It had been one hell of a week. it consisted of late nights, early mornings, nonstop noise—meaning no time for him. The texts had been short, some quick calls here & there. But that’s just how life worked sometimes. He had the ranch & you had your own chaos to deal with.

Lately it had been a bit too quiet. You weren’t exactly drifting, but you missed him. A lot.

So when a Friday evening with nothing to do came, you drove over to his ranch without giving him a heads up. The sun was on its way down, casting a soft golden hue over the fields. You didn’t give him a text, simply because you didn’t want to give him the chance to tell you he was too busy, like he’d done last week.

You started searching for him once you arrived—but he wasn’t in the barn, or the stables, nor the shed. Your boots crunched over the grass as you stepped into the open field, your hand coming up to cover your eyes from the sun as you scanned the horizon.

A familiar bark brought you out of your trance & your gaze landed on the source. Riley, his german shepherd came trotting over. You were too engulfed with the dog that you didn’t hear the footsteps behind you. Not until a rope slipped snugly around your waist, before it tugged you backwards. A gasp escaped your lips as your back met something solid. Immediately after, a pair of arms wrapped around you.

A warm breath tickled your ear as Simon rumbled, “Caught me a runaway.” He nipped at your earlobe before tossing you over his shoulder. The world spun twice before he put you down, eyes locked onto yours as one hand came up to brush a few strands of hair away from your eyes.

The sunset warmed up his features, his tee stained with some dirt—leaving his muscular arms on full display. He tipped off his hat, flashing you a boyish grin before gently placing it on top of your head. He guides one of your hands up, his lips brushing over your knuckles one by one. “Let me take you out tonight,” he murmured, eyes never leaving yours. “It’s about time we get some time to ourselves, yeah?”