my hand as I point out the things I mention.

“Would you ever want horses again?”

“No,” I reply immediately. “I love to ride, but they’re a lot of work, and I have too much to do at the sanctuary.”

“Makes sense,” she murmurs. “No dogs or cats now, I see.”

“There is a cat that roams around the sanctuary. A resident cat, I guess. We named him Shithead.”

She snorts.

“And I had a dog until a couple of years ago. He passed away, and I haven’t thought about getting another, but I might be close to ready.”

“I’ve never had a pet,” she says, surprising me.

“Nothing? Not even a hamster?”

“No.” She sips her tea, and I wait. I know she doesn’t give up information easily, but I want to know more, and I’m learning that it just takes a little time.

I set my empty mug aside and lean back, enjoying the view of the sunrise and the beautiful woman beside me.

“I lived in the city,” she begins, and I feel my lips twitch. Yeah, it just takes a little time. “And having a dog would have been a pain because we didn’t have a backyard, and I wasn’t allowed to walk the neighborhood alone.”

So, she lived in a rough neighborhood.

“My parents, well, they weren’t really around much. I never met my father, and before you say you’re sorry, don’t be. From what I’ve heard, he was no prize. My mom was in and out here and there, but she never stuck around for long. The last I heard, she was living in Texas somewhere with a guy. I honestly don’t care.

“My grandma raised me, and I was close to her. We were a team. But there wasn’t room in the budget for a cat or anything, and I never really craved one. I guess you don’t miss what you’ve never had.”

She clears her throat and looks over at me. “Go on.”

“That’s it, really.”

I doubt that.

“How long has your grandmother been gone?”

“Oh, gosh, six years I guess.” She sets her empty mug aside and wraps her arms around her legs, holding them close to her chest.

The woman is fucking flexible.

“And you were an accountant?”

A smile tips the corners of her lips. “Yeah. I hated it. I went to school for it because I figured I’d always have a stable job that way, and I was right. I worked in a good firm in Chicago, and by the time I left, I was the head of my department.”

“What happened?”

“Grandma died,” she says simply. “And when I returned to work after settling her affairs, I couldn’t help but think it wasn’t what she would have wanted for me. To go to a job every day that was sucking the life out of me. She did that her whole life, and I knew she didn’t want it for me.