It had taken longer than she’d expected, but they were finally on their way to Catahoula Creek... wherever that may be. Her new home. Home.

She could hardly believe it. It was such a foreign concept to her that she didn’t even really know what to make of it.

She’d never been anywhere outside of New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Except maybe to a few of the surrounding small towns to strip at parties.

Yet, she also had no concept of home, or of Baton Rouge being hers. It had been more like a prison. As had every place she’d ever lived.

She tried to relax into the leather seat of Walker’s Escalade. It was hands down the most luxurious car she’d ever been in. She was trying to surreptitiously fiddle with all the buttons. She kept stroking the soft leather on the side of her seat. It happened to be more comfortable even than any bed she’d ever slept in, with the sole exception of his hotel bed last night.

She could feel the weight on her shoulders lift and get lighter with every mile they put between them and the city. The Russians had no idea who Walker was, and no way to find her.

Yet the pit in her stomach still felt heavy. The feeling wouldn’t go away, even as they flew through the countryside. The back of the Escalade was filled to bursting with her purchases to start her new life. 

Temporarily, that was. A lump formed in her throat as she reminded herself of that fact, but she pushed it down.

Freedom with Walker was not even on the same scale as the alternative. So she’d take this bizarre, temporary opportunity and figure the rest out later.

He was so gentle with her, making sure that she was okay with everything. He kept asking her to agree to things, instead of insisting or demanding. She’d never been treated like that before. She was never given the option to say no, or to ask for something else instead.

“Will you carry on telling me about your family?” she asked shyly as they left New Orleans in the rearview mirror.

She snuck a sideways glance at the man beside her. She was struck again by just how gorgeous he was.

His dark hair was cut short. He kept it in that buzz cut style that she now knew was because he had actually been a soldier. That also explained the muscles. Especially when she added that he hadn’t just become some desk jockey after returning stateside. He still worked on his family farm, which explained the tan and the calluses on his hands.

The corners of his mouth turned up in a relaxed grin as he started telling her about his younger brother.

“Colt used to be such a whore before he met Rose.” He shook his head, his eyes crinkling at the memory. “The kid has always been more carefree than the rest of us. But he’s had it rough since his injury, and he used to get into trouble a lot. He lost his foot in an IED blast on his last tour. It took him a long time to come to grips with the fact that he hadn’t voluntarily left the SEALs. It was hard for him to admit that he couldn’t go back to active duty even if he wanted to. He fucked and fought his way through it. Never thought he’d settle down, but Rose had him bent out of shape pretty much from day one.” He chuckled and ran his hand over the spikes of his hair, seemingly surprised at himself. “I'm usually not this... talkative. Anyway, they got hitched a while back and they’re more in love than ever. I should warn you that they’re not afraid of public displays of affection.”

She found herself smiling as he chuckled. She felt the nervous anticipation at meeting his brothers and their significant others building inside her.

You’ll never fit in, a voice snarled in the back of her head, dimming her smile. The voice reminded her just how out of place she really would be. A cold shiver ran though her.

What the fuck am I doing? she questioned herself silently. There’s no way anyone would believe that I’m really with him. No way that a guy like him would be interested in a girl like me. 

Still, here she was. This had been his idea, after all. Maybe they would buy it...

His jaw set in a tight line before he continued. His knuckles were white on the steering wheel with the force of his grip.

“The Colonel is a piece of work.” Clearly, there was a lot of water still flowing over this particular familial bridge. “He’s married to Marilee. Waited barely three months after our mom--” 

He drew in a deep breath and didn’t finish his sentence.

"I see," she said.

Scratch that, the whole river still seemed to be flowing over the bridge.

“Marilee -- that's his second wife -- she's not all that terrible. But The Colonel... he still tries to control us as if we’re children.”

He made a turn. Suddenly, a town sprang up before them. 

"Whoa," she said, looking out the window at a diner as they passed it.

“Welcome to Catahoula.” 

He smiled, shaking off the tension that had become visible as he spoke of The Colonel. “Your new home. It boasts, well, pretty much what you can see right now.” 

The town was small, but quaint. She tried to imagine what her life was going to be like here. What must his life have been like growing up here?

He passed through the downtown area without stopping. She looked out the window as he headed down narrower country roads now. There was farmland spreading out in all directions as far as the eye could see.

The countryside was dotted here and there with a farmhouse, but mostly it was barns and cattle. The grassy pastures eventually gave way to sugarcane fields. After a while, he pointed to the sugarcane. 

