Kate Educates Jacob #44

A Walk In The Clouds

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Kate’s Point Of View.

Jacob carried my hastily packed luggage over two trips, something I felt guilty about. I wanted to bring more and I was sure my fiancee would understand but it was past midnight, nowhere close to dawn, and we had a long journey ahead.

I glanced around our bedroom while Jacob waited patiently at the door. Like him, I was mentally checking everything off on a list. I smiled, then laughed, skipped a few yards, and leaped into his arms.

Jacob caught me, as he always did.

“Wear your pajamas and sleep on the way.”

“Are you sure Jacob?”

“Yeah. I have a fleece blanket in the truck for you to snuggle. It’s pink.”

“We’re not going in your car, then?”

“There are mountain trails nearby to explore, maybe we’ll see bears and cougars. I thought your truck would be better.”

“British people always want to go and visit dangerous animals. Why is that?”

“We like uncertainty and risk. That’s why many of us marry American women.”

“Jacob… you’re on thin ice and I sense a hungry polar bear is nearby.”

He always lifted me into a positive realm regardless of the crisis. Jacob was constantly there when needed and when not, he kept out of the way, letting me forge my path. I felt my love and care similarly offered a safe cocoon where my future husband could develop his life.

“We’re kindred spirits, Jacob.”

“We’re soulmates darling.”

We really are.

Hand in hand, I followed him through dark corridors, down the stairs, and across our foyer. I realized why Jacob had planned our getaway to begin through the night because I felt excited and all of my senses were on fire.

“This is so much fun, Jacob.”

“It’s like we’re running away to get married.”

I slammed on my brakes and hauled Jacob back into my arms and hugged him.

“Are we?”

“Would you like to?”

“Of course, sweet Jacob. I’d marry you anywhere and at any moment,”

“I haven’t planned a wedding for this short break although there are some surprises.”

“Okay… that’s fine because I left my wedding day lingerie upstairs. I was about to run back.”

“You bought it already?”

“Time spent in planning is rarely wasted, Jacob.”

Jacob kissed me, gripped my hand and we ran out of the house. I saw Claude’s truck parked nearby, with a shadowy man sitting on the seat beside him. The romantic Frenchman in our new friend shot me a broad grin and I knew this was just the kind of gesture that would appeal to him.

“Where’s my truck, Jacob?”

“Right over there.”

He pointed to a large red truck but I was confused. He must have borrowed a vehicle because mine was black and aging badly.

“The red RAM 1500?”

“Yes.”

“Why does it have a white bow across the hood?”

“It’s my gift to you sweetheart.”

My heart thumped almost out of my chest and both knees wobbled. Jacob stepped in and wrapped an arm around my waist. I felt so alive at that moment with the moon bathing us in a blueish light and my new truck sitting with its hood facing diagonally, growling because the engine was running.

A light mist swept through the parking lot and I couldn’t help thinking that even Mother Nature was on my fiancee’s side. The truck was brand new and looked stellar. I felt like a kid in a sweet shop.

“I love trucks.”

“I know, you’re a cowgirl at heart.”

“The RAM 1500 is my favorite truck as well.”

“I know that too and before you worry, your old truck is in the repair shop having a much-needed refurbishment.”

I breathed a sigh of relief because it had been the equine master’s vehicle before he retired and was a treasured gift from the man who taught me to ride.

I walked around my new truck, amazed by its designer and builder’s excellence. The engine grunted at me, pleading to be thrashed over mountain-tops and through wooden valleys. When I reached the driver’s side door, Jacob opened it for me.

“I’m wearing slippers.”

“I have your sneakers right here.”

“Oh god thank you so much, Jacob.”

“You didn’t think I’d drive your truck before you had now did you, Kate?”

“I wouldn’t mind.”

Well, I would but I’d never admit that to you, sweetheart.

“There is no fleece blanket Kate. It was all part of my ruse.”

“I think you deserve an Oscar nomination this time, sweetheart.”

I slipped on the sneakers Jacob passed me and leaped inside my new toy. It took a few minutes to familiarize myself with instrumentation but fairly soon I felt competent enough to set off. When I selected gear and ripped a few buckets of gravel off the parking lot surface, my grin was childish but felt appropriate.

Claude slipped in a few hundred meters behind us when I turned off our driveway. I was already deep in thought, wondering if there were underlying reasons for Jacob’s surprise.

“Do you think I need some time off, Jacob?”

“I think we both do. Work is running hot, we’re surrounded by responsibilities, the gold, Carol, GD generally, and now a house full of friends and family we love but even that is still very hard work.”

“I agree, but honestly… are you specifically worried about me?”

“I think we share the same concern for each other, Kate. I know you can cope with anything but isn’t it true that we both need time to be a couple?”

“Yes. I just needed to know I’m not falling apart.”

“Never that. I think what you did for Carol proves you’re at the top of your game.”

“Thank you, darling.”

I tipped my head towards Jacob but the immense console between us prevented that contact.

“I can smell coffee.”

“Two takeout cups from a flask Claude made earlier. They are in the console beside you.”

I lifted a cup, and tasted its smooth filter coffee flavor, making me feel even more invigorated than our big adventure had already. I glanced around my new truck, more delighted with it than any gift ever received. The dash was beautifully lit up, my seat was so comfortable and smelled of real leather.

In the rear-view mirror, I saw a bag on the back seat.

“What’s in the holdall? It looks like paperwork.”

“It is in a manner of speaking.”

“Are we working during this break?”

“You could say that.”

“Okay, Jacob… spill the beans.”

“Kate Granger, that bag contains every baby, parenting, and wedding planning magazine I could find in a twenty-mile radius over the last two days.”

