When Single Riders Come Together (COMPLETED)

Chapter 17

"What color do you want to take? Black or black?" Dan smirks.

"Dork." Tylee mutters shaking her head.

"Black it is then!" He declares jumping on one and backing it out of the shed.

"No crazy driving." She demands her arms crossed over her chest.

"At your wish, Fawn." He picks her up bridal style and she screams. "Calm down I'm not going to drop you."

Sitting down on the four wheeler Dan sits Tylee in front of him and before placing each of his hands on a handle bar. He directs the four wheeler down the road Greg and Susan following behind.

"There is about 40 acres here. Dad has it divided into two pastures with net wire and then he has hot wire put up in the pasture we have our horses in to let one side grow." He explains as they approach a gate. He jumps off before she can and opens the gate.

"You want me to drive through the gate?" She looks at him quizzically.

"Yeah all you have to do is use your thumb and press that little switch." He instructs realizing that she hadn't ever driven one before.

Taking a deep breath in and breathing out a prayer she presses it gently until the four wheels begin to roll forward accompanied with the hum of the engine. Smiling she stops it so that Dan can get back on.

"So should we go to the pond?"

"Teddy Bear it is February and not near cold enough to freeze it over. What is a pond in cold weather unless it is frozen over? Nothing." She smiles leaning into his chest.

"So then would you like to go see my hide out?" He asks.

"I guess so. " She shrugs.

"You guess so? Well then we can just go back to the house and I can force you into a conversation with my mother." He tells her with a teasing glimmer in his eyes.

She rolls her eyes. "Fine then. Yes I would love to go see your secret hide out."

"Wonderful!" He yells at the top of his lungs.

"You are such a dork!" She exclaims while laughing.

"How dare you call me a dork!" He declares as his siblings ride by on the other four wheeler.

"But you are one."

Tylee's eyes grow wide as the 'secret hideout' meets her eyes. A well built tree house complete with a red roof sits in a forked mesquite tree. The sides were a light tan color of paint on old barn planks.

"You're worrying me by not talking." Dan's soft voice and his arm around her shoulders bring her out of the dream that dazed her.

"Its- it reminds me of the tree house that Papaw built for my cousins and I. Although ours wasn't near as fancy." Moving her gaze from the tree house she looks into his heart stopping eyes.

"I am going to take that as you like it." He holds his hand out and helps her off the four wheeler. Leading the way up to the ladder he opens the perfectly fitted door revealing a tidy little room.

Tylee follows him up the stairs peering in. "This is like the complete house."

"My mom made sure that we had a proper childhood minus the TV."

Stepping to his side and snaking her arm around his waist she smiles. "TV takes too many brain cells away that I desperately need."

"You? Desperately needing brain cells? Fawn, you are the most intelligent woman I have ever met! You run a successful ranch and know how to keep up with all the finances," He declares kissing her cheek.

"You're sweet," She whispers laying her head on his shoulder in contentment. 

"I try every once in a while." His lips form a teasing smile as her soft grey eyes meet his baby blue ones.

Dan leads a smiling Tylee around showing her every detail of the tree house that held so many memories with his dad and Greg. Finally he shows her the secret engraving in the wood.

"Dad, Greg and I built this before I moved out and got a job. Dad said that since that we were all grown that we were going to engrave in it when we built it and then leave room for when we got married and had kids," He explains.

"Really?" She looks at him quizzically.

"Yeah, we wanted to do one last project before Greg was out of high school and we were all in different directions."

Her smile returns and she snuggles into his chest. "Your family is really close."

He can hear the longing and sadness in her voice. His heart goes out her as he his arms tighten around her small frame. Feeling no words would fill the silence he kisses her temple.
***
"So how long does it take you to work calves?" Sam asks Tylee striking up a conversation.

"Uh, it takes three weeks," She answers nervously.

Dan smiles and meets her nervous gaze. "It takes a week to gather, week to brand, week to put them back out."

"Wow that bellowing should would get old," Susan comments.

Dan shrugs giving Tylee the chance to answer. When she doesn't he wraps his arm around her shoulders and smiles. "You aren't at the pens long enough to hear it. Well maybe the middle week. You just learn to yell or don't talk."

"I'm sure you had a hard time not talking." His dad teases.

"Nah I just talked to myself."

"That's what you were doing." Tylee declares smiling.

He arches a eyebrow and looks at her with a smile. "You heard me?" How could she possibly hear him over all the noise of the cattle?!

"Yeah." She shrugs.

"I didn't think you even knew I was there."

She laughs and gives him a 'be real' look. "How could I not know you were there?" She questions making his family laugh.

"Wow I didn't know that I was that obvious."

"You aren't microscopic." She shakes her. "And I wasn't used to other people being around so.." She adds at a whisper so only he could hear.

"Well thanks!" He declares sounding hurt making all of them burst into laughter.

"He is kind of hard to ignore. Especially when he zones out and is humming!" Susan's voice raises with every word accusation dripping from them.

"What?! I do not hum!" Dan exclaims looking from his mom who has a grin, to Susan that has the 'don't kid yourself' look and then to Tylee that is giggling.

"Ah yeah you do." Tylee pipes up.

"You never say anything," He argues looking between Susan and Tylee.

"You never ask me!" Susan and Tylee exclaim at the same time.

Shaking his head he mutters something under his breath. "I am taking my plate to the sink, anyone else done?" Everyone laughs and hands their plates to him.  Tylee follows him with the remaining ones that didn't fit in his stack. "Ready to watch the stars?"

She looks at him with her eyebrows knitted together.

"Right, forgot you don't know the drill. We watch the stars at night around a camp fire and make s'mores," He explains. She smiles and leans into his side as he wraps his arm around her.