Elise passes the time, drawing some sketches to show some possible clients. When noon arrives, she gathers her things and makes her way to the Fairchild residence. The beauty of the house is luminous even more so in the light of day. The last time she was here did not begin with the most pleasant memory and the night ended with her breaking up with Brandon. She rings the doorbell hoping to evade that fate today.
Marilyn opens the door to see Elise standing there with her hands folded neatly in front of her; a portrait of innocence. She rolls her eyes and invites her inside. Marilyn offers her a seat in the kitchen where some pastries and tea are set on the table. Elise sits looking at the opulence of the home feeling a bit overwhelmed.
“So,” Marilyn intrudes upon her thoughts, “Why did you insist on having lunch with me today?”
“I didn’t,” Elise answers in befuddlement, “Brody told me that you insisted we have lunch today.”
“Okay I see what’s going on here. Well done, Brody,” she mumbles under her breath, “Fine! Since you are here you might as well have lunch and we can talk.”
“I would like that,” Elise smiles warmly.
The two women sit down to tea and pastries while the soup Marilyn made is simmering on the stove. Elise doesn’t want to dwell on the events from the previous night, but something is just nagging at her and won’t go away.
“I thought we had a nice time when Brandon and I came for dinner that night, but yesterday you seemed to be under the impression that I’m manipulating him into being with me,” Elise points out to Marilyn.
“Well that night, Donald’s behavior was utterly despicable and grotesque. I can’t imagine anyone talking to me like that and I didn’t want to compound onto those feelings. I still have my reservations but I’m willing to give you an opportunity to show me how authentic your feelings are for my son,” Marilyn confidently states.
Elise takes a deep breath and a sip of her tea. She ponders Marilyn’s words for a moment before telling her, “You know I don’t have to show you anything. Isn’t Brandon worth over a billion dollars?”
“Yes he is! Which is exactly why I know you are after something,” she accuses Elise.
“I only asked you that because you need to keep in mind that no one easily swayed or with a molecular ounce of stupidity can make as much money as he has. He has a phenomenal sense of business which means he’s most likely a great judge of character. Now I know he had Donald as a friend, but I think that was more out of the longevity of their relationship. If he’d met Donald today they wouldn’t be friends. Hell, they probably wouldn’t even know each other or travel in the same circles.
“I say all of that to say this… You need to trust your son. You raised him right and he’s a wonderful man. I am positively certain that he knows when people are trying to take advantage of him. The only thing I ask of you is to get know me since I’m going to be here for the rest of my life, and the life of our child,” Elise rubs her baby bump.
Marilyn smiles briefly at the thought of a new grandbaby running around the house. She stares at Elise feeling her walls breaking. The woman sitting before her is beautiful, wise, and doesn’t hold onto hostilities that were flung at her. She’s an example of how Marilyn should be, but Marilyn wouldn’t dare admit such a thing.
“Okay. I’m willing to get to know you. So how good are you with horses and farm animals?”
“I’m pretty good. I’ve helped Brandon with his morning chores before. It was dirty and tough, but I got through it,” Elise confesses.
“Would you be willing to help out around here?” she asks curiously.
“Of course. I’ll help out with whatever you ask me to do Mrs. Fairchild,” Elise smiles.
Just at that moment, something runs by the window. One of the horses got loose out of the stables.
“Oh my goodness! Barkley is out again,” Marilyn shouts running outside to the backyard. She looks around the backyard for her ranch hand but he’s nowhere to be found.
“What are you looking for?” Elise questions excitedly.
“Elvis! My ranch hand usually heads out after Barkley when he gets free but I think he’s out herding the sheep,” Marilyn’s voice grows increasingly worried as she fears for the horse’s safety. Elise can’t sit back idly watching the horse run off. She runs into the stables, grabbing some riding equipment and the first horse she sees. Before Marilyn can protest she’s galloping off after her runaway horse. Elise rides for a few minutes before she finally sees Barkley. The horse has stopped running and is resting at the edge of a stream. She shakes her head as she hops down off her horse. After tying her mare to a nearby tree she approaches Barkley with caution, walking to him sweetly as she gets the bridle and reins ready for him.
The horse lets her get close enough to pet him and secure the equipment around his head. She feeds him a flower and he neighs with glee. Elise sighs with relief as she doesn’t have to fight with the horse to get him to come with her. She leads Barkley over to her horse and hops on; walking them back toward the stables. It took her nearly an hour to catch the horse and return him to his corral. As she rides her horse back to the stable something spooks her and she bucks under Elise. Elise tries to get her under control but the mare rises up on her hind legs forcing Elise to fall back onto the ground. She lands hard against the wood planks of the stall banging her head and getting the wind knocked out of her. She crosses her arms over her face while the horse throws her fit. Elvis, the ranch hand, finally appears and moves the horse into another stall so Elise can retreat to safety.
“Are you okay?” Elvis asks her.