I slammed on the brakes, waited for my truck to snake a few yards before stopping, and flicked on the hazard warning lights. My seat belt was off and I crawled across the console and into the arms of my most beloved, giggling while he tickled.

Claude must have panicked because his truck roared up beside us. The relief on his expression was palpable when he saw me planting kisses all over my fiancee’s face and neck. Jacob slid down the window so both men could confer.

“Man, I thought you picked the wrong color, Jacob.”

“Nope, I’m just marrying the right girl.”

I waved at Claude, not really caring about my state of readiness for bed. He grinned and it registered in my mind as one of those deep, meaningful friendship moments.

“He’s also taking over driving duties because I have some reports to go over.”

Jacob wound the window back up and we swapped places. I lifted his coffee, giggling.

“You have no coffee left, do you, Kate?”

“None at all, and soon you won’t have any either. You have to understand Jacob. Sometimes being the perfect fiancee has a cost attached.”

“You’re worth it.”

“So are you. Let’s share your coffee like we do everything else.”

He flicked on the cab light that shone on my side of the truck and I leafed through one magazine after another lost in a haze of dreamy marriage and parenting delight. I never noticed when Jacob left the main road and followed a small, sturdy trail up a steep incline.

When he stopped the truck, I glanced at Jacob, then in front, and saw what captured my fiancee’s attention.

“It’s a bear, Jacob.”

“She’s magnificent.”

“She has one cub.”

“It’s you, Kate. This is a sign.”

“No Jacob. If that were me and baby, Daddy would be with us.”

The bear stared at us indifferently while her cub crossed the trail. A rising sun peeked over the hill in front and I saw the lodge Jacob wanted us to visit. I fell in love with everything from the beautiful deciduous forest, jagged mountain peaks, a stunning view across the valley, and even a light mist rising everywhere.

Jacob drove slowly for another couple of miles, eventually passing by a security post, where Claude, who had gone ahead towards the end of our journey, had the guard open a barrier.

We rolled across a gravel and grass area, parking close to the front door of an immense mountain lodge where we both sat and stared agog at its beauty.

“Someone really loved this place, Kate.”

“It’s incredible.”

The massive clearing in which someone built a holiday home was the size of a football pitch. Tractor snow-clearing units sat at one end with an ATV and what looked like a workshop almost the size of our stabling back home.

“The house has stabling but no horses.”

“Is it vacant possession, Jacob?”

“Yeah, as far as the owner is concerned everything stays. Tiffany got our lawyers and surveyors to go over land searches, valuation, inventory, and structural reports.”

“How did you do this so secretively?”

“I used to fight insurgents, Kate. Admittedly, keeping something from you is more difficult but I’m well trained to do so.”

“You’re sassy too, just the way I love.”

“Everything checks out. Shall we move inside and enjoy the sunrise from a hot tub with a view?”

“And then make love, Jacob?”

“If you insist.”

He walked around to my side of the truck, opened the door, and helped me out. We stood together gazing up at a three-storey high massive wooden and glass structure and all I could see was a second Granger home.

“Let’s buy it now, Jacob.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, totally. If that’s what you want as well. I have a great feeling about this place.”

“Me too, Kate.”

He glanced at me, then the house, and back at me. In his eyes, I noticed the same excitement I felt. We had a similar sense of the place.

“We can afford it so why not do this today?”

“Okay. I’ll put an offer in once Tiffany starts work.”

“I love it, Jacob.”

“We can bring our horses up here as well.”

“Everyone will love it, sweetheart, but we can’t keep this all to ourselves. It doesn’t feel right.”

“I agree, but Kate… we also need alone time for you, me, and our baby. I’m feeling lonely sometimes, even when we are together because there seems to be no time to entwine or even have a long conversation.”

“I agree. Shall we figure that out while we are up here?”

He nodded and began unloading my truck. I helped, despite him not wanting me to. I spotted a discrete guard patrol passing over the trail we’d driven up and smiled, content that we were safe.

When we reached the front door, a woman opened it, smiling.

“I’m the cantankerous old bitch who runs this lodge. I’ll assume you are Miss Granger?”

“You don’t seem at all cranky to me.”

“I’m really not but the local contractors and suppliers to your new home would say I am. My name is Lizzie. I’ll answer to Beth as well but never anything else.”

“Our new home?”

“I watched you both staring and I’ve seen those expressions before. You’ll own A Walk In The Clouds by the end of the day. Now come on in and enjoy the hot tub. I have it ready for you along with Mimosas.”

“I don’t drink.”

“Ahh, you’re pregnant then. I’d recommend toast and no eggs for your breakfast. Less to chuck up.”

Fuck!

She was witty and beautifully razer-sharp, just as I preferred. Despite her self-description, Lizzie was an attractive, smartly dressed woman in her late fifties, with a light step, long salt and pepper hair, and sparkling hazel eyes.

“If you drop everything right here, I’ll have someone take care of it for you. All rooms have everything you’ll need for your convenience. There’s brand new bedding, towels, and day wear for when you want to go scruffy around the property.”

I found myself squeezing Jacob’s hand tightly when we stood together in front of floor-to-ceiling panorama windows gaping at the most immense view of mountains I can ever recall. An outdoor hot tub on gray slate patio slabs had steam rising from its surface and I couldn’t wait to relax with my fiancee.

I turned around and faced Lizzie who smiled, delighted by our reaction.

“What’s really going on?”

“After Jacob called, I did my research on you both. There was no way you’d come here and not buy it because this home is perfect for the two of you. Watching you outside lifted my heart. It’s been two years since this house enjoyed any laughter or fun.”

“I hope you come with the house Lizzie.”

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Next Chapter:

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