"Till when, for the rest of the trip?" she asked. She walked toward the couch to sit next to Henry, and she called the dog over. He hopped up there, and Henry watched as Bailey started loving on him, rubbing behind his ears.
"Longer," he said.
"What's that mean?" she asked, looking confused.
"I'm taking him back to Montana with us. We are. I hope you're okay with it."
"What? Yes, I am, but how?"
"On the plane," he said. "I've already been in touch with the airline."
"You're coming home with us," she said in a cooing tone, petting PJ some more. "What happened? Did the guy come by?"
"No, but his friend did. He said Caleb went out of town and left him in charge of the dog for four days. He told him to come by twice a day."
"Whoa. When will the other guy be back?"
"He'll get back before we leave, but I'm not leaving PJ with him."
"What's Amelia going to say?"
"I really don't know. I think she'll be happy. I'll keep him with me. I left a message for that guy, Caleb, but I haven't heard back from him. I won't act like I'm mad. I'll just say I'm taking PJ back to Montana to finish the movie with Amelia. I'll tell him not to tell her—that I want to make it a surprise."
Bailey continued to rub behind PJ's ears. "Oh, my goodness, you little handsome thing. You're coming to Montana wif us?"
"Are you sure you don't mind?" he asked her.
"Why would I mind?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I don’t know. I know how excited you are about the trip. I don’t want to put a dent in it."
"You're not," she said. "Why? Does it mean we can't go anywhere while we're here?"
"No, no, not at all. We'll just kennel him when we leave. He's been on a walk already this morning. And I threw the frisbee with him, too, which is fun. You're going to love doing that. But anyway, he's good now if you want to get dressed, we'll go explore a little bit.
***
San Francisco was amazing.
Henry shared quality time with his sister that was much needed for both of them. She shared details about her feelings and told him things about her life, her hopes and fears—things he had never known about her before. He knew she was in a good place and that she was going to be okay, and that was a gigantic weight off his shoulders.
The time spent with his sister was priceless. They would both cherish their experience in California, but after three days of being there, Henry was ready to go home.
He missed the ranch. That didn't surprise him. He was a little taken aback, however, by how much he missed Amelia. It had only been a few days, and he was absolutely aching to be next to her. They had talked while he was away, but she had no idea about PJ. Every time Amelia crossed his mind, he felt something in his heart—something significant. Henry was sure that he loved her.
It was early to feel that way, but it was the truth. He had first felt something for her that day in the church over a year ago, and his feelings had done nothing but grow since then. What they had was rooted in God, and that was more important than anything else.
Amelia was an amazing person, and he saw the fruit of that all over her house. He was drawn to her in so many ways. He loved how she was smiling in her photographs. He loved the way she had opened her home to them. There wasn't a single thing he didn't love about this woman. She was a jewel. Henry worked ina barn, surrounded by dirty animals and other men, and Amelia Banks was like a sparkling jewel in the otherwise matte brown landscape of his life. She was beautiful, and precious, and he wanted to be with her always—to cherish her and protect her.
He could not wait to see her. She had no idea that PJ had come to Montana with them, and he was excited to surprise her.
It was mid-afternoon when Henry and Bailey finished their trip and made it back to the ranch. They had been there for a few hours, but Amelia still had no idea. She was filming a scene today and had been busy doing that all day. It was five o'clock now, and he was finally walking over to her trailer. He left PJ in the barn. Henry had taken a shower when he and Bailey first got back to the ranch. He ate a peppermint on the way to her trailer. Henry wasn't normally the type to care about how fresh his breath was, but nothing was normal about his feelings for Amelia.
California was far away and nothing like Montana. Henry's whole life was centered around this ranch and his horses. But as he walked to that trailer to see Amelia, it occurred to him that he would leave it all.
He thought about asking her to stay in Montana, and he hoped she would do it, but ultimately, he would leave if that was what it took to be with her. Henry couldn't believe that he was thinking of that, but it was the truth. He would do whatever it took. If Amelia wanted him, he was hers. He would make it happen and stay with her, even if she needed to be in California. He smiled at the thought of it. He didn't want to pick up his life and move, but he could live anywhere as long as Amelia was there, and that made him happy.
Henry couldn't even believe the feelings he was having and the thoughts that were going through his own mind. He knocked on the door of her trailer, taking a deep, calming breath andtelling himself to be patient. Amelia opened the door and smiled at Henry, and his heart might as well have jumped out of his chest.
