by Amelia Rose
He laughed. “I really do.”
She then looked over to him. “So, do you forgive me for being a putz?”
He smiled, taking her hand. “Yes, if there was really anything to forgive. I get where you are coming from. I just wanted to have you be happy and safe. More importantly, I really wanted you to like me.”
It was her turn to chuckle. “Well, you succeeded.”
She turned the Austin country station back on before taking his hand.
The rest of their ride home was peaceful and quiet. He would lift their entwined hands occasionally to kiss her knuckles. When they finished pulling into the driveway, he felt like he was finally returning home.
******
Well, Moira thought to herself. That talk went smoother than I expected. Grannie was right. It was just a matter of making sure we talked. She was right about him just not knowing when or how to say something. Shoot. Part of me feels worse about getting angry now. Especially when he was so understanding about everything.
Pulling into the driveway, her thoughts continued. Then he was so sweet on the way home. I don’t even know what to make about that. Too bad we only have a couple weeks here at the ranch before we head back to school. I want to ask him more about everything. It just feels right. I’m going to have to talk to Grannie about everything that’s happened the last twenty-four hours.
When she dropped Mitch back at his quarters, she went back to the house. She wanted to talk to Grannie and then collapse into bed. She was more relaxed than she’d been when she left the day before but was tired to the bone. She didn’t know how much of that was from the events of the few previous days or the mental stress associated with it.
Hanging her bag on the banister of the stairs, she went to the kitchen. The light was on and she knew Grannie would be there waiting for her because Billy had already come in. Sure enough, she was sitting in her spot with a glass of sweet tea, with another glass sitting in front of her spot on the table.
As she sat down, she looked at Grannie. The woman’s long, silver hair hung down her shoulders. As she took a sip of the tea, Grannie looked at her.
“So, how did it go?”
She shrugged, slumping back in the chair. “The service was small but it was pretty.”
Her grannie smiled. “Well, that’s nice. But that isn’t what I was talking about.”
She smiled. “I know. I was hoping to avoid that conversation until I was a little less tired.”
Grannie chuckled. “Yeah, but you’ll sleep more peacefully when there’s closure all around.”
She nodded. “True. Anyway, it went well. Everything was sorted out and we had our big talk on the way back home. I learned a lot more about his momma too. I also learned tons about how he grew up. I feel better about that stuff now. You were right, a lot of it was only him not knowing how to tell me.”
“See, I told you, Baby Girl. He’s a good boy.”
Her smile felt sincere. “I know. Like always, you’re right, Grannie.”
The old woman laughed. “Please. Don’t go that far. My ego will become entirely too big.”She shook her head, moving from the table. “I want to go take a shower and then rest my head. I’m plumb tuckered out.”
Grannie nodded. “See you in the morning. I sure hope Mitchell will be here for breakfast in the morning?”
She smiled. “I’ll make sure to text him before I lay down.”
“Good girl. I have some extra sausage and eggs to use up tomorrow anyway.”
She shook her head. Her grannie was just like Jack at the diner. Using the phrase waste not, want not as a way to feed people.
Chapter Eighteen
Mitchell wanted to surprise Moira on their last day at the ranch. He’d asked her to go for a final ride before they headed back to school the next day. He had two big surprises. He wasn’t sure which one would be bigger for someone like Moira but he had two. He’d had the help of her family to plan one of the surprises and the other surprise relied on him and a horse.
Red had given him the day off, and Moira too, to relax at the ranch so he could do what he had planned. He smiled, as he saw the packed lunch Grannie had made for them. This time, there was a nice bottle of strawberry wine in there too. Apparently, the woman thought she knew what the answer would be.
He waited in the barn after breakfast, he already had both horses saddled and ready to go. He made sure that both were Moira’s two favorites. She claimed to not have favorites but everyone knew she did and they were Caliber and Misty.
Finally, Moira came strolling through the front of the barn. She always looked so at ease in the barn, like it was much a part of her as anything else. He supposed in some ways, that was the truth.
