“Yeah.” His heart thudded at her request. “Daisy, this falls into that gray area, where my future and yours might parallel each other but we’re not on the same track. I took your advice, and I’m trying to live in the present and make good decisions that work now. But going to my ranch in the dead of winter? That’s a reality check I might not be ready for.”
They were eating breakfast. Daisy sipped her coffee across from him, wearing a robe and fluffy slippers. Snow quilted the outdoors and the morning temperatures barely broke the teens. Asher loved seeing her like that: her hair piled into a top knot on the highest spot of her head, without any makeup and sleepy-eyed. He found her just as gorgeous now as when she put on tight jeans to go out to dinner last night. Asher enjoyed seeing her any way she came. So much so, it often prevented them from leaving his house. She looked too enticing and he had to resist the urge to undo her top knot in his bed. Or his shower. Against every wall in his place. And the kitchen table. Several times.
She leaned forward, taking his hand and linking his fingers in hers. “It’s the real you. Someday, you’ll come visit me where I live and work. We have to start knowing each other better.”
“Okay.” Asher struggled to shake off the sense of foreboding that filled him.
“When will I come to New York City?” he asked before he shuddered. “I have no desire to visit there.”
“Next year. You’ll come to see me.” She smiled without any deception or snarkiness. It was a sincere smile and a knowing one. Like she knew a secret.
“Not so sure of that. It sounds horrible. Probably the same way you’ll feel when you go to my snow-buried, old ranch.”
“Let’s take the snowmobiles. It’ll make it much more fun. I love riding on them.”
“Yeah. Okay, that would be fun. But Daisy, that isn’t my real life up there. It’s not about taking romantic snowmobile rides, or sledding, or sipping hot chocolate by the fireplace.” Daisy walked over to get her clothes as he spoke.
Stopping suddenly, she turned and sat on his lap. She cupped his face in her hands and stared right into his eyes. “We are not doing that today. You are forbidden from mentioning how we will live years from now. I know it’s your thing, something you like to do and can’t seem to help, but stop. We are taking the snowmobile up there today because it’s awesome. And I want to see all the work you’ve been doing. What you now own. The new property owner can proudly show me his progress. That’s the beginning and the end of it.”
He saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.” He grinned at her scolding tone and commands, rising with her and preparing to put her on her feet. Something pinched inside his stomach. Not a cramp, but something different. They were both raised on the Rydell River Ranch, but their choices for future happiness were polar opposites.
Asher agreed to focus only on today and they bundled themselves up in layers of clothes and waterproof outerwear. The day was sunny and bright, the brilliant blue sky clearly defined above sloping hills piled white and sparkling with fresh snow. The light reflected the snow crystals, making it a literal winter wonderland. Asher dragged the snowmobile trailer out after asking Jack if he could borrow it and two snowmobile sleds. The ranch owned a dozen or more snowmobiles in varying sizes and power. They usually provided them for the guests that stayed at the Rydell River Resort.
Grinning, Daisy tucked herself into the king-size cab of the truck Asher borrowed from his dad to haul the load. They talked about everything, but nothing important. She was smiling and excited. Her face glowing and eager for fun as Daisy liked to be. She was generally in a good mood. Asher did not find her flaky, but rather, incredibly easy to be around. At all times. She rarely got stressed or frazzled and yet, she wasn’t particularly calm either. Her easy-going energy was why Asher felt good around her. He tended to get too focused, too intense, and worked too often and too hard. Sometimes, he even forgot to breathe. His work sometimes stressed him out when he failed to complete what he thought should be done. The to-do list for the ranch was lengthy. Daisy got things done and didn’t forget to breathe or laugh or live in between her daily chores.
Parking on a side-road turnout, they offloaded the snowmobiles, zipped up their coats, and put on their helmets and goggles. There was no way to determine their identities, being all wrapped up in snow clothes as they took off up the road on the machines. Now, it was deserted, and they really felt like they owned it. Finally, they reached the driveway to his ranch. It was buried pretty deep. Snowplows maintained the back-mountain country roads, pushing all the slush and snow into high, crusty berms that no regular vehicle could go around or over. They easily glided over the berms. She was just as experienced on the snowmobile as Asher. They’d ridden together often in the past, whether in groups with friends or ranch-mates in their youth. It was so familiar, yet different. The comfortable informality they now shared brought something new to the experience that zinged with excitement.
Daisy stopped her sled when his ranch came into view. Asher stopped beside her. She was taking her helmet off and he followed her actions. “It’s so gorgeous in the snow. It should be featured as December’s photo on a calendar or painted by a famous landscape artist.”
It really was gorgeous at this time of year. Pristine and bright, sharp blue sky defining the line of white on the hill that rose from the side of his house. The peeling, dated, white paint nearly camouflaged the whole structure in the white snow. The sweeping, soft pillows of pasture land, buried beneath an endless, vast blanket of snow were calming. The skeletal trees lining the ditch just below the house also peppered the edges of the fields. Farther off, the black, tree-lined mountain ridges faded into the blue horizon. The fluffy, white, driven snow masked everything beneath it.
Daisy jumped off her snowmobile and came over to Asher. Her blond hair was pulled back and secured behind her head. Her bright eyes were as brilliant blue as the sky, and just as shiny as the sun over the too bright snow. “You know this place is magic, Asher.”
“It is. But imagine if I lived here? Today, we might be having fun snowmobiling over the untouched knolls and mountains. Living here, however, I would have to plow the driveway just to get a vehicle out if I had to go to town. Not to mention fixing all the leaks and insulating the old, brittle walls. If the plumbing freezes up, I’m totally screwed. It’s so old too. The original house had no indoor plumbing or electricity. Imagine that. There’s an outhouse though.”
She closed her eyes. “I can imagine having a fire after we just came in from sledding on that hill right over there. It’s just perfect for downhill racing. Steep and long with a huge dip like a ski jump to send us flying forever until we stop in that snowdrift.”
“Daisy?” His tone came out harsher than he intended.
Her eyelids snapped open.
He continued his tales of caution. “Imagine trying to get a vehicle down this road every single day. Imagine being stuck in that house for days or weeks or months of winter because it’s too deep to even walk in. Constantly needing to shovel snow on the driveway and the walkways no doubt. Occasional sledding or snowmobiling. But when it gets dark at four, there you are. Not another single light on the mountain. It’s a frozen oasis of beauty, but you’re completely alone. Isolated. In frigid temperatures. Not the Rydell River Ranch when it comes to access and availability. This takes it to an entirely undesirable degree. It’s not a beautiful postcard for me. Or a scenic spot I occasionally view as I take a ride. It’s going to be my home one day and provide me with a way of life that is distinctly unusual. Even for a River’s End locale. Magnify all those problems in the winter. It snows at least a month earlier than in the valley. It gets snowed in often, allowing nothing but snowplows for months on end. Longer winters mean shorter springs. It is not like living at the Rydell River Ranch and Resort at all. In the significant amount of time I’ve spent here, it’s eerily quiet most of the time. Entire days pass without a single vehicle passing by. The folks who do pass are as reclusive as me. This area isn’t like a popular resort and vacation area for coasties to buy timeshares and spend their weekends at. There aren’t any fashionable, famous or amazing places further up this road. It’s old farms, ranches and reclusive mountain dwellers. Mostly owned by locals. Like me. I’m becoming what I always wanted to be.”