A Thousand Miles

Part 16

They pulled into a clearing where the path circled back around on itself like a cul-de-sac, in the middle of which sat a few picnic tables scattered among live oaks; the most secluded rest stop she'd ever seen. Shane parked in a shady spot, opened his door and stepped out. She did too, and when she came around the front of the truck he reached for her hand, pulling her toward a guardrail at the edge of the cliff where the hill they were on dropped into a deep valley before rising again into more hills and still more hills beyond that, all green and brown earth, completely unspoiled.

"Oh, Shane." She breathed his name, reaching out for the rail in front of her. A hawk circled in the distance, dwarfed by the vast, wide-open space it occupied. Fluffy white clouds drifted above, casting scattered shadows on the earth below. "It must be a mile across. This must be how this spot has looked for... Forever. How did you find this place?"

"I know the man who owns it."

"All of it?" The thought of one person owning all this stunned her.

"No, not all of it." Shane swept a hand across the view for emphasis. "But a good chunk of this hill, at least."

"And he doesn't mind you just helping yourself up here?" She glanced at him to find him studying her intently. He shook his head and leaned back against the guardrail.

She turned back to take in the view again as a cool gust toyed with a few strands it had loosened from her ponytail. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes, feeling the earth beneath her feet and the hills all around her. Only God could create a place so amazing, so breathtaking. She could feel Him here, like nowhere else. And He spoke to her now the assurance that she was loved and wanted, that even in all the times past when she'd felt like an unwelcome guest in her own father's home she'd been loved and wanted.

She opened her eyes and took it all in again. "Is there any more spectacular sight than this?"

His deep chuckle made her glance at him, and the look on his face was almost as breathtaking as the view. Like this was a gift, and her joy in receiving it made him happier than anything else could. "The Grand Canyon, maybe," he finally said. "Or Niagara Falls. The Smoky Mountains are fairly spectacular as well. Oh, and the Rockies."

She wrinkled up her nose, then grinned. "I've never been to any of those places."

A wisp of hair blew across her face and he raised one hand to gently pull it away and push it behind her ear. Her breath caught at the unexpected tender touch and she caught her bottom lip with her teeth. His expression was the same as it had been in her grandmother's kitchen, full of compassion, like he understood her. But how could he? He'd been his father's whole world. How could he understand the crazy dynamics of her family? How could he possibly know what it felt like to be an outsider in your father's house?

He took one of her hands in his and stroked the back with his thumb. The light touch sent a current through her making her pulse quicken and her eyelids drift closed. This was so not smart; standing here with him holding her hand, totally alone in this intoxicating, wide open space, and feeling the way she did about him.

She'd had feelings for him since the day she met him. It bothered her less to admit it now that she knew him better...now that she knew she could trust him. Now that she was certain he cared for her, too. The tender way he'd comforted her just a little while ago...It captured her heart completely and had sprung from an honest desire to soothe her heartache. She felt his warmth beside her when he closed the distance between them.

"But, spectacular as all those other places might be..." His soft, lazy drawl in her ear sent a shiver down her spine and a smile to her lips as she leaned into him. "I think I'm gonna have to agree with you. There is no place on earth more beautiful than this."