When she gave him a hug, she looked up. “Ready to get going? I’m looking forward to riding today.”
He nodded as he watched her go to mount Caliber. He chuckled. She was getting ready for surprise number one.
“Hey, sweetheart. Get on Misty for me, okay?”
She looked at him in surprise. “I know Caliber likes you more than Billy but I don’t know if you should ride him.”
He gave her a wink and smile. “Trust me on this.”
She looked disbelieving but backed away, waiting to see him be bucked by the horse. He went over and put his foot in the stirrup. He then hoisted himself up as Caliber huffed, lifting his head up in seeming approval. He gave the old man a sugar cube. Those cubes had been instrumental in this moment and he didn’t want to break it now.
He watched her jaw drop as he felt his smile broaden. “So, you going to mount up or are we going to have lunch in here?”
She shook her head, getting on Misty. When she came over by him Caliber whinnied. She shook her head again. “Alright, let’s go. If he’s going to throw you, I hope it’s close to the house.”
He laughed, not telling her he’d been practicing with Caliber for the last two weeks and he’d managed to get the horse to ride to the tree and back with no issue. He still worried it’d be a little different now that Moira was out here with him.
In agreement, he answered. “Here’s to hoping.”
He patted the horse’s neck, giving him a piece of apple. “You ready, buddy? Time to go to the tree again.”
She nearly screeched. “Again? How many times have you ridden him?”
“The rest won’t matter if he doesn’t let me today.”
When they reached the field, he broke open in a gallop with the horse. He wondered if that was part of why Caliber accepted him. Everyone else was so nervous around the horse, they rarely allowed him the chance to really enjoy the time of being ridden. He knew horses were smart creatures and also sensed stress. He’d made sure he stayed calm as can be once he mounted the horse.
When they reached the first pasture, he broke Caliber from the gallop into a full out run. The horse made an approving sounding whinny as they took off. He loved the feel of the wind on his face, the way the horse’s mane flew back as they rode. It was amazing and it felt like they were moving as one through the fields.
Finally, they reached the tree. He’d had Billy set things up for them that morning, just after breakfast. There was the lunch basket, a blanket, and a couple sketch pads. That’s not to mention the water for the horses. He knew they planned to stay out there for most of the day. He smiled as he looked. He’d have to thank Billy for setting it up and being willing to come back and get everything later on when they were done.
They dismounted and tied the horses to the trees. She looked from the tree to him in shock.
“How’d you do this?”
He shrugged. “I twitched my nose, all Bewitched style.”
She laughed. “Liar.”
He shrugged again. “Fine. I had my house elf set this stuff up.”
She threw her head back in a fit of giggles “You still lie!”
He shrugged. “Actually, the house elf idea is closer to the truth.”
She arched an eyebrow. “So you going to
tell me how?”
He shook his head. “Not right now. I like the surprise better. So, did you like riding Misty out here for a change?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but I liked watching you ride Caliber more. It was beautiful. He truly accepts you. How’d you do that?”
He shrugged. “Lots of bonding time. I spent a lot of time grooming and petting him, talking to him and saddling him up, just to take it off... all that kind of stuff. Well, that and lots of sugar cubes and apples.”
She laughed as she sat between his legs before leaning back. He wrapped his arms around her middle.
“Just so you know…we’re spending the day out here today. I have the go ahead from Red.”
She didn’t know what else he’d gotten permission for. He was going to ask her for her hand today. It’d only been a few months but he knew she was the one. They would wait to start talking about the wedding until they graduated, of course, but he knew he needed to have her by his side forever. Grandma Elaine had been the one who truly surprised him, though. When he’d begun talking about going to town to buy the engagement ring, she shook her head.
As they’d sat at the table, she looked him the eye. “Nonsense, boy. Normally, you would be right but I already have Moira’s engagement ring.”
