by Dawn McClure
His father didn't flinch. Didn't back away from the question. “Strange how you can get to know someone better even after you've known them all your life.” He stared at David a few beats too long. “We're good. I think we're good.”
David nodded. Best to leave it there. Forever.
“How about you and Misty?” his father asked.
Shit, we're anything but good. “She lost that job in Rapid.” Before the questions came, David cleared the field because he didn't want Harry's name coming up. “I don't know all the specifics.” At least that much was true. “But she's probably at the cabin trying to regroup.”
“That's gotta work in your favor.”
“Yeah, but it doesn't work in hers.”
“I wouldn't be too sure of that.”
Whatever happened while his father was in the hospital must have been a doozy. “You said yourself that she wanted to go to Rapid. Wanted what I couldn't give her.”
“Women are strange creatures. I don't think even at my ripe old age I understand them. But I know one thing—that girl loves you. And if you two decide to make it work, it'll work. Takes patience. Takes putting yourself in her shoes and she in yours, but I might have been wrong about her. Lord knows I've been wrong before.” He took a sip of coffee. Leveled a look at the roses in the middle of the table. “Son, a relationship is like a beautiful rose. Anyone can look at a rose and take in its beauty. Anyone can stand back and admire it. But those who go to grab it…those who try to make that rose theirs…the thorns tear your ass up. The question you have to ask yourself is, is Misty worth bleeding over?”
Misty set the box her mother had dropped off at the cabin on the bedroom floor. It was nearing four in the afternoon. She'd stayed at the cabin all day, nursing the bruises she'd acquired yesterday at the corral with David and later at Brandon's place. Sitting up half the night crying, and trying to read through tears, had taken its toll as well.
She'd woken with a massive headache this morning, accompanied by intermittent heartache. She'd felt as though she'd let David down by not taking his calls when he'd graduated boot camp. All those years she'd felt as though he'd abandoned her, but after reading his letters, she realized she'd abandoned him as well. He'd reached out to her after making a mistake, and she'd slapped his hand away so hard it had still been bruised as he penned those letters.
Her mom had spent some hours going through things they thought might be salvageable. Misty's belongings could fit in a box the size of a small filing cabinet. Not much, but her mother had smiled when she'd handed the box to her and there hadn't been a tear in sight. She was making progress.
Misty, not knowing what to expect, opened the top of the box without much thought as to what she might find.
That was a mistake. She wasn’t prepared.
The first thing she saw was David's football jersey laying on top of a few books and clothes.
A gut-wrenching, overly dramatic sob escaped her. How many tears could a person cry in twenty-four hours?
She lifted the jersey out and clutched it to her chest, tears flowing. The letters were worn not only from his playing ball, but from the countless times she'd worn the jersey to bed throughout college. Those first three years in Brookings, sitting alone in her room in Pierson, she'd slipped into this jersey and let it comfort her. She ran her hand over the smooth blue number seven. He'd been a receiver. Ran the ball into the end zone countless times in this jersey after having caught a pass her twin had thrown.
She'd thought she'd lost the jersey in that damned storm. The horse he'd bought her she'd practically given away. The jewelry he'd gifted her with she'd tossed. The memories she had of the two of them dismissed from her mind as often as they sprung up. But this jersey she'd selfishly held on to. It had been the one thing of his she'd kept, and she'd never had the heart to throw it away. Probably because it had belonged to him, not her. She'd had to steal it. He'd never given it to her. She really had no right to it.
“I don't remember it looking that worn.”
Startled, she looked up with tears in her eyes, and more than a little worn herself. She wiped at her face. “I didn't hear you come in.” Damn shag carpet.
He had on a worn blue T-shirt, faded blue jeans, and those dusty combat boots. Now that she thought about it, she hadn't seen him in cowboy boots since he'd returned. Guessed they'd both changed a little.
“I tried calling. You wouldn't pick up.”
With the jersey held loosely in her hand, she looked around the room. She had no idea where she'd put her phone. Didn't rightly care. It had died earlier that morning. “I need to charge my phone. Forgot to charge it last night.”
“I can see why.”
She sat up straighter and glanced at the bed. His letters were out of the envelopes and stacked one on top of the other. Well, that cat was out of the bag.
“Guess you found time to snoop through my stuff.”
She didn't want to sell Caroline up the river, though it was mighty tempting. “I, uh... Sorry.” Not sorry. Not really. The things he'd written to her needed to be read. Needed to be hung out on the line to dry as did so many other things. And Caroline had been right. Misty would have never thought David would put down his innermost thoughts concerning the two of them the way he had. She'd never be truly sorry for reading them.
He had opened up to her about his father, but through letters that he'd never sent.
“Matt told me about your dad and what you'd told him, but I never had a clue what you and your mother went through.”
