The stethoscope glides over the horse's hair as Jay moves the drum of the instrument down a little so he can go from listening to the stallion's heart to his lungs. He nods and steps back, bringing the stethoscope up and over his head, letting it fall to rest on his shoulders with the ends on his chest. The young buckskin horse flicks his tail, whinnies as he pivots and kicks just as Jay bends over to pull the vaccine vile from the cooler. The large animal's hoof hitting Jay in the middle of his abdomen. It's not the first time he's been kicked and it's not going to be his last but he still has to step back and breathe through the temporary pain - thankful that it was a light hit, before he can refocus on the task. He bites the cap of the needle off - letting it hang from his mouth like a cigarette as he draws out the last of the pale pink liquid from the small glass bottle. Once he gets it all in the syringe, he pulls the needle out and lets the vile fall back into the cooler. The plunger of the syringe is pushed up to get rid of the bubbles and then he steps towards the horse again who huffs as if knowing what is going to happen next.

"Weren't you supposed to be gone already?" Hailey questions as she walks towards them - petting the agitated horse's long face once she's close enough.

"Clyde here is the last one." Jay mumbles with the cap still sitting at the corner of his mouth, just as he administers the shot to the horse's right rear leg.

"Good Morning Sammy." Jay greets the little one as he steps back and the horse moves, allowing Jay to see the baby being held and propped up on her mom's hip.

"It's two thirty." She mentions but Jay doesn't seem to be paying her any mind as he waves at the baby after replacing the cap on the needle.

"I'm aware of what time it is." He chuckles as he removes the latex gloves from his hands. "I only said good morning because you told me she was napping when I got here." He replies and she nods.

"And I figured that, I was telling you the time so you know that you only have a half hour to get there...You know I'm not going to let you stall here, right?" Hailey warns him as he gently pokes at her daughter's belly, causing the baby to giggle - her blue eyes twinkling in that innocent way.

"I know, I wasn't going to stall until after I left." He jokes - earning a pointed look from his friend.

"I'll be there Hailey." He tells her as he begins packing up his supplies. Her right eyebrow raises with his words and he shakes his head. "I just don't think your horses would have appreciated me rushing. One kick from Clyde is enough."

"Erin's going to kick you in the ass if you're not there on time for the first showing." Hailey tells him and he nods at that.

"She knows I was coming here on the way there and she told me I didn't even have to go." He says as he pulls his phone out of his pocket and looks to see if he has any messages.

"That's such a guy thing to remember." Hailey grins with a shake of her head.

He just looks at her a bit perplexed.

"I don't think she would have asked you to go if she didn't want your input." She explains and he immediately nods as he mulls that over.

His eyebrows furrow causing lines to appear on his forehead. "So if I'm understanding this correctly, she asked me to go because she wants my input but then told me I don't have to go even though she really does want me there?"

Hailey laughs lightly at his interpretation and nods while looking down at him still throwing the last of the gear into his med kit.

"It's not like it's going go to be our place." He shrugs as he stands up.

Hailey looks from her daughter back to her friend with that. "So does that mean you're not going to spend time there?"

"Of course I am, I just don't get why what I think matters." He shrugs and Hailey just sighs, a frustrated look coming to her face at his ignorance on the matter.

"Goodbye Jay." She says as she holds Sammy's arm and gently waves her hand back and forth at him.

"Say bye Uncle Jay." She adds with a smile when her baby looks up at her.


She's leaning back against the hood of her car - her eyes on her phone as she redials his number. A sigh falls from her lips when he doesn't answer again. The thought that he might have gotten caught up with the animal's vaccine appointments or maybe even something at the office, crosses her mind. And she understands if that's the case but her heart still sinks - wanting him to give his opinion on the ranches she's going to be shown. A quick text is sent off to him and then she trudges through her despondency - walking up to the porch where the real-estate agent has been waiting.

"Is your friend not joining us afterall?" The blonde guy asks and she glances back at the driveway before looking down.

"Boyfriend." She corrects him and then responds to his question. "And no I uh...I guess not." She sighs - missing the pleased smirk on the agent's face.

"You can always take pictures to send if you'd like." He adds and she just nods.

