Chapter 30

Ryan

Sleeping on the couch wasn’t the most comfortable thing in the world, but I was there to keep her safe, so comfort wasn’t my first priority. When I woke up, I could hear the sound of eggs frying in the kitchen. I got up from the couch, groaning as I stretched out my back and walked in there, rubbing my eyes, surprised I had slept in so late. I was normally an early riser, but I could tell it was at least nine or ten already. Sara was standing over by the stove, and without even thinking, I walked over and wrapped my arms around her waist, nuzzling my nose into her neck.

“Good morning,” I grumbled, not yet awake.

I breathed the smell of her strawberry shampoo deep into my nostrils, starting to see clearly once again. I must have fallen asleep in the middle of the night when I was watching out for any sign of Janson. With that thought and the feeling of Sara stiffening in my arms, I froze. That was definitely enough to wake me right up. I put my arms out straight and slowly began to back away, feeling like a complete idiot. I hadn’t even given it two thoughts, just walked right into the kitchen and put my arms around her like I was on automatic mode.

“I am so freaking sorry,” I said, rubbing my face. “I swear I was sleepwalking or something. I’m still only half awake. It was a reaction to seeing you there at the stove. I didn’t sleep well last night, worried about your safety and then, sometime early this morning, I must have passed out. The smell of eggs got me off the couch and well, you know the rest of the story. I would have never done that had I been in my right mind.”

“Relax, Romeo.” Sara laughed. “Go sit down at the breakfast table before you hurt yourself. I just finished the eggs, and there are English muffins and bacon on the table. The juice and coffee are already poured. That was your one free pass. You used it up right at the get-go. Now, you have to actually attempt to act like a gentleman.”

“I swear,” I said, sitting down at the table. “Scout’s honor.”

“Were you even a Boy Scout?”

“No.” I laughed. “But I would have been a really good one if I had been.”

“Right.”

She smiled, putting the eggs on our plates and sitting down at the table.

“So,” she said as she buttered an English muffin. “I stayed up pretty late thinking about everything you said and the offer you presented.”

“Okay,” I said, feeling nervous.

“I’ve decided to take you up on the offer and go on a little vacation to New York City,” she said with a small smile.

Immediately, I could feel the excitement and relief rising up in my chest. I wanted to stand on my chair and whoop loudly, letting her know how happy I was that she’d reached that conclusion. Thinking that might be a bit much, I decided to smile over at her instead.

“I’m really glad,” I said, stifling the excitement. “I think you’ll be really happy you made that choice.”

We finished up breakfast in a kind of quiet happiness. I could tell by the way Sara was acting, especially toward me, that she was excited about going to the city too. It may not be because of me, but I couldn’t be picky. I had convinced her it was the right choice, and now I could breathe a little bit easier, at least once we got on the airplane. It was a good thing I’d called the pilot the night before after she’d gone to bed and told him to ready the plane. When breakfast was done, I pulled my phone out and smiled at Sara. I called my driver and asked him to head to the hotel and pick up my bags and then bring them to Sara’s house. I let him know we would be heading from here to the airport to go back to New York.

“I guess I’ll go jump in the shower,” she said.

“I’ll take care of the dishes and get everything unplugged for you,” I said.

“Thanks,” she said happily.

I watched her as she pranced down the hall and disappeared into the bedroom. I smiled and shook my head, letting a little of the excitement out. There was nothing wrong with me being optimistic. While she took a shower, I washed the dishes and started the dishwasher. I went around the kitchen and unplugged all her electronics just to be safe while she was away. As soon as she had reemerged, drying her hair with a towel, there was a knock on the door. It was my chauffeur with my bags.

“You mind if I take a quick shower?” I asked Sara from the living room.

“Nope, go right ahead,” she yelled back.

I hurried up and jumped in the shower, rinsing off and then getting out to finish getting ready. By the time I was dressed and out of the bathroom, Sara was ready to go, sitting in the kitchen with her bags. I walked in behind her and picked up her things, smiling as she turned around.

“What about the vet clinic?” I said.

