Addy poured chips onto her plate and then passed the bag over to Jesse. “He wanted me to be his friend and tell him how to live his life. When I refused, he gave me that file.”
“That makes him even worse,” Mia said.
Jesse kept quiet and let Addy tell the rest of the story. With every comment from Mia, his heart got lighter and lighter. After those first few rocky days, it was great to see his daughter standing up for him and her mother.
“If he goes through with joining Doctors Without Borders, he will probably get sent to one of the small African villages.” Cody reached for the pitcher in the middle of the table, refilled his glass, and then passed it around the table. “If he’s not fully committed to this, he’ll be miserable. When he puts his name on that contract, they don’t come get him until the time is finished.”
“He deserves it,” Pearl said, “but he seemed so nice when he was treating Sonny and was Addy’s friend. I can believe he has trouble making decisions. He was one of those kids—one that his parents did everything for him, and he never really had any hard knocks in life. He was married to Amelia when his folks died. I guess he just never learned to take care of things on his own. Hard to believe he’d do something so shady as to have Jesse investigated.”
“Yep, but then one never knows what they’ll do if they want someone to do something they won’t do,” Addy said and then focused on Jesse. “You ready to drive to the lumber yard and get these folks some more building material?”
Jesse laid his napkin on the table and stood up. “Only if they’ll promise that they will slow down a little so I can, at least, say I got to have a hand in building our new barn. I’ll want to tell future generations that I helped build the barn the year I came home from the military.”
Cody picked up another sandwich with one hand and the bag of chips with the other. “We promise we’ll save a nail or two special just for you. Mama, it’s so nice to be able to sit down to a meal in air-conditioned comfort. I’ll never take home for granted again.”
“Me either,” Jesse agreed.
Driving to Bonham, even with a trailer hitched up behind his truck, took fifteen minutes, barely enough time to cool down the cab. Jesse turned the radio to the station that played the older, traditional country music, and the first song the DJ played was Shania Twain’s “From This Moment On.”
He braked and pulled the vehicle over to the side of the road, parked in the gravel, and turned up the radio as high as it would go. He hopped out of the truck, rounded the front end, and opened the door. “My name is Jesse Ryan, and I’ve been admirin’ you for a while now. May I have this dance?”
Addy put her hand in his, slid out of the truck, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He two-stepped with her all around the truck and didn’t even miss a beat when two vehicles went by and honked.
The lyrics said that life had begun from this moment, and that she belonged right beside him. Jesse breathed in the scent of her hair and hummed along with the song.
Addy leaned back slightly and sang right along with Shania, saying that from this moment she had been blessed, and that she would give her last breath for his love.
When the song ended, Jesse dropped down on one knee and took her hands in his. “I don’t have a ring, and this isn’t romantic, but after listening to that song, I want to say this. I love you, Addison Hall. With my heart and soul, I love you. Will you marry me?”
As luck would have it, the very next song on the radio was “Cowboy Take Me Away” by the Dixie Chicks. Addy dropped on her knees in front of him and nodded. “Yes, a thousand times, yes.”
Jesse jumped up, scooped her into his arms like a new bride, and spun around in circles until they were both dizzy. Then he put her on the ground and began to dance to the music. “I’m so happy that my heart is pounding.”
“I can feel it,” Addy said. “This song is from me to you. Like it says, cowboy, take me away and fly me as high as you can for the rest of our lives, Jesse.”
“I’ll do my damnedest to make you happy,” he said.
“Right back at you.” She nestled her cheek against his chest. “Someday, I want to tell our grandchildren about the day you proposed, and how romantic it was.”
“I’m glad it doesn’t take much to please you.” Jesse knew that he was the luckiest cowboy in the whole state of Texas.
“I love you so much,” Addy said as she sealed their new promises with a long kiss.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Addy would have been happy to go to the courthouse, get married in ten minutes, and go home, but Pearl and Mia weren’t having any part of that idea. They decided that the last day of July would be a nice day for a wedding. Henry would still be at the ranch and could attend. Pearl and Sonny had decided to drive to Colorado with Henry and help get him settled into his new home on the first day of August, so everything would work out just fine. Lucas even said that he could fly in for a couple of days to attend the wedding.
Now, the day had arrived, and Addy was so nervous about the whole affair that she really wished that she and Jesse could run away and elope. For a whole five minutes, she was alone in the Sunday school room that they used for a bride’s dressing area. She sat down in a rocking chair and stared out the window at big fluffy white clouds. Twenty years ago, on the last day of July, she had taken a pregnancy test and found out that she had gotten pregnant that last night Jesse was home. Whoever said that a girl couldn’t get pregnant when she and a guy had only had sex one time had rocks for brains.
Mia came in from the hallway with Addy’s bouquet in her hands. A sunflower with a bit of baby’s breath around it looked lovely in her dark hair, and her deep yellow dress fit her every curve just right. “You’ve got fifteen minutes, Mama, and then Grandpa is coming to escort you down the aisle. Are you ready for this?”
“Are there a lot of people in the church?” Addy asked.
“Yep, but it is Saturday night, so it’s like date night for everyone, and we’ve got quite a spread in the fellowship hall besides that truly gorgeous cake. It’s also a time for everyone to get all dressed up and fancy. Speaking of which, you should see my father. He’s so danged nervous that I had to keep assuring him that you would forgive him if he forgot a line of his vows. He wants this day to be perfect for you.”
“Thank you, Mia, for working so hard with Pearl to make this day special. How you two got all this together in two short weeks is amazing,” Addy said.
“Hey, not every girl my age can say that she got to be the maid of honor at her parents’ wedding,” Mia said. “Now, get your boots on, and take these sunflowers. I’m glad you decided on these instead of roses.”
Pearl peeked into the room. She wore a dark green dress with a pretty floral scarf around her shoulders and an emerald necklace. “I brought you a little present. My mother-in-law gave me the same one on my wedding day, and I thought you should have them.” She handed Addy a tiny satin bag tied with a drawstring at the top.
Addy opened it to find sunflower seeds. “Oh, Pearl, this is a wonderful present,” she said. “I will plant them around the back porch.”