I sit straight up in bed, gasping for breath. Dillon is immediately at my side, rubbing circles on my back.
“Amy, it’s just a dream. You’re okay.” His voice is full of concern.
“I know. I am. I’m okay, Dillon.” I turn to him with tears gathering in my eyes, good tears, and a smile. “It was a good dream. You came riding up on your horse. The darkness behind the fence was gone. Everything was bright. It was just like the end of the storybook. I never gave up hope. You’re my prince. You’re my happily ever after.”
He kisses me softly on my lips and I smile against his mouth.
“What?” He smiles back.
“I know what I want to do with the land.”
“What’s that?”
“I want to take the fence down.”
CHAPTER 26
Dillon
“Amy Frank? Would you go out on a date with me?”
It’s been five weeks since I’ve had a nightmare. It’s been four weeks since my mother’s funeral. It’s been three weeks since the fence came down. It’s been two weeks since Ray decided to move to Denver permanently. It’s been one week since Dillon decided to use the donation from Alex Schafer to hire a therapist to work on the ranch, a therapist experienced working with troubled teens using Equine Therapy.
I’ve been working in the guest house/office scheduling appointments and greeting new clients as well as taking care of the horses. Dillon has been working with Laney to get the word out at the hospital and boy has the word spread fast. We’ve had an overwhelming response. We haven’t had any real time together for a while, so seeing Dillon stand in front of me holding a bouquet of red roses and a box of chocolates wrapped in gold paper and asking me out on a date, makes my heart melt. He remembered. Never have I ever been on a date.
I stink. I know there is hay stuck in my hair, but still he looks at me like I’m the most beautiful sunset he’s ever seen.
I smile big as a single happy tear slides down my cheek and then I throw myself into his arms.
“I would love to go out on a date with you, Dillon Andrews.”
He swings me in his arms, my legs swinging back and forth like a pendulum, and then he sets me down.
“You stink. Go.” He swats my ass. “Shower for our date.”
I don’t think this is a typical date. He doesn’t tell me where we’re going, but he drives us to this small town surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. There are hotels, shops and restaurants scattered all around us. There are tourists crowding the streets. The smell of coffee and fudge fill the air.
Dillon takes my hand as soon as we park the car and like an excited kid, he drags me to a booth where he buys tickets for an adventure park.
“What are we doing?”
“You’ll see. You’re going to love this.”
“Are we getting on that?”
“It’s called a Gondola. It will take us up to that mountain.” He points to the sky. “You can see everything from up there.”
“It looks a little scary.” I have to block the sun from my eyes as I squint to see the top of the mountain. It looks like it’s in the clouds.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be worth it. I promise.”
We jump into the moving gondola and Dillon takes my hand in his as we watch the little town below us get smaller and smaller. We can see for miles. Mountain tops, trees, meadows, lakes and houses. As we reach the top, it all becomes a blur of colors below.
“Everything looks so small from up here.” It really is hard to believe how much of the world I have never seen.
As soon as we exit the gondola, Dillon turns to me. “First things first, cotton candy or candied apple?”
“Both.”
“That’s my girl.” He throws his arm around me and squeezes me to him as we walk to the little treat stand. Dillon hands me a large apple on a stick coated in a bright red sugary glaze. He pays the vendor and grabs a bag of rainbow colored fluff. Spun sugar. He grabs a big handful in his hand.
“Open.”
I open my mouth wide and he shoves the blue sticky stuff into my mouth. I warm it with my tongue and immediately feel it melt in my mouth, leaving crunchy bits behind.
“Is my tongue blue?” I ask him, sticking out my tongue.
“Yes, your lips too.” Then he leans in and kisses the sticky sweetness on my lips.
“Dillon? Have you talked to your friends since…”
“Yes. They were all worried about you.”
“Do they think I’m crazy?” I’ve been really worried about what they are saying about me. I don’t want to come between him and his friends.
Dillon stops walking and pulls me close to him. “My friends care about you. They were worried. They don’t think you’re crazy, or a freak. Even Candice was genuinely concerned about what happened. They wanted to come by to see you, but I told them to wait. I wasn’t sure you were ready. They truly do care about you Amy. They are your friends as much as they are mine.” He pauses. “So I was thinking. Are you up for a bonfire next weekend? I can only hold them off for so long. My dad and Laney are coming to stay that weekend too. What do you think?”