“Holy shi-... this is ours!?” I shrieked.
“Yep. Closed on it today. I was lucky to find a sub-lease that was lookin’ for a place quick.”
I slammed myself out of his truck and went running to the porch, and when I saw the beautiful rocking chairs over in the corner, I felt my tears streaming down my face.
And then, I heard whinnying in the background.
“Flynn…?” I asked.
“Come on,” he smiled.
I ran and took his hand, and he led me around back, and when the backyard came into view, I was absolutely stunned. Three horses were in the field with two different foals, and five bulls were over in another part of the yard altogether. Hills upon hills sprawled out in the background, and there was a silver barn way off in the distance.
“That’s the heifer barn. There’s seven of ‘em in there. And don’t worry, I plan to ride the horses out to it until I can get me a four-wheeler or somethin’.”
“Flynn! I breathed.
Apparently, one of the people he ran into at the rodeo owned this farm at one point, but were actually switching their profession and looking to sell. He’d injured himself pretty badly and was losing money bringing in people to take care of the animals he trained and took after they were retired from the rodeo circuit, and that shit was right up Flynn’s alley. The price he quoted included all the animals, and Flynn simply couldn’t turn it down.
Not when there were animals involved.
“I’m sorry, I’m just still in shock with the house,” I said after I swallowed a massive bite.
“I know, but I think I got somethin’ that’ll trump it,” Flynn smirked.
“Jesus, Flynn. I can’t handle anything else. Can’t ya just let a woman’s heart rest a bit?” I asked.
“Not a chance,” he murmured.
I giggled and took a drink of my water, and when I turned my head back around to him, there was a little box in his hand. I froze, feeling my entire body lock up with shock, and when I slowly panned my eyes up to his face, he clicked the box open and showed me what was inside.
It was a beautiful diamond ring glistening in the dim light of the restaurant, and everyone around us had stilled to watch and listen.
“Chelsea August, you are, single-handedly, the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Ya make me feel at home in a city that I shouldn’t belong in, ya warm my body at night after I’ve been fightin’ with them damn bulls, and watchin’ you do what you love day in and day out lets me know I pushed you to do the right thing in college.”
Tears of joy trickled down my cheeks as my gaze slowly rose to his.
“When your mama called me that day, I thought I’d lost you. I thought that I’d never get a chance to ever tell you I loved you again, or hold you close to me and kiss those sweet lips of yours, or even cuddle you into my side while we watched a movie. I saw all them memories slip away from me, and it made me sick.”
I heard sniffling around us while tears glistened in Flynn’s eyes, and I couldn’t help but wrap my small hands around his wrists that were suspended with the ring in midair.
“I prayed to God that night that if He pulled you outta this… if you came back to me… I’d do all the things I never thought I’d get to do with you ever again. I’d take you on adventures, and I’d kiss your lips at night, and I’d hunker down behind you just to make sure you were safe every single time you slept.”
“Oh, Flynn,” I choked out.
“Chelsea August, I love every single part of you. I have since I was 19, and I will until I’m 109. Will you do me the honor of marrying me?”
The entire restaurant fell under a hushed state, and a smile bloomed deep across my cheeks. My body was shaking, and my legs were trembling, but when I shot myself into Flynn’s lap and crashed my lips onto his, the entire restaurant erupted into cheers and chants of congratulations.
“Yes, Flynn,” I whispered into his lips, “I will marry you and together we’ll make a beautiful family.”
He took that beautiful ring out of the box and slid it onto my finger. “A family?” He asked, eyes hopeful.
I laughed, “Yeah, that last appointment was more than I bargained for with the doctor. We’re having a baby!”
He kissed my lips and then all over my face. I relished in his touch, my eyes wet even though I was laughing.
He stood up and announced to the whole place, “I’m going to be a father!”