As Marti followed Josh through the snow-covered fields of his ranch, she realized that she enjoyed this. More than she’d thought she possibly could. The beautiful valley was covered with snow, and she couldn’t believe how much prettier it was covered in the stark white.

After a little while, Josh sped up the pace, and she was comfortable enough with the vehicle to speed up after him. It was fun, and it was a break she sorely needed after a week cooped up inside the house with nothing but laundry and babies to think about. Here she was able to just let her mind wander where it would as she floated over the snow. It felt like flying.

He finally stopped in front of a fence and turned to her. The joy on his face from their flight across the country was palpable. “What do you think?”

“Can we do this every day?” Marti asked, her face lit with excitement. “I had no idea what I was getting into, but this is fun!”

“There’s hot chocolate in your bag. You should drink a little. You’re not used to this type of cold.”

Marti nodded, reaching for the bag and pulling her thermos out, noting he did the same with his. “It is cold, but it’s so worth it.”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying this. It’s one of my favorite things to do. Anytime my brain gets jumbled, I come out here and just ride.”

“Anytime? You can’t use a snowmobile in the summer, can you?”

“I have a Quadrunner for when there’s no snow. And I spend a lot of time on horseback, both for work and for fun. I’ve almost got a stallion trained to the saddle. Been working with him for a couple of years.”

“Wait . . . didn’t you break a bone while trying to train him a year ago? It seems like that’s why Michael had to cut his trip to Texas short.”

Josh grinned at her knowing that about him. “Yup. Michael wasn’t thrilled with me, and he came back talking about Heather. Every other word out of his mouth was her name or something about her. Man, he was annoying.”

Marti laughed. “I was in school at the time, but I remember trips home, and all the talk was about Michael. I was so glad when they finally got married and I didn’t have to listen to it anymore.”

“I’m glad you understand.” He took another drink of his hot chocolate and screwed the lid on his thermos. “You ready to head back?”

Marti sighed. “I wish we could go on forever, but I can’t feel my toes anymore. Heather’s feet are a half size smaller than mine, and these boots are killing me!”

“You need to get your own if we’re going to have winter adventures.”

“Are you planning more?”

“I was thinking about taking you skiing tomorrow . . . or maybe sledding. You have a preference?”

“I’d much rather sled, thank you very much. Sledding sounds safer and more fun. When you’re not as high off the ground, there’s less chance you’ll die.”

He laughed. “I like both, but I can agree with sledding. There’s a great hill not too far from here. Can your feet handle those boots for a little longer? Or should I call my sisters and see if either of them have some you could borrow? Or we could drive to Wal-Mart today, but the nearest is an hour-and-a-half drive.”

She frowned. “I would really like to get my own snow gear. Would you mind the drive? We could take my car. Or I could even go alone.”

“No, I’ll drive you. We’ll do better with four-wheel drive. It might start snowing again later, and I would hate to see you out in it with no real experience driving in snow. I assume you have no experience driving in snow. I guess I don’t know that about you. Where did you go to college?”

“Oh, I went to UT in Austin. No experience driving in snow. In Texas the whole world shuts down if there’s a flurry spotted in the sky.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound very productive, but I guess I can’t say anything. I think the whole world would shut down here for temperatures over one-hundred. I would die!”

She grinned. “We just had a ton of flooding in our little town. It was weird because usually we’re under burn bans by the fall because it’s so dry.” She didn’t explain how she and her sister had helped save their entire town when a dam burst. It made them sound like they’d done something superhuman, and really, they’d just used their powers for good.

“That sounds strange. Everything turned out all right?”

Marti shrugged. “As right as it possibly could have given the circumstances. Are we going back to the house the way we came?”

He nodded. “Why?”

“Race you!” Marti didn’t wait for a response and headed for the trail they’d forged coming out this way. She knew she needed a head start if there was any chance at all she could beat him back.

He laughed and started after her, shaking his head at her antics. There was no woman on this earth more perfect for him, and he was sad she’d decided not to let their relationship go anywhere. He’d convince her otherwise, though. He had to.

He let her beat him back to the house, knowing it would thrill her. “You cheated, though.”

She shrugged. “I gave myself a head start because you’re so much more experienced on a snowmobile than I am.”

“That would sound fair if you’d asked for a head start. But you didn’t.” He opened the door and led her inside. “We should eat in town while we’re there.”

“Sounds good to me. I had soup for lunch.”

“Soup’s good on a cold day.” He grabbed his keys from a hook where they were hanging. “Let’s go. We’ll eat supper and get you some boots and a coat. You definitely need your own coat.”

“And gloves and . . .” She thought about how much money she had in her checking account, and she hoped it would be enough. She’d gotten her first paycheck from Michael and Heather, but she hadn’t had a chance to deposit it yet.

“Come on, you.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward his truck, not thinking about the simple gesture. Once they were in, he turned the heat on high. “It’ll warm up in a few minutes.”

As they drove, they listened to music, discovering they liked a lot of the same songs. “I don’t like the hard rock stuff,” Marti told him, “but I love most of the pop. And country. Country is good.”

They sang along with songs, and the time flew by. When they reached the big city, where the Wal-Mart was, they headed into the store. “We only have a small feed store in town. You could get a coat, but it wouldn’t be a cute one, and I can tell you like cute coats.”

“Well, yeah. Why wear something if you can’t make a fashion statement with it?”

She found everything she was looking for, and a pair of cute leg warmers as well, and headed to the checkout. She’d added everything in her head a dozen times, and she should be under her budget.

After she’d paid, they went back to the truck.

“Let’s get food! What are you hungry for? Italian? Mexican? Something else?”

“I’d love some Mexican, but I’m not risking my taste buds on Idaho Mexican food. And I totally forgot I was supposed to make you nachos today! I’ll do that after we sled tomorrow. Does that work?”