David walked into the room and sat on the floor with his back against the wall facing her. “Water under the bridge. After what Brandon said last night, I think I know what happened. My dad took the affair my mom had with Harry out on me as well as her.” He glanced at the bed again. “I'm thinking Buchanan men have a problem sharing their feelings with others. He couldn't tell me about the affair, for obvious reasons, and I couldn't put into words what I was going through back then. Least of all to you. You have to understand, until my freshman year in high school, he wasn't that bad. I tried for years to make him happy. I didn't know his unhappiness had nothing to do with me.”
“Why didn't you tell me about what you were going through with him? Did you think I wouldn't listen?”
“I knew you'd listen, Misty, I just didn't think you'd understand. Besides, he treated you like his own daughter. I didn't want to drag you into it.”
Misty looked down at the jersey. Thought about the letters. About that stupid pro and con list and the fight they'd had last night. “David, I was mad when I wrote that stupid list. I'm sorry you found it. Really, what was on that list doesn't—”
“It doesn't matter. The list, the letters...all of it. When I wrote those letters, I was scared out of my mind that I'd lost everyone back home, not just you. For the first time in my life, I was surrounded by people I didn't know and in a place I'd never been. I always wanted to open up to you about my dad, but I didn't want to hurt you. Didn't want you looking at him different. You have to walk in his shoes for a minute and think about what he was going through.”
“You signed every letter yours always, David. That still true?”
He looked down at the jersey in her hand. “As true for me as it is for you.” He looked up at her, a smile tugging the corner of his mouth. “How many times have you washed that thing?”
“Well, I wore it to bed almost every night for four years.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I thought I left it at my house.”
“You did. Right before I went to college I snuck up into your room and stole it.” She shrugged. Not the worst thing she'd ever done in her life. She wasn't sorry for it either.
“Well you little thief, the question is, what did you wear under it?”
And just like that, his teasing ripped through all the shit that had happened. All the angry words and the misplaced anger. She pushed the box out of her way and crawled on her hands and knees over to him. He positioned h
er on his lap and she wrapped herself around him. “I'm sorry. I'm sorry about—”
He squeezed her. “We're done apologizing about the past. Done agonizing over what happened. And I'm going to be honest, I'm not tiptoeing around about the way I feel about you anymore. You and I, we're meant to be together. I'm sorry your job fell through, but I'm also happier than a pig in shit that it did. I'm not going to apologize for that either.”
She snuggled into him. “So now what?”
“Well, I have another surprise for you.”
She laughed against his neck. “Another surprise? David, you don't need to buy me.”
“I didn't pay anything for this surprise. Just had to make a few calls.”
She pulled away from his chest to look at him. “What is it?”
“You'll see in about an hour.”
David checked his text messages while Misty got dressed. The one he'd been waiting for had come through. It would be another few weeks before they'd all find out for sure, but the bricks had been laid. He'd given Misty a lot of gifts and surprises throughout their life, but hands down, if this worked out, it would be the best yet.
“You ready?” he called out, antsy to get going.
“Yep, just a sec.”
He took a deep breath and waited for Misty by the front door of the cabin with keys in hand. Shit, this better work. He didn't want to get her all excited about the possibility and then have everything fall through. But everyone was backing this, and the cards really were in Misty's favor.
She came out of the hallway wearing pressed white slacks and a teal satin blouse that matched the color of her eyes. “Is this too much?”
She took his breath away when she was covered in dirt and hay, and she took his breath away dressed clean and proper. Hell, she stole his breath when she wore nothing—especially then. He didn't think there was a side of Misty that didn't get his engine going. “Nope. You look gorgeous. It's perfect.”
“Where are we going? Not the Roadhouse.”
As if that would even classify as a surprise. “Come on, Misty, my game is better than that.”
She snorted, apparently disagreeing with him. “Then where?”
“You'll see.” He took her hand and they made their way to his truck. He opened the door for her.
She turned to look up at him before she climbed inside. “You're not even going to give me a hint? Do we need to make another shooting range just so you'll answer my questions?”
He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “Even if you hit the target, I wouldn't tell you. You'll see in about five minutes.”
True to his word, five minutes later they were pulling into Garner High School's parking lot. He doubted it looked anything like the three or four story building she was going to work at in Rapid, but here she'd know all the kids by name. Here she'd know all the teachers. She wouldn't have to leave a lifetime behind.
She wouldn’t have to leave at all.
Misty cast a glance at him. “What are we doing here?”
He pulled into a parking spot by the front doors and cut the engine. Carl, the current Ag teacher, and Bill, the superintendent, were standing at the door waiting for her. David turned in his seat and faced her. “I know you said you loved Rapid, but I'm going to tell you right now, Rapid would have never loved you back. Now Garner…Garner will always love you back.”
Tears gathered in her eyes. Several seconds strung together before she said quietly, “Garner High can't have two Ag teachers.”
“No, they can't. I called Carl this morning, gave him a quick diluted version of what happened. His house was damaged from the storm and he's been itching to get out of the area for years anyway. I might have told him about an opening in Rapid. He has an interview with them on Monday morning. It's not in the bag yet, but you have an interview with Bill right now, just in case Carl gets that job. I'll tell you what. I've never prayed so hard for something. Last time I prayed this hard, it was that God would save you during that storm, and He did. Don't see why He won't answer this prayer too.”
