When they arrived at her house, Will was waiting on the back porch. He strolled out to the car and opened her door, grinning like a possum eatin’ persimmons. “Did you make a haul?”
“Boy, did I.” Megan took his offered hand and let him help her out of the car. “How long have you known about this?”
“For a couple of weeks.” He went around to the back of his mother’s car to help carry things in. “Was she surprised, Mom?”
“Very. We actually pulled it off.”
“For a minute I thought the shower was for someone else, and I felt bad that I hadn’t brought a gift.”
“Told ya.” Will nudged his sister’s shoulder, then turned toward the house with an armload of small boxes. He wasn’t supposed to carry anything heavy yet.
“You’re right, you warned us,” said Jenna. “I’m sorry we made you feel bad, Megan, but we really wanted it to be a surprise. Though I don’t think I’ve ever gone to a shower where the honoree made the dessert. I was afraid you’d get suspicious if I declined your offer.”
Megan opened the kitchen door and turned on the light. “It never occurred to me that you might give me a baby shower. I didn’t realize that was something the ladies at church did.”
“You know, I never thought about telling new folks about the various activities we have.” Jenna set some gift bags on the kitchen table. “I’ll mention that to our program chairman as something we should cover next year. The ladies’ group doesn’t meet again until September. We should probably have a brochure ready to give to people.”
“That’s a good idea.” Sue wheeled in the stroller/car seat. “Shall I put this in the bedroom next to the master? I assume you’re going to use it for the nursery.”
“You assumed right. Thanks.”
After all the goodies were brought in, the ladies bade her good night. Will stayed.
“Did you have a good time?” He led her into the living room and guided her down on one end of the couch. “Want a foot rub?”
“That would be wonderful.” She kicked off her sandals, propped a throw pillow against the armrest, and lay down. After Will sat down on the end of the couch, she rested her feet on his thigh. When he started gently massaging her feet, she groaned softly. “Oh, my, that feels good. You should become a masseur. I bet the cowboys would love it.”
“No, thanks. I’m not about to rub anybody’s smelly feet.”
“Guess that means mine don’t stink.”
“No, they don’t. Now if you’d been wearing tennis shoes, it might be a different story.”
“Careful, big guy. It’s a straight shot from my toes to your chin.”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll behave. Do you want to ride around the ranch with me in the morning?”
“How early?”
“Pick you up around 8:30. It’s nicer to check on the cows before it gets too hot.”
“Sure, I’ll go.” She sighed softly as he gently worked on her arch. “I don’t have any work to do tomorrow. Just so you know, as of this morning, all the cows and calves in my pasture were accounted for.”
“What did they do, line up along the fence so you could count noses?”
“No. I have a good view of the pasture from the porch. I counted the cows, and at that time of day, all the calves were with their mamas. I usually check them again in the evening. So far I haven’t seen any that seem to have any problems. The calves are a hoot to watch. They’re even more playful than I thought.”
“What’s really cute is if there is a little hill or mound of dirt in the pasture.” Will held out his hand and helped her sit up and swing her feet around to the floor. “There’s always one or two of them that will race around, then storm up the mound and play King of the Hill. Feel better?”
“Much. I’m surprised at how relaxing a foot rub is. Thank you.”
“Shall I haul all those presents in here so I can look at them?”
“Sure. I need to take them out of the boxes and bags anyway. You can help.”
Twenty minutes later all the small things were organized into piles on the coffee table. Since he’d had so much fun shopping with her the week before, she wasn’t surprised that he got such a kick out of everything.
After they’d looked at the presents, she showed him the names the ladies had come up with.
“Sparkle Plenty? You’ve got to be kidding.” He looked from the paper to her, raising one eyebrow.
“They could be silly or real. Your mom’s suggestion was Ester Emu.”
He rolled his eyes and studied all the words on the first sheet. “So then they had to find words in the names?” When she nodded, he asked, “Who won?”
“Natalie Jones.”
“That doesn’t surprise me. She was always doing word puzzles of some kind at lunchtime.”
They looked through the suggestions, laughing at the funny ones, discussing the real ones. None of them were right.
“I want one name to be Marie, after Mrs. Hoffmann. She was the kind, loving grandmother I never had.” Megan studied the sheet of paper in front of her and pursed her lips. Marie Alexandra? Nope. Didn’t work for her. “The one I keep coming back to is Marie Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth is my mom’s middle name.” His gaze slid her way.
“I know. Do you think she’d mind?”
He tossed the papers on the table. “I can’t think of anything that would please her more.”
“Then it’s settled. Sweet Baby is now Marie Elizabeth. Only that poses another quandary.”
“What?”
“Should I call her Marie or Beth?”
He smiled and slid his arm around her shoulders. “How about Mari Beth?”
“Oh, I like that.”
But would her last name be Smith or Callahan?
29
Friday morning, Will decided he’d made a big mistake. Not in what he had planned, but in telling his brother and Nate about it.
“You’re going to propose to her in a pasture.” Chance poured himself a cup of coffee and turned around to lean against the counter, gently blowing on the hot brew.
