Chapter 2
Dasha looked at her watch again and was starting to get perturbed. She had been waiting for what felt like days, but was only about an hour. The plane was over thirty minutes early and then Shane was about a half an hour late. He better have a good excuse, she thought to herself.
She didn’t even have a picture of him to know who she was looking for. There had been people standing around when they got off with little white placards with names on them, but none had her name. It was always a risk to do something like this, but she had not expected the man to not show up at all.
Looking around, she tried to remember what he said. Six foot, dark hair and dark eyes. There wasn’t much else said except that he was some kind of cowboy, so she expected a tall hat and boots. She was not expecting the handsome man that said her name ever so softly behind her as he tapped her on the shoulder.
“Dasha?”
She turned around, not expecting him to look like that. “Yes, you are Shane?”
He nodded. His heart stopped for a moment. There was no skip, but a full moment where he wondered if it was going to start again.
When the man didn’t say anything she figured it wasn’t him and she couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed.
“Oh, you are here to pick me up?”
Shane finally got it together and grabbed her bag. “No, I’m Shane. Sorry, but your picture did you no justice.”
“Neither did your description.”
She waited for him to say more, but he just stared down at her.
“So should we go?”
“Yes, of course.”
He was not expecting to feel that way. She was beautiful and while even her picture was pretty, there was no preparing him for the small, petite woman that stood in front of him. Shane had expected timid, shy maybe, but she did not seem that way at all. Dasha did not seem as affected by him, as he was by her. To think that he had picked her because of her accounting skills was almost laughable to him.
They walked out to the vehicle and he put her bag in the back of the truck. Opening the door for her, she thanked him and didn’t quite meet his eyes as she got in. Shutting it behind her, he took the long way around the back to give his self a moment to cool down the ardor his body felt. Tomorrow the woman would be his bride and all he could think about was getting his hands on her. He started to wonder how real of a marriage they would actually have.
Getting in next to her, he asked how her flight was.
“It was good, but we were early and I’ve been there over an hour.”
He was not expecting that tone and he kind of chuckled. Timid indeed. “Sorry about that Dasha, I had a sick horse and the vet would only see him early.”
“I see. And?”
“And?”
“How is the horse?”
“Oh, she needed a leg splint from an old injury that is acting up.”
“Well that is good, to take care of those kind of things are important.”
He could tell she was still a little upset, but she seemed to have made her peace with him being late. Looking out the window, she took in the surroundings. A silence fell over them and he wasn’t sure what to say. It was strange to meet someone like that, but he had to press on. There were plans to be made that day for the next.
“I was thinking we would go get you a dress for tomorrow and let you pick out some flowers. Whatever you want to get, we can get in the city while we are here.”
“There’s no need. I’ve brought my dress and flowers aren’t necessary. But there is something I would really like to do.”
“What’s that?”
“I just want to call home and let them know I got here okay. They will worry until I do. Let them know you are not traffickers or something.”
The thought sobered him up. With those kinds of dangers, he had to admire her courage to come. He could have made a joke about it, but it didn’t seem the time. He wanted to make her feel safe and if that is what did it, it was easy enough to take care of. Handing her his phone, she dialed a few digits and then waited.
Speaking in her native language, he liked the sound of it, yet didn’t know what she was saying. He really didn’t care as long as she kept talking. It gave him a moment to observe her when they got to a stop sign. Shane had thought it would be different, that he wouldn’t want to kiss her or that dare he say, love her, but he was already feeling something for the woman. There was something about her and the matter of fact way that she spoke. It was going to be an adventure, he thought to himself.
Dasha didn’t talk for long before she handed the phone back to him. He set it on the dash and asked her if she was hungry. She said that she really wasn’t, more nervous than anything else. Another silence followed them for the rest of the long trip home. Shane would start to say something and then second guess what he was going to say and then he was left to say nothing at all. He assured himself that it was just the newness of it all and soon enough it would be normal.
“You’re very quiet Shane. Do you not have any questions for me, because I have questions for you.”
Shane was almost surprised to hear her voice after such silence.
“Sure, ask whatever you want.”
“What does a cowboy do?”
“Ah, well I run a horse training ranch. We train horses for racing or for personal use for customers. Have you ever been on a horse before?”
She shook her head that she hadn’t and asked him if he would take her for a ride one day. Shane promised he would and she seemed to like that answer. He liked the idea of holding her tight against him as they rode.
“So tomorrow we get married?”
“As long as you still want to.” He looked over, hoping that was still the case. He had already warmed up to the idea and it sounded like a good one. He really wanted to marry her, have her for his own. She was beautiful.
“I do. Do you like me for a wife?”
He nodded his head a bit too quickly, but she didn’t laugh at him about it. Shane couldn’t think of anything else that he wanted more than to be her husband. “Yes, I think you are perfect.”