He’d been even more surprised to find out that the ring had been in the family for a couple generations. It’d been her mother’s engagement ring. Apparently, Moira had always loved the ring since she was the kid. Grandma Elaine, always being the one to buck tradition, had promised the youngest daughter, instead of the oldest son or the oldest daughter, the family engagement ring when she got married. The ring was simple and beautiful. It was a tear drop shaped diamond with two tear drop emeralds on either side. Its beauty, and his anxiousness, were burning a hole in his front pocket. It’d taken all he had not to continually pat the pocket throughout the day. He wanted to look at the ring and make sure he’d kept it as safe as the woman he hoped agreed to wear it.
They both spent the morning drawing. Moira, as usual, drew her favorite landscape, horse and a picture of him. He worked on a different kind of picture. A picture of what he wanted to see. It was a picture of him on his knee, holding the ring out to her. Her mouth was covered by her hands in surprise. Her eyes bright but shiny from the unshed tears of happiness. He didn’t know if that was all presumptuous but it was what he wanted to see.
They’d gotten into the habit of showing each other their finished pictures before moving onto the next. Finally, they both finished. She reached into the picnic basket to get them both a water bottle. He grabbed the ring from his pocket. When she came back over, she looked to him.
“Ready for today’s show and tell?”
He nodded. “Sure am. You first today.”
She nodded. The picture was simple, soft lines today. It was beautiful, he could almost feel the nostalgia dripping off it.
He nodded in approval. “Beautiful as usual.”
She smiled. “Your turn!”
He nodded but instead of holding the pad up like she had, he handed it to her. As she looked at it, her face took on a confused look.
Finally, she asked quietly. “What am I looking at, Mitchell?”
He climbed to his knee. “What I hope your reaction will be to my question.” He held up his hand, with the rocks pointing up. “Will you marry me, Moira?”
She sputtered for a moment in obvious shock. Her mouth flapped open and shut like a fish out of a pond. After a moment without a response, he started to become worried.He scratched his head. “Uh. Too soon?”
Finally, she squealed, throwing her arms around his neck. The relief that ran through his veins was as warm as the sun on a spring day. Warm and sweet but not scorching like the Texas summer. He had just been given all he’d ever wanted and thought he’d never have.
******
Moira had almost fallen off Misty just seeing Mitchell ride Caliber out to the field. All she could think when she saw Mitchell’s picture, and then the engagement ring her grannie had promised her as a child, was, If I’d known about this, Caliber would’ve been nothing. In fact, I might have had a heart attack before we left the barn.
She was so shocked at seeing that ring in Mitchell’s hand, she hadn’t realized she didn’t give him an answer.
When he asked her, after clearing his throat, “uh, too soon?”, she all but jumped in his arms.
“Of course, you fool! How did you get Grannie to hand over that ring? We’ve only been dating for a few months and I never brought the ring up.”
He laughed. “I was talking about taking a day off to go into town to buy you a ring. She told me to hush my fool mouth because you already had one.”
She had to laugh in response. “That sounds like Grannie. So, you going to slap that thing on me or just hold it?”
He smiled as he gently took her left hand. He slipped the ring on her finger, where it fitted perfectly.
After a moment, she had a horrifying thought. “Wait, Grannie knew. Did Daddy?”
He nodded. “I asked him first. He’s the one who gave us the day off so we could celebrate… or for me to drown my sorrows if you said no.”
She slapped his arm. “Oh, hush, you! Come here and hug your fiancée.”
She was happy when he did what he was told. They spent some more time outside, enjoying their basket lunch. After a while, she looked to him.
“We should head in. Knowing Grannie and Billy, they’re waiting at the table for us to get back. They’re going to want to know everything.”
He chuckled. “Well, can you blame them? It was a very real possibility that you’d tell me no.”
She shook her head. “No, they’re just nosy.”
He laughed, getting up from the blanket. “Let’s go in then. Don’t want to run the risk of giving either of them a heart attack from the suspense of the wait. Leave the stuff, Billy said he’d bring his truck to pick it up later.”
She smiled, climbing onto Misty.
