Your plan landed, but you did not have a rush to get out of the plane. Part of you wanted to go to the nearest desk when you got out and buy a new plane ticket back to New York City, but you had promised Nat and she had really played on your emotions. Now you were going to spend the next five days at her brother's home without her there. The whole 4-hour flight made you nervous. At least you had a decent lunch on the plane. You had tried reading, watching a movie, even sleeping, since you were at the airport at seven in the morning, to make sure you did not miss your flight, which left at ten. Leaving the plane and walking out in the terminal made you take three deep breaths and then you followed the signs to the baggage claim. You'd ended up taking two suitcases, three if you counted your carry-on. But you wanted to be prepared for whatever Montana had to give, and you did not know how the weather would be. Nat had not agreed on all the clothes you had packed, but it was what you had. She had warned you that even if they seemed durable, they would not be durable enough for ranch life. In your carry-on you had your beloved camera, hoping there would be time to take some pictures. You collected your bags and walked to the arrivals terminal to see if you could find Steve. If you did not find him you knew that you would have to call Nat and get her help. Since you had not even bothered to get Steve's number. You really should have done that.
You glanced around, trying to see anyone that might be looking for you, but to no avail, so you started your phone and a text from Nat came in.
It was a pic of a smiling man that made you do a double-take. Who was this? Then you saw that it was Steve with a smiley face under the picture. This was Steve?! Wow. You understood what Nat meant when she said he was handsome. He might just have been the most handsome man you had ever seen. It was hard taking your eyes off the photo, but you needed to find this man in real life. So after one more quick glance, you started to look around for Steve. Leaning against a pillar to the left was a man who looked a lot like the photo. He was tall, with broad shoulders, sandy blonde hair, a beard, and a cowboy hat on. To be honest, he looked better than the photo, and that was with a frown on his face. How could anyone be that hot? Once again you took three deep breaths and then you walked over to the man. He stood up straight when you came close. His gaze made it feel like he could read your mind. He felt kind of dangerous. Not like he was going to hurt you, no, just that he could hurt your heart.
"Y/N Y/L/N?" he asked and you nodded, having trouble forming any words since the man was more than handsome. He looked like a model and for the first time since you were a teenager you wished that you looked like a model as well. Silly thoughts, but they were still there.
"I am Steve." He gave you a small smile and held out his hand. You shook it and the heat from his hand, as well as the calluses on his hand, made butterflies fly in your stomach. It took every ounce of willpower not to think about having those hands caressing your body. Instead, you looked you in Steve's face and were met with bluer eyes than you would have thought.
"Hey, nice to meet you." That was all you could come up with saying and Steve took your bags. He offered to take your carry-on as well, but you said you could take it.
"The truck is in the parking lot outside." With that, he lifted your two bags as if they weighed nothing at all, not using the wheels. His steps were longer than yours so you kind of half-ran, following him out from the airport.
"Nat said that it is a three-hour drive from the airport to the ranch. I am thankful that you took time out of your busy day to pick me up," you try to make conversation. Steve looks back at you and gives you a small smile before he walks out through the sliding doors. The sky was clear blue and in the distance, you could see some mountains. You really had left New York City, this was different then what you were used to. It's an adventure, you think and smile to yourself. Something new and exciting.
Steve walked towards a deep blue truck and walked to the passenger side of the car, opened the door, and held out his hand. You took it and he helped you up. Touching him made things happen in your body and you almost slipped on the metal step, but Steve held you steady. When he was sure that you were inside he closed the door and walked over to the driver's side and placed your bags behind his seat before jumping in. He took off his hat and placed it on the seat between the two of you. All during this time, he was quiet. Not a word. It made you understand that this would be a long drive to the ranch. When he started the truck the radio started and People Are Crazy by Billy Currington was on. It made you smile. It was a favorite that Nat and you usually sang together in the car. It also had pretty accurate wording in it: people are crazy, and you just proved that you were one of them by flying to another state just because a friend asked. You looked over at Steve, and even his profile was handsome. His hair was a bit unkempt, but not bad. Seeing as he was both running a ranch and raising a teenager, it did not surprise you that keeping his hair in top condition was not the main focus. You tried to think of something to talk about while he left the parking lot.
"Is this as strange for you as it is for me?" you wondered and Steve looked over at you with a raised brow.
