by Mia Brown
After they got married Blaze moved in with Dallas and sold his house. He stayed there for a few months until asking her if she would want to move into somewhere new with him. He loved her house but it still always felt like her place. He wanted somewhere for both of them to call home. Finally, after a long chat with his parents, he decided to build a house on the ranch just as his mother had wanted to do for him all that time ago. The house took a while to come together but they had finally moved in. Last night was the first night they had spent there. This morning Blaze woke up first. For a while he just watched Dallas sleep, amazed that this woman was now his wife. Amazed that this was now their home. He was so happy and felt so blessed to have her. He wanted to kiss her but he didn’t want to wake her, so he crept silently to the kitchen to make some coffee instead. Dallas had an uncanny ability of waking up whenever the coffee was being made no matter how far away the kitchen was to where she was sleeping. He wondered if it would be different in the new house but made her a cup regardless. Just as he was finishing up, she strolled in.
“Good morning, sleepyhead,” Blaze said to her.
She chuckled. “Good morning. I smell coffee.”
“Your sense of smell is quite amazing,” he said. “Did you sleep well?”
“I did. How about you?”
“Very well. Let’s sit outside. It’s such a beautiful morning.”
They went to sit on the front porch together and they smiled as they looked out over the ranch. It was good to be back in this place. He could see his parent’s house in the distance and wondered if they too were drinking their coffee on the porch. It was just far enough for him not to know. On the other side was his brother’s apartment, a smaller cottage which his parents had built for him. That, too, was just far away enough for privacy.
“We’re so lucky to live in a place like this,” Dallas said.
“I know. I can’t believe I’m back on this ranch. It feels good. I guess a part of me always knew that I would one day come back here. And here I am.”
“I’m looking forward to today,” she said.
“Me too. Although I’m mostly looking forward to my mom’s cooking.” They tried not to take food from his parents too often, but Blaze’s mother was always giving them food and they loved it. Neither of them cooked as well as she did.
“Are you going to make a cake again?” she asked. “I mean, it’s the famous cake I’ve heard so much about. I think it’s finally time that you make another one.”
Blaze chuckled. Ever since he’d made that cake for his mother they had all been expecting him to make another one. The whole thing had become a bit of a joke among the family and he knew they would never rest until he made another one. “Will you help me? I’m not sure I even remember how.”
“I’ll help you.”
Today was going to be a good day. They were all meeting at Blaze’s parent’s house to celebrate the engagement of Tyler and Veronica. It was just going to be a small family affair but everyone was looking forward to it. Veronica was a part of the family now and Blaze had been so pleased when Tyler had finally proposed. It was what they had all been waiting for. So, after the coffee and breakfast they spent the morning making cake and laughing at the mess they had created. As it turned out, Dallas was just as bad as baking as Blaze was and the cake turned out like something a child had made.
“We can’t take this cake there,” Dallas said. “It looks ridiculous. Maybe we should go and buy one quickly.”
Blaze chuckled. “No, let’s take it. This is sort of what mine looked like when I baked one the first time but it was delicious. Hopefully this will be the same.”
“Can I say you made it?” she said.
He laughed. “No ways. We’re in on this together. Hey, are you okay? You look a bit pale.”
“I’m feeling a bit queasy today, but that might be from all the icing I ate. I’ll be fine. I just need a glass of water.”
Later that day they headed over to the house. Dallas was acting a bit strange but whenever Blaze asked her what was going on she said she just wasn’t feeling too well. He hoped the distraction from the family would make her feel better. When they arrived they smiled at the way Blaze’s mother had decorated the place. She’d gone to a lot of effort, with big engagement banners and balloons decorating the outside deck.
“This looks great,” Blaze said to her. “They’re going to love this.”
“Ah, I’m just so excited. Another one of my boys getting married. I’m so lucky,” she said.
“And there was a time when you thought we would never find anyone,” Blaze reminded her. “You had such little faith in us.”
“Well, you sure took your time. Dallas came as a great surprise to us.”
“Hi son,” Blaze’s father said. “Good to see you. Hi Dallas. So, how’s the deal going?” he asked. Blaze was in the process of purchasing Dallas’s work building from Will. It was what he had wanted to do all along and he was glad when Will happily obliged. Will had become good friends with the two of them and had finally found a woman who made his heart beat a little faster.
