by Nathan Adams
A few days later, she joined Bronson in the stables by herself. It felt awkward to impose upon him like this, on his territory, but she knew that she had to show interest in his affairs before he could reciprocate in the same manner.
“Hello there.” She greeted him shyly, but with a smile. He seemed startled, but then relaxed as he saw it was only her.
“Ruby,” he only mentioned her name in reply, continuing to groom the horse.
“He’s lovely,” she said, referring to the horse.
“It’s a she. Breeze.”
“Breeze?”
“That’s her name.” He nodded as he spoke.
“Is she your best horse in the stable?”
“She is.” He patted Breeze, and she neighed softly in response.
“You two seem to have a special bond.” Ruby commented, almost jealously.
“She was Violet’s horse.” Ruby knew this was slippery ground. Violet was his deceased wife. And discussing your deceased wife’s horse with your new wife wasn’t anyone’s idea of a good time.
Maybe I should just quit for the day, Ruby thought, but something urged her to push on.
“I’m sure Breeze loved Violet,” she said finally, hoping that she didn’t overstep. He looked at her for a second, then continued.
“She did. She wouldn’t let anyone else ride her after Violet died. She still doesn’t,” he said sadly. “She is a marvelous mare. Such a pity to be just sitting around in the stable.”
Suddenly, the mare moved away from Bronson and approached Ruby, who was standing just behind the safety bar. She could feel the mare’s warm breath on her hand.
“She likes you.” He smiled. “Here,” he said, offering her a cut up apple. “Feed her this.”
Ruby took the apple in her hands and tried to offer it to the mare but immediately retreated when the mare nudged for it. Bronson laughed out loud.
“She won’t bite. Just do it slowly. Like this.” He took her hand gently in his and led it towards the mare’s mouth. As her thick lips picked up pieces of the apple, she left a moist trail of her tongue on Ruby’s palm. With her hand still in Bronson’s, Ruby could feel herself shaking.
For the next several days, Ruby found herself in the stables more and more often, even when Bronson wasn’t there. There was something about Breeze that urged her to keep coming back. She could feel a bond between the two of them that grew with each day. Eventually, Breeze even allowed Ruby to take her out for a walk, and the two strolled throughout the ranch like best friends. Ruby would catch herself whispering into the mare’s ear, and the mare would be neighing in response.
One morning when she entered the stable to feed Breeze, Bronson was waiting for her in front of Breeze’s stall with full riding equipment.
“Here.” Without even greeting her properly, he handed her a saddle and a few other things that she had no idea what their purpose was.
“What is all this?” She looked at him, puzzled.
“I’m teaching you how to ride,” He said, grabbing Breeze’s reins and leading her out.
“What? No, no, I can’t do that. I’ve never ridden a horse in my entire life,” she argued. “I could get hurt.”
Bronson and Breeze stopped and looked at her. “Almost everything we do can make us get hurt. Breeze opened up to you. You should respect that. Breeze sees something good in you. She wouldn’t have chosen just anyone. She won’t hurt you. Trust her.” He caressed Ruby’s cheek gently. “Trust me.”
Both Breeze and Ruby allowed themselves to be led out by Bronson, and the lessons started. Breeze knew exactly what she needed to do, and she did it with pleasure. Ruby followed instructions but found it difficult to mount the horse immediately. However, slowly but surely, along with Bronson’s gentle guidance, she managed to mount the mare.
Suddenly, sitting on top of this majestic animal, Ruby felt invincible. She felt that zeal, the rush for life she had been missing for so long that she had now found alongside this strange but wonderful man, his children and his animals.
Bronson led Breeze gently, and it seemed that both were doing their best to make sure Ruby was comfortable and that she came to no harm. After a few days of practice, Ruby was able to mount Breeze on her own and take her on a quick jog around the ranch.
That evening at dinner, Bronson suddenly spoke.
“Ruby, there is something I wanted to tell you.” His tone was solemn, but just like before, it didn’t lack warmth. Even the children stopped eating and listened eagerly. “There is a social get together tonight, and if you’d like, we could go.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin, as if a little embarrassed by what he had just revealed and needed a distraction not to look at her in the eyes.
Ruby could barely believe her ears. She had been eager to go for such a long time, despite the fact that this desire had diminished slightly after she discovered Breeze.
“Bronson, really?” She had to hear it again.
“Yes, go get ready, and we’ll be on our way.” He smiled.
She rushed to hug him, an act that he reciprocated clumsily. She still found it sweet.
She immediately went upstairs to get dressed, and in a matter of an hour, the children were taken care of and the couple was all dressed up and ready to go.
Upon arriving at the city hall where that evening’s gathering was taking place, Ruby noticed that Bronson was a well-respected member of society. Everyone was eager to congratulate him on getting married. Just like during their wedding, Bronson appeared uncomfortable being showered with so much attention, which was why he tended to greet everyone appropriately but then quickly excuse himself and his new lovely bride only to be accosted by a new pair of inquisitive eyes.
