“Em, don’t move. Stay perfectly still. Can you stay perfectly still?” Garrett whispered.
I swallowed hard and nodded my head.
He very carefully removed his hand from my mouth. “Don’t make a sound.”
I opened my mouth, and he looked at me.
“If it’s my father…run!” I whispered.
Garrett looked at me, confused at first, and then he must have understood what I’d meant.
He rolled his eyes and smiled. “No, it’s not that, but I do need you to be calm. Okay?”
“Calm. I can do calm,” I said with a wink.
When I felt him against me, I immediately began grinding myself against him.
He peeked down and raised one eyebrow. “Em, this is serious.”
I pouted. “What could be more important than you taking me against the tree?”
Garrett’s eyes darted over my head and then back at me. “The rattlesnake near us is kind of taking top priority right now.”
I smiled, but then it hit me. Did he say…rattlesnake?
“What did you say?” I said a little louder.
He held his finger up to his mouth. “Baby, I need you to very slowly start getting up after I get off of you, okay? Don’t make any sudden movements or loud sounds, or the snake will—”
Oh. My. God. He did say rattlesnake!
I pushed him as hard as I could, somehow managing to throw him onto his back, while I let out the loudest scream humanly possible. I was pretty sure my arms where flailing about as I jumped over Garrett before making my way to the car. I jumped into the backseat, and for some reason, I was still screaming. I watched as the snake took off in the other direction. Garrett got up and quickly wrapped the quilt around him. He turned and just looked at me. I let out another scream and then another, but each one got quieter and quieter.
He shook his head as he walked over to the car and opened the door. “Damn, woman, you left me out to burn.”
I threw my hands up to my mouth and started to laugh. “Garrett, I’m so…I’m so sorry, but I just panicked.”
“You don’t say?”
I bit down on my lower lip and felt the blush hit my cheeks when I realized I was still naked.
“I could have been bitten by a snake, and you just took off. Matter of fact, you pushed me out of your way and jumped over me in your escape.”
I slowly dropped my hands and looked behind him to make sure the beast was gone. Then, I remembered my dream last night where Garrett had taken me against the tree.
“Garrett?”
When he gave me that smile of his, I knew I could go forward with this. I pushed him back and got out of the car. Now that it was daylight, I could really see him taking in every inch of my body, and the lust in his eyes turned me on even more.
I lifted my foot and began running it up and down my other leg. “I do believe you promised to…take me up against that tree.”
Garrett dropped the quilt and grinned as I looked at him.
He pulled me to him and put his lips on my neck. “I do believe your exact words were that you wanted me to fuck you against that tree.”
I let out a moan, and the naughty girl inside me was more than ready to come out and play. The only thing I could say was, “Yes…please.”
Garrett picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around him. He reached down and picked up the quilt. He walked over to the tree and placed the quilt behind me before pushing me against the tree.
He was about to lift me up and slide me onto him when he stopped. “Shit! Condom!”
I let out a laugh as he slid me down his body. He turned to go get one, and then he stopped. He glanced back to me, and I was about to say something when he put his hand on my mouth again. My eyes widened, and he shook his head.
“Truck. A truck is coming!”
I pushed his hand away. “Oh my God!” I yelled.
We frantically began searching for our clothes.
Where in the heck is my bra? The car! It’s by the car!
As I took off toward the car, Garrett jumped in front of me, and we ran right into each other. He started running in circles, and I couldn’t help but start laughing. I found my bra and attempted to put it on. Garrett was now dressed in his pants and shirt, and he was helping me get my skirt on.
“It’s getting closer, Garrett!” I said.
He picked up my garter and hose. We both looked each other in the eyes, and the next thing I knew, he was shoving them down his pants. Garrett spun around, and then he grabbed my hand and pulled me over to the quilt. He began spreading it out, and then he pushed me down on it.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I tried to sit back up.
“Trust me! Lie back down and just look up at the sky.” Garrett lay down next to me and then said, “Shit! The condoms!”
He jumped up and kicked a bunch of dirt over them. Then, he sat down next to me right as the truck came around the bend. When I turned and looked at it, I noticed it was Mr. Bauer’s truck, and sitting in the front seat was—
Oh no, my father.
Garrett grabbed my hand. “I’m glad we had last night.”
I couldn’t help but let out a giggle as I sat up and waited for what was about to happen.
When Mr. Bauer got out of the truck, he immediately looked at Garrett.
“If I die in the next two minutes, always remember, I love you.”
I swallowed hard when my father got out of the truck. He looked at me and then Garrett.
I turned to Garrett and smiled. “Same goes for me.”
I reached down and grabbed Emma’s hand as I watched David and Dr. Birk walk up to us.
“Emma, Garrett, are you enjoying the morning?” David asked as he looked at me.
He knows.
Dr. Birk walked up and looked at Emma. “Emma, Mrs. Mathews said you and Garrett left earlier this morning to watch the sun rise. Why in the world are you doing this?”
My mouth about dropped to the ground, and Emma squeezed my hand. I quickly looked at David, who winked at me.
Oh God, my mother knows Emma and I had sex. Dr. Birk killing me would be better than facing my mother right now.
