"Come on," he said. "I want to show you something."
***
He drove us out of town, up the winding mountain roads, past the trailhead that led to the overlook. I watched the landscape change, the trees growing thicker, the air growing cooler.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"You'll see."
He turned off the main road onto a dirt track I didn't recognize. We bumped along for another mile before the trees opened up and I saw it.
A clearing. A view of the entire valley spread out below, Hollow Peak glittering in the distance. And at the edge of the clearing, a foundation. Concrete and wood framing, the skeleton of something being built.
"Knox?" I turned to look at him. "What is this?"
He was quiet for a moment, staring at the half-built structure. Then he said, "I bought this land three years ago. Started building last spring."
"Building what?"
"A house." He turned to face me. "I told myself it was because I needed more space. Because my cabin was too small and I wanted something I'd built with my own hands. But that wasn't the real reason."
"What was the real reason?"
"You." His voice was rough. "I was building it for you. For us. A place we could have if you ever came back. If you ever gave me another chance."
I stared at him, my heart cracking open.
"You didn't know I was coming back," I whispered.
"No." He shook his head. "But I hoped. Every day, I hoped. And I wanted to be ready. Wanted to have something to offer you besides a cramped cabin and a history of bad decisions."
I got out of the truck and walked toward the foundation. It was bigger than I'd expected. Room for a real kitchen. A living room with windows facing the valley. Space to grow.
Knox came up behind me, his hands settling on my waist.
"It's not finished," he said. "Won't be for a while. But I wanted you to see it. To know that I wasn't sitting around waiting for you to come back. I was building something. For the future I wanted with you, even when I didn't know if I'd ever get it."
I turned in his arms, looking up at him.
"You built me a house," I said.
"I'm building you a house," he corrected. "It's not done yet. And I want you involved. I want you to choose the finishes, the layout, all of it. This isn't just for you, Daisy. It's for us. Our future. If you want it."
"If I want it?" I laughed, tears pricking my eyes. "Knox, I want everything with you. I've wanted it since I was twenty years old and too scared to say it out loud."
"Say it now." His hands tightened on my waist. "Say it out loud."
"I want this." I pressed my hand to his chest, feeling his heart beat under my palm. "I want the house. I want the future. I want to wake up next to you every morning and fall asleep with you every night. I want to build a life with you, Knox. Here. In Hollow Peak. For real this time."
He kissed me. Deep and fierce, with the valley spread out behind us and the frame of our future rising at our backs.
When he pulled back, his eyes were bright. "Then that's what we'll do."
I looked at the half-built house. At the man who'd spent eight years becoming someone who could build it. At the life stretching out before us, full of possibility.
"Show me everything," I said. "Every room. Every plan. I want to see it all."
He grinned. Took my hand. And led me into our future.