“This is Remy’s family farm. Sawyer and Remy live in town, but her parents still live here. With the dude ranch, they’re around all the time anyway.”

She felt her jaw drop just a bit. 

“Dude ranch?” 

"It's a working ranch, where all the work is done by tourists. They actually pay to shovel horse crap, if you'd believe it."

"Huh," she said. “I mean, I know you mentioned your family ranch before, but I didn't realize the extent.”

She’d never learned to ride horses, but she'd always thought of them as majestic creatures. It was something she’d always wanted to do. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she’d have the opportunity to actually do it.

“Yeah. My mom used to operate a dude ranch from the farm. Sawyer insisted on reopening it after he came back. He and Remy take care of it, mostly. But you may get roped in to help, if that’s okay?”

“Yeah... I mean, sure,” she stammered as he turned off the road. 

An aging wooden sign that read Roman Ranch caught her eye as they passed beneath it. She felt a shiver run through her body, unable to believe she was actually here doing this. 

“One last thing,” he said as he glanced over at her. 

She pulled her gaze from the house just as he reached into his pocket and produced a ring. It was a beautiful, ornate antique design with a single diamond set in the center. He held it up to her and then placed it in her open palm.

Surprise threatened to overwhelm her, but she accepted the ring. She raised an eyebrow as she slid it onto her ring finger. He said nothing, merely shrugged as the ring twinkled on her finger. His eyes were tight, unspoken emotion in them as he turned his eyes back to the road.

Pastures spread out on either side of her in the dwindling light. Soon, buildings started coming into view. A barn, a bunkhouse, and a sprawling farmhouse. The farmhouse had light pouring out of it and was visible now. Two smaller, darker houses were visible a ways behind the main farmhouse.

A pack of large, furry dogs ran toward the Escalade as Walker pulled up outside one of the smaller farmhouses. She peered up at it. It was not that it was small by any stretch of the imagination -- just smaller than the main house.

“Welcome home, Doll.” 

He gave her a quick grin before hopping out of the car and striding around to open her door. After she’d slid from the vehicle, the dogs surrounded her and Walker.

"Oh!" she said, pleasantly surprised when the dogs pushed under her hands, demanding attention.

Their tails wagged as Walker rubbed the dogs' heads. She wasn’t afraid of dogs, necessarily, she just hadn’t had much interaction with them. So she patted one or two of them on the head but mostly tried to stay tucked behind Walker.

“All right now,” he said to the dogs. 

To her surprise, the dogs eased back. Walker gathered her backpack, his bag, and other things from their earlier shopping excursion. He headed up a stone path, past a water feature set in the center of it, toward a front door. He jostled the packages to swing the door open and then disappeared through it.

She hesitated before she followed. She was trying to wrap her brain around the fact that only twenty-four hours ago she had been getting ready for her shift at the club. She'd been trying to avoid angering Igor. Now here she was, hours away from the club and New Orleans, moving into Walker’s single-story home on Roman Ranch.

She swallowed, then stepped inside.

It seemed to be a functional square design, with clean lines and large windows. The lights inside went on, giving it a welcoming glow. He stuck his head out the door.

“You coming?” he asked, surveying her expression carefully.

“Yeah! Sorry!” She hurried up to join him inside, struck by the total lack of furniture.

“Let me show you around,” he offered as he grabbed her hand and led her down a hallway.

“I’ve just finished building it, so I haven’t gotten around to furnishing much. I've got a few things in the main bedroom and the kitchen.” He shifted, seeming unsure about something. “You’re going to have to share my bedroom until we can get a room set up for you. So, you’ll be in charge of that now, I guess. You can order anything you want for the house online. It desperately needs furniture."

He stopped, seeming to consider his words. "Will that be okay? Sharing a bed, I mean.”

“Uh... yeah. Sure. We’ve already slept together once, right?” 

She tried to keep her tone light, but her stomach was doing somersaults. She was unable to accept that she would be living in a place like this, with a man like him. 

"Okay," he said, a wicked smile playing over his features.

“Wait, go back. You want me to fill the house with furniture?” 

“Well, yeah.” He regarded her carefully. “Seems like the kind of thing the lady of the house should be in charge of?” 

"I'd love to." She smiled.

“Good. That’s settled then.” He flashed her a grin before tugging at her hand and leading her further inside.

The ring he had offered her felt heavy on her finger. They walked around the house, the house that she now had to furnish. 