What Ruby didn’t expect was that Bronson would be such a good dancer. To the amazement of everyone around them, he swayed with her on the podium. The entire evening felt magical, but all of a sudden, she realized that she actually preferred the company back on the ranch to the company of all these people who were judging her and her every move. After all, she was a newcomer in their town, and opinions were yet to be formed about her. If she had been her old self, this would be the biggest problem in the world: how to make everyone around her like her. But now, all she could think about was Bronson, Eveline, Roy and Breeze.
“Why don’t we go back home?” She tugged gently on Bronson’s arm at one point in the evening, as they were sitting at their table.
“Wouldn’t you like to stay longer?” He seemed genuinely surprised by her desire to leave so soon.
“No. I’ve had my fun. Now I wish to return home. To our home.” She squeezed his arm lovingly.
The following morning, she decided to wake up the children earlier than usual.
“Wake up, little ones!” She sneaked into their room, bright and early. “We have a special plan for today.”
“A special plan?” Roy was rubbing his eyes, while Eveline jumped out of bed. “What are we supposed to do?”
“Well, you do know it’s Christmas next week, right?” she asked jubilantly.
“Yes, Christmas!” The children jumped with joy.
“We need to prepare the house for a festive mood, don’t we?”
“Yes, we do!” They agreed unanimously.
“And we have a very special present for daddy,” she added mysteriously.
“Really? What is it? What is it?”
She couldn’t contain their joy even if she wanted to. “A little birdie told me that we are having a new baby. What do you think of that?” she asked the children.
“A baby?” Eveline shouted. “A baby of our very own?” Roy asked. They started dancing together, like a crazy little pair of amused monkeys.
“Yes, a baby of our very own.” Ruby smiled as she watched the children take in the news. “But, it’s a surprise, and we can’t tell daddy before Christmas, do you understand? Not a peep!” She pressed her finger against her lips, emphasizing secrecy.
“Yes, shh!” The children repeated her
action, in unison. “We won’t tell. We promise!”
“I know you won’t. That’s exactly why I decided to tell you in the first place. It’s a very important piece of news, and I wanted the three of us to reveal it to your father together.” She smiled.
Both Eveline and Roy felt like important adults who now had an even more important task on their hands.
For the next couple of days, the three of them had a jolly good time decorating not only their rooms and the house but also the entire ranch. All the animals had to know that Christmas was coming, and their houses, stables, barns had to be decorated as well. The spirit of Christmas was in the air, and everyone felt festive and happy.
During Christmas dinner, everyone seemed relaxed and jovial. Even Bronson himself was more talkative. He laughed much more than usual and generally appeared to be having a great time with his family. Ruby felt the same. Now the only thing she was hoping was that the news of their child together would bring him additional happiness on this wonderful day.
When they finished having dinner and sat around the Christmas tree, Bronson announced that he would be reading a story to everyone. The children gathered around, knowing what a special treat this was, and Ruby was equally eager to participate. Cozied up together, they listened to Bronson read the story of a lost little boy who, through hardships and despite all odds, managed to return to his family and live his own happily ever after.
Suddenly, the children jumped.
“Ruby, Ruby, can we tell him now? Can we? Can we?” they asked her.
Bronson looked at them in astonishment. He had no idea what was going on and what this something was, but obviously it was something of the utmost importance, as his children didn’t usually get this excited about just anything.
Ruby thought about it for a while, enjoying the look of puzzlement on Bronson’s face, but in the end, she decided not to put him through this uncomfortable situation any longer.
“All right then, tell your father.” She smiled at them.
“Dad,” Eveline started. “You have a very special Christmas surprise,” she said.
“It’s actually for all of us, not only for you,” Roy added, as Ruby just looked at them with a heart filled with warmth and love.
“A special present? I wonder what it could be!” Bronson was eager to play their game, and it was one of the sweetest sights Ruby had ever beheld: a father and his two children about to reveal a secret that would change their lives forever.
“Is someone coming for a visit?” He tried to guess, purposefully making his guesses silly. “Are we going somewhere?”
“No!” Both children were rolling on the floor, laughing. “He can’t guess!”
“All right, children, do tell him. I’m sure he’ll be grateful to know,” Ruby said.
“Daddy, we’re having a baby!” The children jumped with joy.
Bronson was stupefied. He had no idea how to react. In an effort to check whether this information was really the truth or not, he simply looked blankly at Ruby.
Ruby blushed and lowered her gaze. That was exactly when he knew.
“We’re having a baby!” He lifted both his children in the air, and they started dancing together to music only they heard. Ruby’s eyes teared up.
“I think it’s time for a big celebration to welcome our new family member. Don’t you think so?” Bronson said. The children agreed.
Once he released them from his loving grasp, he approached Ruby and kissed her gently on the forehead.
“This is the best Christmas present ever,” he whispered in her ear. She fell into his arms and felt as if the warmth emanating from his body would melt her.
For the first time since she moved here, since she embarked on this new adventure, she felt truly happy and truly blessed to be Bronson Vaughn’s wife.
THE END
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