******
When they got into the house, Mitch found that Red had gathered at the table with Grannie and Billy. He shook his head. At least it was good news.
All three people had bright smiles on their faces once they took in his fiancée’s left hand. Red chuckled and gave him a shoulder slap.
“Congratulations, Mitchell, but good luck. As much as I love my baby, she’s a firecracker.”
He nodded in understanding. “That I know, sir.”
Billy shook his hand next. “Good job, man. You finally managed to tame her down some. I was wondering if anyone would.”
He smiled as he saw Moira showing the ring on her hand to Grannie.
His smile broadened as she told the lady. “This time, I ain’t playing dress up, Grannie!”
The woman smiled, pulling Moira in for a quick hug. “You surely aren’t, sugar. I’m so happy for you both.”
“Thank you, Grannie.”
He smiled as he realized that this time in a couple years, he would officially be part of this family. Still, he knew he already was in all the ways that mattered.
Epilogue – Eight Months Later
Moira sat with Mitchell and her family under her and Mitchell’s tree. They’d just arrived back at the ranch the day before. They’d begun planning the wedding for next spring. Mitchell and the family had convinced her to give up the ghost and move home.
Her and Mitchell planned to start their own engineering and architectural company here. She’d help design and revamp houses to make them more energy efficient and ecologically sound. Mitchell planned to start working on making all the farms and ranches more efficient. He already had plans in the works with Red to use Circle O as a prototype. In fact, they’d start being able to grow some of their own feed for the cattle because of it. She had to admit she was kind of excited by the plans he’d laid out.
Today was to take care of another kind of business though. She looked over to Mitchell as she took his hand.
“You re
ady?”
He nodded. “Yeah, I think so. I think that she is too.”
When Mitchell had picked up his momma’s ashes back in Austin, he’d asked her for a favor. He said he wanted to bury her urn under their tree. He had told her that as much peace as the tree brought him, he wanted that for his momma. They’d both agreed that even though she was already at peace, the tree was especially calm and happy for both of them and it’d be a nice final resting place for her.
Even though they’d had a small service for Maryanne back in Austin, they’d decided to get the Reverend to do another one. This time, Mitchell’s adopted family would be there to send his mother off proper. She felt happy for her fiancée that he had that closure and that his momma would always be close by if he wanted to visit her.
The service was still quick, a few kind words spoken by the Reverend, followed by Billy’s rich tenor singing Maryanne’s favorite hymn, Amazing Grace. Then, it was time for those who wanted to speak a few words.
Even though she didn’t need to, she looked at the urn as she spoke. “Maryanne, I know I never met you but I still want to thank you. Thanks for having, and then helping to raise, such a wonderful man. He’s compassionate, kind, and loving. He is faithful and helpful to those around him. He’s everything a man should be. I know how much of that was your influence and I believe you had every right to be proud of your son. I hope you’re watching over us up there to see how happy he is now. More than that, I hope this gives you peace and happiness, knowing you’ll always be close by. I promise to tell our children about you as they grow up. They need to know about the wonderful lady who had their daddy and kept his first report card, even when she couldn’t keep anything else.”
She saw Mitchell wipe a tear from his eye. She noticed that even her daddy had a tear or two threatening to fall. She then watched as Mitchell stepped forward, next to the hole they’d dug for the urn. He looked at what was left of his momma.
As he spoke, his voice wavered. “Momma, I hope I made you proud. I finished college. I really wish you could have been there for that. You would have liked it. Grannie and Red bought me a really nice suit for the ceremony. I even wore a tie. Anyway, I also got engaged to Moira. You would have loved her more than you loved me, I think. She’s understanding and accepting. More than I could have asked for or deserved. Plus, her grannie makes some biscuits and preserves that are something else. We’ve moved here to the ranch and wanted you here with us. I know how much you always loved the country and horses. I know you ain’t really in this urn but I figured what’s left should be somewhere I knew you would like. I guess that’s all. I wanted to make sure you were somewhere you would like.”