“Stay there, doc. Let me open your door,” I say as I move to hop out.
“I can—” She clamps her mouth shut when I narrow my gaze. “OK. I’ll just wait here then.”
“Good choice, Char.”
She snickers. “Forgot what a stickler you are for manners.”
My brow lifts. "You mean bein' a gentleman? 'Cause you can thank my parents for that." I shut her in and round the truck, opening the door and holding out my hand. When her palm hits mine, I have to brace myself because it's like I've stuck my hand in a fire, but I welcome the burn because it confirms to me what I already know—this is the mountain's Call and Charlie is my One. Not that I'm about to tell her that right now.
Charlie’s eyes go wide as her feet hit the ground, her breath suddenly labored. “What wasthat?" she asks in a rough whisper. My gaze drops to her lips—more like I can't look away—and I fight against the magnetic force trying to pull me in.Now is not the time, Austin…
It takes everything I have to release her hand, deciding to change the subject and hopefully buy me some time to get my head—and body—back in the game. “Maybe there’s asparkbetween us,” I say, waggling my brows.
“Oh my gosh, Austin. That wasterrible,” she giggles. “That’s somethin’ I’d expect Tobes to say.”She’s not wrong…
“So, this is it. Welcome to Bull Mountain Ranch," I say, my voice still a deep rasp.
Charlie tilts her head, scrunching her nose up a little in the same cute way she’s always done. “And Bull Stud, can’t forget that,” she replies.
I grin. “That too.”
She looks over my shoulder and moves around me, walking over to the fence line and gazing out over the south side of the property. “This is paradise, Austin. Like hands down, pure heaven. If I had somewhere like this to call home, I’d never want to leave.” She looks over her shoulder. “I can’t imagine any place better.”
“That’s why we put an offer in as soon as we saw it. We justknewit was meant to be ours.”
She nods, looking around again. “This is like your Spain… except Spain felt like my home away from home. This land, the mountain, this ranch… it’s justhome.”
I nod, feeling her words deeply because after only being here for a short time, she’s already feeling an affinity to the land.My home.What I hope will one day be hers too.
"Now you know why we all still live here. Landry and Star may hit the road now and then, but they always come back. Lee and Colt are the same. They're always visitin'. They can't stand bein’ away from the mountain for long periods," I say, rubbing the back of my neck, more out of habit than an itch this time thankfully.
She spins back around on her black ankle boots, her long dress twirling out like a wave and drawing my gaze down to the flash of tanned legs she gives me in the process. “Sounds like this place has a hold on everyone who belongs here.”
“Yeah,” I say softly, meeting her gaze. “Somethin’ like that.”
Charlie nods, a small smile playing on her lips as she takes in the scenery once more. "I can see why. I can even feel it a bit. Which is strange, right?"
I bounce a shoulder, my heart and soul feeling lighter than it has in a long time—maybe ever. Is this what happens when you have your One standing in front of you and you can imagine what your life could be like with her?
We stand there staring at each other, neither one of us saying a word, and instead of feeling like I'm coming out of my skin, I feel at peace. My girl is standing on my land, staring out at my ranch like she belongs here. It brings home to me just how much I want all of this to be hers as much as it's mine…
“So,” I say, clearing my throat, needing to do something or go somewhere before I literally crawl out of my skin. “You want a tour first before I start on dinner?”
A surprised smile curls at her lips. “You’re cookin’ for me?”
“Didn’t think it would be good form to get takeout from your mom’s diner ifI’mthe one who invited you out here.”
She purses her lips as she bites back a laugh. “Hmm. Definitely wouldn’t make a good impression.”
“You want me to impress you, doc?” I say with an arched brow.
Her cheeks flush a rosy pink to match her perfectly curved lips, but she doesn’t look away, her bright blue eyes sparkling as she smiles at me. “Don’t know a woman alive who’d say no to that, Austin. Especially when a big, rugged mountain rancher who could have any woman he wants is the one wantin’ to do the impressin’.”
I chuckle, loving the way she squirms under my gaze. It's a new dynamic between us, one filled with unspoken words and loaded glances, and it confirms what I already knew. Something changed when we had lunch last week. Since then, things havefelt different between us. I haven't felt nervous or unsure, and she's been more relaxed and easy going. It's like we're getting back to how we were before. Better still, I'm sleeping soundly and there have been no more hives. It confirms that myofffeelingwasthe mountain's doing all along. She knew Charlie was coming home and she wanted to make sure I knew something was happening to me. She has been known to play tricks on people to bring them together.
That’s not to say everything is guaranteed to be smooth sailing between us. We’re both still dancing around whatever this is between us. Whether we’re growing something new—orre-growing it—I know the spirit would never steer us wrong. There may be bumps in the road, but the direction of the mountain’s Call never falters. Then again, Char and I have already had fifteen years apart and that was hard enough, maybe we just had to wait for it to be the right time for the both of us.
All I know is that the spirit knew what she was doing when she called Charlie back home to Spring Haven—and to me. Now I need to make sure I don’t miss this second chance.