A tear spilled over and she swiped it off her cheek. “I don't even know what to say.”
He took her left hand in his and kissed the skin that would one day be covered by his ring. “Say you want to stay. If you want, I'll take you to Rapid on weekends. Hell, I'll buy a damned timeshare in Rapid if that's what you want. Just—”
She stopped him from finishing his sentence by kissing him. When she pulled away, there were more tears falling down her cheeks, but she was smiling. “Promise me this. No matter how hard it gets, or whatever pops up in life, we'll make it through together.”
To go from hoping she didn’t hate him to this in a few short months? He was never letting her go again. “I promise. Thorns and all.”
Epilogue
Misty tightened the cinch on Dakota Storm, Tracy’s old barrel racing horse that she’d renamed, and said a quick prayer that she wouldn't bust her ass in front of everyone she knew. She patted Storm's neck, attempting to calm her own nerves. “Just you, me, and a fifteen-second ride.” She'd practiced the setup in the arena countless times yesterday and this morning. The layout was small compared to other rodeos she'd participated in, and she'd managed a fourteen-five just this morning. But fifteen seconds should clinch the win.
The town of Garner put on a damn fine rodeo for having only a month to get it all together. Of course, everyone had pitched in, from the riders to the sponsors, the announcer and to the volunteers who'd slapped the rodeo all over social media. All you really needed in South Dakota was word of mouth, and where better to start the talk than the Garner pipeline?
Garner's First Annual Rodeo, benefiting those affected by the tornado, had at least a thousand spectators in attendance. Not bad for a town of three hundred, but folks in these parts usually did band together when needed. Seating arrangements were another matter. They'd hauled in every bleacher within a fifty-mile radius. Still, from what she'd heard, just by the donations sent in, they'd be helping countless families rebuild.
The rodeo was going to start in a few minutes. Competitors for all the events were milling around. The bull riders, barrel racers, and bronc riders were all helping out where they could to keep everything going smoothly behind the scenes. The weather had played nice, and it was only eighty out with a slight wind. People were hitting up the concession stand and grabbing their beers, then parking their asses on the bleachers in hopes of a good show, and no doubt praying that no one got hurt.
Misty glanced at the two ambulances parked side by side next to the arena. She whispered another prayer for her brother, Shane, Tucker, and David that they didn't get hurt on those bulls, and then snuck in a little prayer for David to win.
Nerves aside, she felt awesome. The dirt, the smack talk between the competitors, the smell of horses and livestock—there was nothing quite like it. And she'd missed the hell out it.
“Hey gorgeous, I have a surprise for you.”
She turned to David's voice. Damn. She'd missed that too. He wasn't wearing his protective vest yet, but those chaps were going to make an appearance outside of the arena, that was for damn sure. She still wasn't used to the jump in heart rate every time she saw him. She used to call it butterflies, but this felt more like a stampede of bulls trampling through her chest.
“Oh yeah? What's that?” As if he needed to give her any more surprises.
“You'll find out soon enough.”
“Misty, they want you to start lining up,” Matt called out. “Y’all are going after the bronc riders.” He was holding his gear and making his way to the arena. “Good luck. Don't embarrass me.”
She flipped him the bird. He reciprocated. When he disappeared around the gates, David said, “You're going to win today. I can feel it.”
She slipped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. He felt like home. “I already won.”
“Well if that isn't the cheesiest line I've ever heard,” David said, kissing the top of
her head.
The last month had been heaven on earth. And now that she was about to start her job at Garner High as the new Ag teacher, there wasn't anything tugging them in opposite directions. And she worked next to the elementary school, where her best friend worked. She’d never seen Abby happier than when she’d shared the news that she’d landed the job.
And she had David to thank. Their days had been filled with ranch duties, their evenings with rodeo practice, and their nights with passion. They'd spent countless hours at the cabin just catching up and sharing each other's company, to hell what the town thought. Sure, some people had latched on to the gossip, but most of the people they knew thought it was great that they were together—finally.
Her brother stopped balking a few weeks ago.
“You have to go line up.” David gave her one last squeeze before he let go. “You warmed up Storm?”
She took a deep breath. “Yeah. She's all warmed up. I'll see you on the flip side.” Win or lose, she thought, nerves ratcheting up.
“You got this. Stop worrying. Just go out there and nail it.” He leaned down to whisper, “I need you to win, Misty. Think you can pull it off?”
What a weird thing to say. She looked up at him, a smile tugging at her lips. “Why do you need me to win?”
“It'll make the surprise that much more special.”
She took Storm by the reins and jumped when David swatted her on the behind as she passed him. Would she embarrass him if she didn't win? What surprise could he possibly have planned that would be helped if she won?
Thirty minutes later, once the bronc riders were done, and the entertainer had put on a little show for the crowd, she was the last barrel racer to go. Jennifer and Abby had both come in under sixteen seconds, but Jennifer had turned it out at a fifteen two. Misty had to beat that time if she wanted first place.