Maverick (Star Valley Book 3) (32 page)

They drove out of Cody just before the day began heating up. When Austin passed the dam she gave it a look but didn’t ask him to stop. Somehow she knew seeing all her little scraps of paper scattered on the splintered timber would be too much. There might be other lists, someday. But that one was gone.

They sat hip to hip in the cab of the truck, with Austin’s arm around her as she lay her head on his shoulder. The drive seemed long, too long, and she nodded off for a few minutes here and there, catching up on all the sleep she’d lost since the storm. She sat up when the rumble of the Snake River Ranch driveway rattled the cab hard enough to wake her.

Most of the family greeted them in the driveway. Rowan, arguably the most concerned, probably out of sheer professionalism, stepped forward and looked Leah up and down in a way Leah was now getting used to.

“Leah, I’m so sorry,” said the other woman quietly, taking her hand off her own belly.

Leah rushed forward then, taking the slightly older woman into a fierce hug. “Don’t do that,” she whispered into Rowan’s ear. “My happiness isn’t tied to yours, okay? Just because you have something doesn’t mean you stole it from me.”

It was a lesson she’d learned in small chemotherapy rooms, in large plastic covered dentist-type chairs where you saw the same kids every week…until you didn’t. And the nurses would tell them that no one was better or worse for still being alive, some things just
were
.

Even Walker, normally so aloof, offered her a smile. “Glad you’re back home,” he told her gruffly.

Dakota hugged her but she was hesitant and seemed unsure. She glanced at Leah’s ring and a strange look passed over her face.

Leah understood they all had to make an adjustment. Her original reason for being here was gone and a new one had come to take its place. They would all need some time to change gears.

Sofia held onto her next, whispering something in Leah’s ear that sounded like Spanish prayers. “God is in the earth,” the woman told her and Leah didn’t know quite what she meant but it was still comforting in its own way.

As everyone gathered for dinner, Leah remained in the living room, closer to the staircase than the dining room. Austin found her and took her by the shoulders, rubbing her arms. “Are you hungry? You should eat. I can get you a plate.”

Leah shook her head and sighed. “I’m not hungry. I just want to go upstairs.”

Austin’s expression was full of concern, but Leah took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “I just want to lie down. Just tonight. I just want to be with you.” He nodded and followed her upstairs, to their bedroom, where Leah put on a nightgown and crawled between the cool sheets, snuggling up to him as he lay beside her. She was still tired, so tired, but it didn’t seem to matter much.

Unable to fall asleep, unwilling to wake up in tears, she lay awake in the bed, watched the shadows of the leaves dance on the far wall. Whether she somehow woke him or he simply sensed something was wrong, Austin turned and found her awake.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Do you need anything? Can I get you something?”

Leah shook her head and pulled him closer, held him tighter. She had everything she needed here. The rest was just time. “No,” she told him and meant it. “I’m just glad to be home.”

And she was. Despite everything, she truly was.

‡

A
ustin and Leah
woke together and dressed silently, now a solid part of their daily routine for the last two weeks. Leah pulled on a pair of jeans and boots and they headed downstairs, careful not to wake anyone. Breakfast was quick, just toast and coffee for both of them. They washed their plates and stepped out into the hazy summer morning. The dew on the grass sparkled in the sunlight.

He readied Colter while Leah saddled her own horse, having memorized each step, and tightened the cinch so she could mount easily. Their rides had never taken them far, first the indoor ring, then the outdoor paddock, and now they were taking their third trip around the perimeter before the acreage opened up to miles of cattle range.

In the east the sun rose to throw apple-gold rays toward the mountains that lay to the north. The peaks glowed fiery red, blazing against the light blue sky. He knew it was her favorite time of day and rode in silence next to her so as not to spoil her moment.

The dark circles under her eyes had faded somewhat. The night terrors were becoming less and less frequent, though if she thought he didn’t know that she was sneaking out of bed in the wee hours to sit in the rocking chair in the corner, she was wrong. She never left the bedroom and she never woke him, but when she did finally come back to bed (and she always came back) she held him a little tighter.

She halted her mare at the crest of the hill and reached out for his hand. She didn’t speak, but Austin thought that was fine. As long as she kept reaching for him, things would be okay. She seemed to feel it, too, because when he took her hand, she squeezed it, while still gazing at the mountains ahead of them.

“I’m ready,” she said suddenly and Austin glanced at her. She nodded once, firmly. “I’m ready.”

He squeezed her hand in return, then dropped it and gathered Colter’s reins. “Let’s go get packed, then,” he replied, and turned Colter back toward the barn.

It was still early when they started out, cresting that same hill again half an hour later. They trekked beyond it, down into the valley, and through the trees that lined the first bend in the river. They made it to the bend in the well-worn path where the ancient, leaning outline of a building could be seen between the trees.

Leah leaned forward in her saddle and peered out ahead. “Is that the original cabin?”

He nodded. “My whole family started here. More than a hundred years ago. Kit built it with his own two hands.” Austin knew he didn’t have it in him to do the same, but as before, he hoped his gesture would be enough. Somehow, he was certain it would be.

