“There’s nothing about you I don’t love and accept, Callie. That doesn’t mean I’m not going to fight you on certain matters. There’s no way I’m ever going to be okay with you working ridiculously low-paying, dangerous jobs when I have the means to support you, spoil you and take care of you. That’s who I am. I don’t expect you to understand, but I hope you’ll accept it.”
She winced. How neatly he turned her words back on her. She couldn’t even argue, which irritated her all the more. She glared at him and he merely shot her a smug grin. Yeah, he knew he’d won this round. Damn the man. She usually found his arrogance attractive, but today, she found it…annoying.
Excitement replaced her annoyance as soon as they turned onto Main Street in Clyde. No matter where she went or how long she was gone, when she came home she was filled with happiness.
Max turned into the parking lot of the motel where he’d last stayed and parked beside her SUV. She could tell it pained him to ride in her truck, but she didn’t want him taking his car up the mountain.
She grinned and bounced out, opening the door to her truck. She slid into the driver’s seat, sighing as the worn leather cupped her behind like a lover. Yeah, she was old, but she was still a good truck and Callie loved her.
Max climbed into the passenger side with a look of exasperation but remained silent as she began backing out of her spot.
Normally she would stop and see Lily or stop in at Michael’s practice or even stick her head in at the sheriff’s office to say hello to Seth, but she was anxious to go up to her parents’ so she could show Max her meadow.
There would be plenty of time to visit with the family later.
Knowing that if she did her usual routine of parking at her parents’ house and walking down to the meadow she and Max would get held up by her mom and dads, Callie opted instead to pull off onto the old logging road that would take them to the meadow without going all the way up to her parents’.
She cast a sideways glance at Max. He looked tense. His jaw was set into a tight line and his gaze was sharply taking in their surroundings. The closer they got to the meadow, the darker his expression got.
“Something wrong?”
He shook his head but remained quiet.
With a shrug, she drove around the last bend and then parked in front of the old fence that used to separate Colter land from the meadow.
“This is it,” she said with a note of reverence she never seemed to rid herself of when she spoke of her meadow.
Max slowly opened his door and got out. She climbed out and met him around the front of her truck.
“Why the fence?” he asked. “I thought your family owned all of the property up here.”
She frowned a moment. She didn’t remember going into detail, but then Max knew her parents owned a lot of land so it was a natural assumption.
She slid her hand into Max’s and urged him toward the worn, wooden fence.
“We just never took this part down. Someday I’ll get to it. It was up when the previous people owned the meadow. My dads tried to buy it for years with no success. Then when my mom got pregnant with me, they suddenly wanted to sell. My dads bought it as a surprise for my mom. And, well, you know the rest.”
His lips formed a thin line. “Yeah.”
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
Callie sighed as she stared over the rolling slope of the land to where the creek ran down the middle. Flowers covered the earth in a blanket of vivid color that took her breath away.
“It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen.”
She beamed at Max. “I think so too. Now can you see why I want to build my dream house here?”
He nodded, but he still looked…dark. Thoughtful. She couldn’t imagine what was going through his head. Did he think that he somehow took a backseat to her dreams?
She slid her arms around his waist and hugged him, though whether she did so to reassure herself or him she wasn’t sure.
“Right over there is where I was born,” she said softly as she pointed to the right of the creek and back, closer to where the property adjoined her parents’ to the south.
Max smiled. “I imagine you were always an impatient child. Even from the very beginning. Trust you to be born here.”
She grinned. “It was perfect. Do you know that of the four of us, only one was born in an actual hospital? We swear that Dillon was switched at birth with one of the other babies. No one could ever figure out where he came from.”
“I just hope you don’t have any crazy ideas of giving birth in the middle of nowhere,” he said with a scowl.
She laughed and squeezed him again. “Oh no. I’m afraid I’m too fond of modern technology. And pain relief! I want to be surrounded by nurses and doctors and the guy giving the epidural.”
He kissed her brow and his expression eased. “That’s good because I want only the best for you and our child when the time comes.”
Her entire heart squeezed ridiculously until she felt near to exploding. How could she possibly be this happy when just days ago she’d been miserable? She wanted to pinch herself, but if this was a dream, she was so not ready to wake up yet.
“Come on,” she said, pulling at his hand. “Let’s go walk down to the stream. I’ll pick some flowers for Lily. She loves flowers. She’s an artist, you know. She once drew me a picture of the meadow and gave it to me. It’s so awesome.”
Max smiled as she dragged him to the fence. “You love this place, don’t you, Callie?”
She stopped with one leg slung over the wooden slats. “It’s my most favorite place in the world.”
There was a hint of sadness in his eyes as he stared back at her. But then he blinked and it was gone. He put his hand out to stop her progress and then he hopped the fence with ease. He reached back and hoisted her over, then laced his fingers with hers once more.
“Let’s go see your meadow, dolcezza. I’m happy to spend as much time here as you like.”
She went up on tiptoe to kiss him. “Thank you, Max. I love you so much.”
He caught her chin and turned her toward his mouth. “And I love you.”
She smiled as she pulled away and then she dropped his hand and took off at a run. “Come on!” she called over her shoulder. “Last one there gets a spanking.”
Max’s laughter followed her as she ran full tilt down the hill toward the bubbling creek. She knew he’d catch her—which was the point. Max was an adventurous guy, but no way he’d allow her to spank him.
He caught her just a few feet from the stream. He likely lagged behind just to give her false hope. He smacked her on the ass and then sped by, reaching the stream a mere three feet in front of her.
She stopped and bent, sucking in deep breaths. Damn the man, he didn’t even look winded and she was on the verge of puking.
“You did that on purpose,” she accused.
“What?” he asked innocently.
“Waited until the last minute to catch me.”
He grinned. “You don’t seriously think I’m going to pass on any opportunity to spank that pretty ass of yours, do you?”
“You wouldn’t be laughing if you’d screwed up and I beat you.”
He chuckled again. “If anyone could ever get away with spanking me, dolcezza, it would be you. But no. I’ll be the only one dishing out spankings in this relationship.”
She turned her lip down into a pout, knowing it would delight him.
He pulled her to him and nibbled at her bottom lip as she knew he would.
“I can guarantee you’ll enjoy the spankings every bit as much as I will.”
Chapter Twenty-Three