“At the spring. Where Nate proposed to Jenna.” Will started to get another cup of coffee, then decided against it. He was already wired enough.
“It’s still in the pasture.” His brother was good at pointing out the obvious.
“I didn’t exactly propose to her there.” Nate chugged the last bit of orange juice in the bottle, annoying Will further. Now he wouldn’t have any for breakfast tomorrow.
“That’s not the way Jenna tells it.” Will picked up the empty jug and rinsed it out in the sink. He’d put it in the recycle bin later.
“Yeah, well, she has her side of the story, and I have mine.” Nate grinned unrepentantly.
“I guess marrying her there was easier than gettin’ down on one knee in the dirt.” Chance looked at Will. “You gonna get down on one knee?”
“Did you?” Will frowned and turned off the coffeemaker.
“Yes, siree Bob.” Chance’s eyes twinkled with glee. “But I was smart enough to kneel in my living room, not where I might land on a cow pie.”
“I’ll look first,” Will said dryly. He glanced at the clock on the stove. Twenty minutes to go.
“Are you sure you’re up to this?” The teasing laughter had disappeared from Chance’s face. “You look a little pale. Is your head hurting again?”
“It’s all right.” Nothing Tylenol wouldn’t control when it kicked in. “I’m just nervous as a worm on a hook.”
Chance and Nate laughed.
Nate laid his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Appropriate. Just remember the gettin’ caught part works both ways, for the fish and the worm.”
“What if she turns me down?”
“She won’t.” Chance set his cup on the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. “Not because you’ve got money to burn. She loves you. She was worried sick when Thunder threw you.” He glanced at the clock. “You’d better get moving.”
/> Will started for the back door, then turned around to look at them. Neither of them appeared to be in a hurry. “Aren’t y’all going to work? Or are you gonna sit there and drink up my coffee?”
“You’re not going to drink it.” Chance stretched lazily. “I’m in no rush this morning. What about you, Nate? Do you need to hurry off to the job?”
Nate shrugged. When he glanced at Will, his smile was full of mischief. “Naw, the boss is gone a’courtin’. I can take my time.”
When Will pulled up in back of Megan’s house, she was sitting on the porch. He got out and walked over to her, resting one boot on the bottom step. “Tallying up the cows?”
“They’re all present and accounted for.”
“Good. You ready to go?”
“Yep.” She pushed herself out of the chair and picked up a bottle of water. “Where are we headed this morning?”
“Down by Aidan’s Spring.” Was there a quiver in his voice? He glanced at her quickly. If so, she hadn’t noticed.
He helped her into the pickup, hurried around to the driver’s side, and headed down the road. For the life of him, he couldn’t think of anything to talk about. She didn’t seem to mind.
Because he drove extra slow over the bumps and dips, it seemed to take forever to get to the spring. No, he thought ruefully, it would have seemed like forever if I’d been going sixty.
“It’s such a nice morning, would you mind sitting here at the spring for a spell? We might see a critter or two come to drink.” He parked the truck and turned off the ignition.
“I’d like that. In fact, I’d like to look around a little bit. What is that little building? I didn’t notice it when we were here before.”
“It’s the springhouse. Some bushes had grown up and hid it. I cleared them out after we were here.” He got out of the truck and walked around to lift her down.
“Careful, I’m getting so big you might strain your back.” She grinned when he took his sweet time setting her feet on the ground.
“You’re still a lightweight. I’d better hang on to you. The ground is uneven.”
“Excuses, excuses.” They walked over to the stone springhouse, stopping on the slight incline above it. “Did they build it from rocks here along the creek?”
“Mostly. I think Aidan and Jack hauled some bigger ones from the base of one of the mesas for part of it. I’ve never found any rocks that size along here.” He opened the old, rickety wooden door.
“Is that the spring?”
“Yes. It provided fresh water, and the springhouse gave them a place to store things that needed to be refrigerated, like milk, butter, eggs, vegetables, and fruit. Though I don’t know how many vegetables they really had. The water flows out underneath the building and forms the creek.”
Holding on to his arm, she leaned over and peered inside. “How did it work?”
“They put food in crocks, bottles, or maybe a basket for eggs, and set them in the cement trough in the middle. See how the cold water from the spring flows through the trough? It flowed around the crocks or through the egg basket and kept the food cold, even in the hot summer.”
“It probably helped that the trees shade it.”
“I’m sure it did. There’s another one up by the dogtrot. Aidan used water from the windmill to keep it cool, though it didn’t work as well as this one.”
Though Nate and Chance had only been teasing him, maybe they’d been right. He hadn’t brought her here for a history lesson. He shut the door on the little stone building. “Let’s go sit on the bench. Maybe a bird will sing us a tune.”
Dumb, Callahan.
“That would be nice. I enjoy having the windows open at the house and listening to the birdsong.”
Okay, maybe not so dumb.
They sat down and quietly listened. There must have been a dozen birds in the trees around them, and for about five minutes all they did was chirp. Pleasant enough but not as good as a concert.
A sparrow landed above them in the pecan tree and sang a pretty song. Will had always been partial to a sparrow’s music, and it calmed his nerves a bit. Thanks, Lord, for that little blessing.
