Page 58 of Forever Enough

I brought my horse to a stop and Bradly did the same, turning Chief to face me and Barkley. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve never in my life met anyone like you. You’re so honest, and real, and so damn sexy.”

He waggled his brows. “That’s twice you’ve said I’m sexy.”

I smiled. “You know you are. You have a mirror; you can see how handsome you are. I just have one question. Why me?”

Bradly’s smile faded and he frowned yet again. “Why not you?”

Shrugging, I replied, “I don’t know. I’m just…me. Normal, nothing special. I think I’m cute, but I would imagine you have beautiful women throwing themselves at you all the time.”

He stared at me with a dumbfounded look on his face. “From the first moment I saw you dancing and singing in the barn, I knew you were special. I walked out of that barn knowing I had to get to know you. You’re beyond beautiful, Kenzie. You have a smile that makes my heart feel like it’s beating so fast, it can’t keep up with itself. I’m already addicted to the sound of your laugh. You’re smart. You’re kind. God, everything about you is special.”

I felt my heart racing in my chest and had to fight the urge to rub at it. “You know all that already?”

“I knew it the moment you threatened to beat my ass with the broom you were using as a makeshift microphone.”

Laughing, I looked away for a moment before focusing back on him. “I’m so glad you came to the barn Christmas night.”

With his dimples on full display, Bradly nodded. “So am I, Kenzie. So am I.”

We headed back down the trail and I asked him where we were heading.

“I told you, I have a surprise for you.”

“Will you give me a hint?”

“No! If I gave you a hint, you’d guess.”

“How do you know I’d guess?”

He shrugged. “Because I’m terrible at keeping secrets, and I’d give you a hint that would basically tell you what we were doing. So, no hints. Besides, it’s right around this corner.”

It took everything I had not to squeeze Barkley and get her to start trotting. Turns out I wasn’t going to have to wait long because he wasn’t lying. When we rounded the next bend, I saw a darling log cabin sitting in the middle of a pasture. It was enclosed by a three-plank fence.

“What is this place?” I asked as we walked the horses up to a small barn.

“This is the original cabin that was built here on the ranch. I asked my parents if I could have it remodeled to live here.”

My mouth dropped open as I stared at the cabin. It was adorable. The log home wasn’t big, but it wasn’t small either.

“My great-grandfather’s father-in-law built this cabin. It was his ranch. When he married my great-grandmother, he took over running the cattle. He was best friends with the Shaw family. They pretty much settled here around the same time.”

“How amazing,” I said as I slipped off Barkley and followed Bradly into the barn.

“The barn is new. I had it built this year, since I figured I’d be spending more and more time here at the cabin. This is the first time I’ve been back since everything was finished.”

We put each of the horses in a stall, gave them water and some oats. The barn was heated and had a small office next to the tack room.

“I figured one day I’d be living here on the ranch, helping my father run it. I wanted to have a place of my own, not that I don’t love staying with my parents. I’m staying with them now, but that’s only because I’ve been gone for so long and was headed to New York so soon.” He chuckled, and I smiled.

Bradly took my hand, and we headed out of the barn and to the cabin. It looked to be a two-story. Smoke was coming from the chimney, and a part of me couldn’t wait to sit by the fireplace and warm up. It was colder out than I’d thought.

We stepped inside, and I gasped at the sight before me. It wasn’t a huge room, but there was a sofa and a love seat set up in an L-pattern. A big chair sat closer to the large stone fireplace, with a cozy-looking blanket draped over the back. A fire was going in the fireplace but it needed more wood.

“Looks like they haven’t been gone too long,” Bradly said as he took off his coat and hung it up. I did the same and watched as he added more wood to the fire.

“They?” I asked.