"Your dad said he used to look out from here when it was just land." Her hand came up to cover her heart. "That he knew he was going to buy it and build your mom the castle she wanted to live in."
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hugged her to his side. "He loved her with all his heart." He tucked his fingers under her chin and made her look up at him. "And I love you with allmyheart, Alara. I hope you know that."
She rested her hand in the middle of his chest. "I'm starting to get used to the idea," she said with a smile.
He chuckled. "Good. It might not be the grand declaration, but it's a truth I can work with." He pressed a kiss to her lips. "And just so you know—I intend to spend the rest of my life making sure you know it all the way down to your bones."
She rested her head against his shoulder. "I like the sound of that." Standing there, snuggled against him, she was already starting to accept that it could be real.
The sight of the castle up there on the hill made her lift her head. "I want to paint it for him, Reaves."
He cocked an eyebrow. "I thought you already were. You showed me. And it's fantastic, Alara. I knew you were talented, but damn."
She stepped back. "No, I don't mean that. I mean—I'm already painting the view of here, from there. But this, Reaves." She pointed. "I need to paint him the view of the castle from here. And I bet I can paint it like it used to be as well."
"What do you mean?"
She nodded, warming to her idea. "I can imagine, from here, the view he used to see. Bare land. And I can ask around to make sure I get the details right." She laughed. "In fact—you can tell me. Maybe you were too young to remember exactly, but I bet you can tell me. What would have grown where? What the land would have looked like?"
"Yeah. I can do that."
She could tell by the look on his face that he wasn't understanding.
"What I'm saying is, I can do him two paintings, side by side. I can paint this scene—" she swept her arm out toward the castle "—as it used to be. As what he saw when he dreamed of what he'd build. And then I can paint it exactly as it is now. The house, the vines, everything. The land before the dream, and everything that’s now his dream made real."
He grinned. "I think he'd love that."
"I do, too. I want to do it."
"Then you should." She took her phone out to check the time. "But for now, we should probably get back, shouldn't we?"
"Yeah. Ollie will be over soon. We're going to spend the afternoon talking to Jeff and the other guys. And then we're going to spend an hour with Jacob and Bentley this afternoon."
"Is that about you guys not flying for them anymore?"
He smiled. "No. We already talked about that—they're good with it, as long as we find a good crew to take over from us for Bentley. This afternoon's about them helping me and Ollie learn how to run a winery."
"They're good friends to you, aren't they?"
He nodded. "The best. But don't forget—they're your friends, too. I have a feeling everyone's going to get together this weekend. We'll have to see how you go after your infusion tomorrow, but if you feel up to it, maybe we could…"
"Yeah, I'd like that. I'd like to go. Everyone's been so kind, and…" She met his gaze. "I'm really starting to feel like part of things now, Reaves."
He hugged her close to his chest. "Good. Because you are."
They locked up the house, and before they left, she turned at the front gate to look back.
"I love this place so much, Reaves. And the yard. Can you imagine a family living here? I can see it now—a swing set over there." She laughed. "Even a dog running around."
She didn't understand the look he gave her, but it made her feel a little guilty.
"Sorry. Come on, let's go. We need to get back."
Once they were back on the road, he turned to her. "I wasn't getting impatient. I had something on my mind."
"What is it?"
"It was when you talked about a dog."