“Megan, when we talked a while back, I said I wanted to see if God had something good for us.” He took her hand, caressing the back of it with his thumb. “The more I’ve grown to know you, the more I’m convinced that he sent you here so that we could find each other.”
She looked up at him, love shining in her eyes. “I think you’re right.”
Oh yeah. She was going to make this easy. “I love you, sugar.”
“I love you too, Will. I never knew I could care so deeply for someone.”
“Then we probably should spend the rest of our lives together, don’t you think?”
He glanced down at the ground to make sure it was clear of rocks and other unsavory debris and slid off the bench, kneeling on one knee on thick grass.
“Oh, Will . . .” she whispered.
He fumbled a little taking the ring out of his shirt pocket. Holding her hand, making sure she could see that big ol’ diamond, he asked, “My sweet Megan, will you marry me?”
“Finally,” she murmured, her eyes sparkling.
Will frowned. That wasn’t even close to the enthusiastic response he’d expected. “What?”
The love of his life laughed, even as her face turned pink, and she caressed his cheek. “Sorry. I was beginning to think I’d have to sic your mama on you to get you to propose. Yes, I’ll marry you, my sweet, stubborn, bossy, wonderful man!”
That’s what he wanted to hear.
He slid the ring onto her finger, relieved that it fit, and leaned up and kissed her. She put her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the love she’d been holding back. A half dozen kisses later, he eased back, dropping a light kiss on her nose. “I’ve got to get up.”
Laughing, she released him and held out her ring to examine it. “Wow. Double wow.” After he sat down real close to her and put his arms around her, she leaned her head on his shoulder, her hair tickling his chin. “That’s one whoppin’ diamond, Will Callahan.”
“Only the best for my girl. Soon to be my wife.” He kissed her forehead. “Speaking of which, the wedding will be soon, right?”
She jumped and put her hand on her stomach. “It better be.” She winced and smiled up at him. “Mari Beth approves.”
Will looked down at the little foot poking up against her top. “May I?”
“Of course,” Megan said softly, taking his hand and guiding it to her stomach. “Mari Beth, this wonderful man is going to be your daddy.”
He rested his hand lightly on her stomach, and his little girl touched him, tapping that tiny foot against his palm to say hello.
For the first time in a very long time, tears rolled down Will Callahan’s cheeks.
When they reached the ranch house an hour later, the whole family was waiting for them. The instant Sue spotted the engagement ring, she cried, “Hallelujah!” and hugged first Megan, then Will.
Everyone else gave them hugs, slapped Will on the back, and offered their congratulations. Zach danced around in excitement and finally asked, “Why’s everybody so happy?”
Will scooped him up, holding him on one arm so they could see eye to eye and talk man to man. “Megan and I are going to get married. She’s going to be your aunt.”
Zach threw up his hands. “Yea!” He looked down at Megan’s round stomach and leaned closer to Will. “Mama said she’s going to have a baby.”
“That’s right. A little girl. She’ll be your cousin.”
Zach nodded, though Will wasn’t sure the little guy really understood what a cousin was. He was, however, clearly pondering something. The room fell silent as they waited to hear what Zach had to say. “Ramona said Megan’s going to pop soon, so y’all better hurry up and get hitched.”
Will roared with laughter, along with all the adults, including his very red-faced bride-to-be and the equally rosy-cheeked houseke
eper. He gave Zach a big hug and winked at Ramona. “She’s right.”
He set Zach down and put his arm around Megan. Smiling at his bride, then his mother and the girls, he laid down the law—as agreed to previously with his betrothed. “We’re exchanging our vows two weeks from tomorrow. Pastor Brad already has us on his schedule. So y’all better jingle your spurs.”
“We’re already ahead of you.” His mother pointed to the couch. “Sit.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Will followed Megan to the couch. “Now, before the steamroller gets moving, just remember that you don’t want to squash a pregnant lady.” Or a cowboy who’d just as soon skip all the fuss and get married in Pastor Brad’s study in three days. He didn’t even want to wait that long, but the law required it. “Don’t take too long because we need to go get the marriage license.”
“Might as well wait to go to the courthouse this afternoon.” Dub glanced at his watch. “By the time you get to town, the county clerk will be getting ready to go to lunch.”
“Did y’all know he was going to propose?” Megan held his hand, squeezing a little too tight. Was she upset with them or just a little nervous?
“He spilled the beans to Nate and me early this morning,” said Chance.
“Wanted some tips on how to ask you.” Nate picked up Zach and set him on his lap.
“I did not.”
“You asked if I got down on one knee.” Chance conveniently ignored the fact that he’d mentioned it first.
“After you asked—”
“Boys!” Sue frowned at them. The fact that she included Nate in her motherly chastisement showed that she considered him one of her kids. “We have better things to do than listen to you snip at each other.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The words came from all three of them, though not quite exactly at the same time. Zach looked at his dad and uncles and grinned. Even the kid knew when his grandma gave a command, everybody obeyed.
His mother picked up a yellow, legal-size pad. “I assume you reserved the church when you talked to Pastor Brad?”
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