I stood up, ready to walk out, but Quint rested a hand on my shoulder. “Mila’s farmhouse is on the outer edge. She probably has no idea what she’s got there. Gotta be at least a thousand acres.
”
“Shit,” I said, shrugging Quint’s hand away and walking over to Ike’s stall. I saddled him up as fast as I could, threw a leg over, and edged the horse out into the wide open.
There was absolutely no chance that I could tell Mila how I felt about her now. She’d think I was after the same thing every person she came in contact with probably was. She’d think I’d want a piece of her pie when all I wanted was her. No ranch, not even a farmhouse. Just Mila. Whatever she wanted, I’d give her. Wherever she wanted to go, I wanted to be by her side, holding her hand.
The stupidest thing I’d ever done was not get on that plane with her and never look back. In the short time since she’d been gone, I realized that the King-Alexander Ranch meant something to me because it was home. The people I loved and cared for had always been there. Even after Z left, it was still his home, the place he always came back to no matter where in the world his job took him.
Why hadn’t I realized that sooner? Why couldn’t I see that home was where my heart was—and now my heart was with Mila.
I rode past the Schoolhouse pasture, coaxed Ike into jumping the fence, and kept going. Mila was gone, but I still needed to feel close to her.
As I got nearer to the house, I could swear I heard piano music. Maybe I’d spent so much time listening to Mila play, I heard it in my memory.
When I got close to the front door, I knew that what I heard wasn’t inside my head. I tied Ike off and walked to the front door. I probably should’ve knocked, but I couldn’t wait. I had to know who was in that house.
As I came around the corner, the first thing I saw was Mila’s beautiful blonde hair cascading down her back in soft waves. I leaned against the open door frame, loving the way her body moved with the music. Loving the way she carried the most exquisite sounds I’d ever heard from her fingertips and into my ears. Loving her.
When I closed my eyes, I heard something I never had before. Mila was singing.
I’m so tired, but I can’t sleep
Standin’ on the edge of something much too deep
It’s funny how we feel so much but cannot say a word
We are screaming inside, but we can’t be heard
I will remember you. Will you remember me?
Don’t let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
I’m so afraid to love you
But more afraid to lose…you.
With the last word she sang, Mila turned around and held her hand out to me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked as I walked over to her.
“I remembered you and you remembered me, Decker. Don’t you think that means something?” She stood and put her arms around me.
“I think it means everything.”
“I love you, Decker.”
“I love you, Mila. Just you.”
“I know.”
“Do you?” I asked.
She nodded.
“I need to say this, though.”