Page 12 of Fascinated with the Mountain Man

Ten months later

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”I hugged Veda tight. She deserved a thanks from me every day, with the way she rooted for Aster and me, convincing my stubborn brother to finally let us be together.

Today, I was thanking her for a different reason.

She promised to watch over the business while Aster and I traveled. We planned a monthlong sightseeing trip across the country, and Aster bought us a van camper to travel in.

We spent weeks looking for the perfect one, and when we finally secured it, Aster and I spent all our time decorating and setting up the interior for our big trip, all while plotting every detail out.

Aster also hired a couple of farmhands to take over while we were gone, something I was beyond proud of him for doing. His hesitancy to leave his animals was understandable, but hewanted to see the world with me. We had so many travel plans jotted down in our travel notebook, and we hoped to accomplish most of them before we settled down and started a family. Which left us plenty of time to grow our farm.

I also planned on blogging our adventures and photographing our journey, showcasing Veda’s and my business in hopes of gaining more customers. While we already did pretty well for ourselves, there was room to grow.

“Are you sure you don’t want to leave tomorrow? We could have one last dinner together.” Veda held my hands, her sad expression breaking my heart.

“I wish, but you know we planned to leave today.” I hugged her again.

“I think my lady is having a harder time with this than me,” Caden said as he came up beside Veda with Aster close behind.

Veda rolled her eyes in mock amusement. “Men. They don’t get it.”

I laughed and hugged my brother. “Take care of my best friend, okay?”

“Wow, love you too, sis.” Caden hugged me tight. “Be safe, okay?”

“We will.”

Veda hugged Aster, and Caden and Aster bumped fists.

“Oh, come here,” Caden said and pulled Aster in for a hug. “Something happens to her, you’re dead meat, you hear me?” Caden’s stern tone took me aback for a second, but then I saw his smile.

Aster nodded toward Caden and bumped his fist once more. “I’ll protect her with my life, you know that.”

“Have a good trip, you guys. We love you!” Veda said as Aster slipped an arm around my shoulders, and we walked toward his truck. We were leaving in a couple of hours and had spent the day making our way around town to say our goodbyes. Cadenand Veda were our last stop before heading home for the final pack up. Two of our dogs, Ginger and Nellie, were coming with us, while Mocha was staying back due to his age.

“I can’t believe we’re actually leaving tonight.” I wiggled in my seat as Aster drove us home.

“I know. I can’t wait to see all the beautiful shots you get. None as beautiful as you, of course.”

I reached over and squeezed his leg. “I haven’t said this enough, but thank you.”

“Thank me? I should be the one thanking you.”

“No. You agreed to fulfill this crazy traveling dream of mine. How could I ever repay you?”

“You repay me every day by loving me, Jo. Your love is more than enough. More than I could ever possibly need. Or deserve.”

Tears sprang to my eyes. “I love you so much.”

“And I love you. Now, let’s get the van packed and hit the road, baby girl. We’ve got some sights to see.”

“We sure do.”

THE END

---