Trevor paused in his work to wipe the sweat from his brow.

He could afford to take a break from his chores, he decided. The old barn wasn't going to clean itself, but he needed to refuel. He pulled his gloves off and crossed to the old coffee maker he had unearthed earlier. A few rinses with hot water and soap, and he had felt adventurous enough to actually try and use it out there in the barn, and he was not disappointed. It worked like a charm, and he wondered idly what Sabrina would have to say about his salvaging it when she returned from town.

Trevor poured himself a refill of the robust black brew, stirred in a sugar cube for the hell of it, and leaned against the barn door with a sigh of contentment. Only when he was alone like this could he truly take it all in. He watched the white morning mist receding slowly from the pastures, watched the horses grazing quietly on the dew-freshened grass.

He saw the cloud of dirt billowing up from the road before he saw the ranch's pickup. He watched as Sabrina made the turn into Wildhorse and slowed as she came up on the barn. She hung out the window, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Morning, cowboy!" she shouted.

Trevor detached from the doorway to come out and meet her, his own smile tucking up one corner of his face. "You're gettin' real handy with driving that thing." He nodded toward the truck. Sabrina leaned out further, looking radiant enough to outshine the Texas sun, and the rancher bent to press a welcoming kiss to her lips.

"Don't be mad," she preempted as he drew away. Trevor raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"Mrs. Miller treat you okay?"

Grimacing. “No, she’s still mad about the beds. Ever since Mr. Miller found out how much I was willing to pay for them, he’s been doing his best to sell off as much as he can to me at a tidy profit. I think they both still see me as some sort of city girl who doesn’t know a copper bowl from a tin box. Thankfully, I have a trick or two up my sleeve and I’m still getting good deals from them.”

“Well you’re doing everyone a good service even getting the Millers to let you on the property let alone buy anything. I still can’t believe you talked her out of pressing charges.”

“I know. Mrs. Miller went out and bought a new padlock for one of the barns and won’t give her husband the key. I’m dying to find out what she has hidden in there,” she said with a laugh.

Sabrina popped open the door and stepped down from the cab. "What have you been working on all morning? You never told me why you were clearing out this old barn. You know our next batch of glampers is scheduled to show up tomorrow, and you're bound to get one or two of them walking through here by accident. What's the big secret?"

"Come and see." Trevor wrapped his arm around her slender shoulders and guided her over to the entrance. Sabrina peeked inside and whistled. He took a certain amount of pride in that whistle—he had been so busy moving and sorting stuff all morning that he had developed a kind of tunnel vision. Now Sabrina's appreciation of his effort made it all worthwhile and helped him see all he’d accomplished.

"Think it'd make a good workshop?" he asked her.

"Workshop? For what?" she inquired.

"For you." He pulled her in against his side, knocking hips as he casually raised his coffee to his lips. "Surprise," he added.

Sabrina threw her arms around his neck unexpectedly, and Trevor nearly dropped his coffee. "Careful!" he laughed. As Sabrina hugged him fiercely, he thought he could feel a wet patch starting to form in his shirt. She drew away quickly and wiped her eyes.

"Sorry. It's just that…wow." She laughed to try to make light of her emotional response to his gesture. "I can't believe you're finally embracing this whole upcycling thing."

"I wouldn't call it exactly 'embracing' it," Trevor said. "But I figured if you're going to be sticking around here for a while, I might as well give you your own space to work out of. It will cut back on the junk piling up on the lawn, anyway."

"Oh, I plan on sticking around as long as you'll have me, Mr. Wild," she agreed. She rested her chin on his chest and gazed up at him. "No more coordinating new glamping programs and cutting out as soon as they're off the ground. My nomad days are far behind me. I intend to make sure this program in particular grows and thrives. And…"

Sabrina ducked her head away a little and blushed as she summoned the words. Trevor waited for her, ever patient, even as his heart hitched in anticipation.

"And I intend to make Wildhorse my home. If you'll agree to have me."

"No compromise needed on that front," he replied. When she glanced up curiously at his gruff tone, Trevor ensnared her in a surprise kiss. He felt her muffled sigh of contentment as she relaxed in his one-armed embrace. His neglected cup of coffee was probably growing cold by the second, but there was nothing he would rather taste on a Saturday morning than the woman he loved.

"Speaking of surprises…" Sabrina pulled away and headed back to the truck. "I picked something up for you in town."

Trevor watched her climb up onto the bed of the truck. He took a long sip from his mug. He hadn't had enough coffee yet to feel real apprehension at what she was about to show him. When he saw her struggling with something heavy, he quickly set his mug aside and jogged over to help. He had just hauled himself up after her when he saw what she was attempting to lift on her own. He froze in astonishment.

"You…" He couldn't find the words.

Sabrina straightened triumphantly and tucked a loose lock of blonde hair behind one ear. "Didn't think you'd like my surprise, did you?" she said with a laugh.

She stood over nothing other than his father's saddle—the one he had pawned and given up for lost weeks ago. The leather was freshly polished, and there wasn't a cinch or stirrup out of place. It looked better than he remembered.

"How did you…?" He trailed off in disbelief.

"I haven't only been going to the flea market every weekend to spend money," she explained. "I've been selling a lot of the stuff I've upcycled. I managed to sweet-talk the guy at the pawn shop to hold on to your dad's saddle until I could come up with the money." She waggled her eyebrows. "Surprised?

Trevor didn't know what to say. He didn't think there were words in the English language to convey how touched he was by her gesture. When was the last time he had asked anything of anyone? When was the last time anyone had gone out of their way to do a thing like this for him?

Sabrina bent and managed to lift the saddle into her arms all on her own. She grinned as she presented it to him. "What do you think? Want to take a break and go for a ride with me?" she asked.

He hadn't budgeted time for a ride in his weekend schedule. But Trevor knew his commitment to routine had transformed into a commitment to something—or someone—else. Routine, it turned out, wasn't any damn fun without someone around to challenge him to break out of it.

Trevor pulled the saddle out of her hands and grinned. "You're on."