"Lacey." Zane drew out, clearing his throat. "Don't think you can go back to the barn without telling me why you didn't come home last night." His voice made Lacey turn around on the porch to look at her dad who just joined her outside. Slade and Lacey had already done about three hours of work on the ranch before they ate breakfast. Knowing her dad would interrogate her about her whereabouts last night, Lacey had tried escaping immediately after breakfast so she could slip into the barn without being questioned. She would have made it, too, if her dad hadn't come out of the kitchen just in time to hear Lacey rolling out onto the porch. 

         Lacey fought the urge to roll her eyes at her dad as she turned around to look at him. He stood on the porch, facing Lacey with both hands on his hips. His eyes were set in a stern look as he waited for his daughter to respond. "I...I stayed at Slade's." She knew better than to lie to her dad, plus, he would find out one way or the other where she actually was last night. "But, it's not what it looks like." 

          "Really?" Zane took a step closer to Lacey. His arms were now folded over his chest. "Because it looked to me like you slept with Slade last night, young lady." His voice wasn't angry, but that fatherly tone that she hadn't heard in a long time was exposed. 

           Lacey fingered the arm of her wheelchair. "Okay, yes, we slept together, but not like that." She took in a deep breath when her dad's stern look didn't falter. "It's not what you think, dad. Slade and I had a really good talk last night, and he shared some very big things about his childhood with me, and afterwards, he was really tore up. He just needed someone to talk to, and he needed me to be there for him." Looking back up at her dad, her role model, the man she never wanted to disappoint, she added in a whisper, "I'm sorry." 

         With her apology, Lacey's dad's posture softened. His body language told her that he was done with the fatherly spiel now. "I understand and I'm fine with it as long as you promise that y'all just talked, and nothing else." Zane gave his daughter a look.

          "Nothing else, dad. I promise." Lacey said, honestly.

          "Okay. Thank you for your honesty. You know that I trust you, and I just want you to be careful is all." Crossing his spot on the porch, Zane bent down to hug his daughter. "I love you, sweetheart." 

           With her arms around her dad, Lacey took in a deep breath. "I love you, too, daddy."

          Pulling back from the hug, Zane smiled, "Now, go help your cowboy with his chores." 

           Lacey reciprocated the smile. "Yes sir." And with that, Lacey rolled off the porch, heading towards the barn. Once inside, Lacey sees the man that she swears is the sole reason for her smile. "Hey, handsome." She calls out across the barn aisle to her boyfriend.

           "Hey, beautiful." Slade walked over to Lacey, setting down the feed buckets beside her chair. Leaning in, he dropped a kiss on her cheek, instantly making the blush appear. "How are you?" He placed a hand on on either of Lacey's arm rests on her chair. 

           "I'm good. Just talked to my dad some." Lacey looked up to Slade to see his reaction. 

           Slade stood up from leaning on Lacey's wheelchair to take in a deep sigh. "He was upset because you stayed with me last night, wasn't he?" His voice suddenly became agitated. "I knew I should have walked you to your room last night." In frustration, Slade kicked one of the empty buckets by Lacey's feet, then rested his hands on one of the horses stalls. "I was so stupid and selfish." It came out in a practically undecipherable mumble. 

            "Slade, no. Don't beat yourself up. Honey, it was my own choice to stay with you last night." She rolled over to her boyfriend, looking up at his set jaw. "Honey, my dad was actually incredibly understanding." Grabbing Slade's hand, Lacey continued, "And either way, you needed me to be with you, and I wasn't afraid of the punishment. You're worth it, regardless." 

            Slade straightened off the stall door to bend down in front of Lacey, grabbing both of her hands. "You really mean that?" 

           "Yes, honey, of course I mean that." She smiled, running one of her hands up to Slade's cheek. Her hand continued it's path until it ended at the hair right above Slade's ear. "When was the last time you had a hair cut?" 

           Slade blinked as if trying to process the very quick subject change that his girlfriend just made. "Um, I don't know. A couple months, maybe. Why?"

          Letting go of both of Salde's hands, Lacey reached up to take off his hat, chuckling sightly. "You are due for a cut, cowboy." She ran her fingers through his matted down hair. 

           "Easy there. What if I am tryin' to grow it out?" Slade teased, yanking his hat out of Lacey's hands, settling it back on his head. 

           "I will let you grow out your beard just a little, but your hair, not so much." 

           "You don't like my caveman look I'm goin' for?" Slade smiled, standing up. 

            Lacey rolled her eyes, giving Slade a look. "Darlin', you are in dire need of a haircut."

          "Is that an offer?" He practically beamed.

          Lacey let out a laugh, but stopped herself when she saw Slade's look on his face. "Oh, wait, you wanted me to cut it for you? I thought you were teasin', I'm sorry." She paused, "Wait, you trust me to cut your hair for you?" 

          Slade shrugged. "Yeah. I usually keep it pretty short, so it's hard to mess up. Come on, my clippers are upstairs."

           Once Slade and Lacey were upstairs, and Lacey was situated on Slade's bathroom counter, clippers in hand, Slade took off his cowboy hat. "Alright, go crazy, babe." He teased, facing Lacey, resting a hand on the side of either of her legs.  

