“It’s really beautiful here,” she murmured aloud.
“Imagine that.” Grinning as he steered the truck around a tight switchback, Blake added, “It’s amazing how different things turn out to be from our preconceived notions, isn’t it?”
When she’d called to tell him she’d changed her mind about the marriage, she’d said some things about the land he so obviously loved that she deeply regretted. In hindsight, she’d been trying to convince herself that living in a remote area of Wyoming was unsuitable for her. She’d been trying to create enough distance between them to make divorce the best option. But that didn’t change the fact that he’d taken offense at her comments. She’d hurt him unintentionally.
“I guess I might have been a bit hasty in my assumption that the area had nothing to offer,” she finally admitted. “But you have to understand. I’ve lived most of my life in a city, where everything I want or need is close by.”
“I understand that,” he said, nodding. “But it’s not the backwoods, off-the-grid type of living you envisioned, is it?”
“No,” she admitted. “But you helped to create that misconception.”
“How do you figure that?” he asked, frowning.
“You said the ranch was in a remote location and I naturally assumed...” She paused when she realized that with the closest neighbors at least ten miles away at the bottom of the mountain and only one way to get to the ranch, it really could be considered isolated. “I guess I thought that you meant it was without some of the modern conveniences.”
“Tell the truth,” he said, laughing. “You thought that a trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night would involve a flashlight and a little shed with a half-moon carved into the door.”
She laughed. “Well, not quite. But I didn’t expect it to have a main ranch house that looks like a log mansion, or the house you live in to have such a cozy feel to it. I guess I was thinking it would be more rustic.”
“You’ve been watching too many old Westerns on television,” he said, steering the truck onto the main road as they reached the bottom of the mountain. “Living on a ranch is like living anywhere else. We have modern appliances, satellite TV and high-speed internet. About the only difference is having to drive a few miles to get to a store instead of it being just down the street.”
“Maybe I have been thinking it would be like the Old West,” she admitted thoughtfully.
They fell silent for the rest of the drive and by the time they reached downtown Eagle Fork, Karly had come to a conclusion that she wasn’t overly proud of. She wasn’t going to tell Blake, but it wouldn’t have mattered if the ranch was rustic and isolated or sat right in the middle of a town. Her choice to divorce him would have been the same. It wasn’t the challenges of living on a ranch that had held her back. It had been the fear she would turn out to be like her mother and discover that a husband and family weren’t enough for her—that her career was more important.
A few minutes later, when Blake parked his truck in front of the Blue Sage Western Emporium, Karly noticed that the store looked as if it had been in business since hitching posts were used instead of parking meters. Abandoning her disturbing thoughts, she focused on their shopping trip. She hoped the clothing wasn’t going to be too expensive. She wasn’t poor, but she did live on a budget and hadn’t planned on buying clothes that she probably wouldn’t wear past the few days she was stranded at the Wolf Creek Ranch.
Blake grinned as he opened the passenger door to help her out of the truck. “Are you ready to get your cowgirl on?”
“Whether I’m ready or not, it looks like I’m going to,” she said, feeling breathless.
She was in real trouble if his smile alone was enough to take her breath away. But it was the feel of his hand pressed to the small of her back as he guided her into the store that caused her knees to wobble.
Stepping away from him, she took a deep breath and the rich scent of leather assailed her senses. It reminded her of the man at her side and sent a shiver of longing straight through her. It would definitely be in her best interest to forego the shopping and make plans to drive to Lincoln County.