"I mean, we don't know each other and now I am going to help you with organising a cattle drive," you continued and swallowed hard. "Maybe we should get to know each other better since we are going to be living together for a while."
"Why did you come here?" Steve wondered, keeping his eyes on the road. You shift some in the seat.
"Nat convinced me to come."
"She told you I would lock Peter up in a dungeon with just water and bread," Steve muttered.
"No, nothing so extreme," you tried to laugh, but there was tension in the air. "She just wants to help make things easier for you until she can come on in a few days."
"Mmm," Steve muttered. "Nat has a soft spot for Peter." He looked unhappy and almost as he was in pain.
"He must be a genius by making that website at his age." You tried to see the positive in the situation. "I mean to pull something like that off and get people to find the page and be interested in going on a cattle drive."
"He committed fraud by lying to a bunch of people and then gambled away the money on day-trading." Steve looked at you and his lips were pressed together.
"Well, that's also a way to look at it," you mumbled and looked out the window. You did not know what you were going to say to Steve, so maybe it was best to not talk. He did not seem that happy to have you there and you did not want to make him regret taking you in. After a few minutes in silence you saw horses to your left. They were grazing and there were foals playing around them. It made you laugh and smile. A big part of your childhood and teen years had been about horses. Caring for your horse as well as competing. Long days in the stable. You missed it a lot.
Steve looked over at Y/N, he both heard and saw her happiness at seeing the horses. Nat had promised him that Y/N could handle a horse and that he would not regret opening up his home for her. Nat had also made it clear that Y/N was family and should be treated as such. But it was hard for Steve, not only because she was a stranger. The moment he had seen her coming against him in the airport he almost swallowed his tongue. She was beautiful with glittering eyes and a smile that felt like sunshine. He had flexed a bit more than necessary by carrying her bags to the truck, but there was something in him that wanted to impress her. When he had helped her into the truck he had gotten a whiff of her perfume and it smelled like a floral fragrance that reminded Steve of a summer meadow. He could not say what flowers it smelled of, just that it was like walking on a meadow with the evening sun on it and the flowers that grew all around. Then his focus had been on how her hand in his felt like it was made to be together. She awoke feelings in him he never thought he would feel. Now seeing her smile and looking at the horses made him want to show her around the ranch. Show her the horses he bred and the foals he had at the moment. During the next hour, Steve snuck glances at Y/N while he drove. She on the other hand seemed mesmerised by the scenery outside the window as they drew closer and closer to the ranch. She seemed relaxed and happy, even though she was in a car with someone she never meet. He was happy that she trusted him, but the though that for most part had to do with Nat, seeing as Y/N was Nat's best friend. Sometimes he wondered why he had ever meet Y/N before, why Nat had never brought her home, but he also remembered Nat talking about Y/N and said she was a hard worker, who usually worked during the holidays. Steve did not remember much, since it was not the kind of things he put to memory. He regretted that now. What did Y/N do for a living? And what had Nat told him that he had missed? Was she in a relationship? Steve looked ahead on the road and tried to think of other things than Y/N, but it was hard seeing as she kind of light up the whole truck just by being in it. Her scent filled the truck and made it hard to think about anything but her.
You would have thought that sitting in a quiet car would be boring, but with the scenery outside the window and country music on the radio, time flew by. Not to mention the handsome man sitting next to you. Steve might not have been a talker, but man was he hot. There was a bit of a tension in the air, but not the kind that made you feel uneasy. Instead, Steve made you feel at ease. He was Nat's big brother, well step-brother or ex-step-brother as Nat usually put it. But you knew that he was a caring man. Nat had sometime said he was more likely to talk to his animals than to people. You figured he was just one of those quiet men.
When you had been sitting in the car together for almost an hour you just needed to ask him about the ranch. You had so many questions and Nat had not told you a lot about it.
"Nat says you have cows," you said and looked over at Steve. He raised a brow and nodded.
"Do you have a lot?" you asked since he did not say a word.
"We have some," Steve answered.
"Like a hundred?" you wondered, thinking about the dairy farm you visited when you were a child.
"We have a couple of thousand heads of steers and then we have a couple of hundred of cows that we use for breeding," Steve answered.
"What are steers?" you wondered.
"Steers are neutered male cattle that end up on your plate in the end," Steve said and looks at you. "You aren't a vegetarian, are you?
"I could never live without a steak," you smiled and Steve chuckled. "But no bulls?" You couldn't help but smile big.
