I growled, “Stop trying to get fucked on the front lawn.”
She pushed out from behind me and strode toward the house, calling out, “Maybe later, then? At my house?”
Earlier in the week, Caroline took me to see a little farmhouse about five miles from our ranch. It was set back off the road on a wooded hill. Some rich guy bought it a long time ago, thinking he was going to use it as a rural escape, so it was well maintained but empty for years. I didn’t even know there was a house there. Apparently he decided to sell it and Caroline was the first person to look and she made an offer. It was a really beautiful house. The kind of house you could raise a big family in, and it was close to the ranch.
Quickly adjusting my rising situation, I chased after her. “You got the house?”
She smiled and nodded.
Holding the screen door open for her, I said, “Tonight just got a whole lot more interesting.”
“Why’s that?” she said, playing coy.
I leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Because I am going to help you christen every fucking room.”
Surprising me, she turned, grabbed me by my shirt, and shoved her tongue back in my mouth. My girl was as hard up as me.
Luke threw open the door. “Oh Jesus, y’all get a room.”
I laughed in Caroline’s mouth this time. Caroline demurely turned to Luke and said, “I did.”
Luke laughed. “You got the house?”
Caroline nodded. “Yes, I did.”
Maddie appeared behind him. She was looking mighty pregnant all of a sudden. “Oh, Luke, leave them alone; they're just getting reacquainted. You remember what that was like.”
Caroline pushed on up the stairs, headed for Maddie, and asked, “Did he tell him yet?” She was referencing the fact that Horse was still trying to tell my father that he planned to marry Sarah.
Maddie shook her head. “Nope.”
“I just don’t get it,” Luke said, “Our dad is like a giant softy. What is the big deal?”
I said, “It’s a big deal.”
As we moved into the dining room, Caroline put on her doctor voice and said, “How are you feeling, Maddie?”
“I stopped puking. That’s something.”
Kat, who was putting the leaf in the dining table with Jamison, said, “The second trimester is the sweet spot.”
Jamison concurred. “Oh, for sure.”
Maddie sighed. “What I hear you saying is that I’m going to feel shitty again.”
Cody walked in carrying a stack of plates and laughed at Maddie’s gripe. “I am so glad I don’t have to be the pregnant one.”
Sarah came in halfway through his comment. Horse was behind her with napkins and she was holding the silverware which she almost dropped as she asked, “Is Jamison pregnant?”
“Oh my God, no,” said Jamison. “One hundred percent no. No more babies out of wedlock for me.” I caught a certain twinkle in my little brother’s eye and realized it wouldn’t be long before he made her his wife.
My father called out from the kitchen, “Y’all get excited, I think I cooked a roast.”
Caroline turned to me. “Is your father cooking dinner?”
Kat, who was crossing past Caroline and me, headed toward the living room to get Bill, Miriam, and all the kids, whispered, “I say no matter what it tastes like, we say it’s delicious.”
Shockingly, dinner was delicious.
“Dad,” Bill said, grabbing the last stray carrot off the serving dish. “I cannot get over it. Dee-li-cious.”
“YouTube,” my father said. “It’s a gold mine.” Spending time with his grandchildren had forced my father to enter the twenty-first century.
Cody joked, “Welcome to the internet, Dad. You’re a little late, but we'll make room for ya.”
There were snickers around the room.
My dad leaned back in his chair, putting his legs out under the table. “Laugh it up, y’all. I’ll be here, not doing dishes.”
Sarah’s jaw dropped. “Does he normally do dishes? Because that’s not how I remember it.”
“I’m pretty sure that getting out of chores is the reason he has all us kids,” I said as I stood to start gathering plates. At my movement a few others started to shift and get up.
On the far side of Caroline, Horse put both his hands on the table and stood up slowly, saying, “Before we adjourn, I have something I would like to say.”
Sarah’s eyes went wide, and she pulled at the cuff of his shirt, whispering, “You don’t have to do this here, in front of everyone.”
He smiled down at her and said, “I can’t wait anymore. I don’t want to.”
Nervous energy buzzed under my skin. I loved moments like this, when something truly happy was all around us. I looked around the room at the faces of my brothers. They were all smiling, holding on to the women they loved. Sarah was quiet, looking up at Horse like he was absolutely perfect.
The gentlest of us all, Luke said, “I think this is a fine time, Horse.”
“Get it, dude.” Jamison smiled.
I put my arm around Caroline, and she curled into my shoulder like we were cuddling on the couch watching a movie.
Horse huffed out a breath, then turned to my father. “Duke, I have something important to tell you.”
My father sat up in his chair. He glanced at all our faces, questioning how he should feel and finding only joy there, he smiled. “Okay, son, lay it on me.”
“I want to let you know that I love your daughter and I’ve asked her to be my wife.”
My father’s smile widened, and he went to speak, but Horse put up his hand to quiet him. “As I’m sure you know, your daughter is of her own mind and doesn’t see herself as property of any man.”
My father chuckled and shook his head.
“That said, she is also constantly a conundrum. So, out of respect for you, she will not wear the engagement ring I’ve given her until I’ve spoken with you. Rather than ask you for her hand in marriage, she would like me to inform you that I am the man that she has chosen to spend her life with.” Once the words were out, Horse expelled another nervous breath. And then he said, “On a personal note, sir, it will be the honor of my life to marry your daughter and to officially become a part of this family.”
I squeezed Caroline tighter. This would be me one day, telling the sheriff that his daughter had agreed to spend her life standing next to me.
My father leaned back in his chair, smiling. “Horse, my daughter is strong and capable. She works hard and she’s as good and kind as they come. As far as I can tell, that’s the kind of person you are too, so the fact that she picked you doesn’t surprise me one bit.”
He stood, crossed from the head of the table till he was standing next to Horse, and with open arms said, “The honor is mine, son.”
Under her breath, Jamison who was sitting to my right, said to Maddie, “There he goes again, acting like freaking Jesus.”
Catching their silent conversation, I giggled to myself. Caroline glanced up at me, her eyes glassy. I couldn’t stop myself; I bent and sweetly pressed my lips to hers.
Then Bill pounded the table and we all followed suit, making a real ruckus. There was lots of hugging and backslapping. Sarah went into the kitchen and got the ring from her purse and the fawning began.