Chapter Thirty-Eight
Over an hour later, we made a left turn off the main road. There was a slight incline, and I tensed.
Garrick squeezed my hand. “Joe’s an expert. We’ll be fine.”
“Until tonight, I’d never been on icy roads before. I’m not a fan of the sliding.”
Garrick put his finger under my chin and brought my eyes to meet his. “I won’t let anything happen to you. If I thought there was a chance this was too dangerous, I would change our plans.”
“I know, and I love you for it.”
“I love you, too, sweetheart.”
We’d brought down the divider some time ago. In the headlights, the snow came down harder. Joe handled the SUV expertly. Winding around another corner, we turned into what I assumed was a driveway. I relaxed marginally. Hopefully, we were almost there. The driveway wound around a few bins until a huge house came into view.
The car slowed. I estimated there were over thirty windows. Is this the cabin? No way. “Is this it?”
Garrick looked out the window and smiled. “Yes. Our cabin for the next few days.” I laughed. He has to be kidding, right? “What’s funny?” he asked, concerned.
“This is not a cabin.” I shook my head. The outside landscape lighting showed at least two stories. “It’s what? Ten thousand square feet?”
“Twelve thousand. The guesthouse is another three. Is something wrong with the place?”
I patted his knee. “No, nothing’s wrong. But this is not a cabin. Not hardly.” Twelve thousand square feet. What in the world does someone do with that much space?
We pulled into the circular drive area and stopped in front of the huge wooden front doors. In the night with the lighting, it was picturesque—stone and reflective glass with wooden beams gave the place a cozy, ski lodge feel.
“The real estate agent said cabin. So I went with cabin.”
Good grief. What kind of houses does this woman normally show?
Taking a deep breath, I broke our stare and looked back at the “cabin.” This place was perfect on the outside. At Christmas, I could see the house decorated for the season. I loved it already and I hadn’t seen inside.
Garrick squeezed my hand. “Let’s go see if you like the place.”
I already knew the answer. Garrick handed me a warm coat with a fur-lined hood. “This looks warm.”
“I hope so. It’ll keep you from freezing here.”
After I put it on, he asked, “Are you ready?”
“I am.”
The car door opened, and a burst of frigid air came in. “Oh geez, it’s gotten colder.”
“We’re at a higher elevation. Let’s hurry.”
On the way here, Garrick had mentioned Utah was experiencing an unseasonable cold front. I had never felt air this cold in my life. It was a far cry from the warm, humid air of Florida.
We dashed up the porch. The door was unlocked, and I stopped before he opened the door. It seemed odd the house was left unsecured. “Is someone waiting for us?”
“Security unlocked it. We’re completely safe, and we’ll have the illusion of being alone as long as we stay to one side of the house.”
The door swung open, and I entered. Inside was magnificent—wood beams across the ceiling, stone walls, and cream furniture over black slate flooring. Exquisite. I loved it here. The decor was clean and simple yet warm and inviting.
Garrick wrapped his arms around my waist as I stared at the crackling fire across the living room. “What do you think of our cabin?”
I turned in his arms. “I love it. This place is perfect, and I haven’t seen it all yet. Thank you for this—all of it.”
As I was about to take off my coat, Garrick stopped me. “There’s something we need to do first before we get settled.”
“What’s that?”
Garrick’s nose grazed mine. “Check off two more items from your bucket list. We’ll build a snowman tomorrow when it’s light outside.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Come with me.”
The familiar giddiness I used to get when I checked off items flew through me. At the airport, I hadn’t been able to process everything as fast as it happened. When we got on the plane, for some reason I’d imagined we were headed somewhere along the East Coast.
We walked across the living room, and I gasped. The back wall of the room was entirely glass.
“The windows are one-way. No one can see in. The previous owners wanted privacy without sacrificing the view.”
“Aren’t we in the middle of nowhere?”
“Yes, privacy is important.”
I thought about the time Garrick sat behind the one-way glass in Cameron’s office. The draw to look at it had been unexplainable. Garrick’s hands were on the door, but I stopped him. If I’d been successful… I hated thinking about the alternative. “Thank you for not giving up on me the day I tried to push you away.”