“I already called Alison and asked her to close up shop. There are no animals staying over right now,” she said. “And I’ll spend the ride to the airport calling my clients and rescheduling or sending them to the closest vet. At least as long as we have cell phone service.”

“It seems you have it all worked out then.” I chuckled. “Are you ready to get going?”

“Yep,” she said, standing up and straightening her chair.

We walked out to the SUV, and the driver took our bags, placing them neatly in the back. He opened the back door for us, and I waited until Sara was comfortably in before climbing in behind her. She already had her appointment book out and was scanning through the numbers in her phone. As the driver pulled away, I glanced back at the driveway, seeing the remnants of where the elk had been the night before. I was just glad they came and got it already.

Sara spent most of the drive to the airport on her phone, calling clients and then giving Alison some details on the what to turn off in the clinic itself. I was amazed at her demeanor, and she was almost entrancing to watch. She was not only professional, but she was incredibly kind at the same time. Every person she called asked her if she was all right and wanted to know when she would be back. It was obvious her clients loved having her as their vet, and most of them, the ones without immediate need, opted to reschedule with her instead of taking their animal to another vet. Luckily, she didn’t have any house calls for the larger animals to go to.

As she talked to Alison, I turned my head and looked out the window, trying to give her as much privacy as I could. She sounded excited, but at the same time, she was a small-town girl going headfirst into one of the craziest cities in the world. A twinge of doubt began to flood me, and I questioned myself about what I was really doing bringing Sara to New York City with me. Of course, what I told her was true. I wanted to keep her safe. No. More than that, I needed to keep her safe. But beyond the safety and the scary stalker stuff was something else. There was definitely a lot more to my reasoning of pulling her all the way across the country with me. If I was going to make everything work, keep her safe, comfortable, and secure, I needed to at least be honest with myself.

The truth was, I liked Sara a lot, probably even more than I wanted to admit to myself. Deep down, I knew bringing her to New York could possibly lead to her wanting to stick around, wanting to be near me, wanting to have a life with me even if it wasn’t in Bonanza. They were extremely big thoughts that were probably more ridiculous than anything I had entertained before, but I couldn’t help myself. She was too special to me, too much a part of me at this point to give up. I had promised to be a gentleman and that was a promise I fully intended on keeping. I would not go out of my way to make her feel uncomfortable. All that would accomplish was her freezing up and blocking me out even further. I never promised not to try and win her back, though, which was a completely different tactic.

She was going to be on my turf this time, in a city she didn’t know, relying on me to show her around and help her relax. That was exactly what I was going to do, but when I did it, I was going to make sure she had the time of her life. There was no way I was going to fail at this. I had home field advantage, after all. I knew every good spot in the city, and I knew what to do to blow her mind.

When we got to the airport and pulled around to the gate to the hangar bay, she looked over at me slightly confused. The planes were taking off down the runway, but they weren’t commercial planes like I think she was expecting. I hadn’t even thought of telling her about my jet.

“Why are we at this airport?” she asked wide-eyed.

“I have my own jet.” I smiled as we pulled into the bay.

I got out and helped her down, leading her up the stairs and into the jet. She was completely blown away by the fact that it was like an apartment with wings. She walked around like she was seeing the world through completely different eyes. That was when it hit me that Sara was about to be taken deep into a world she had never experienced before, a world where everyone waited on you, you were surrounded by comfort at all times, and money was no object. It made me think back to when I was the same way, right after I had sold my algorithm and had virtually become a billionaire overnight. I showed her to our seat where we would be during takeoff and landing.

“Would you like some champagne and chocolate?” I asked. “The flight’s pretty long back to New York. The chocolates were imported from Sweden, so they’re kind of my guilty pleasure.”

She just blinked at me, and I laughed, pouring her a glass and powering up the huge flat-screen TV. I handed her the remote to let her select the in-flight movie. As we took off, she just sat back, completely taken back by what she was experiencing. By the time we were at cruising altitude, though, she had relaxed a bit. Every mile that passed, I couldn’t help but feel more and more elated. This woman who had taken over my mind was finally on her way back to my hometown, and I was determined to make it work.