They step into the entryway and she immediately feels rather underwhelmed. The low ceilings and old, outdated flooring off puts her from the jump but she also reasons that her disappointment could be affecting her judgment - making her more picky. She still pretends to be interested though - not wanting to be rude and telling herself that she wants to waste some time here in hopes that Jay can make it to the next house.

The real-estate agent is nice enough as he rants on about the few updates both inside and out. But she's not really listening - lacking the interest to do so resulting in all of the information going in one ear and out the other. That is until he mumbles something about how someone as fine as her shouldn't be alone for this - that she deserves a better partner.

"There's no such person." She bites back as she looks out the window of the room they're in - it's overlooking the back of the property. Her bitter reply seems to stop the man behind her from blurting out anything else about the subject as she stares out at the mountains.

"Quite the view, huh?" Jay says quietly as he walks up and stands next to the realtor.

"Yeah." The guy agrees, giving Erin's backside another once over before he jumps to the side - seemingly coming to the realization that there's someone in the house that wasn't before.

Jay smirks seeing the younger man take another step away as he clears his throat. "I'm sorry Sir, I believe you have the wrong house."

"No, but you're eyeing up the wrong woman." Jay corrects and the guy in front of him visibly gulps and pretends to look at something on the clipboard in his hand.

Relief and elation take over her being hearing her man from behind her - not even realizing that the realtor huffs at them and waits to continue where he left off with the tour.

"Sorry babe, I-" He cuts himself off as he glances around them briefly before looking at her. She chuckles as their eyes meet - seeing that he isn't impressed with the house either.

A grin comes to her lips just as she stands on the tips of her toes to give him a quick peck. "It's ok, I'm not really into this place anyways."

"Can I continue? Or would you two like a minute?" The blonde guy asks - the questions themselves were harmless but the tone of his voice is what serves to piss Jay off even more than he already was with the realtor. He rolls up his sleeves as he turns to look at the smaller man, who's eyes grow wide seeing Jay tense as he steps towards him.

"Jay." Erin pleads and it seems to help a little but he still takes another couple steps before he stops.

"I was willing to let you hitting on her slide with a warning but I won't tolerate you acting as if you're somehow better than us or like we're inconveniencing you. We have a right to talk about the house amongst ourselves. Unless you somehow sell houses to people who don't talk about it all?"

"No Sir."

"So it's just me and my girlfriend that you pull this with?" Jay all but growls.

The guy's gaze moving to Erin makes her uncomfortable so she side steps until Jay is in front of her - mostly blocking her view of the other man.

"No matter how beautiful a woman is - taken or not, you don't get to say whatever or act however you want after you hit on them and get shut down." He scolds the younger man and Erin is sure Jay sees the somewhat frightened look on the agent's face because she could see it from where she's standing somewhat behind her boyfriend.

"I'm sorry." He says as he awkwardly turns on his heel.

Jay nods and pulls his hand down face and steps back until he feels Erin place her hand on his back. He turns his head to look at her and she narrows her eyes at him briefly - silently letting him know that she didn't like how he started that but her features quickly soften just before she leans in to kiss his cheek.

"You can continue the tour." Jay replies and the blonde nods as he starts to move down the hall.


The sound of the heavy fence post driver hitting the wooden post itself is loud - echoing through the valley as he makes sure it's set in place. With his hands still on the handles he moves it back and forth to see if it'll budge. When it doesn't he nods and lifts the driver off the post - feeling the sore spot on his stomach with the movement just as Erin walks over to him.

"They're all taken care of, do you need help with anything else?" She asks as she steps closer until they're only a couple feet apart. He can tell by the expression on her face that she's still disappointed that they didn't find a house that she loved or even liked.

"Thank you and no. I'm just going to finish securing this and then I'll be done, if you want to head inside." He tells her and she looks him in the eyes - asking without words if he's sure.

He nods and closes the distance between them until he's able to kiss her forehead.

"I'll be right behind you." He adds and she nods before hesitantly turning around and going to the cabin with Poppy in tow.

Staying true to his word he fixes the break in the fence and then goes inside. He didn't think it took him long but when he walks into the livingroom, he figures he lost track of time as he finds her already sitting on the couch with her legs one over the other with her laptop on her thighs. There's a towel around her hair and glasses set low on her nose as she stares at the screen - so focused he's not sure she even noticed his return. So with a light laugh and a small smile he moves to go upstairs and into the bathroom to shower.


