“Hey, what’s wrong?” He nudged me out of my thoughts.
I gazed at him.Leave it in the past, Karma. Abe is in love with you, and he’s been faithful.
Or at least I believed he hadn’t screwed another woman. He’d promised he wouldn’t cheat on me when we got together. But when he went on a run and was gone for days at a time, I had no way of knowing what he was up to. God knew his brothers fucked around enough for an entire hockey team.
I shook myself out of my negative thoughts.
A robotic-sounding voice came through the headphones before I could reply. It was the same gibberish every time. Abe had briefly explained what the numbers and phonetic alphabet meant, but it was still weird hearingpapa-echo-deltamixed with numbers and other stuff.
Abe replied with what sounded like an exact repeat of what the “voice,” the air controller, had said.
As if sensing my anxiety and fears, he gripped my thigh. “I promise to keep you safe.”
There was no one I trusted more than Abe. His assurance eased my worries, even my horrible thoughts before the disembodied voice filtered into my ears.
I held myself together and exhaled a sigh of relief when we were safely on the ground. We rolled to a stop on the grass beside the landing strip. Across from us was a beautiful log home.
“Welcome to Montana, baby. Bring those lips over here.” He cupped the back of my neck and reeled me toward him.
Our mouths smashed together. I hadn’t realized how much I needed his touch until now. After five hours in the air, we kissed hungrily, moaning our enjoyment and desperation.
“We better stop.” He pulled back. “Let’s go check into our room.”
“What is this place?” It looked like we were in the middle of nowhere, aside from the rustic home.
“This is a bed and breakfast. A buddy of mine told me about it. Do you like it?”
“Yes.” I stared in awe of my surroundings. “It’s gorgeous here.”
“And hopefully romantic.” Abe smiled as he helped me out of the plane.
Romantic? On the outside, Abe was the last person I’d ever call a romantic. But when we were alone, he’d shown me a different side of him. Usually, when we were sprawled out on a blanket under the stars.
After getting the plane squared away, he linked our fingers together and led me into the home. The surrounding scenery was breathtaking, with blue skies as far as the eye could see and massive mountains, something North Dakota didn’t have much of. Well, nothing compared to the ones to the east us. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought Abe had called it Glacier Park when I was terrified out of my mind up in the air.
“Afternoon,” a man greeted us as we entered the building, “Mister and misses Knight?”
“Yeah, that’s us,” Abe replied, then peered at me to check my reaction.
I squeezed his hand to show him I was cool with being called his wife. He didn’t need to worry. Marriage was next on our to-do list after having sex. Neither of us wanted to wait to tie the knot. I didn’t want anything big or crazy, just us and his family… and the first snowfall, to bring us good luck on our wedding day.
Obviously, I couldn’t predict when the first snowfall would occur, so we had to be ready. Good thing I had a couple of months to get things in order.
“I already have you checked in and your keys right here.” He dangled them. “This place isn’t big, only four luxurious suites up those stairs to the left.” He pointed behind us. “Would you like me to show you to your room? It’s number two at the end of the hallway, the honeymoon suite. Congratulations to both of you.”
Abe looked at me again.
“Thank you,” I replied.
“I think we can manage.” Abe nodded.
“Sounds good. Dinner will be brought to your room as requested at seven.”
“Thanks,” Abe muttered, almost like he was nervous, which was so unlike him.
I took in the vaulted ceilings, massive log beams, stone floors, and rock hearth. The log home was cozy yet elegant in a rustic sort of way. I was stunned Abe had brought me here. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I was totally blown away by everything he’d planned.
Once we were out of sight, I whispered, “You told him we were married? It’s the twenty-first century. I’m sure lots of unmarried couples have stayed here.”