They rode over the rolling hills and down Goodman’s Gulch, the hardest part of the trek. Leah’s daily riding lessons paid off and she leaned back in the saddle without having to be told, so that Rocket, her trail horse, had surer footing. In the distance, Austin could already see the marker Seth had left after the spring thaw, at the spot where Dad and Manny had died during the last winter storm.

When they approached it, it was still upright, having survived the recent storms intact, which was more than Austin could say for himself or Leah. He dismounted, pulled a spade from one of the saddle bags and drove it deep into the ground, just a few feet away from Seth’s marker. He lifted pockets of topsoil and upended them in neat little piles, working slowly and methodically. It was a little like digging a grave, he thought suddenly, but forced himself to renounce the idea. No. It was not like digging a grave. It was the opposite, he reminded himself. Life would begin here, not end. He scraped the blade of the hand trowel across the soil, satisfied with his work.

Back where Leah stood with the horses, Austin pulled the sapling from the saddle bag, knelt down, and carefully began unwrap its roots. It was small, just under three feet, but he was confident it would have the rest of the season to take root undisturbed. The storm season had passed and the little tree had just enough time to dig in and claim a place for itself before winter set in.

All it needed was time.

Leah knelt beside him and helped him peel off the burlap. Then she rolled the scratchy material up into a tight ball and retied it with the twine. Together they placed it in the newly dug hole, filling in the the rest of the void with the damp, loamy piles of earth around them. Austin smoothed the surface with the spade. There were birds above them, singing in the trees, greeting the morning—and the couple—with bright, happy songs. It seemed fitting, somehow, despite the circumstances.

Life would begin here, Austin told himself again. Then he straightened up alongside Leah and pulled her into his arms. They stood together in silence in the shade of the copse of trees that lined the river bank. “Dad’ll watch over her for us,” he told her. “He’ll take care of her until we see her.”

They finally turned away and headed back to the horses. “Are you okay?” he asked her. “This is the farthest you’ve ridden yet.”

Leah nodded and swung up into the saddle. “I’m okay.” She found her stirrups easily and gathered the reins in her hands. “I can make it back home.”

“How about someplace else?” Austin asked, mounting Colter in a quick stride.

She turned to look at him, eyebrows raised. “Where?”

“Some place special. But it’s a long ride.”

She didn’t ask where and he was glad. She simply nodded again. “I can make it,” she told him. “Just lead the way.”

‡

L
eah wasn’t sure
where they were headed but she trusted Austin to lead them there, where ever it was. It was slow going and the path was steep and rocky. Her horse was sure-footed, though, and Leah wasn’t afraid. The path wound around, snaking back and forth like the river below them, following the deep rock lines of the hill they were climbing. It flattened out at the top, though, and once they came through a short canyon, Leah discovered a large, flat piece of land.

Austin dismounted, then held her mare so she could do the same. He left the horses to graze as he led her to the center of the field.

“Where are we?” she asked, looking around. The view was spectacular, like before, but the mountains were hidden by a cliff behind them. Ahead of them lay the Snake and she could see its winding path for miles and miles.

“We’re on the other side of the ridge we climbed all those weeks ago. Where we first made love,” he told her.

“Really?” she asked, still gazing around them.

He nodded. “We came up a different way. On the south side. That’s why you don’t recognize it.”

“What are these?” Leah knelt to pluck at the twine that was stretched across the grass. Stakes had been driven into the ground at seemingly random intervals.

Austin reached down, palm open, and she took his hand. He pulled her up and stepped over the first line. They stood in a large rectangle closest to the cliff’s edge. “This will be our living room, the largest in the house.”

Leah stared up at him, in total surprise.

He raised his arm and pointed to the service road. “Once you get to the highway it’s less than five minutes around the bend to the Big House by car,” he reminded her.

“Our own place?” she whispered, kneeling down to run her fingers through the dirt.

“Our own house,” he confirmed. “The land’s still part of the family spread and it’ll stay that way. But the house will be ours, quiet and out of the way. Our bedroom would be on this side, too, second floor, overlooking the Snake, with a whole wall of windows.”

Leah walked the grid, taking it all in, one step at a time. There was a promise here, just like the last time. There was a future here, if she was just strong enough to reach out and take it. And with Austin by her side, she knew she was. It was beautiful here. The perfect place to call their own. She turned to look at him to tell him so but hesitated when she saw the way he was looking at her.

“This is our place, our spot,” he told her. “We’re going to claim it.”

The look in his eyes told her that Austin was more interested in claiming
her
. Leah looked around, heart hammering in her chest. They were alone, on top of the world. She knew what she had to do and her hands didn’t even shake as she reached for the buttons on the front of her blouse.

Austin watched in silent approval as she shrugged it off and let it drop. She unhooked her bra and let the straps slide down her shoulders. In just a few minutes, she stood naked in front of him, no longer afraid of what he’d think when he looked at her. Austin loved her and he’d never, ever hurt her.

Now that she was done, it was his turn. Leah, for her part, couldn’t believe the contrast. Austin’s lean, bronzed body glistened in the sunlight. He was already hard, his erection straining against his lower abdomen. He took her down to the dirt, to the earth, warm and soft underneath them. Inside the wooden stakes, Austin staked
his
claim, cupping her with the palm of his hand.