RESTREINT

Nashville, Tennessee

Billy Ray was already waiting for them outside and drove them to his ranch, located a bit outside of the city, where they would stay for the next few days. Tonight, they would be able to relax a little bit, before Hans was about to meet the rest of the Cyrus family the next day. He had already met Noah, besides her he would finally get to know Miley's mother, her step sisters Brandy and Trace, and last but not least, Miley's godmother, the famous Dolly Parton.

Since Billy Ray had a housekeeper 24/7 at the ranch, they were getting some good home cooked American food before they would have the big family barbecue on the following day. After dinner, they were sitting outside under the trees in front of the ranch, and Hans thought that he went from one kind of paradise to another. LA was sunny, breezy, with a smell of ocean in the air, while here it was quiet, peaceful and you had that amazing smell of nature and animals. After Billy Ray said goodnight, Miley showed Hans her favorite spot on the ranch, an old Hollywood swing, surrounded by flowers and trees, directly at the pond that was close to the house. They were sitting there for a while, swinging lightly and simply enjoyed being there together.

The next morning, Miley showed him the rest of the ranch, which was a lot bigger than Hans initially thought. Of course, he was personally introduced to every single animal, and funnily enough, he seemed to make the biggest impression on the house goat. Miley took her in from a local animal rescue, which got the poor animal completely malnourished and neglected from a farmer. After the goat regained her strength, she became surprisingly trusty and behaved more like a guard dog then a goat. Anyway, when it came to her and Hans, it seemed to be love at first sight. The goat, whose name was Molly (Hans had no idea why anyone would ever name a goat Molly), immediately showed great affectation and followed Hans everywhere he went for the rest of the morning. She regularly nudged his hand with her nose when she wanted to get pet, and she seemed to be devastated when he went back inside.

Slowly but sure, the rest of the family arrived at the ranch, at first Miley's mother and her youngest sister, a bit later her 2 step-sisters. And right away, you could see the same thing that happened a couple of weeks ago when they visited Luxembourg. Since all of them grew up with Miley, they were used of her being around and she wasn't anything special to them. Hans on the other side, former NBA superstar and movie producer, was exciting and new, so he got all the attention.

About 20 minutes later, Dolly Parton, Miley's godmother, finally arrived. After she had greeted the family first, she came over to Miley and Hans:

"So…that's the young man who made my little girl smile again" She took a good look at Hans, gave Miley a hug and said shamelessly:

"He's looking pretty fit, if I were about 30 years younger, I wouldn't say no to him myself"

Miley answered with a devilish smile:

"More like 45"

Hans response was:

"I really don't know if I should take this as a threat or a compliment…"

"Whatever you prefer, I won't make this decision for you"

Dolly started laughing and while she gave Hans a big hug, she whispered in his ear:

"Thank you for taking care of my little baby"

Dinner was a blast, Miley's parents, although they divorced a long time ago, managed to maintain a deep friendship, and Hans got along very well with Miley's siblings, especially with Noah, with whom he got to talk a lot because she was seated right next to him. Even Molly was happy again, and on only a few occasions, she had to make it clear to everybody that the spot on Hans' side was hers.

"I never thought that one day I would be jealous of a goat" he could hear Miley grumble. As a reaction, Molly stretched out her tongue towards Miley, almost as if she had understood every single word. Hans' girlfriend couldn't hold back and sat in his lap, putting her arms around him and giving him a big kiss. As a reaction, Molly head-butted Mileys lower back, and immediately took the chance to claim the spot on Hans' lap as the popstar jumped up angrily. Everybody else found this little spat between the young woman and the goat hilarious, and of course, Noah had recorded the whole thing with her smart phone and published the video on her Instagram later on. The caption of the video was the following: "When a goat steals your sister's boyfriend"

As the family gathering came to an end, Hans and Miley were joined by Dolly.

