“All of Montana is like this.”
With the last dish washed, I placed it in the dish drainer and turned to Tanner. “By the way, I’ve been thinking. I’m going to need a truck for sure. And a horse trailer.”
“Okay,” he said with a chuckle. “What kind of truck?”
“The lady who owned the horse ranch back in Georgia where I first started to take lessons...she had a Dodge.”
Tanner screwed up his face and shook his head. “A Dodge! No. No girlfriend of mine is driving a…a Dodge.”
I swooned hearing Tanner call me his girlfriend. Had we really come this far in only a few short weeks? I had been so hell bent on keeping this man far away from me, and here I was talking about kids with him. My future. A future I wasn’t really sure about since my father was bound and determined to undermine my life in Montana.
“What’s wrong with a Dodge?” I asked.
“If my father saw you drive up in a Dodge, he’d ban you from the ranch. You need a Ford.”
“Why a Ford? What’s wrong with Dodge, or even the Toyota trucks?”
He closed his eyes. “I’m not even going to give that a response.”
I laughed. “Why, Tanner Shaw, are you a truck snob?”
He scoffed. “I’m not a truck snob; I simply know a good truck when I see one and a Ford is a good truck. Everyone on the ranch has Ford trucks.”
“Well, I’m not going to be living on the ranch.”
A strange emotion moved quickly across his face. If I hadn’t been looking so intently at him, I might have missed it. “What was that look for?” I asked.
“I didn’t give a look.”
I raised a brow and thought about questioning him, but for some reason decided to let it go.
“Dad said Brock is hitching up the plow to his truck and should be heading this way soon,” Tanner said.
With a quick look around, I said, “We should clean up.”
He winked. “My thoughts exactly. I thought maybe we could be stranded another day, but it looks like the next round of storms won’t be here until late tonight or tomorrow morning.”
“Should I take the kitchen or bedroom?” I asked.
“I’ll do the kitchen; you take the bedroom. Just toss the sheets and towels we used into the washer. There’s a quick wash setting.”
“Got it!” I said and went to turn to head to the bedroom. Before I could take a step though, Tanner pulled me into his arms and kissed me.
My legs felt weak and I held onto his arms, a soft moan mixing with one of his own. When he pulled back, my entire body swayed. “Your kisses, Mr. Shaw...”
“Good or bad?” he asked, a wicked gleam in his eyes.
“Very good. They leave me weak.”
A wide smile erupted across his face. “You better leave before I decide to have my way with you again.”
I laughed. “No more condoms.”
He frowned. “Oh, we’ve already covered that there are plenty of ways to make you come without using my cock.”
My mouth dropped open and I knew I should be shocked, but instead I was turned on. I took a few steps back and flashed him a grin. “You wicked, wicked man.”
With the house cleaned and straightened up, Tanner headed out to the barn once again to check on Pogo. He had gone earlier in the morning to check on him, but was now going to clear a path for me so I could help him. I insisted on going, especially after he had found some crutches that he’d left behind when he’d stayed here for a few days with a broken ankle. It seemed to me that Tanner really enjoyed being in the log home. I could see why he always thought he’d end up living here. A part of me could see myself living here too, but I wasn’t ready to go that way with my thinking. Not yet, at least.
The front door opened as I wrapped my scarf around my face. “You sure you want to attempt this?” Tanner asked.
“Yep. You can be there in case I slip.”
He rolled his eyes as he held his arm out for me. “And sprain your other ankle. If you fall and hurt yourself more, my mother is going to kill us both.”
I laughed. “Let’s go before your brother gets here.”
Ever so carefully, Tanner and I made our way from the house to the barn. It wasn’t far from the house, so the walk over wasn’t bad. Tanner had shoveled a path for us, but snow was starting to fall once again, making me feel a bit nervous about slipping.
The moment I stepped into the barn, I let out a sigh of relief. Tanner did as well.
“How did he do through the night?” I asked as I hobbled over to Pogo in the stall.
“He’s fine, aren’t you, boy?” Tanner asked while Pogo bobbed his head like he knew exactly what Tanner had asked.
“I swear they understand you,” I stated as I ran my hand down the side of Pogo’s neck. “You’re sure it’ll be safe to ride him back?”
“Yeah, as long as the snow doesn’t come down too much between the time Brock gets here and we get back. I’ll take it slow.”
The sound of a truck honking caused us both to look toward the entrance of the barn. Brock drove by slowly, plowing a path. He then backed up and made another pass until he had the whole area cleared out between the house and the barn.
Then, I saw another truck with a horse trailer. “They brought a horse trailer!” I exclaimed as I turned back to Pogo. “Look at that, boy, you don’t have to worry now.”
Tanner smiled and offered his arm as we slowly made our way out of the barn. I was surprised to see this barn was almost as big as the main barn on the ranch.
“Greetings!” Ty shouted as he got out of his truck. He made his way over and shook Tanner’s hand quickly, then leaned down and kissed me on the cheek. “Did you know Kaylee and I were once stuck together during a snowstorm?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t. Is that when the sparks flew between y’all?”
Tanner and Brock both laughed.
“Please, the fireworks went off the first time the two of them met. They were both just too damn stubborn to admit it,” Tanner said.
I smiled and focused back on Ty.
“Nothing happened between us that night,” he said, “but by the glow on your face and the way my baby brother is grinning from ear to ear, I’m going to guess your night wasn’t so boring.”
“That’s none of your business, Ty,” Tanner quickly said as he wrapped his arm around my waist and tugged me closer to him.
“Jesus, Mama is going to be over the moon when she gets a look at you two. She has a weird way of knowing these things. Just watch out, she’ll be planning weddings and grandbabies if you don’t set h
er straight right off the bat,” Ty stated.
“She will not,” Tanner said, kissing me on the top of my head. I knew he was worried I’d be spooked by what Ty was saying, but it was the opposite. This whole thing was a far cry from what I thought I wanted only a few months ago.
“Let me help Ty get Pogo loaded up,” Tanner said.
I nodded and turned my attention to Brock. “We need to get you guys back to the house and get Pogo settled while there’s a break,” he said. “Another system is moving down, and you saw yesterday that it can come in faster than expected.”
I grimaced. “I’m so sorry. Y’all wouldn’t have to do this if I hadn’t been so stupid to take Rosie for a ride.”
“Nah, don’t think twice about it. You didn’t know, but better to learn early on.”
I nodded in agreement.
Tanner and Ty got Pogo safely loaded up in the horse trailer as Brock helped me up into his truck. Tanner rode with me and Brock while Ty followed behind. Brock kept plowing the new snow as it came down. It was light, but from the looks of the dark sky in the north, another heavy round was about to move in.
It didn’t take long to get back to the main barn. Brock kept the plow on his truck, said his goodbyes, and headed back to Lincoln and the kids. Tanner helped Ty get the trailer off his truck, and before he took off back home to Kaylee, Stella gave him a casserole.
We watched as Ty drove off, then Stella turned and looked at me. “Your ankle?”
“Is doing much better. Tanner found crutches for me to use, but I really don’t think I’ll need them. I think I just twisted it good when I was thrown from Rosie.”
“Well, let’s get you both into the house, and I’ll start making some lunch.”
“We ate a pretty big breakfast, Mama,” Tanner stated as we followed his mother back down the path toward their house.
“That’s fine, I’ll make some sandwiches and soup. Maybe later we can even make an apple pie, Timberlynn.”
“Oh, I’ve never baked a pie before.”
Stella turned and gave me a look of pure disbelief. “First the cookies, now pie! Lord, we’ve got some catching up to do with baking!”