Now she could call Amelia and her parents. Wouldn’t they be shocked at everything she had to share?
Amelia was first.
“Hey,” Olivia said. “Great news!”
“Oh yeah, what?” her sister returned. “And hello to you by the way.”
“First, the ring sold so we can add it to your fund. Guess how much for?”
“I have no idea, you were guessing that you’d get a couple thousand, right?”
Olivia smiled. “I was, but we got three. Isn’t that fantastic? It’s not as much as my wildest dreams but it’s way more than my worst-case scenario.”
Amelia started to scream and Olivia held the phone back, laughing at her sister’s joy. She didn’t blame her, either. She felt happy for her, but she was also happy for herself and the news that impacted her.
“Guess what else?” Olivia screamed, hoping to get Amelia’s attention.
Amelia screamed for a few more seconds and then must have run out of breath, because she said, “What?” in a voice that sounded like she’d just crossed the finish line of a sprint.
“I got a job.”
“No kidding? Where?”
“Right here in Cherish.”
“Stop kidding around,” Amelia said.
“I’m serious.” Olivia went on to explain what she’d be doing as head librarian and town historian. Finally, Amelia believed that she was being for real.
“Well, wow, congratulations. Things must be pretty serious with Colton for you to do that.”
“Well, I don’t know if they are, but we want to see what’s going on,” she said and then let out an involuntary giggle.
“Oh boy, you’ve got it bad, Sis.”
“Maybe, but hey, I’ve got to go and tell Mom and Dad all this, too. I’m going to get the check tomorrow and I’ll have it made out to you and send it overnight, okay?”
“Yes! Thanks so much. I couldn’t have done any of this without you, Olivia. You’re pure gold. Love ya.”
“Back at ya.”
Her parents were equally shocked by the news, of course, but she could sense relief in her mother’s voice, in particular, that a guy had been part of the inspiration to stay. Knowing that the guy was what had connected her to the ring and the ranch made for a great story, one that would be fun to tell someday, regardless of how things worked out. That was the kind of thing her mother loved. And so did Olivia, if she were honest about it. Every relationship that came with a great story was destined for an interesting adventure. She and Colton had already begun one and they weren’t done yet.
***
When Colton and Olivia pulled up to Mal’s house, they were starving. All the action that day had led to so much excitement. Now that things had calmed down, food was just what they wanted. Some pleasant conversation would be nice, too, but they were eager to celebrate.
The truck pulled up in front of the home and the two got out. The front door swung open as they did and Mal was standing there, waving enthusiastically. “Hello, you two. Just come on in.”
Then she was off.
They walked into the house and right into the kitchen, where they could hear the sounds of pots and pans being moved around. When Olivia saw Mal running around frantically, she couldn’t help but think of Sandra earlier that day. Only she had been quiet like a ninja. Mal … she was louder than Zeus shooting thunder bolts down from the sky.
“Grab a beer. Wade’s showering and will be down in a second.”
The three began to talk and with her back to them, Mal asked, “So, you just going to be living at the ranch then, Olivia?”
Colton just about choked on his beer.
Olivia’s face instantly grew flustered and she didn’t think she could answer. Her throat felt like it had swollen right up. “I … uh … we—”
“We will let you know after we talk about it. Tonight’s about celebrating the job,” Colton said, stepping in.
Olivia looked at him and mouthed, “Thank you.”
He mouthed, “You’re welcome,” back.
Then Wade entered the kitchen. “Hello, and congratulations.” He walked over to Olivia and gave her a hug and looked at Colton and gave him a thumbs up.
Colton was grinning ear to ear.
That night ended up being one that was so wonderful for Olivia. She felt like she’d really found a place to call home in Cherish and that she was on her way to making some really good friends. And as far as Colton went, she was thinking that they were making some really great progress, too. They were figuring things out and taking some chances, which was what made life more exciting.
***
When they got back to the ranch, it was still pretty early, only 8:00. Weekday dinners weren’t too lengthy when you had to get up at sunrse—tired or not.
“You know, I’d wanted to take you dancing and we never got around to it,” Colton said. “Let’s have our own little dance right here.”
She smiled. How much more romantic could this cowboy get? He was like Fred Astaire mixed with John Wayne. It was a unique combination and she was glad to get to see it. And he was hers—well, kind of. They were figuring it out, which was all she could ask for.
Two minutes later with Chris Young playing in the background, Colton pressed into Olivia’s body and grabbed her hand. They began to move slowly in rhythm to the song, each of them relaxed in each other’s arms.
“So, about that living question that Mal so nicely put you under the spotlight with,” he began.
“I don’t want to think about that tonight,” she said. And she didn’t.
“Well, I have thought about it and I was thinking that since you already have a room here, seems silly to move everything out to another place. Unless that’s what you want, of course.”
“You want me to stay here?” she asked. She was thrilled, but had been hesitant to presume anything. After all, they were very early in to this thing. It had been a lively and crazy journey thus far, but there was a lot more life to live to get to know each other.