"We have about 20 bulls."
"20 bulls for a couple of hundred cows?" you felt your eyebrows rising. "Is that really fair to the cows to have to share bulls? I mean the bulls get a lot of cows."
"Are you going to argue that I would have a bull for every cow?" Steve asked, looking over at you with a sparkle in his eyes.
"No, I am not going to do that," you laughed. "I am just making an observation about cow's rights." Steve chuckled at that.
"Please tell me you are not a lawyer like Nat." Steve gave you a glance.
"No, I am not a lawyer," you answered. "And I am not crazy either."
"What are you then?" Steve wondered. When you shrugged your shoulders he chuckled again. "I mean what do you do for a living?"
"Oh, I am a nurse," you answered, realising that he did not ask if you were crazy.
"That can come in handy," Steve commented, and then the conversation kind of died out. You are happy that he did not ask you anything more about your job. What would he think about you being suspended? After ten minutes of silence, you decide to give it another try.
"Nat told me that you grew up on the ranch. Did you always want to be a rancher?"
"It was expected of me," Steve shrugged. "We have been on the Rogers Ranch for five generations and it's always been the oldest that have carried on the tradition."
"But would you have wanted to do something else?" you wondered. Steve was quiet, looking straight ahead on the road, and you thought you had messed it all up.
"When I was little I wanted to be a fireman." Steve looked over at you. "But I love the ranch and the work on it. Even when times have been tough. I would not want to spend my life doing anything else." Something in his eyes and bodylanguage made you realise he was absolutely truthful. He seemed at ease with what he was doing and happy about his life.
"That's great," you smiled and the conversation died out again. You did not try and pick it up again. Instead you focused on the scenery outside the window again.
After almost three hours on the road, you drove through a small town. You looked and saw small shops that made you want to stop and explore, but knowing that Steve was a busy man, you did not ask. Instead, you just looked at everything you saw.
"This is Weaton," Steve made a sweeping movement with his right hand. "It's the town that is closest to the ranch. The next town is about forty minutes away and this is the only town nearby that has a doctor."
"It's amazing," you beamed when you saw an older couple walk hand in hand. People waved at Steve and he waved back. You saw a bookshop that looked cosy, a café, a hairdressers, a restaurant and a clothing store. Steve drove north out of town and the mountains were all that you could see.
After twenty minutes, Steve turned right and drove into a small graveled road under a big arch that said Rogers Ranch. After going on the road for a couple of minutes you saw a house between the trees. Then all of a sudden the view opened up and you saw a big farmhouse on your left and to your right were a couple of barns. There were rolling hills around you and even though you knew you were about twenty minutes from town you did feel like you were further away from civilization than that. When Nat had said it was a ranch, this was not what you had pictured at all. You thought about the small dairy farm you had visited in California, with a normal-sized house and a big barn for about 100 cows. This house was more the size of a mansion. It was painted white and had a wraparound porch. When you got closer to the house you saw paddocks with horses grazing and another building where a man was saddling up a horse. You figured it must be the stables. But it was not like any stable you had ever seen, it was bigger then any stable you had ever seen. Nat said something about Steve breading horses, but you figured like on horse a year or something like that. This looked to be an even bigger operation than you ever figured.
"Welcome to Rogers Ranch," Steve said and slowed down.
"Thank you," you smiled and looked around. In the distance you could see a lot of cattle, and when you thought about how many Steve had said that they had on the ranch that was not strange. You also saw a couple of horses grazing, some foals running around playing. You could see yourself take a lot of photos around this place. A lot.
A door opened in the house and a young man walked out. His hair was out of control and brown. He was tall, but looked a few inches shorter than Steve. You figured it would be Peter. When Steve stopped the car, the young man was on your side of the car and opened the door.
"Hey, I am Peter," he said and held out his hand to help you down from the truck.
"Hey, Peter," you smile and take his hand. "I am Y/N." He takes a double take when you are on the ground.
"Wow, you are..." Peter blushed. "...Gorgeous," he mumbled. "Nat has told me a lot about you, but she never said you were this... this... beautiful." Peter blushed more. Steve closed the door on his side hard and walked around the truck with your bags. You laugh.
"Thanks." You winked at Peter.
"Don't you have chores?" Steve almost growled. Peter took a step back and held up his hands.
"I have done my regular ones," Peter said. "But I still have the extra ones left. I just wanted to welcome Y/N to the ranch."
