Her grandmother cracked a smile. “You could say that.”
Elana looked back at the massive house. The large front door opened, and a tall older man stepped out on to the porch. He was dressed all in black, including his cowboy hat.
Grandma Cecilia gasped.
She jerked her head in her grandmother’s direction. “Is that him, Grandma Cecilia?”
Her grandmother said nothing. She reached for the handle and opened the door. She slowly got out of the van.
Jack jumped into her vacant seat and looked over at Elana.
Grandma Cecilia shut the van door behind her.
“We’ll stay here and give her some privacy,” she said to the dog.
Jack seemed to understand, and they both sat watching her grandmother.
The man walked off the porch and grinned when he saw her grandmother. He quickly closed the distance between them and picked her up in a big bear hug.
She buried her face in his neck as they held each other tightly.
Elana felt her face burn with embarrassment at watching the intimate moment between former lovers.
She glanced at Jack and blinked.
“Elana, come on out. I want you to meet someone,” her grandmother called out.
She looked up and saw her grandmother looking happier than she’d ever seen her, her arms wrapped around this man’s waist.
Elana grabbed Jack’s leash and secured the dog before opening the van door.
Jack did his business on a nearby oak tree before he was ready to walk.
Elana smiled as she approached the man. “Hello, I’m Elana.”
The man smiled broadly, took off hat, and stuck out his hand. “I’m Ronald. And I already know who you are, Elana. Your grandmother speaks very highly of you.”
Elana didn’t cringe under his calloused hand. Instead, she gave him a warm smile. “And my grandmother has told me nothing about you. Until recently.”
Ronald barked out a laugh. “I bet. That sounds like Cecilia. Always keeping things close to the vest. I’m glad you two made it here okay. You can imagine my surprise when she told me you two were going to drive to Montana instead of flying.”
Grandma Cecilia arched her brow. “If I was going to make this long journey, I was going to make it in the VW.” She nodded to the van.
Ronald looked at the van and shook his head. “I can’t believe you came all the way in that thing.” He looked back at Elana. “When we found each other online, Cecilia told me about this old van. Said she originally bought it so she could travel and see America.”
Grandma Cecilia rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. “But work quickly took over my life, leaving no room for travel. But I kept it, thinking one day I could make my dream come true. And it’s done more than that. It brought me back to you, Ronald.” She looked up at him with stars in her eyes.
“That’s right, darling.” He smiled down at her.
Jack barked, catching everyone’s attention.
Ronald laughed. “You didn’t say you were bringing your dog.”
Cecilia shook her head. “That’s not Winston. That’s Jack, Elana’s dog. We picked him up at the dog rescue in Mississippi. He’s turned out to be not only a good traveling companion but good protection as well.”
Elana swallowed back the memory of yesterday. She cleared her throat. “So, this is all your land, Ronald?”
He nodded and put his hand on his head. “Yes ma’am. Inherited some of it from my uncle since he didn’t have any children. Over the years I’ve continued to buy more land and add more cattle.” He looked over the land with the mountains in the backdrop.