“Daddy, I don’t expect you to understand, but I can’t be away from Garrett any longer. I gave school a try, and I’m not going back. I’m staying here with Garrett.”
My heart started pounding as Dr. Birk slowly looked at me.
He nodded his head and turned to David. “Do you want to start, or should I?”
I stood up and stepped forward and cleared my throat. “Dr. Birk, before you begin, may I please say something?”
Emma’s father turned and looked at me. “Yes, Garrett, you may.”
I faced Emma and smiled. When she grinned back up at me, I knew what I was about to do was the right thing. I leaned down and gently kissed her on the cheek before facing Dr. Birk and David.
“Dr. Birk, I know you don’t think I can provide a good future for your daughter since I gave up on school and all, but I promise you, I work my butt off every day on this ranch. My father built one of the best cattle ranches in the area, and I intend on making it even better. I want to give your daughter the world. I want to take her places where she’s only dreamed of going. My goals in life are simple, sir. Work hard, build an even better name for this ranch, and wake up every day and thank God for what he has given me. The most important goal though is to love Emma more than life itself, to shower her with attention, and to do my best to keep her safe, healthy, and happy.”
I saw the corner of Dr. Birk’s mouth turn up, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up. When I glanced over at David, he nodded his head once at me.
Dr. Birk looked down at the ground and then back up at me. “Son, I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear you say all of that. It’s important to have goals in life. Simple or not, they are our driving force to better ourselves. I have goals of my own as does Mr. Bauer over here.”
David nodded his head and placed his h
ands in his pockets.
“Now, I’m not saying I’m okay with my daughter coming home one day and saying she is dropping out of college. I think it is very important for her to get an education, and the same goes for you.”
I wanted to say something, but he held up his hand. “Garrett, I know what it took for you to walk away from your scholarship, and I know why you did it. I commend you for being the man you’ve become. But…you want something that is mine, and there is no way I’m going to give her up without some negotiations.”
My heart was pounding so loudly that I was sure everyone could hear it. “Negotiations?” I asked.
Now, it was David’s turn to talk. “Garrett, you know your father and I were best friends since we were ten years old. I respected him more than anything.”
I nodded my head. “Yes, sir.”
He cleared his throat and continued, “This past year has been hard on all of us, especially you and your mother. I’ve tried my best to be there for both of you, and…well, something has been happening over the last few months.”
I already knew where David was going with this. I’d seen him and my mother together. I’d noticed how he was the only other person besides me who could make her smile. For the last two months, whenever David had walked into a room, my mother would light up.
I nodded my head and smiled. “I’ve seen y’all together, David. I see how happy you’ve been making her.”
Relief spread across David’s face. He smiled and then looked away before quickly looking back at me. “Yes, your mother makes me very happy as well, Garrett. I’m happier than I’ve been in years. We’ve been talking the last few weeks, and with Billy going to college and planning on moving to Austin, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about my own ranch. It’s much smaller than the Mathews’ ranch. Your father and I had actually talked about him buying me out.”
I tilted my head. “Buy you out? You mean, he was going to take over your ranch?” I looked at Emma.
“Yes, the deal was that I would sell but remain on as a ranch hand to help your father until you were out of school and could begin taking over full-time.”
My head was spinning. That would make our ranch one of the biggest cattle ranches in Mason County. I smiled at the possibilities that could bring to our ranch.
David let out a chuckle. “Garrett, I can see your mind already working. Yes, that would make the Mathews’ ranch the biggest cattle ranch in the area.”
Dr. Birk smiled. “Garrett, I have a proposition for you. Right now, you don’t have the monetary means to buy out Mr. Bauer, but I do. We talked this morning with your mother, and we’ve all come up with a plan.”
Emma reached for my hand and stood up next to me. “Daddy, what kind of plan?”
“Now, I want you both to just listen to me before you say anything.”
Emma and I both nodded our heads. I didn’t even realize that I had been holding my breath until I slowly let it out as I waited for Emma’s dad to tell us his plan.
“I will help with buying out Mr. Bauer’s ranch, and in exchange for buying him out with cash, Mr. Bauer will come on as the ranch hand for the Mathews’ cattle ranch. He will be in charge of running the ranch daily while you and Emma are attending school at the University of Texas.”
Emma and I both said at the same time, “What?”
Dr. Birk took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. “Garrett, I’ve never thought that you were not capable of taking care of my daughter. I knew you didn’t get into Texas A&M just on a football scholarship. I’ve seen your grades, and I know you were third in your class in high school. Son, I want to see you succeed to the best of your ability. It’s very clear to me that my daughter is in love with you. I want the best for her, and I want the best for you. I want to see the two of you fulfill your dreams, but I firmly believe you both need to have college educations—not only for you but for my grandchildren.”
Emma sucked in a deep breath and said, “Daddy—”
Dr. Birk held up his hand and shook his head. “My grandchildren that y’all will be giving me after you graduate from college.”
I quickly said a prayer that Emma wouldn’t get pregnant because of my stupid mistake last night, but if she did, we would deal with it. Right now, I was just trying to take everything in.