"Well, now you have," Steve said and started to walk to the house.
"Steve," a man said as he came closer to the house. Steve put your bags on the ground and turned around. The man gave you a quick look and then his focus was on Steve "We need you. Cinnamon has started foaling and something is wrong. Clint is on his way, but he might not be here in time. He had an emergency over at the Watson Ranch."
"I am sorry," Steve turned to you. "I need to go." He started to walk away then turned around and said "Peter, show Y/N to her room and then go do your chores." With those words he followed after the man to the stables. Peter lifted your bags, like they didn't weigh a thing, just like his brother.
"That was Bucky," Peter nodded in the direction where Steve and Bucky had gone. "He is Steve's second in command here at the Ranch." You looked towards the stables and see the two men go inside. Steve was as good looking from behind as he was from any other angle. Not that you had not noticed that when you followed him in the airport. You just kind of hoped that that would have changed in the last hours. And Bucky looked like someone you had met before, but you could not place him. It was just something about him.
"Come on," Peter said and walked towards the house. "Let me show you where you will be staying."
"Peter, how big is the ranch?" you wondered and Peter stopped at the porch.
"It is about 20 thousand acres," Peter said and opened the door for you to go inside.
"That's amazing," you said and when you walk into the house you kind of stop a bit inside. The inside was not what you had figured from the outside. It was a large foyer that opened into a big living room to the left and to the right into a big kitchen. Both of those rooms were big enough to host a lot of people. Nothing looked new, and a fresh layer of paint would not have been wasted, but everything looked homey and cosy. The furniture was in dark wood and the sofa was a dark blue that looked comfortable enough to sleep in.
"So how was your drive?" Peter wondered as he stopped in the foyer to take of his shoes. You followed his lead and took of your shoes and placed them on the shoe rack.
"It was fine," you said and peeked into the kitchen.
"I take it Steve did not talk?" Peter smirked. You just looked at him, not sure what to say.
"Steve is not very talkative, at least not to people he doesn't know."
"We did okay," you answered when Peter started to walk again. There were also several rooms down the foyer, but Peter walked towards the stairs. Even though you wanted to explore you followed him. You told yourself that you could look around later, but so far the house was fantastic.
"Did okay," Peter scoffed. "Let me guess, he said three words the entire way. I don't know if he is shy or if he just doesn't like to talk." That made you laugh.
"Actually we talked about the ranch," you said and smiled. Peter's eyes widened.
"Wow, Steve must really like you," Peter said. "People he don't know usually get more than a few words out of him. And here you were talking about the ranch."
"Yes, made him fall head over heels in love with me, so he just could not shut up," you sassed and Peter started to laugh. "Did you not see how hard it was for him to leave me earlier?" Peter continued to laugh.
"We talked for maybe twenty thirty minutes," you continued. "And it was spread out during the entire drive." Peter nodded and started up the stairs. You followed and were impressed by the stairs. They looked sturdy and at the same time ornamental, with carved branches holding up the railing. You had to touch it and the wood felt like silk. Then you turned your eyes to the stairway wall and it was filled with photos, both old black and white ones, which you figured were some of the older generations from the ranch, but also pictures of children, that you figured were Steve and Peter when they were little. You also saw pictures of Steve and Peter closer to the age they were now and a couple of pictures of Nat, alone or with the boys. One looked to be of Nat's High School graduation. You wanted to look closer at all the pictures, but Peter was waiting for you on the top of the landing looking down at you so you hurried up your steps. You would have to come back to the photos later. The landing led both left and right, Peter went right and opened a door at the end of the hall.
"This will be your room during your stay or at least until the cattle drive," Peter said. "You might have to share a room with Nat later, depending on how many of the people that have booked come. Nat's room is beside yours and she said that you could go inside and take whatever flannel shirts you wanted from her closet."
"That's fine," you said and saw the sad look at Peter's face. "Hey," you said and placed a hand on his arm. "I am fine with sharing a room with Nat. You know we share an apartment." Peter nodded and gave you a small smile. He made a gesture for you to walk into the room so you did. He walked in behind you and placed your bags by the end of the king-size bed. The walls were painted in a light blue color and the bed had a dark blue bedspread. There was a dark grey sofa and an old chest in the room as well. On the opposite side of the bed was a big painting of the mountains. Other than that, the room was pretty sparsely decorated.
"That door," Peter said and pointed, "is a bathroom and the other doors are closets."
