“Yeah, well, you've always had a soft spot for me, Dad, and I think there's always been a divide between us. And I think I've always been a little hard on you both.”
My mom wipes away a tear from her eye. “Well, I know your dad and I have prioritized work and–"
“Yeah, because you and your firm help people when they're in tough spots, that's what you do as lawyers. And your clients are really lucky to have you fighting for them when they need you. And I just wanted you to know I appreciate you giving me the help I needed by making sure I got here. I love you both. So, so much.”
My parents give me a hug. "Thanks, sweet pea," my dad says. “Now this man of yours. This serious?”
I smile. "It's the most serious. Like forever serious."
"That's what we heard," my mother says. “Your aunt and uncle called us and let us know how entirely serious it was which is why we flew here after Ledger gave us a call.”
“He called you?”
Mom nods. “He did. He wanted us here today for the families to meet.”
Tears are in my eyes. "I love him," I tell them both. “I know we just met, but...”
My dad shocks me by wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Honey, that's how love works sometimes. It's mysterious, ain't it? Pops up at the least expected times. After losing Chestnut, I have an inkling you might just know how precious it is too. There are no guarantees with life, are there? That's why, and I apologize if I get this metaphor wrong, but when you find love in life, you got to grab it by the reins and hold on tight.”
“Oh my God, Dad, I think that might be the sweetest thing you ever did say considering you’ve never been on a horse as far as I can remember.” I fling my arms around my father, a man who does not belong on a ranch but has a place in my heart forever.
Ledger joins us and I introduce him to my parents. He's polite and courteous and kind in ways I knew he would be. Ledger takes my hand, lacing our fingers together, and my whole stomach fills with butterflies. Everything about the moment feels memorable.
And so minutes later, when he gets down on bended knee, I am not surprised. I am just absolutely in awe.
His parents are at my parents' side, and my aunt and uncle are right there too. Ledger pulls out a diamond engagement ring and looks up into my eyes. My heart, it's bursting with devotion for him.
“Livingston Young, I love you. The moment I saw you on this ranch, I knew you were something special. And you told me that first night we talked that you were one of a kind. You were right. You are. And I want to make you my wife. I am a cowboy through and through, and I know you're a fancy-ass English rider, but I think somehow, some way, the stars were aligned when they brought us together. So here I am, doing this properly with all our families involved, on bended knee, just like you wanted, offering you my grandmother's diamond ring, asking for your hand in marriage, because your father already gave me permission to pop this question. Will you marry me, Livingston Young? Will you be my bride?”
My eyes fill with tears. And I swear my mom and my aunt and his mom are all crying. Even my father and his father and my uncle are blinking back their emotions.
And when I fling my arms around my husband to be, there's only one word on my lips. “Yes, yes, yes!” I kiss him here and now, and he picks me up and he swings me around. "I love you," I say.
“I love you more.” And he slides that ring on my finger and he kisses me again and again, and again.
He is my cowboy, and I am his bride.
And I plan on keeping it that way forever.
Epilogue 1
Ledger
One year later…
It's a beautiful spring day. The sun is shining high and the sky is as blue as Liv’s eyes.
I'm in the stands, arms crossed, holding my breath. In the same position I’ve taken for the last three days. It's the exact same posture I hold every time I'm at one of her competitions. When I go to these things, the event is comprised of three different disciplines: dressing, show jumping, and cross-country. Liv's specialty is the jumping, and her horse happens to be that soured stallion Flame that had gotten all tangled up in that barbed wire fencing well over a year ago at her uncle's ranch.
I'm not surprised that's the horse she fell in love with. She told me a story about giving it an apple the same day she realized she was head over heels in love with me. That moment turned a corner for her about opening her heart up again. Since then, she and that wild horse have been thick as thieves.