Jax doesn’t have a great relationship with dad and even refused to invite him to our wedding. I kind of like him though, and his dog, Blue, who is the cutest and most well behaved mutt I’ve ever met.
I’ve only been to this ranch once before, but somehow it feels like home. It was seven months ago, when Jackson brought me here to keep me safe. This is also the place where he finally admitted his feelings for me, and then he told me that no man would ever touch me again.
The memory of that night makes me smile. I turn to look at him and he’s staring at me. It makes a blush creep over my cheeks. I will never get used to the way that man looks at me.
I pop an eyebrow at him. “Shouldn’t you be watching the road, cowboy?”
“No traffic here, angel,” he replies with a wink before fixing his attention back on the track in front of us.
“No, but Blue might be running around.”
“That dog is too old to run this far from the house,” he chuckles. “Besides, he would never stray so far from Harvey’s side.”
“No, I suppose not,” I agree. “He is devoted.”
“Hmm,” he murmurs and suddenly the atmosphere in the truck grows a little tense.
“I’m looking forward to getting to bed,” I yawn, lacing my fingers through his.
“It’s been a long day,” he agrees, but he’s distant, lost in thoughts of his father, no doubt.
“It’s been a perfect day, though?” It sounds like a statement but it’s a question and I don’t know what I’ll do if he doesn’t answer me.
He lifts my hand to his lips, brushing them over my knuckles. “Better than perfect, baby,” he whispers and I smile.
I slide across the bench seat in the old truck, until I can rest my head on his shoulder.
“Almost there. I’ll have you in bed before you know it,” he says as we approach the house.
“Can’t wait,” I sigh as I wrap my arms around his huge bicep.
Instead of stopping outside it when we get there, Jax drives straight past the main house.
“Where are we going?” I ask, craning my neck to see the house getting smaller behind us.
He winks at me. “You think I’d spend our honeymoon anywhere where I couldn’t let you scream at the top of your lungs without anyone hearing?”
I stare at him in surprise. It was me who suggested the ranch for our honeymoon. I think Jax had an exotic beach, where I’d wear nothing but string bikinis, in mind, but I love it here. “So, where are we staying?”
“Not far, angel,” he whispers and then he nods his head, indicating me to look out of the windshield.
I peer into the distance until I see faint, twinkling lights. “Is that the old barn?” I squeal as I lean forward in my seat, trying to get a better view.
“It sure is.”
I saw the barn on our last visit. It’s a beautiful old building, with oak beams and high ceilings. I told Jax what a crime it was it was sitting empty. He asked me what I’d do with the place and I jokingly said I’d turn it into a little house for us, so that we could visit with Matthias whenever we wanted and not be a burden on his aunt. For the past six months, since he proposed to me, he’s been asking questions about what it would look like — letting me ramble on about my dream hideaway in the country.
Tears prick at my eyes as the building comes into view. There is a porch and a balcony now, where there was once just a huge door and a hayloft. It has giant sliding French doors so the front of the house looks like it’s made entirely of glass — just like I described. Fairy lights are strung up around the outside, making the place seem even more magical. There’s even a huge rocking chair on the porch like in my dream house too.
“Jax,” I gasp. “How did you do all this?”
He rolls the truck to a stop. “I didn’t,” he says as he opens the door.
He holds out his hand and I scoot along the seat and allow him to help me out. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he stares up at the house too, and I realize this must be the first time he’s seen it as well as me.
“Then who did?” I whisper. “Because it’s exactly how I described it to you.”
Suddenly, a cold, wet nose, is nudging at my leg, making me jump in surprise. I look down to see Blue, wagging his tail and looking up at me with his huge dark eyes.