            Lacey ran her fingers through Slade's growing hair. "Do you have a comb or anything? Your hair is like a jungle." A chuckle escaped her lips. 

          "I'm sure I have one somewhere." Slade turned to rifle through the drawers on the counter. Finally, after a short search, Slade pulled out a black comb, handing it to Lacey.

            Slade and Lacey made small talk as she cut and trimmed up his hair. Since she was onto the back of his head, Slade had turned around so his back was facing Lacey. Just as she was finishing touching up his hair, Lacey's fingers made their way down to Slade's ear, running a line over one of his scars. Slowly, both of her hands ran down to Slade's shoulders where she began to give his tense shoulders a rub. Leaning forward the best she could, Lacey kissed the scar behind Slade's ear, whispering, "Thank you, again for what you told me last night." Her kiss made it's way down to Slade's tanned neck. 

         The goosebumps rising on Slade's skin were evident as he turned around, wrapping his arms around his girlfriend's waist. "I should be thankin' you, darlin'." He rested his forhead against Lacey's. "But, thank you, too, for the haircut." Pulling back from the moment, Slade reached around Lacey to grab a hand mirror. "Let's see the damage you did on my hair." 

          "Slade Reid, how dare you say that!" Lacey chuckled, playfully swatting Slade's chest. Before he could look at himself in the mirror, Lacey grabbed it from him, holding it to her chest as she glared at her boyfriend. "You take that comment back right now!" 

          Slade's smile was enough to make Lacey forgive his teasing comment, but he still added, "I take it back. I know that you did a fantastic job on my hair." He reached for the mirror. 

          "Good enough. Here." She handed Slade the mirror and watched as he investigated his haircut. 

          Pursing his lips, Slade said, "It looks really good, seriously, thank you." 

          "You're welcome." Lacey held out her arms for Slade to lower her back into her chair. A yawn escaped her lips after she was seated again. 

           Slade pushed Lacey out of the bathroom as he said, "Why don't you take a nap, babe? You didn't get any sleep last night." 

          Lacey yawned again, even as she said, "No, it's alright. I'm fine. Thank you though."    

         Slade pushed Lacey into the living room, stopping in front of the couch. "That wasn't a question. Let's just lay down for a bit."

          Lacey wanted to protest, but instead, she agreed, "Okay. But only for a half hour." 

          "Okay." Slade smiled. "Lay down on the couch. Imma go take a shower, then I will come and check on you, okay?" 

          Lacey was already curled up on the sofa before Slade could finish. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of water running in the bathroom. She knew she had to stay awake at least long enough for Slade to come back from his shower. Her plan didn't work, however, but the feeling of the air around her turning suddenly warm was enough to wake her from her nap.Opening her eyes, Lacey saw a still shirtless Slade resting a blanket over her. A small smile rose to her lips at the kind gesture. 

           "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. You looked cold, so I covered you up." Slade whispered, pulling the blanket up further on Lacey. "Go back to sleep, love." He brushed some hair off of her face, dropping a kiss on her temple. 

            "Will you please just lay with me for a few minutes, then we can get back to work outside?" Lacey said groggily from the couch, but she meant every word. To prove it, she reached behind her, grabbing the long pillow cushions, tossing them on the floor so there was more room behind her for Slade to lay. 

           "Alright, sweetheart. I'll lay with you for just a few minutes." Slade grabbed a pillow off of one of the chairs, then crawled his way onto the couch, behind Lacey. He wrapped both of his arms around Lacey's waist, leaving some space between them. 

           Lacey rested her hands on top of Slade's; she traced a finger up and down one of Slade's forearms as she said, "Honestly, I like laying next to you because I feel like it is one of the few times that I can actually be eye level with you. Because I am in a wheelchair, I am always sittin' lower than everyone else, so I appreciate moments like this, because it makes me feel like I am not paralyzed and that I can finally see you fully." She took in a deep breath, nestling her head further into her pillow. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry that I'm not makin' sense anymore."

           Slade grabbed one of Lacey's hands, interlacing their fingers. "You are makin' perfect sense. I just want you to know that I fully intend on doin' everything that I can to make you feel like this all the time. I don't want you to feel like since you're in a wheelchair that means you can't do anything, because that isn't the case at all. Lace, you can ride again, and I believe, with help, you can walk again. You are not a quitter, and you can do anything you set your mind to. I am here to help you see that." Already, Slade could hear Lacey's breathing slow, and her body relaxing; she was falling asleep. Lifting his head to lay a kiss on her temple, Slade whispered, "I am so proud of you for everything you have done. Thank you for not leavin' me despite my many faults." And with that, Lacey was asleep, but this time, it was Slade who couldn't sleep. Instead, for the entire duration of their nap, Slade talked to God, thanking Him for giving him a second chance. That second chance being the beauty that was laying in Slade's arms. 

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A/N: HEY Y'ALL!! I know it has been a while since I updated and I apologize for that. I've been super busy recently. I know that this chapter was not well written and I can guarantee that there are mistakes and it probably doesn't make sense in some areas, and I know it was similar to last chapter, but I promised a lot of y'all that I would get a chapter up, so here it is.
PLEASE give me your honest opinions and let me know what changes I can make. Thanks for reading. Y'all are the best. :)