Sunny sighed then slowly nodded. The pain medications Geo had given her with her cranberry juice finally kicked in and pulled her toward the black hole of sleep once more. “I think that sounds like a plan.”
“I love you, Sunflower,” he whispered before brushing a kiss on her cheek. “I can’t wait to see you at the ranch.”
“Love you, too,” she murmured before rolling her head and falling over the cliff into sleep.
Chapter Eleven
Six weeks later
Sunny stopped as soon as she turned at the mailbox marked Hartland Ranch. She had to smile at the two balloons that were bobbing in the air over the large black mailbox. She did not know which one she liked more, the big red heart that read Welcome Home, or the big gold and yellow sunflower. Wishing she had room in her already stuffed-to-capacity SUV for the balloons, she decided she would send Geo out to bring them in. Later. After she got the welcome he had been teasing her about for the last week she had been on the road.
Before she put the SUV in gear, she pulled her phone from the left front pocket of her jeans and pulled up her message app. After texting Shey that she had arrived safe and sound, she called Geo on the phone. Then she put the vehicle back in gear and headed down the drive that, according to the very detailed instructions Geo had e-mailed her when she decided to take a driving tour between her home and his ranch, would take her straight to the front door of the ranch house.
He answered on the second ring. “Please tell me you’re at least in the state of Texas.”
“Tell Gigi to set another plate for dinner. I am officially in Hartland territory,” she said, unable to contain the smile.
The five-day trip had taken ten days as she decided to stop and visit several friends, and spent several days sightseeing at interesting places along the way. But she was here, only a few minutes from seeing the man she had come to love more over the past month and a half. Their nightly conversations had covered every topic under the sun, and then some, allowing them to get to know each other in a way they never would have if she had stayed on after the conference. She thought the most special part of each conversation, whether by text, phone, e-mail, or Skype, was the end when she told him she loved him, and he replied with, “I love you more, my sweet, shy Sunflower.”
“In Hartland territory where?” he asked, sounding skeptical.
“I loved the balloons, but didn’t have room to bring them with me from the mailbox. Which means, according to the meticulous directions someone e-mailed me three times this week,” she snarked with a grin, “that I should be pulling into the front yard in about ten minutes.”
“Have you passed a dirt road on your right?” The question was so unexpected that Sunny took her foot off the gas to think about the answer. Then she looked ahead and saw a turnoff.
“Not yet. No wait. I see it coming up.”
“Turn on that road, drive one mile, and park.”
“Um, why?”
“Because I want you to, sweet Sunflower.”
Not sure what Geo was up to, Sunny slowed and turned on the road. Clicking her trip odometer to zero, she watched until it showed she had driven one mile. Then she stopped, parked, and climbed from the driver’s seat. Not sure what she was waiting for, she looked around as she stretched muscles and tendons stiff from days behind the steering wheel.
The area looked vaguely familiar, with gently rolling hills with grass as far as the eye could see in any direction, except for a pond off in the distance. Overhead hung a deep, deep blue with a yellow-white sun high overhead. Then she remembered, the last time she was here the sky had been midnight blue-black with a million stars and a full moon.
A strange rhythmic sound had her turning down the road. A cowboy on a big, brown horse was galloping her way. Even though she could not see the face under the cowboy hat, she recognized the broad shoulders and strong arms. He slowed to a trot and then a walk, not stopping until he was directly in front of her, forcing her to drop her head back to look up at him sitting easily on the back of his mount.
“Hello, Sunflower.”
“Hi,” she said, after licking her lips. Even with all the talking and texting they had done over the past weeks, her nerves skittered with fear.
He swung off the horse easily, and Sunny’s every secret dream about cowboys, horses, and leather came to life right before her. His snap-front shirt was damp and dusty, as were his tight blue jeans, boots, and the worn leather chaps he wore.
After securing the horse’s reins around the pommel, and untying a thick roll of something from the back of the saddle, he turned the horse back the way he had come. “Go home, Deux,” he said right before slapping the horse on the rump.
The horse galloped away, leaving the two humans alone in the middle of an endless field of green.