“Oh, thank God,” he breathed. “I had that whole speech prepared, but I’m really glad you’re willing to give it another try.”
Hope took a second to organize her thoughts. “This is what I think. I’ll come visit, like you suggested. It will give me a chance to meet your family and see what your ranch is like.”
“That sounds amazing,” he replied. “I know they’ll love you, and I think you’ll like them.”
“But no promises,” she cautioned, wanting to make the situation clear. “If everything goes well, we can decide what we want to do next. If not—”
“I’ll drive you straight to the airport whenever you want. Scout’s honor.”
“Were you actually a Boy Scout?” she teased.
“Hey now, I looked good in that uniform. I might still have the tie somewhere.”
For a moment, they’d slipped right back into the fun, flirty connection they’d had last night, and she couldn’t deny how good it felt. “I’ll call you later and we can finalize the details.”
“Sounds great,” he said. “Just let me know.”
They said goodbye, and Hope ended the call a little unsure how to feel. But she remembered what Kathy said. It was only one step. If it didn’t work out, she could return to her life and try again later. But she couldn’t deny her hope that this one step was the first step of a long journey with Josh.
***
Josh tried to contain his anticipation as he wheeled his suitcase through the airport. He felt pretty sure Hope would be there to meet him at the gate. She’d said she would be there. If she wasn’t there, he...he didn’t know what he’d do. Fly home and hide from the rest of his family for several days while he figured out if it was possible to be happy without his mate.
Fortunately, when he reached the gate, she was standing at the podium, waiting in line to talk to an agent. He caught her attention and pointed to indicate where he was going to sit. From the number of people in the boarding area, it looked like a pretty full flight.
Hope sat down next to Josh, settling her suitcase, her purse, her scarf, her inflatable travel pillow, and her refillable water bottle. “They were able to switch my boarding pass so we could sit together.”
“You don’t mind sitting in the middle?”
She gestured to her legs, stretched out next to his. “Leg room is not a problem for me.”
“If we’re lucky, there won’t be anyone else in our row,” he said, searching for a safe conversational topic.
“Maybe.”
“I’m glad you could get a ticket on such short notice.”
“Frequent flier miles,” she explained.
God, Josh hated small talk. When they’d had dinner together, it had been natural, easy to tell her about his family and his life on the ranch. Now everything felt stilted. He was trying not to spook her again, and it made him second-guess every impulse he had.
He gestured at her accessories. “It’s pretty obvious you’ve done a lot of traveling.”
“What?” She looked around at the pile of stuff surrounding her. “Oh, I guess it is. I mostly run on auto-pilot when it comes to flights. Important stuff goes in my purse, water to stay hydrated, scarf to keep me warm, and pillow for my neck. I also have ear plugs, in case there’s a crying baby nearby.”
Without intending to, she’d made him feel like an ignorant country bumpkin who seldom traveled more than fifty miles from where he’d been born. He suddenly worried that everything about him seemed to reinforce that impression. His flannel shirt, his slightly unkempt hair, his scuffed boots. His complete lack of neck pillow or reusable water bottle.
Perhaps sensing his discomfort, she said, “So tell me what it’s like, where we’re going.”
“It’s called the Golden Horse. It’s in a valley,” he explained, “so there are mountains to the west of us. Sunsets are amazing, as the sun sinks down behind the peaks. Our land is mostly flat, but there are some hills here and there. Enough to make the view interesting, I guess.”
“It sounds nice, to be able to look out of the window and see something other than more people.”
He nodded. “It is. There’s no shortage of people, of course, but if you want to be alone, there’s plenty of places you can go.”
Her voice softened, and Josh caught the scent of her perfume when she leaned a little closer. “Where do you go, when you want to be alone?”
“There’s a creek that runs near the south pasture.” He closed his eyes and imagined himself there. “There are cottonwood trees on the bank, so it?