Elise is holding her rib cage. Something doesn’t feel right. Her breathing is heavy and it hurts like hell every time she moves. She shakes her head no which gives her dizzy spells, and sits back on the ground. It isn’t long before paramedics arrive to rush her to the hospital. The pain is gradually increasing and there’s nothing she can do about it. The paramedics prepare to administer a morphine drip for the pain, but she stops them telling them she’s pregnant. They give her a towel to squeeze to help alleviate the stress but they know she’s going to need something eventually. Elise refuses all medications until she’s seen by an actual doctor. Until then, she just deals with the pain.
Marilyn follows the ambulance to the hospital in her car, calling Brandon to let her know she’s been in an accident. Thoughts of Brody getting that phone call about his wife flash through his mind, as he drops everything he’s doing at work and rushes off to Elise.
Chapter 6: Completing A Masterpiece
The hospital waiting room is cold as Brandon paces back and forth. Celeste and Shawn arrive later in the evening waiting patiently for an update on Elise’s condition. Marilyn sits quietly with a guilty conscious weighing heavily upon her. She can barely hold back her tears. Brandon rubs her shoulders trying to console her as they continue to sit and wait. A team of doctors finally surface through the double doors in the waiting room. Everyone stands to greet them bombarding them with several questions all at once.
One doctor raises his hands to quiet them, “Please if you can all just take a seat. We’ll give you the rundown on Elise Saunders’ condition.”
They take their seats in anticipation of the worst possible scenario.
“Thank you. I’m Dr. Hanson, a neurologist here at the hospital. Elise has suffered a mild concussion. No need to worry about that, it will heal over the next few weeks. She might experience some migraines here and there but overall she should be okay. I recommend a full week of resting and non-taxing activities. She can gradually build up her mental capacity back to normal after that, so long as she and those around her pay attention to the symptoms,” the doctor hands out some pamphlets about dealing with concussion injuries.
“We also ran a few x-rays and she has two fractured ribs. Nothing we can do about those, ribs typically heal on their own. Minimum downtime for that runs about six weeks. Under the average circumstance we wouldn’t bandage her up anyway but espe
cially now because we don’t want to inhibit the development of the fetus. She’s going to be in a lot of pain which can be easily managed with some over-the-counter prescriptions. So we’re just going to have to monitor her frequently as the pregnancy moves along. Our in-house OB gave her a full examination and the baby is healthy and doing well and we can’t see any trauma as of yet. We’ll make sure to forward her charts to her primary physicians and keep a close eye on her recovery. She’s resting right now but you can go in so long as you don’t cause a commotion. She doesn’t need any undue stress.”
“Thank you doctor,” Brandon shakes the man’s hand just before he disappears down the hall dawning pale green scrubs. The two families look to Brandon waiting for him to make the next decision. He glances at Celeste motioning her to come with him. “Give her a moment and then we’ll go in two at a time so she doesn’t get overwhelmed.”
Brandon and Celeste enter the large hospital room with a huge window boasting views of the Utah mountain range. Elise has wires and an IV drip attached to machines making all sorts of noises and beeps. She looks tired but her beauty still shines through. She opens her eyes to see her mother fussing over the blankets on her bed.
“Mommy stop it. I’m okay. It’s fine,” Elise begs her to ease up, “Come here. I’m okay.”
Celeste stops fidgeting with the blankets. She stares deeply into her daughter’s eyes, “What the hell were you thinking riding that damn horse?!”
“Mommy relax,” Elise tries calming her, “Nothing happened while I was riding, she just got spooked when I was putting her back in the stable.”
“You ain’t gotta tell me what happened! I know. Marilyn done told me a hundred times what you done did and it was stupid! Next time a horse gets loose, you let it be loose. That ain’t ya job to go off rescuing horses. You paint! You’re a painter, a beautiful artist. Paint the horse running, don’t go chasing after it.”
Elise lays quietly soaking in her mother’s worrisome chastising while Brandon hangs back. All she can do is apologize to her mother for making her worry and getting hurt. Celeste accepts it, hugs her daughter and tells her she’ll be back in the morning to bring her some real food. Brandon laughs at the older woman as she leaves the room.
“I can’t believe you let her run over me like that! Haven’t I suffered enough trauma today,” Elise laughs but cringes immediately afterward in pain.
“You deserved every word. I’m just glad she said it and I didn’t have to,” Brandon admits kissing her on the cheek, “I’ll always defend you but what you did was stupid. You should have waited for Elvis or even my dad to get back.”
“Oh so a man has to retrieve the runaway horse?” Elise rolls her eyes.
“No, but a pregnant woman shouldn’t! You put yourself and our unborn child at risk! Unnecessarily I might add! What were you thinking?” Brandon asks trying to understand her reasoning.
“She was thinking that she needs to impress me,” Marilyn answers him from the door.
“What?” Brandon asks.
“We had just finished having a discussion when Barkley got out. I told her she had to show me she was worthy of being with you and while she told me she ain’t had to show me nothing and that I should trust your judgement, she jumped on Bambi and went after him anyway. I know I was wrong about you Elise. I’m just as stubborn as a mule,” Marilyn admits, “I can only imagine what could have happened. And if it were any worse than things are now then I would never be able to forgive myself.”