"So, how are you two? The least you can say is, that your relationship caused quite a stir"

"I don't know about Miley, but I couldn't be better. All in all, I think the reactions were rather positive, apart from the articles that a certain Perez Hilton has published in his blog. The only thing I still have to get used to, is the fact that even a simple visit to the supermarket now seems to be a huge event" Hans said with a grin.

"Well, that happens once you get in a relationship with a popstar. But seriously, it really makes me happy to see you smile again Miley, I haven't seen you like this in years. So, if you listen to an old woman, always find a way to be able to spend time together. I know that both of you have a very busy life, but it's important that you never forget why you love each other. A good relationship needs to be constantly worked on, and nothing is more valuable than the time you spend together. I had 3 amazing husbands, and my biggest mistake was to think that my career was the most important thing in my life"

"Thank you Auntie" Miley said as she hugged her Godmother. Hans, who already felt a connection with the Country veteran, was next. It was easy to see where Miley got her craziness from.

"And you take good care of my little girl, otherwise, I will come to LA and kick your ass with my cowboy boots"

"Haha, don't worry about that. Even I am not crazy enough to mess with the legendary Dolly Parton"

"I didn't think so. Farewell you two, and don't forget to call or visit from time to time"

And just like that, the famous Dolly Parton had said her goodbyes and headed off to her appointment. Shortly after, the other family members started to leave the Cyrus Ranch, and Miley and Hans were left with Billy Ray. Noah would spend the next week with her mother, while Billy Ray would accompany Miley to New York the day after tomorrow.

The following day, Hans was working on his relationship with Molly and inspected the farm with her. Even when he found a corner where he could work out a little bit (he even managed to set up an old basketball hoop), the goat didn't leave his site. After he took a shower (at least in there he had a little privacy), he noticed that Miley was nowhere to be seen. He found her on the old Hollywood swing, seemingly deep in thoughts.

"Hey, is everything ok?"

"Oh hi. Did you manage to escape Molly?" she asked with a brief smile, that almost immediately faded away. "More or less. Have you heard the news about Demi Lovato?"

"News? No. What happened?"

"She was brought into the ER with an overdose. She was partying with some friends, who seemingly gave her some drugs, and once she was unconscious, they called 911 and then left as fast as possible"

"Wait, they just left her there while she was knocked out?"

"Exactly"

"Jesus, that's horrible. But why does it bother you so much? Is she a friend of yours?"

"Not really, more like an acquaintance. I just have to think all the time, that this could have been me. If you hadn't given me a second chance, I would still hang out with the same people and do the same stupid stuff. And it's very likely that it would have ended in the same way, or even worse."

Once again, Hans was surprised how emotional and profound Miley could be. He still had a tendency to underestimate her, because usually, she was this energetic and crazy young woman.

"Hey, don't make yourself crazy over this. Fact is, there has never been a doubt about giving it a second shot after that first date. I don't know if I ever told you, but when you texted me your apology, I was already trying for hours to come up with a reason to see you again."

"Oh, why was that?"

"Well, I already told you in the Bungalows club that I wouldn't believe that what I saw there was the real Miley. So stop worrying, you wouldn't have escaped either way. And seriously, I will personally make sure that nobody even thinks about dragging you back into something like that"

"What would I do without you?" Miley said as she snuggled up to him, and it seemed like she never wanted to let loose again. Thank God that Molly wasn't there to witness this emotional scene.

The next day, they were mainly resting and spending their time at the pool in order to charge their batteries for the upcoming days. Miley would fly to New York on Thursday, while Hans would return to LA for the start of the filming of Suicide Squad.

While he kind of got used to saying goodbye to Miley (even if he still would have preferred to be at her side), his separation from Molly was nothing less than heart breaking. As soon as they put their luggage in the car, she seemed to realize what was happening, and she didn't leave Hans' side for a second. Every time he sat down or stood still, she was putting her head against him and wanted to be pet. When Hans finally made it, after a lot of hugs and a lot of sweet talking, into the car, she just stood there, with sad eyes, watching them leave until she couldn't see them anymore.