How do I even do that? This house is huge! she thought.

It had three bedrooms, each with its own en-suite bathroom, situated along a hallway to the right of the house. In keeping with the style she’d noticed earlier, each bedroom had large windows. There were sliding doors that led to the pastures beyond. In the dying light she couldn’t tell for sure, but the greenery seemed to sweep on for miles.

The main bedroom was situated toward the end of the hallway, and was slightly bigger than the others. It was sparsely furnished, with only a king-size bed and two bedside tables. There was a worn couch in the corner and a large flat-screen television mounted on the wall. 

There were two doors on the far side of the bedroom. One lead to the bathroom, and the other to a walk-in closet. There was also an entryway from the bathroom to the closet. There was no door separating the two though.

Her stomach cartwheeled as it started sinking in that she’d be living in this room with him. He'd be there, shirtless, with no door between where she would shower and dress. It settled, however, when she realized both rooms could close to the bedroom. He didn’t seem the type to barge in or try to sneak a peek.

As if he could read her mind, he started drawing circles on her hand with his thumb and turned to face her.

“You’ll be safe here, I promise.” 

He brought his other hand up to her face. She held her breath as he lightly brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek, causing a whole different kind of flutter in her stomach.

“Both of those doors lock, so you'll have complete privacy in there.” 

His eyes darted to the bathroom and the walk-in, but still shone with concern when he met her gaze again.

She felt herself almost get lost in those eyes. Still, she managed a small, shy smile and nodded at his words.

“I know. It’s just going to take some getting used to, I think. I’ve never not had to... you know.” 

Something that looked like anger flashed in his eyes, but it was gone so fast she thought she might have imagined it.

He pulled her into his arms and she felt his breath tickle her eyes. “I know, but you’re safe now. You’re okay.” 

She relaxed as he whispered the words. She knew that for the first time in what felt like forever, she really was.

She quickly decided, once they’d completed the tour, that her favorite part of the house was the kitchen. Like the rest of the house, it had modern finishes but still held a rustic, comfortable feel. There was a large center island, complete with copper pots and pans hanging over it. It seemed like a picture of a perfect country kitchen to her. Her heart thudded as she realized that for a least a little while, it would be hers.

She couldn’t really cook. She’d never had the need, or the chance to learn. She knew enough to get by, of course. But this was the kind of kitchen that deserved roast dinners and freshly baked cookies and apple pie. The kind of foods she’d never even eaten, never mind cooked.

Suddenly, her hands were itching to start experimenting.

The perfect country kitchen look was rounded off by a large, worn wooden dining room table. In her mind’s eye, she could see herself tinkering around the kitchen in the afternoon. She imagined cooking the kind of food worthy of this kitchen. 

Walker would come home. He'd be dressed in dark jeans and a button-down shirt, rolled up just enough so she could see the well-defined muscles in his forearms. She’d run to him. He’d hold her, lift her up and spin her round just like in the movies. Maybe there’d even be dark-haired, little Romans with hazel eyes who'd run to him, begging Daddy for a hug...

She shut her fantasy down right there. She flushed as she noticed him looking at her with a slightly puzzled expression on his face.

“Whatever you were thinking about right there, I need to know what it was.” He strode over to her, stopping just short of making contact.

“What? Uh, why?” she stammered

She felt her flush deepen as she felt the heat of his body. She got a whiff of his fresh, foresty, yet somehow all Walker smell.

“Because for the first time since I've met you, you looked like you were at peace, happy. Granted, I know that isn’t saying all that much... but you were smiling like you meant it. So I want to know what it was so that I can make it happen. I want to prove to you that you’re safe here, that you can be happy with this.”

Her heart stammered. He seemed to want her to feel safe so badly. She’d never had anyone want that for her before, sometimes not even herself. 

“I just, I really love this kitchen. I can’t cook much, but it makes me want to learn,” she replied. “Unless you want to live on scrambled eggs and toast.” 

A slow grin spread on his face and he stepped closer to her. He closed the small gap that had been between them. It made her feel lightheaded and short of breath. Every nerve in her body stood at attention at his proximity.

“I love scrambled eggs and toast.” His eyes glinted as he grinned down at her. “But I also know how to download apps that will make your head spin with all the ideas. So if the kitchen is making you want to learn how to cook, and it was what made you look like that, then by God, you’re learning.”

He started down at her intently, hazel eyes relaxed but determined. She saw his jaw twitch as he took a sweeping step back from her just as the door burst open.