by Shayna Ryan
Billy wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He sat out in the waiting room, hoping to get news about Cass from the nurse, or news about Melanie from the Haffners once they were done checking in on Cass. He felt a bit out of place, like he had no right to hope to be kept informed about either of them, but he didn’t know what else to do with himself.
Mrs. Haffner came out to find him some time later. “It’s broken, but she doesn’t need surgery, thank goodness,” she informed him with a gentle smile. “I wanted to thank you for getting her here. She tells me that she might’ve been stuck out in that field all day, if you hadn’t shown up. She says it hurt too much to walk back for help, but you showed up at just the right time.”
“I’m glad she’ll be okay. How’s Melanie?”
“Better, but still weak. They’ll probably release her tomorrow or the day after.”
“Good. Well, I guess I’ll be getting home now. Thanks for letting me know how they’re doing.”
“Wait, Billy. We need to go back up with Melanie, and Cass needs a ride home. Do you mind hanging out here a little bit longer, until she’d finished up? They’re waiting for the pharmacy to fill her pain medication prescription, and then she’ll be ready to go. She needs a ride home.”
“I would, but I don’t think Cass would like that.” It pained him to say it out loud, but he was certain it was true. She had probably seen enough of him in that one day to last her a lifetime. No doubt she had put up with him long enough to get her to the hospital to tend to her broken wrist, but he imagined that’s where her tolerance for seeing him would end.
“I think you’re wrong,” Mrs. Haffner informed him confidently. “I know Mr. Haffner’s been telling you to steer clear, and that was good advice at the time, but things can change.”
“What do you mean?” He didn’t dare hope that Cass’s anger towards him had softened yet.
She patted his arm gently. “Just bring her home, please. I’ve got to go back to Melanie.”
Billy stood frozen in place for a moment or two after she left. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then went to find Cass.
She was still resting on her gurney, but now she was sporting a fresh cast on her broken wrist.
“I hear you need a ride in a little bit. Is it okay if I bring you home?” he asked cautiously.
She nodded. “That’d be fine. Thank you, by the way, for all of this.”
“It was no problem.”
An awkward silence fell and neither looked at each other.
Finally, Cass broke the silence. “Why you’d do it, Billy?” He could hear the pain in her voice, and he knew she wasn’t talking about bringing her to the hospital.
“We had just started seeing each other, and Melanie and I had kissed a few nights before in the barn, and we were both drunk…” He was ashamed of his lame excuses, but it was all the truth.
“But you guys are really over now?” He nodded anxiously, unsure of where she was going with all of it. Cass fiddled with the bed sheet to avoid looking at him.
“And how do you feel about me, now?” she asked so quietly he could barely hear her.
“I love you,” he answered frankly as a lump formed in his throat. He had said it. It was out there now, and she knew his true feelings for her.
“You’ve got a funny way of showing it, sleeping with my sister,” Cass snapped. Her eyes flashed dangerously and Billy knew he was entering dangerous territory here. But there was no turning back now.
“It’s not that simple, Cass.”
Cass frowned. “So it wasn’t the first time something had happened between the two of you?”
“No, but it was the last. I swear to you, Cass, it was the last.” He needed her to understand that it was over. It wouldn’t change anything between them, but he hoped it might ease her pain over their break up.
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
“Melanie and I are through, now that the baby’s gone. It was her idea, but I know that she’s right. We rushed into things, because of the pregnancy. We really don’t belong together; we’re better off as friends.”
“So now what?” Cass watched him closely through narrowed eyes.
“Now I go. I’m leaving shortly to go back to my old ranch. Melanie and I were going to go, but now it’s just me.” Cass looked surprised at this news.
“You’re really going?”
Billy nodded. “It’s best for all of us. All I’ve done since I came to the ranch is make a mess of things, for everybody.” It felt cathartic to say it out loud, finally. Nothing could change the past, but he was grateful for the opportunity to explain it to her. Maybe it could give them both some kind of closure.