“I’d like it, but only if you would too.”
Colton looked at Olivia and waited for her to answer. They kept dancing and moving like they were built to dance with each other. “I would like that, Colton,” she said. “How much will my rent be?”
“Real cute,” he said. “It can’t cost that much to keep you here, a couple thousand at most.”
“What?” she asked, wrinkling her eyebrows.
“Nothing, bad joke.”
“I can work on that,” she said.
Then she leaned up and wrapped her arms around his neck and moved her lips to his and they began to kiss. There they were dancing, hip to hip, their bodies pressed together and their lips connected, hungry for each other.
Chapter Fourteen
The way that Colton and Olivia settled into their life was nothing short of incredible, really. Their connection grew stronger with each passing day and they each learned the quirks of the other that could only come with time. Thankfully for both of them, none of those quirks were deal breakers.
Colton had a bad habit of squeezing the tube of toothpaste in the center, which drove the carefree Olivia surprisingly crazy. The solution—she just bought her own tube. Plus, she was a Colgate gal, whereas he was a Crest guy.
And Colton was challenged with the way that Olivia washed her dishes and put them in the sink to dry, instead of just drying them and putting them away right away. When he mentioned it, she cut him a deal—if he got the coffee going in the morning for her, she’d start putting them away right away.
So their lives had developed their own unique rhythm that worked for both of them. Their days were busy with their jobs—Colton at the ranch and Olivia down at the library—but their nights were saved for each other and each day brought butterflies to their stomachs as they counted down the seconds to the evening, when they would be together.
But the weekends brought the most time together. Colton could sleep just a bit later and Olivia tried
to wake up just a bit earlier so they could smile at each other before getting out of their bed. It was their weekend morning ritual and it made them appreciate the little things that made up their whole so much more.
One Saturday, after Colton had finished his work, the two decided to go downtown to walk around and maybe do a little window shopping.
As they casually strolled hand in hand down Main Street, Olivia was talking excitedly about the new display for the Cherish Historical Society. “The cabinet came today, Colton, and it’s amazing. Don Jaggerty did a fantastic job. Such a skilled craftsman.”
“He does good work. It’s amazing you could get him to do that so quickly for you. He’s usually booked out for a long time.”
“Well, I guess I just got lucky,” she said as she smiled. She wasn’t too afraid to say that she’d used a bit of her charms to get him to work on that project quickly, because she was eager to make her mark as Historian and that cabinet was part of the plan.
“When will you set up your display in there? It’ll be nice to have all those letters visible for others to see.”
“Soon. I was thinking of holding a black-tie event,” she said. “Do you think everyone would like that?”
He stopped and looked at her. He didn’t want to hurt her feelings by being too blunt. “Not too many people are in to black-tie affairs here, unless you mean a black clip-on with a pair of Wranglers, then maybe.”
She started laughing. “Got ya!”
“Thank goodness it was a joke,” he said. He reached over and began to tickle her side, which made her laugh loudly. Loud enough that her voice echoed off the building they were walking past.
Epilogue
(five months later)
“Oh look, I didn’t know the grand opening for that store was today,” Olivia said, smiling and pointing ahead. There was a sandwich board on the sidewalk with balloons tied to it. They had been living together for more than four months.
“What is it?” Colton asked.
“It’s a bridal store called Buckles, Boots, and Brides Wedding Shoppe. I had a brief chance to meet the new owner at Kitty’s. Her name is Kelsey Jackson and she’s absolutely lovely.”
“She moved here to open a store like that?” he asked.
“Don’t be so suspicious of us outsiders,” she said.
He laughed. “Well, to be honest, you are more in the know in this town in just a few short months than I ever have been. You vying for Mal and Cindy’s spot?”
“Very funny,” she replied, playfully swatting at his arm. “We actually had lunch together a few days ago. Mallory was there, too. Kelsey moved here just to get away and get a new start. She didn’t say why, exactly, but I think she was burnt out on whatever it was she was doing. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. New businesses are good for the town, right?”
“You running for mayor now?” he asked, laughing.
“No, but I was thinking about writing in your name,” she bantered back. “Now let’s go in. You don’t mind, do you?”
“Not at all,” he said. He was smiling bigger than a Cheshire cat.
She looked at him curiously for a second and then turned around, eager to go into the new store.
There were about six people in the store when they walked through the open door. Olivia spotted Kelsey immediately. Kelsey saw her too and waved, then put her pointer finger in the air, signaling that she’d be with them in a second.
Colton and Olivia looked around at everything.
“This place is set up great,” she said. “Oh my, look at these boots. They’re awesome.”
He followed her around as she looked at everything and finally Kelsey came over.
“Sorry to keep you waiting so long,” she said. “How are you, Olivia?”
“Great.” The two hugged quickly. “That’s great that you’re busy, Kelsey.” Then she turned to Colton. “I’d like you to meet Colton.”
Kelsey extended her hand. “So you’re Colton.”