"What are you looking at so intently?" He asks when he gets back downstairs - keeping his voice low as to not startle her.

She looks up at him with his question - her eyes fleeting down and then traveling back up his body as he comes to stand in front of her with just a pair of sweatpants on.

He smirks when he sees her swallow hard at his appearance as he squats down next to her - again feeling the sore spot on his stomach.

"What happened to your stomach?" She asks when she sees the bruise in the middle of his abdomen.

"One of Mouse and Hailey's horses kind of kicked me." He shrugs and she furrows her eyebrows and purses her lips in the adorable way she does.

"Kind of?...Jay you have a huge bruise." She questions and he laughs as she traces the blue mark on his skin.

"It happens Erin." He chuckles at the cute, worried look that comes to her face again.

"I'm fine, now what are you looking at?" He asks but she still concentrates on his bruise.

"Babe?" He whispers and she snaps out of her trance.

"The real estate guy sent over more listings. Look at this one, it has all new stables and corrals and it's even closer to town." She turns the laptop so he can see the pictures.

"It's nice." He admits, it's actually really nice if he were to be honest but he's confused - thinking back to that night a couple weeks ago.

"And you are the most amazing, caring, loving and protective man I have ever met. I know that you could never, ever be anything like your dad." She cups the sides of his face and kisses his forehead again, both of their eyes closing with the contact. And when she peels her lips from his skin, she immediately leans back in to rest her head against his. They stay that way for a while before he whispers "Move in here."

It's unexpected and takes not only her by surprise but him as well.

But the shock doesn't prevent him from reiterating what he just said. "Move in with me."

And when she doesn't respond after another minute or so he elaborates further. "Nadia told me that you're looking at ranches in the area. But I don't want anymore time apart or space. We've already spent too much time away from each other and I just want you, here with me."

She smiles after a moment and then leans in to kiss his lips. He takes it as a good sign - a gesture that seems to seal the deal until they pull away. The serious expression on her face telling him that she's hesitant.

"It was just a thought." He tells her as he looks away.

"Hey." She cups his jaw and tilts his head up until their eyes meet. "It's a nice thought." She pecks his lips.

"Can I just think about it?" She asks - a light whisper.

"Of course." He nods but he feels like she's already made up her mind with the answer he doesn't want to hear.

"But?" She asks, effectively breaking him from his thoughts.

"There's stables and new corrals here." He says and she looks down with that.

"I know, and I love it here. I just want to make sure that there's not somewhere else that we'll love even more. Because you shouldn't - we shouldn't have to travel all the way up here just to take care of the animals. But if there's not that place - a house where we can build a life then I would love nothing more than to move in here, with you." She pledges and it causes him to give her a small smile just before he leans in for a quick peck. And then she's getting off the couch to go get him some ice. She comes back rather quickly and places the cold bag directly to his abdomen. To her surprise he doesn't even flinch when the ice comes in contact with the bruise.

"So that's why you haven't given me an answer yet?" He murmurs as he looks down at her nodding while she continues holding the ice pack against his sore muscles and sits back down.

"I thought you just wanted your own house. " He admits, making her look up at him - regretting that she didn't clarify why she's looking at other houses.

"I want to live with you, no matter what." She whispers to him with another kiss to his lips. He moves her over a little to sit next to her with one of her legs being quickly tossed to rest over his in an effort to accommodate both of their bodies on the couch.

"Alright let me see this place." He tells her with a quick kiss to her temple and she gives him an excited smile as she moves the laptop over to middle of them.

"When can we go see it?" He asks once he gets through all of the pictures on the site.

"The day after tomorrow." She answers and he nods as he moves in to kiss her once again.

When they pull away, she can see the love and adoration she feels for him, reflected back in his eyes. It's both familiar and new in a way she can't quite discern but she leans into him and the happiness he makes her feel inside. She presses her lips to his neck and cheek before going to finish looking through the photos herself - already envisioning the life they could share there, together.


A/N: Short, filler chapter and for those of you who have been ready for them to say those three words to each other, I promise it's coming soon, lol. Sorry for any mistakes and thank you to those still following and reviewing! Hope you have a great day and rest of the week.