“Did you do it, or did you chicken out?” Aspen jokes as she pushes off Rhett's truck. Mav, Ava, Rhett, and my parents stand in front of us looking so proud that my chest hurts.
“Weston was shaking like a leaf, but I gave him the strength he needed to carry through,” Willow jokes, her hand in mine, giving me a squeeze.
“Oh brother.” Mom laughs, clearly exasperated with our shit. Can’t blame the woman.
“You guys ready to drive up?” I ask. The cabins are all on the same road as my parents’ place, but a good distance away from their cabins and the rest of ours. They’ll get to keep their privacy, and people will get to fall in love with the Wyoming mountains.
“Yes!” Ava says, clapping with excitement. She turns, and Mav opens the back door, helping her in. Before he goes around the truckand hops in himself, Aspen jumps in front, and I take that as my cue to get in my truck and lead the way. In a train-like fashion, we drive to each one of the cabins, so Willow and I can show off our hard work. Some of Aspen's hard work, too; her interior design ideas were phenomenal, and they really added a nice touch.
We stop at the first cabin, gathering in front of it.
“I can’t wait to see what you’ve done with the place, honey,” my mom says, wrapping her arm around my waist.
My dad throws his arm around my shoulders. “I’m really proud of you, son. You had an idea you ran with it. Look what you’ve done,” my dad says, looking up at the cabin, which was in crumbles only months ago. I love my mom with all my heart, but praise for my dad hits different.
I look it over, now with fresh eyes, and the exterior has been restored to its original glory. Flowers, native to these mountains, grow in beds along the front of the cabin, and wild grass covers the front lawn. This land has been in my dad’s family for generations, and for him to be proud of the way I'm taking it into the next generation makes my heart warm.
I can’t help but look over at Willow and notice she’s looking at everyone’s excited faces. Pride blooms. I can’t wait to see what more she does with this place. This is only the beginning.
Pushing the front door open, we step foot into the new cabin. It’s full of bright light streaming in from the windows. The sage green and white curtains are drawn, letting the light spill in. The rugs in the kitchen and living room match; the pattern on them is inspired by the leaves of a willow tree. Just another way Willow is woven in.
The living space only has a couch and a love seat; too much furniture would make the space feel crowded. The kitchenette has a smalltable. These aren’t large cabins by any means, one bedroom plus living spaces, but it’s enough to give people a time away. Space to breathe free of the sounds of rushing traffic, sirens, and people.
My family is here all over this place, not just physically, but little touches of other personalities have shown up in these cabins. Pictures of my dad's cattle hang on the wall, and flowers from my mom’s garden sit in a vase on the counter. I carry them with me every day.
We finish our tour with the cabin Willow briefly lived in, not brief enough for me.
“Hey, this cabin isn’t so bad. I don’t know what the big fuss was,” Mav jokes.
“Yeah, after about fifty thousand dollars worth of work, it’s livable.” I slap him on the shoulder with more force than necessary. He trips a little, and I preen.
Willow spins, looking around. I think she’s still very partial to this cabin. I don’t get it, but I’ll let her have her moment with it. It’s a little roomier than the other ones. She took a lot of time picking out everything for this one. If my gut is right, it’s going to be our most booked cabin.
“You guys knocked it out of the park. These are fantastic.” Rhett's smile is genuine. He comes in for a hug, and we slap each other's backs before pulling away. I’m over six feet, but next to him, I feel short.
Aspen clears her throat, grabbing our attention, before she pulls a bottle from her purse, “I think these two deserve a toast.” She walks into the kitchen, pulling out a few glasses from the kitchen. “Ava, I brought you apple juice.” She shakes the mini bottle in the air.
“You deserve some praise too, you did great work with the design stuff,” I say, not knowing the correct verbiage for anything to do with decor, but I do know this place looks great.
She shrugs and bats away my compliment with a smile.
My dad takes the lead on the toast before Aspen turns it into a whole debacle, which is probably for the best. “Here’s to Weston and Willow on their new business adventure. You brought life into these cabins again and exceeded any expectation I had. I’m proud of you both,” he says before raising his glass. “Cheers,” he says before it echoes throughout the room.
We raise our glasses, and I look around, feeling appreciative that everyone I love most in the world showed up in support of our project. Before taking a sip of the champagne, I turn to Willow, and her eyes land on mine. We share a moment, a breath, as we take this in, lost in each other's eyes. Unable to hold back, I mouth, “I love you, Sunshine.”
Her eyes sparkle with warmth, and the most radiant smile fills her face.
“I love you too,” she mouths back, lost in our little moment together amongst everyone.
We clink our glasses, celebrating our big achievement. We did thistogether, and that’s how it will always be from this day forward. The best is yet to come.
Chapter 38
Weston
The horse trots down to the last of our rental cabins. The smell of pine fills my nose, along with my woman’s sweet perfume, making it the perfect combination of all my favorite things. She sits in front of me, relaxed as can be. A far cry from our first ride together when she came back to town.
“I can’t wait for our first booking.” She wiggles with glee as we come to a stop.