“Dr. Birk, I don’t…I mean, I can’t afford to go to school. All the income coming in goes right back into the ranch.”
“I know that, son. I consider this an investment. I’m investing in you and your future,” Dr. Birk said as he looked at Emma and winked.
Emma let out a squeal and ran into her father’s arms.
My legs felt like they were about to go out. Emma’s father is going to pay for me to go to college on top of buying David’s ranch? Why would he do that? I slowly shook my head and ran my hand through my hair, trying to process all of this. “Dr. Birk, I do not mean any disrespect, sir, but why would you do all of this for me?”
Emma’s father smiled as he looked me in the eyes. “I want to do this for you, Garrett, because my daughter loves you, and I believe you have a very bright future ahead of you.”
“Sir, if I do this, then part of the deal must be that you will allow me to pay you back for everything.”
I looked at David, who seemed to be beaming. He was smiling from ear to ear.
When I glanced back over at Dr. Birk, he was smiling bigger. “Garrett, you were truly raised as a gentleman. You should be very proud of your parents. Yes, I agree to your part of the deal, son.”
Dr. Birk reached his hand out to me, and when I reached out to shake it, he pulled me in and quickly hugged me. I stepped back, and David stuck his hand out for mine.
As we shook hands, he pulled me in and whispered in my ear, “Your father would be so proud of the man you have become. We’ll talk about last night after Charles leaves.”
I stepped back and smiled. “Thank you, sir, and, um…okay.”
Emma jumped up and down and then ran into my arms. “Garrett, we’ll be together and in school!”
I smiled as I hugged her.
“There is one more thing,” Dr. Birk said.
Emma quickly turned to face him. “What, Daddy? I’ll do anything.”
“I want you both to promise us that you will not get married until after you finish school,” Dr. Birk said.
David nodded his head. He was quickly becoming more and more of a father figure to me, so his agreement spoke volumes to me.
Emma started to argue with her father, “Daddy, what? Why? I don’t see—”
I stepped in front of her and nodded my head. “Although I want nothing more than to make Emma my wife, I do understand why you are including this condition.”
Emma pushed me out of the way and placed her hands on her hips. “Excuse me, I don’t seem to understand.” She glared at me and then looked back at her father. “Why does it matter if we get married now or if we wait until after we graduate?”
Her father smiled. “Emma, let’s just slow down and take things one day at a time. I think Garrett understands our reasons.”
“Well, I don’t, Daddy.”
“I want you both to focus on school. Your first year is almost over, and Garrett can take summer classes to catch up. I’m not asking you to wait a long time. All I’m asking is for you both to wait a few years.”
I walked up next to Emma and took her hand. When her eyes met mine, something happened between us. We didn’t have to be married to know we belonged to each other. After what we had shared last night, I would wait forever for her. I gave her a smile, and when she smiled back, I felt the ground move.
Without looking back at her father, Emma said, “Okay. As long as we are both at the same university, I think I can wait a few years to become Mrs. Garrett Mathews.”
I pulled her to me. I began kissing her, and I wasn’t sure where my head was until David put his hand on my shoulder.
He pulled me back. “Garrett, I’d like to see you live another
day, so mind your manners when it comes to kissing Dr. Birk’s daughter, especially when he is standing right next to you.”
Everyone let out a laugh, and I watched as the blush moved across Emma’s cheeks.
“Come on, let’s head back to the house. Your mother made potato soup, and it smelled like pure heaven. We will get you registered and all taken care of with the school by the end of the week,” Dr. Birk said.
I wasn’t about to ask how many strings he was fixin’ to pull to get me into the University of Texas for the spring semester. I had been offered a football scholarship there, but I’d turned it down to go to A&M. Now, I was wishing more than anything that I had accepted it.
We spent the rest of the afternoon sitting on the porch, making plans for Emma and me to go to school together. Dr. Birk had walked inside to use the phone at least a dozen times. The last time he walked out onto the porch, he had a smile on his face as big as the Grand Canyon.
He cleared his throat and looked down at my mother and David before turning to me. “Garrett, I hope you’ve kept in shape, son. Starting this coming season, it looks like you’ll be playing football for the University of Texas.”
Emma and my mother stood up and began jumping up and down as David stood up and shook Dr. Birk’s hand. I just sat there, stunned.
What in the hell just happened?
This morning, I was a cattle rancher, and now, I’m walking on the UT football team and getting my business management degree.
I shook my head and started to laugh. I looked up and silently thanked my father for continuing to look after me.
August 1958
I stood outside Moore-Hill Hall, waiting for Garrett to come out. He had been so busy all summer with taking classes to get caught up that we had hardly spent any time together. With all the football practices he’d had, we’d barely had time to say hi, but Garrett had made sure that we snuck in time to be alone together. I thought I would go insane if Garrett didn’t make love to me at least once a week.
I smiled as I thought back to last night. He hadn’t had a condom with him, so he’d refused to do anything. Ever since our first time together when he’d forgotten to use one, he had made sure to always have plenty of condoms with him, so he had been beyond frustrated that he had forgot one last night.
A Forever Love Page 10