“Oh boy,” he said. Colton never responded well when he knew people were talking about him. Made him feel as uncomfortable as if he had a biting ant crawling down his pants.
“It’s all been good. Both your sister and Olivia speak very highly of you,” Kelsey quickly said. “We spent a great deal of our time talking about you when we had lunch the other week.”
The two giggled and he squirmed. He finally said, “Well, congratulations on the new store. I hope it’s a success. Where did you come from?”
“Jackson Hole,” she said. “Used to own a shop similar to this there with a friend. I ended up selling out to her and moving on.”
Olivia looked at Colton, amused by his nosiness.
“Well, Kelsey, we’ll let you tend to all these customers. We have got to do coffee soon, okay? I have so many questions for you.”
“Sure, that would be nice,” Kelsey said. “Well, I see someone’s set to check something out. I’d better take care of business. It was nice to meet you, Colton, and I hope you both have a great day.”
When Kelsey walked away, Colton said, “That’s my sweet, little nosy girl.”
“I’m a historian; being nosy is my job,” she said, then winked.
“Did you want to look at anything else before we go?”
“No, not right now,” she said. “I might come back and get those boots, though.” Then she glanced at the wedding dresses and quickly turned away before she’d gotten busted. He had busted her, though, but he didn’t turn away.
***
Colton began to head back to the ranch.
“I thought we were going to Deer Run after this,” Olivia said, looking around confused.
“Later,” he said.
“Okay. Did you forget something at the ranch?” she asked.
“Maybe,” he replied.
She folded her arms. “What’s going on with you? Why’re you being so elusive?”
“Just feel like it,” he said.
She would have been mad as a hornet if she wasn’t so darn intrigued by why he was acting so strangely. What had come over him? She hoped he wasn’t freaked out about the stop at the new store. Guys could be kind of odd that way, thinking that everything wedding related was a hint if a girl wanted to look at something.
“It’ll be fun having such a neat new store in town, don’t you think?”
“Sure,” he said.
If he was going to be a one-word-answer kind of guy, she was going to get him for that. She was so curious about what was going through his mind, but couldn’t resist bringing out the devil in her just a bit.
“Can we go to Hawaii on a vacation?” she asked.
“Possibly.”
That one was actually good—to not get a no—because Olivia had always really wanted to go to Hawaii and had yet to do it.
After a series of silly questions and ridiculous one-word responses, the ranch was finally in sight. Colton moved down the driveway but he didn’t stop at the place he usually parked.
“Where are we going?” Olivia asked.
“You’ll see.”
She thought he must have lost his mind. There they were driving through the pasture and he finally came to a stop. It was at the place she knew very well, right down to the bump in the earth.
“Why are we here?” she asked.
He didn’t answer. He got out of the truck and walked around to open up the door for her.
She put her hand in his and slid out and then he guided her to the front of the truck.
“I like this spot. How about you?” he asked.
“You know I do, Colton,” she said. “It’ll always be special to me.”
“I have to ask you something, okay?”
Now she was getting nervous. She’d never seen him like this before and she didn’t know how to begin processing it. “Sure,” she said hesitantly.
“Olivia Jaspers,” he said, taking both her hands in his and looking right at her. “I’ve been entertaining a black-tie event of my own, and was w
ondering if you’d consider becoming Mrs. Olivia Tisdale?”
Her jaw dropped and she was frozen that way, replaying what he’d said in her mind to make sure she heard him right.
“Oh Colton,” she finally got out.
“Well?” he asked, now looking a bit edgy.
“I’d love to marry you,” she said. She flung her arms around him and kissed him. “You’re so sly, you had me so confused. I had no idea what was going on. I—”
She froze mid-sentence when he showed what he had pulled out of his pocket. It was a ring, but not just any ring; it was the ring that had been her great-grandmother’s.
“Oh my, I don’t understand,” she said. Tears were streaming down her face and he gently took her hand and slid the ring on.
“A perfect fit just like it was when you tried it on a few months ago.”
“How?” That was all he could ask.
“I had Wade purchase it at that auction in Bozeman. I just couldn’t let you lose that ring.”
“But what if I’d said no?” she blurted out.
“Obviously I’m glad you didn’t, but even if you did, I would have given it to you. It belongs to you, not some stranger who doesn’t know its history.”
“And that’s why you took me out here to the place where we found it. Colton, you think of everything, don’t you?”
“I try, but I’ll admit, I incorporated a bit of help from Mal. I just wanted it to be perfect, because Olivia, you’re perfect for me. I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” she said.
The two hugged again and felt each other’s warmth. Their bodies fit together as perfectly as their minds and wit. They had already had many cherished moments, and it was just the beginning.
~ The End~
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Charlene Bright is the author of several contemporary western romance novels. She’s a lifelong resident of the American South and currently residents in southern Oklahoma on a family-owned cattle ranch. She greets each morning with a hot cup of coffee and an optimistic smile. Traveling to America’s national parks is her favorite pastime.
Cherished Moments (Cherish Cowboys Book 2) Page 12