"This will be great," you looked around and smiled. "Thank you, Peter."
"Do you want to see Nat's and then my room?" Peter asked.
"Of course," you answered and together you walked next door to Nat's room. It was painted in a soft lavender color and there was a big king-size bed with a white bedspread. There were a lot of pictures on the walls and a desk by the window. Peter pointed at the door to the bathroom and then Peter led you back to a room just off the stairs. His room was messy with a king-size bed that was not made. Clothes on the floor and lots of books on a shelf. He had a massive desk that had two computers and a lot of electrical parts, that he said were for computers and this and that. Peter was almost giddy like a small child on Christmas when he showed you his computers and what he was working on. You were impressed when he showed a 3d blueprint of what looked like a robot.
"It's a robot that could guard the horses in the stable when it's time for foalings so that Steve or Bucky won't have to sleep in the stable," Peter beamed. "They have cameras, but Steve does not completely trust them."
"That is impressive," you said and put a hand on Peter's shoulder. He did a couple of keystrokes and pulled up a screen full of code.
"I am also working on a database for Steve for his breeding," Peter said. "It's a present for his birthday."
"That sounds like a great idea and I think he will love it," you said and Peter beamed. Then he looked at the clock and groaned. He pressed a couple of keys and closed down the computer
"I need to go and do my chores," Peter stood up and you walked out in the hallway. "Feel free to explore the house. The door over there is Steve's room." Peter pointed at a door to the left of the landing. "He does not like it if people are in there, but other than that, you can go wherever you want. Oh, and maybe stay out of Steve's office downstairs as well. There is a whole mess of papers and things in there." You thanked Peter and watched him walk down the stairs and out of the house. Not knowing where to go first you walked down the stairs looking at all the photos. You saw a picture of a young Nat standing next to a middle aged woman, you figured it would be Nat and her mother, Melina. A picture of a edding that looked to be Steve to the right holding a really young Peter in his arms, their father and then Nat's mother Melina and Nat to the left. They all looked happy. Then there were baby pictures that showed Steve, Nat and Peter. Graduation photos of Steve, both high school and university. The same for Nat. As well as Nat in a prom dress. A picture of a woman holding a baby in her arms. You figured it had to be Steve's mother. There were a lot more pictures of the family and older generations. One looked like it was a generation photo. There was an old man sitting on the porch of the house. In his lap, he had a baby. Beside him was a bit younger man holding his arms around the shoulders of a middle-aged man. It must be a four-generation photo. From the clothes, you figured that the baby was Steve and that it was his father, his grandfather, and his great-grandfather in the picture. You remember Steve telling you in the car that the ranch had been in his family for generations. After looking at the pictures for five minutes you thought about taking a shower but decided to explore the house and then shower that evening instead.
You walked down the stairs and walked into the kitchen. It was big and roomy with a kitchen island. There was a bowl of fruit and a vase of flowers. Something that surprised you some; as far as you knew it was only Steve and Peter living in the house. But so far the house had not been anything you had expected, so why not flowers in the kitchen. The kitchen was also clean and looked nice. It itched some in your fingers to cook something, but you reminded yourself that you were a guest and it was not dinner time yet. You peeked inside the fridge and then the pantry. Both were well-stocked with all that could be needed. Maybe you could cook for the boys sometime this week. But you did not know what the plans were for dinner today or at what time the guys usually ate. You would have to ask Peter later. After looking at the living room and peeking inside what you figured was Steve's office you hit the jackpot. There was a library in the house. It was big and there were lots of books, both classics, like Jane Austin, Mark Twain, and Edgar Allan Poe, as well as newer novels like James Patterson, Dan Brown, Ursula K Le Guin, and Suzanne Collins. You saw books like To Kill a Mockingbird, Death on the Nile, and Catch 22. There was also an entire shelf of books that had to do with cattle, horses, and farming. You walked around in awe looking at all the books. Then you looked at the clock. You would have loved to go out and see the ranch, but at the same time, you felt kind of tired and did not want to disturb Steve or Peter by walking around the ranch alone. But you wondered when Steve would come back. It was something about him that drew you closer. You wanted to get to know him. You wanted to be close to him. Steve was someone that you felt you could trust and that was something you never felt for a man before. Not to mention that you just met him today. Maybe you should just read a bit. You picked a book and got comfortable in an armchair infront of the fireplace.