“Especially while they’re looking at art,” I said seriously.
Vanessa shook her head. “I really don’t know how to thank you enough for helping me out with the place,” she sai
d.
I put my hands over hers, where they rested on the table between us. “Don’t worry about it,” I said, smiling crookedly at her. “I’m glad that I can be involved in some way. Your passion is infectious.”
“I’m just glad you’re here to experience it all,” she told me, a dark shadow crossing her face for a moment. I felt another fleeting stab of guilt because I knew she was still beating herself up over the fact that I had almost gotten seriously injured — or worse — trying to win the rodeo competition.
“I’m fine,” I reminded her. “Takes more than that to hurt me.”
Vanessa shook her head, but there was a shaky smile on her face.
When we finished our meal, I suggested we take a little walk down to the lake. I took my coat off and draped it around her shoulders, knowing that she must be chilly given the temperature and the flimsy nature of her cardigan. She smiled her thanks back at me.
“So seriously, what’s the reason for all of this?” she asked quietly as we got down to the lake. “You and Dad were planning something, I could tell.”
I laughed and shook my head. But then, I took a step closer to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “The past couple months have really brought some things into focus for me,” I told her. “And, I’ve had plenty of time to think since I haven’t really been allowed to do much other than think for two whole months.”
She laughed. “I know how difficult that’s been for you!”
“The thing is, I’ve really enjoyed watching you get everything ready with your gallery,” I told her. “I never thought I’d see you this excited about something to do with White Bluff.” I paused. “When you left for college, I never thought I’d see you back in White Bluff for more than a quick visit around the holidays.”
She ducked her head. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
I waved away her apology. “That’s not what I’m looking for,” I told her. “Just, I got to thinking about you leaving. And, I thought of us being separated again. I really don’t like that feeling.”
“Well, the good thing is, unless my gallery goes belly up, it looks like I’m staying in White Bluff,” Vanessa said. Then, she frowned. “Although, I am still kind of worried that the gallery is going to flop. I’m doing everything I can to make sure that that doesn’t happen, but what if we can’t-”
I put a finger to her lips, silencing her for a moment. “The gallery is going to do great,” I told her firmly. “You just have to believe in yourself. But anyway, that’s not what I’m talking about. Or not exactly, anyway.” I sighed at the quizzical look she sent me.
“Vanessa, I hate the idea of spending even one more day away from you. With my accident, I think we both got a taste of how fleeting life can be. I don’t want to miss spending another day with you.”
Vanessa turned toward me, her mouth in a rounded ‘o’ shape, and I had a feeling she knew what was coming next.
I got down on one knee, pulling out the ring box that I had stashed in my pocket earlier that evening. “Vanessa Thomas, I know I haven’t always been the most reliable guy out there, and there’s a lot about me that I’m still working on changing, but you make me want to be a better man — the best man that I can be. And, there’s no one else that I want by my side in this life other than you. So, I was hoping that you’d do me the honor of becoming my wife.”
I popped open the ring box, watching Vanessa’s eyes sparkle with unshed tears. “I asked your dad for permission,” I told her. “And, he gave me the ring. It’s the same one that he used to propose to your mom, way back when.”
Vanessa’s hands were up covering her mouth by this point, and in the next moment, she sank down to her knees in the sand beside me. “Oh, Trethan,” she breathed. “Yes. Absolutely, yes.”
I slid the ring onto her shaking hand, watching as the brilliant stones sparkled in the light of the moon. She flung her arms around me. “There’s no one else I want to spend the rest of my life with either,” she told me fiercely.
I snickered. “What if I developed amnesia after that fall, and I actually think I’m someone else?”
Vanessa yanked away. “Not funny,” she said, but I could tell from the way her eyes crinkled around the corners that she was more amused than she was letting on.
I looked around. “So, what do you say we make love right here on the edge of the lake?” I asked. “That would be romantic, right?”
She looked scandalized. “Anyone could walk down and see us,” she said.
I sighed. “Well, I still have some blankets in the back of my truck,” I said.
She snorted at that one. “Always prepared, and always thinking about sex,” she said fondly.
“I mean, with a fiancée who’s this hot, how could I not?” I asked her.
Vanessa smiled at that. “Fiancée,” she repeated. She tucked her head against my shoulder, staring out over the lake. “I like that.”