“Okay, Cody, something is going on. I can tell by the gleam in your eyes, and you’re teasing me with that word again. And I’ve got this key.” She held it up, still on the baling twine. “Does this open the door to this house?” she asked.

“I’ve fallen in love with you over this last month, and I know this is maybe too fast, but would you move in with me?” Cody asked. “And, yes, darlin’, that is the key to this house. I have one just like it, and I want us to live together.”

Stevie’s brows drew down and she frowned. “Cody, we have been living together for weeks.”

“But that was as roommates with a few kissing privileges. I’m asking you to move in with me here, with a real future in mind—in this house. There’s four bedrooms inside. You can have one all to yourself until you are ready…”

Stevie stood up and sat back down, only this time she was in his lap. She pulled his face to hers in a long, passionate kiss. When it ended, she said, “Yes, yes, yes. I’m really in love with you, Cody. That infatuation I had as a teenager has grown into something serious and deep, but if I’m going to live with you, I want all the benefits. I want to share my life with you. My whole life…love.”

He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close enough that he could feel her heart beating against his chest. “Do we have to wait until we move in to start that sharing a bed and being totally intimate?”

“Lord, I hope not!” She whispered, “But could we take a look inside before we make it official?”

“Of course we can.” Cody said. “I don’t want you to be disappointed in the place. Mama says it might need some cosmetic help.”

“I’m pretty good with a paint roller, and besides, as long as we’re together, that’s all that matters.” Stevie stood up and started for the door.

“Don’t I get to carry you across the threshold?” he asked.

“That’s for the next step. Right now, we’re just moving in together.” She opened the door and went inside.

*  *  *

If a person could float on air, Stevie was doing it on the way back to the bunkhouse. She was moving in, as in really living with, Cody Ryan. They were going to have a house and room to put all the things that she could salvage from her house in town before it was torn down.

I’m going to sleep with him tonight, she thought, and then panic struck. What if I disappoint him? What if he changes his mind? I may not have braces, but I’ll never be a trophy girlfriend.