Page 151 of Always Meant for You
She’s deflecting, but I’m doing a little of that too. I push my worries aside. “Are you up for a little drive?”
Her smile wobbles, but she doesn’t hesitate. “I’d like that.”
I take her hand in mine and lead her back to my truck. There’s nobody around. It’s safe to touch her. And I need that connection. What I’m about to show her is for us. I never went there with Jamie. I never explored it as a kid. It’s new. I’ve had this place in my back pocket for a few days, and tonight, I’m sharing it with her.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
CAL
Mabel leans into me, her head tucked beneath my chin, her body warm against mine. I’ve got one hand on the steering wheel and the other around her. I take the familiar turns. These gentle hills and fragrant fields steady me. They always have. And I’m beginning to believe they’re doing the same for Mabel again.
She hasn’t spoken since we left town, but her silence doesn’t weigh heavy. It settles in like the hush before a summer rain.
The sky pulls wide above us. The night stripped back. A darkened black canvas dotted with a sea of stars. Crickets pulse in steady waves. From somewhere out past the fence line, a barn owl calls and goes quiet again. Every sound is distant and held at the edges like this night, this slice of farm country heaven, is all for us.
She sighs, relaxing into me, and I squeeze her shoulder. “We’re almost there,” I whisper, squinting toward the hidden turnoff ahead.
She leans forward, trying to spot what I see. “We’re out by the Stewart’s land, aren’t we?”
“That’s right.”
I slow and turn, pushing past overgrown grasses.
“Cal, I don’t think there’s a road here.”
“It’s there, but it hasn’t been used in ages. I found this place a few days ago when Mr. Stewart called, and I drove over to help him find his old mare that had gone missing when the latch on her stall broke. Remember, he phoned a little after dusk. He was worried because he heard coyotes the night before and couldn’t find her.”
“Yeah, I remember.”
“I tracked her here. No one’s used the path in ages, but it led me somewhere magical.”
“Magical,” she repeats, curiosity laced into the word. “I thought I knew every inch of this town.”
I shift into park, cut the engine, then tip up Mabel’s chin. “Me too. Turns out this place still has some secrets.”
“Now I’m intrigued,” she says, her breath on my lips. “And you did promise a good time.”
I kiss her. “That I did.”
“Or we could stay here,” she says between kisses.
“Now what’s fun about staying in the cab of my truck?”
She climbs onto my lap and rolls her hips. “I don’t know. You tell me.”
“I stand corrected, but . . .”
Her hips press once more before she stills, her eyes searching mine. “You want to show me the magic?” she speaks quietly, but there’s a pull behind it. She’s teasing, but she means it, too.
I run my hand down her back. “I do.”
“And you’re not worried about being on someone else’s land?” She lifts an eyebrow, but there’s no real concern in her voice. We spent our childhood running wild through the country. Property lines never stopped us.
“Mr. Stewart called me because he has trouble seeing at night in the low light. I think we’re safe.”
I open the door and hoist her out with me in my arms.
She giggles. “You’re not going to let me walk?”