“And you love me?” Her voice was barely audible and he strained to hear it.
“Yes.” He finally met her gaze. Her expression was unreadable and he swallowed thickly as he waited for her reply.
She broke their eye contact first and examined her fresh cast. “I see.” Still not looking up at him, she added, “Maybe you should stick around then, instead of leaving.”
He couldn’t believe his ears. “Cass...do you want me to stay?”
It felt like it took an eternity for her to answer the question, even though in reality only a few seconds had passed. She slowly lifted her gaze to meet his, and then gave him the smallest nod. “I love you too,” she whispered.
“So now what?” Inside his heart burst with joy, but he didn’t want to make assumptions about where this was all going.
“So now you stay, and we try again.”
“But I…you…what about Melanie?” He didn’t know what she would think of him staying, and he didn’t want to cause her more difficulty.
“She and I spoke this morning, and she wants you to stay.” Billy raised his eyebrows in surprise. “She knows how we feel about each other, and she encouraged me to give you another chance.”
Billy leaned back in his chair and smiled. That Melanie was indeed a hell of a woman. After all they had been through, she was encouraging Cass to forgive him and give him another shot.
“So are you going to?” he asked her eagerly.
“If you’ll have me- but there’s something you should know. I’m the one who busted out your truck window. I’m sorry. I was just so angry at you and-”
Her words were cut short when Billy leaned over and kissed her eagerly. He was mindful of her wrist and the angle was awkward, but she responded shyly at first before matching his vigor.
“I don’t give a damn about my truck, Cassandra Haffner. You’re the only thing that matters to me.” His heart sang as her green eyes looked back at him, full of love.
-14-
“Someone else bought it,” Cass exclaimed sadly as they passed by Old Man Jones’s land for sale. The ‘For Sale’ sign had been capped with a proud ‘SOLD’ sign. “I was so close, too. Another six months, the place would have been mine.”
“I’m sorry, honey. I know you really wanted that land.” Billy patted her thigh affectionately. “But no one’s taken it over yet. We could still check it out.”
“Why?” Cass pouted. “It won’t ever be mine now.” In the five months since they had reunited, Cass had become increasingly obsessed with starting her own ranch. This land had been her dream, and now it had been yanked out from under her.
“I know, but at least we can still take a look around. Even if this place can’t be yours, you can show me what you planned to set up here. Something else will come along someday, you know. It doesn’t mean your dream is over.”
She sighed “You’re right. Okay, let’s just stop for a little bit. I can at least show you what I wanted to do here.”
He pulled into the lot and they walked hand in hand towards the back of the property.
“Right here,” Cass gestured, “is where I wanted to put the main house, with a stone patio off the deck to enjoy sunset cookouts.” Billy nodded to show he was listening. “And there, that’d be where I’d put the barn for the pregnan
t mares and the mares with young foals.” They continued walking for a bit, until Cass stopped again. “This is where I’d put the main barn, with the pastures all to the back.”
“It would have been lovely,” he agreed.
“Yes,” she sighed, “it would have.”
Billy reached into his back pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He handed it to her with great flourish. “We best get working on that.”
Cass gave him a quizzical look as she accepted the paper. A huge grin spread across her face as she unfolded and read it.
“You’re kidding me!” she gasped.
Billy chuckled. “Nope, it’s ours.”
“But how did you…”
“I’ve been saving my pennies for years, and some cute lady once convinced me that owning a ranch of my own would be a good idea,” he teased. “There’s one more thing, though.” Cass gasped out loud as he dropped down on one knee and produced a small jewelry box.
“I love you, Cassandra Haffner, and I want you to be my bride. We could set up a good life for ourselves on our very own ranch here. Will you marry me?” He opened the box to reveal a huge solitary diamond, set in white gold.
“Yes,” Cass whispered with tears in her eyes, “I’d love to be Mrs. William Forester.”
As they shared their first kiss as a newly engaged couple, Billy knew without a shadow of doubt that he had ended up with the right Haffner sister after all.
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