Marilyn runs to Elise’s bedside burying her tears into the blanket. Brandon tries to console her but she shakes his grasp off of her. Elise rubs her back while she wails into the linens. When Marilyn finally collects herself, she wipes her tears dry and gives Elise one last apologetic hug before promising to come back the next day and bring her some real food. Brandon shrugs his shoulders and shakes his head wondering how much more of this will come their way. Bryce comes in with a scornful look on his face, but keeps his reprimand to a short wagging of his finger and a kiss to her forehead. He thanks her for going after Barkley but suggests she wait until after the baby’s born before she go chasing after him again. Elise smiles and agrees. Brody and Shawn come in for a brief moment. They save their lectures, knowing how their mothers could be, letting her off with a warning to be more careful next time.
The next couple of days aren’t as bad as the first until the doctors okay Elise to be released from the hospital. The slightest movement causes immense amounts of pain that reverberate throughout her body. She agrees to take some Ibuprofen, under the supervision of her doctor, but refuses any medication stronger than that. Brandon insists that she stay with him so, at the very least, she has Logan and Lucy available to her should she need anything. He sets her up right in the living room, by the cozy fire, where they made love for the first time.
Weeks pass as Elise heals and her belly expands. Lucy has been instrumental in her recovery making sure to get her moving around the house and functioning through the pain. Although her intentions are to get Elise out of the makeshift bedroom so she can clean it, she doesn’t mind being the one there while the baby grows inside of her. Marilyn and Celeste have been taking turns preparing food for her and taking her to doctor appointments while Brandon works during the day. But, Brandon is by her side every night, falling deeper in love with her every day. Watching her fight through the healing process shows a reserved strength assuring him that she will be okay. He decides that now is the time to take their relationship further.
Elise is just shy of her third trimester when the doctors reveal an x-ray of completely whole ribs; not a fracture in sight. Joy overwhelms her as she’s anxious to get back into her studio. She’s had a lot of time to think of projects to tackle while she was recuperating. As Marilyn drives Elise home from her doctor’s office they head toward the Fairchild Residence instead of Brandon’s ranch.
“Where are we going, Marilyn?” Elise questions as she notices the change from their usual route.
“I want to bring you by the house to show you something,” Marilyn smiles barely able to control her glee.
“Something’s up,” Elise assumes, “Why are you so giddy?”
“Can’t a grandma be excited about a new grandbaby running around? And that you won’t be in so much pain no more?”
“I guess,” Elise accepts her banter as a sufficient answer to her question. She just stares out of the window while Marilyn drives off to her house. Once they arrive, Elise’s eyes anxiously dart around the property in search for what Marilyn has to show her.
Marilyn takes Elise by the hand leading her around the house toward the stables. Elise’s heart starts pounding as they near the building. She’s in no mood for any of Marilyn’s horses today. Her ribs are officially healed.
“Marilyn, I know you mean well, but this is giving me anxiety coming over here. I don’t mind being in the house but what if Barkley gets loose again? I ain’t in no condition to save the day again,” she chuckles while rubbing her belly.
“That’s what I wanted to show you! We got some new locks and rebuilt the corral so ain’t none of them horses running off nowhere,” Marilyn assures her.
“This could have waited. I got so much work I’m behind on,” Elise protests as she begins to pull Marilyn back toward the car.
“No!” Marilyn states firmly, “You gotta go in there and see what’s new!”
“Okay, fine!” Elise snaps at her. She bursts through the stables swinging doors to see it lit with lanterns. Celeste, Garrett, Bryce, Brody, Brody Jr., and Shawn stand around Brandon as he holds his hand out for her to come to him.
“What is going on in here?” Elise whispers to Marilyn.
“As smart as you are woman, you sure are dumb,” Marilyn quips to her sarcastically, “Go to your man and find out.”
Elise walks slowly toward Brandon wondering why he’s gathered everyone inside the stables. Once she reaches him, he takes her hands into his while their families circle ar
ound them.
“Elise Saunders, you have yelled at me, treated me like an employee, left me, and loved me. But most importantly, you have brought out the qualities in me that I need. Qualities I need to be the man who loves us, the man who leads our family, the man who protects our home, the man who supports our future, and the man that will continue to grow with you through this process. Through this love, I want us to share a lifetime growing together. So I ask you, Elise Saunders,” Brandon drops to bended knee, “Will you help mix up these crazy families and make me the luckiest cowboy in the world and be my wife?”
Elise’s tears have been spilling since he started speaking. She looks down at her belly, with the love of her life, face to face with their future and answers with a resilient, “Yes. Yes I will marry you.”
The stable erupts into cheers and applause as Brandon slides the beautiful engagement ring onto her finger. He stands up, lifting his very pregnant fiancée and spins her around as their families embrace them in celebration to their new engagement. They eat, drink, and dance into the night at the Fairchild residence finally embracing one another rather than resorting to nasty comments and assumptions. It’s a night to remember.
As Brandon heads out for his chores the following morning, Logan comes in with a grin stretching from ear to ear. He looks at Elise waddling around the kitchen in all of her pregnant cuteness.
“Let me see it,” he demands surprising her from the doorway. Elise holds her hand out to show off her shiny new ring, “It looks just as magnificent on you as it did in the store.”
The Art of Love Page 9