She felt more nervous than usual the next evening as she waited for the sound of Adam’s truck. She’d dressed up just a little, wearing one of the nicer sweaters she’d brought—a black cashmere V-neck—instead of the usual button down flannel she’d been sporting for most of the trip. She messed with her hair as she waited, pushing it behind her ears, and then in front of them, and then back again, anything to keep herself occupied. She didn’t know why she was so agitated, but she had a strange feeling that the way the evening went would deeply affect the rest of her life.

She heard the growl of the truck in the driveway and quickly slipped her boots on, and headed out into the frigid air. Adam smiled at her as she hopped into the truck, and she felt her heart flutter. If only he didn’t affect her this way, all of this would be so much simpler.

They were quiet on the drive to his house. What had been said the day before hung between them.

She heard the now-familiar whickering of the horses as they pulled up into the driveway. “Head on into the house if you want,” Adam said. “I need to feed the horses, and then I’ll be in.”

On another day she might have offered to help, but instead she simply nodded and slid out of the truck, walking to the house. There was already something simmering on the stove and no washing up to do. No way to keep herself occupied so she sat down at the kitchen table, and tried not to think what lay in her immediate future.

It was almost a half hour before Adam came in, rubbing hay dust off of his hands, and Amelia turned to smile at him. “Dinner smells great,” she said, her voice tentative. She felt nervous all over again, and she took a deep breath.

“Thanks.” He took off his boots and walked to the stove. “Beef stew. Nothing too fancy, but nice to have when it’s so cold out. I’m going to put some bread in the oven to go with it.”

Amelia went to the cupboard and started pulling out bowls and utensils, and they moved around the kitchen in comfortable silence for several minutes, getting everything that they needed for dinner. Amelia found herself wondering if Adam’s impending move to Edinburgh made a difference. Hadn’t the main sticking point been that she didn’t want to live here, in the middle of nowhere, and on a farm to boot? Edinburgh wouldn’t be so different from what she was used to in Chicago. In fact, it might even be better. There was really nothing there for her back there anyway. Not now.

But now Callum was back in the picture for Adam, and she had no idea how that changed things. Amelia was torn between wanting to talk about it, and feeling glad to put it off for as long as she could. The evening was shaping up to be too pleasant to bring up anything that might derail it.

“How is the research going?” Adam asked. “Are you nearly done?”

“I have a couple of farms left to visit, and then it’s mostly organizing the data before I head back. Not much left to go, really.” Amelia took a bite of her dinner. “This is really great, Adam.”

“Thanks, it's passable even though I say so myself.” He grinned at her.

“Better than passable, I think.” Amelia laughed, “and certainly way more passable than my efforts to date.”

“Well, not everyone can be perfect.” He winked.

It wasn’t until they were settled in with drinks in front of the fire that she finally homed in on the topic she needed to discuss. “Is there a buyer for the farm yet?” she asked, taking a sip of her whisky. “You’ll have to move soon, won’t you?”

“In a month or so.” He frowned. “I think the neighboring farm is interested, they’ve done well this past year and want to expand. They’re interested in purchasing the livestock as well, which will make things much easier.”

“Are you excited?”

He nodded. “I’ve wanted this for as long as I can remember. I stayed here because I felt it was my responsibility, but I’m tired of feeling like an outsider in my own life. I want to be happy.”

“And what about Callum?” Amelia finally asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.

“We haven’t really spoken since the other day. I told you, Amelia, it was very unexpected. There’s no discussion right now of starting our relationship again or even whether or not there will be a repeat of what happened the other day. It was out of the blue and it has nothing to do with what we’ve had together,” he added. “I care a lot about you, Amelia. I know we said no promises, and no expectations, but I’ve enjoyed our time together. If my being prepared to move to the city makes any difference to you, I want to know about it. I want to see if there is any way to figure this out.”

“It…might make a difference,” Amelia said cautiously. “I can’t promise anything, not right this second. But it does change things. It’s still a lot to move to another country for someone, especially when the relationship is so new. But it would be in a city, with work opportunities for me, and it wouldn’t be such a huge change. It would be better than coming out here. Also, I would be able to get my own apartment.”

“Would you want your own place?”

“Definitely. I wouldn’t want to move in with someone so soon. I’d need my own space.”

“That’s perfectly understandable.”

“That doesn’t mean I’m saying yes,” Amelia cautioned. “Just that…I’m more likely to consider it now.”

“That’s all I can ask,” Adam said. “I know it’s a huge decision and not something to take lightly. Just the fact that you’re willing to consider it means a lot to me.”

There was a knock on the door. Adam frowned. “I wasn’t expecting anyone. Hold on.” He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. She watched him walk out of the room, heard the door open, and the surprise in his voice. “I wasn’t expecting…” the unfinished sentence filtered down the hall, and Amelia turned, wondering who was there. A minute later, Adam walked back into the room, his face tense. A few steps behind him was Callum.