He nodded. “But I’m not worried about eating tomorrow. I need to think about eating today!”

“Fine. How about Chinese?” She had no idea if there was Chinese somewhere in town, but usually there was.

“Chinese it is. There’s a good little buffet not far from here.”

When they got to the restaurant, he immediately paid for both of them, and she thanked him. “I’ll pay you back.”

“No you won’t. You’re with me, and even if it’s not an official date, I’m buying. That’s how it works.”

She made a face at him, but at the moment she couldn’t complain too much. She didn’t have the funds to make a big fuss. They got their plates fixed, and she dug into the food. “Hey, this isn’t bad!”

He rolled his eyes. “Why did you think it would be bad?”

“Well, you guys can’t do Mexican, so I didn’t think you’d be able to do Chinese either. It’s a cuisine thing.”

“Hush and eat your food.”

She grinned, realizing she’d told him to hush before she’d said any other words to him. “I’ll think about it.”

“You’re a pain, McClain. Anyone ever call you McClain the pain?”

She chewed up her bite of food before responding. “Only once.”

He laughed. She couldn’t be taller than five-two, and he was six feet. And she was acting like she was threatening him. It was downright amusing. “So you’re making me those special nachos tomorrow, right?”

“Yeah. My sister Tracy made them up. They’re not really a traditional Irish thing, but she loved Irish food and Mexican food so much, she had to combine them. One day I’ll lure you back to Bagley, and you can eat at her pub. The food is amazing!”

“I don’t think it would take a lot of effort to lure me,” he said with a grin.

“Then we’ll do it. Soon.” She wanted to take him to Bagley and show him around town. Take him to the boys’ ranch that had been in her family for generations. Maybe take him to the Riverwalk in San Antonio, and they could wander up and down the walk and ride in the boat. There were so many special things she wanted to do with him.

“I’ve only been to Texas once, and that was for Michael and Heather’s wedding. I don’t remember there being an Irish pub in town.”

“My sister just opened it last month. It’s been her dream since she spent a year backpacking through Ireland and England. She’s talked about little else for years, and her dream is finally a reality.”

“Is she married?”

Marti nodded. “All my sisters are either married or engaged. Last woman standing!” She raised her arms in victory.

He laughed. “Are you sure you want to be the last woman standing? I could lure you into my life with snowmobile rides and sledding.”

“You could . . . but you respect me too much for that. At least for now. We’re going slow, remember?”

“Oh, yeah. I’m not so good at slow.”

She shrugged. “I’m not sure I am either. But we need to be friends.”

As she said it, another vision hit her, one of the two of them as an older couple, at least in their seventies, surrounded by grandchildren. He was holding her hand.

“Are you sure you have no regrets?” he asked her.

“I married my best friend. Who could have regrets?” was her response.

She blinked a couple of times and frowned. Her future self, married to him, had no regrets. Not even about triplets? That was hard to believe.

He waved a hand in front of her face. “Earth to Marti! Are you still in there?”

“Just daydreaming,” she responded. She thought about telling him about the visions, but she just couldn’t. Maybe someday, but not now.

They finished their meal in silence, and he led her to the truck. “What’s going on in your head? I thought we were all good now.” He couldn’t figure out why she went silent on him so often.

“Nothing. Just thinking. Some of us do that from time to time.”

“I think.”

“Sure you do.” Marti settled into the seat and grinned over at him. “Have you thought about having steps installed on this truck? It’s a mighty big step up for those of us who are vertically challenged.”

“Have you thought about growing an inch or two?”

“Are you saying there’s something wrong with my height?”

Josh shook his head adamantly. “I would never say that. You’re just pocket sized. Mind if I put you in my pocket and carry you around?”

“Yes, I do.” She folded her arms over her chest. “I’m taller than some people!”

“Like who!”

“Like Heather! She’s the shortest of all seven of us.”

“So you’re taller than a very short woman. Congrats!”

She made a face at him, before turning to look out the window on her side of the truck. “Do you come into town often?”

“About once a month for supplies I can’t get in town. I usually plan it in advance and ask Mom and my siblings if they need anything. Usually each of us comes into town once a month, so there’s one of us coming in weekly. Makes it so even if we forget something, someone is here to get it.”

“Makes sense.”

“Bagley wasn’t a big town, but it seemed to have most of what you need. And how far is Austin?”

“About thirty minutes. I hope Austin never grows so much that we become a suburb. I like having a quiet little town. It suits me.”

“I can see that. Did you like going to school in Austin?”

She shrugged. “Austin is the party capital of Texas. Don’t tell any of my sisters, but I kind of wish I’d followed family tradition and gone to A&M. Austin was a little too wild for my tastes. I ended up spending a lot of time alone in my dorm room because I didn’t do the party scene.”

“That makes sense. How about roommates?”

“After my first semester roommate overdosed on some drugs and spent the rest of the semester in the hospital, I decided it was time for me to live alone. I got a single room every semester after that.”

“Wow. Yeah, I’d have probably done the same thing.”

“Did you go to college?”

“I did. I went to Utah State University in Logan, Utah. Good school, and it taught me a lot. I graduated from there.”

“And? Do you use your degree? I had in my head that because I graduated with a four-point-zero, companies would roll out the red carpet for me.” She shook her head. “I’ve been job hunting for months and only had a few interviews.”

“Didn’t your powers tell you that you wouldn’t get a job immediately?”

She sighed. “I wish people understood better how my powers work. They only tell me what they want me to know. So I could sit all day trying to get a premonition about lottery tickets, and it would only tell me what color I’d wear the next day. Stupid power doesn’t do what I want it to do.”

He laughed. “So will you give me the winning lottery numbers? Please?”