Stroking my face, he said, “You are worth every gamble. I mean that.” The gold flecks in his eyes sparkled, and I felt how much I meant to him. I hugged him, burying my face in his chest and memorizing this moment.
“Are you ready for your first bucket list check with me?”
The simple question had so much weight behind it… like there was a commitment of forever laced in the words. If my suspicions were right, I wanted him to know I was right there with him. “Absolutely.”
He opened the door, and the frigid air caused me to pull my coat a little tighter around me. The snow swirled about, creating a magical moment. At the end of the patio area, a significant amount of snow accumulated. The low lighting of the area gave a romantic glow. This was perfect—beyond perfect. It felt like we were the only two people on the planet in our solitude. The back porch had barely any snow on it. I leaned down to touch the floor. “This is warm.”
“It’s heated to keep the snow from getting too close to the doors. We can come out here tomorrow and roast marshmallows in the fireplace out here.” Garrick pointed toward the left. A fireplace lay nestled in the corner, surrounded with furniture, which had been covered. I couldn’t wait to be out here.
In my wildest dreams, I’d never imagined something so perfect. “I would love that.”
Garrick led me out a little farther, and I glanced up at the sky, letting the snow dust my face. I stuck out my tongue and let the little cold spots land on it.
Another check mark to my bucket list.
Closing my eyes, I reveled in the absolute stillness of this moment—the perfection. A shiver ran through me, and I opened my eyes to find Garrick staring at me.
“You amaze me, Knoah. With you, I feel like I’m seeing life for the first time.”
“You brought me back to life, Garrick.”
He leaned down and kissed me. Our tongues collided as the snow fell around us. Nothing else mattered but the feel of him against me. All too soon, the kiss slowed. He murmured against my lips, “You ready for another check mark?”
“Never been more ready in my life.” My words held more meaning beneath the surface, and I hoped he realized it. It seemed we were dancing around our deeper thoughts, afraid to scare each other off.
I let him guide me to where the snow had begun to accumulate at the end of the patio where grass began. Suddenly I wasn’t sure how to do this. I had no idea. People fell back, then moved their limbs. Or was that only how they did it in the movies? “What do I do?”
He kissed my nose. “Fall back into the snow. Then move your arms up over your head and back down, and your legs out and in. I’ll be here.”
The lights from the patio illuminated the area. I glanced back. “Have you done this before?”
“Yes. We used to go to Colorado a lot as a family.”
I glanced back again.
“The snow is soft. It won’t hurt.”
I closed my eyes, memorizing every detail of the moment—the wind lightly rustling, the coldness of the flakes landing on my cheek, the warmth of Garrick’s body being close. I said, “On three. One. Two. Three.”
I fell back into the soft snow. He was right. I giggled as I moved my arms and felt the powdery fineness around me. “Oh man, it’s getting cold.”
Crouching down, he held out his hands. “Grab my hands and I’ll pull you straight up. It’ll leave the perfect snow angel.”
With ease, Garrick pulled me to a standing position. When I turned around, I saw the angel. It was perfect. “Another check mark,” I murmured.
A gust of cold wind caused a shiver. “Let’s get you inside and warmed up.”
“What about dancing for your bucket list?”
“Tomorrow.”
As we went back into the house, I wanted to pinch myself. Three check marks on my bucket list. Three. I wished I had it with me so I could put the date on them now.
The warmth of the house greeted us. “Here, let me take your coat.”
“Thank you.”
On the table was my bucket list next to Garrick’s. “Where did you get this?”
“I brought it from our room. I wanted you to be able to check them off here.”
This man was amazing, thinking of my every need before I knew it. I took the pen and made a check with the date. “I want you to sign your name beside mine.”
Garrick’s eyes lit up, knowing how special this was. No one else’s name was on my checklist. Dylan had completed items with me, but I’d never asked him to sign his name. Without hesitation, he put his initial beside the date. “I’ll be forever part of this now. I want you to sign mine, too.”
I grinned. “Forever.”
We gazed into each other’s eyes and I saw his darken. Garrick wanted me. My core grew warm, ready for him to touch me.
“I need to be inside you. Now.”
“Please.” It had been too long since I felt him inside me.