“It’s going well,” Blaze said. “The paperwork is almost complete.”
“Wonderful. I think it’s a grand idea. Such a great investment for the future. How’s work going, Dallas?”
“Busy, but good. I’m still loving every moment of it,” she said with a smile.
“Good for you. Not many people love what they do so it’s such a blessing when you find something like that. Now, let me get us some drinks.”
Tyler and Veronica arrived moments later. They were both grinning from ear to ear and Veronica kept looking at her ring in excitement.
“I still can’t believe I’m getting married,” she kept saying.
“I still can’t believe I found someone like you to marry someone like me,” Tyler said.
“I still can’t believe that anyone would want to be with Tyler,” Blaze teased.
“I still can’t believe that we all live on this ranch,” Dallas added in.
“I still can’t believe that Blaze made a cake,” their father said.
“I still can’t believe how crazy you all are,” their mother said and everyone burst out laughing.
It was a good day, although Dallas still looked a little under the weather. Blaze had just the thing to make her feel better though. He had wanted to do this all day but he didn’t want to steal the limelight from Tyler and Veronica. When everyone was saying his goodbyes he told Dallas to go home and said he would meet her there.
She frowned. “I don’t understand. Why aren’t you coming back with me?” she asked.
“It’s a surprise. Just go home and wait inside for me. Not on the porch, okay? Inside.”
She chuckled. “Okay.”
Once she was gone Blaze dashed out to get his surprise, which had been waiting for him at a friend’s house nearby. Blaze had been wanting to get Dallas a puppy for ages. She loved animals but had never been able to keep one of her own in her small house. Now, with the big open ranch, they had the perfect space for it. He put the little Labrador into his car and headed back. When he arrived, he called out to tell Dallas to close her eyes. Then he walked in and told her to open her hands. She did as she was told and he put the puppy in her arms. Her eyes flew open at the feel of the dog and she squealed. She kissed the dog and then looked up at Blaze with wet eyes.
“Oh my god. Is this…is this…”
“He’s ours,” Blaze said.
“You got me a puppy?”
“I got you a puppy. I have always wanted you to have one and now that we have all this space at the ranch, I knew that it was the right time.”
“Oh, Blaze, he’s beautiful. This is the best gift ever. Thank you.”
“What are you going to call him?”
“Steve?” she suggested and they both laughed. “Just kidding. I don’t know. He looks a bit like a Winston, doesn’t he?”
Blaze laughed. “Winston it is. I’ve b
een dying to give him to you all night. I didn’t want to overshadow Veronica and Tyler’s big evening though. But this little guy was waiting for you all along.”
“I’m so happy,” she said. “And…well…it’s come at a good time. Because I have something for you too.”
“You do? What’s that?”
Dallas reached into her pocket and pulled out a pregnancy test. Blaze stared at it, shocked by what he was seeing and not quite fully comprehending what was going on. He tried to talk but it was like his brain and his mind were no longer connected. Eventually, he looked up and grinned.
“You’re pregnant?”
She nodded. “I took the test earlier today. Remember when I went out to the store to get some drinks, well, it was only because I wanted to get a test. I wasn’t feeling well since the morning and something told me to just double check. I also didn’t want to say anything at the party. I wanted to tell you first. Are you… are you happy?”
Blaze jumped up and hugged Dallas. As he did, Winston thought was time to play and tried to tackle them both. It was amazing how quickly he felt comfortable with them. Blaze leaned over and kissed Dallas.
“I’m so happy,” he said to her.
“I’ve always wanted to raise my child with a dog around. So this is perfect. Oh, little Winston, you’re going to have a baby brother or sister in nine months,” she said to him.
“What should we name our child?” Blaze said.
“Steve?” she said again and they both dissolved into laughter.
“Oh, I have one more thing,” Blaze said as he rushed out of the room. When he came back he was holding a bunch of flowers. “Don’t think I forgot. Happy Valentine’s day,” he said.
Dallas smiled. The flowers were huge and just as beautiful as the ones he had sent her all that time ago. She took them from him and grinned. “Have I told you lately how much I love Valentine’s Day?”
“I thought you hated it?”
She shook her head. “Oh no. It’s my favorite day of the year now.”
The End
Copyright © 2018 by Mia
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