He puts the truck in gear and navigates out of town onto a small two-lane highway as we head out of town.
"Will you tell me about Whiskey River?" I ask wanting to know about where I will be living.
"I think you'll like it here. The people are really friendly. We have a small downtown area where there are some stores, including a bakery and a café. Throughout the year, the town has a few events, which we can go to them if you'd like. I know it's not Chicago, but I promise we can find you plenty to do here, too." He says, glancing my way.
So basically, it's the typical small town. It will take some getting used to but if it means not looking over my shoulder constantly, I say it's a fair tradeoff.
"If I wanted Chicago, I would have stayed there. Small town life seems perfect right now and I can't wait to see Whiskey River." I offer him a smile that seems to relax him.
Once we get close to Whiskey River, he lets me know and we drive right down Main Street. Right in front of us is a huge mountain that you could see when walking down the street. The whole downtown has a very cute mountain town vibe with rustic wood and stones.
Main Street seems to have everything from a thrift store to a little grocery store, a café, a bakery, an outdoor store, the bank, and more. Though it doesn't take us long to drive through downtown before we are heading out of town and up towards the mountain.
"Come winter it'll be harder to get into town. But the upside is we’ll be able to do winter sports if that's something you're interested in," he says.
"I've always wanted to go sledding, but I've never been," I tell him.
"Sledding we can do. Not too far from the house, there’s a really great hill perfect for sledding.”
As we continue on the way up to his place, there are some amazing views of the mountain and the scenery below. When we turn into his driveway, it's still a long way up to the actual cabin, but when we break through the trees, I couldn't stop the gasp if I wanted to.
His house looks more like a resort with a breathtaking vista of the mountains in the background. It looks like an upscale rustic ski lodge that you would see in a magazine. There are large windows all over the house, taking full advantage of the view. To the side of the house is a garden and then on the other side of the cleared area are some outbuildings and what looks like a large barn.
"This is your house?" I ask completely stunned.
"Yes, I wanted to take advantage of the view." He seems a little nervous again.
"It's absolutely stunning. I was seriously picturing a little cabin in the woods."
When he smiles this time, I can tell it's a full genuine smile. My heart skips a beat at how truly beautiful this man is when he smiles.
He gets out of the truck and grabs my bags and opens the door for me. I take a deep breath and step foot on the mountain that I will be calling home.
Chapter 2
Bennett
Enteringthecabin,Itake a deep breath, watching her for any sign of how she feels about it. I know she liked the outside, but it is still a man's cabin. I never thought when I built and decorated it, I'd be bringing my wife here. Getting married was something I didn't think was in the cards for me up here and I was okay with that.
I stand behind her as she steps into the living room with its tall stone fireplace and large windows that look out over the front of the house. Behind the living room is a dining room and also a decent-sized kitchen. All the windows are equally large windows and full of natural light.
When she finally turns to look back at me, she has a huge smile on her face.
"This is absolutely gorgeous, Bennett," she says, and I let out a breath I didn't even realize I was holding.
On the mail-order bride website, when I saw her photo, I knew that this girl was mine. The feeling is ten times stronger in person. I need to remember to thank my friend Axel's wife, Emelie the next time I see them. If she hadn't suggested an online dating website, I wouldn't have even been on the computer browsing when I came across the website that held Willow's profile.
It seems like it took forever for her to get here and I didn't know if she was safe or if she was going to just back out altogether. Even though I like my solitude here on the mountain, if she had tried to back out I would have had to go after her.
Now after seeing her in person, hearing her voice, and having her smell fill my truck, those feelings are so much more intense.
According to our contract, we have two weeks to get to know each other before we make the decision to get married or go our separate ways. So, she still has the chance to back out and I sure as hell don't want that. Instead, I want to show her all the reasons that she should stay and choose to be with me. Starting with the fact that there's plenty to do here, even though we seem to be a small town.
"There's a rodeo in town. Would you like to go with me tomorrow night?" I ask her even though tomorrow night is Friday night and probably going to be the busiest day of the rodeo.
"I've never been to a rodeo. So yes I'd like that very much."
"Then on Saturday my friend Axel and his wife Emelie would like to have us over for dinner along with three other couples. They all want to meet you. The guys are good friends of mine, and they all live up here on the mountain. They are our support group." While I don't want to overwhelm her, I do want her to meet people too. The last thing I want is for her to ever feel like she's isolated.