Their Wander Canyon Wish

by Allie Pleiter

  “I expect you do.” Manny surprised Wyatt by standing up and pulling him into a hug. “Go get ’er.”

  “I plan to. All three of ’em.”

  * * *

  Gail slid the paper across the desk toward Marilyn. “So, here’s what we’re prepared to offer you. It’s probably way below what you were used to in Denver, but we’re a small operation here.”

  Marilyn wondered if it was professionally appropriate to look aghast. She hoped so, because she had no hope of hiding it. “You told me you weren’t expanding here at the chamber.”

  Gail blushed. “Well, that’s before we found out I was expanding.” When Marilyn gave her a quizzical look, Gail laid her hand on her belly. “I’m due in January.”

  “You’re expecting!” Marilyn cried out.

  “Expecting, expanding, and...exhausted. We’d be essentially job-sharing. Are you okay with that?”

  “Absolutely!” The hours and salary fit Marilyn’s needs perfectly. Still, she felt she had to ask. “You’re okay with...me?” After all, this was a public relations position representing Wander Canyon, and there were still going to be people who stared a bit too long or wouldn’t quite meet her eyes.

  Gail gave her an understanding look. “I can’t think of anyone better for the job. And quite frankly, I think the world doesn’t have a better set of problem-solvers than a pair of working mothers.”

  Marilyn laughed. “You’re right there.” There had been a time when the threat of looks and questions would have kept her in hiding. She was on her way to becoming a different woman now. Wyatt had peeled away the layers of need and doubt that Landon had created. She knew, now, that she would never allow someone to do that to her again. She could—and would—teach her girls the same strength and sense of self.

  A gush of gratitude filled her, as if the tight knot that had been in her stomach for months finally eased its grip.

  They talked for a few more minutes about schedules and logistics. By the end of the conversation, Marilyn had no doubt the job would be a perfect fit. At one point, she looked out the office window to one side and caught sight of an anxious-looking Wyatt pacing the sidewalk in front of the building.

  Gail gave a knowing smile. “I think someone is impatient to see you.” She handed a folder to Marilyn. “Here’s a draft of the fall and winter schedule and a list of the regular meetings. Can you start next Monday?”

  Marilyn thought how good it would feel to have a place to use her talents, to feel truly part of the community. “I could start tomorrow.”

  Gail laughed. “Next Monday will be fine.”

  Marilyn calmly gathered her things, keeping mostly professional until she made it out of the office door. At that point, she rushed at Wyatt with a glee fit for Margie and Maddie. “Good news!” she called to Wyatt. He wrapped her in a hug without the slightest hesitation. Wyatt’s embraces were like the man—strong and dramatic and enthralling. He had shown her just how pale and halfhearted her life had become. And now he was showing her how bright and bold it could be.

  “Me, too,” he said, squeezing her hands as he gave her a kiss. On the lips. Landon had a policy—and how telling it was that her mind used that word—of kissing her only on the cheek in public. Wyatt kissed her as if the whole world should know how deeply he felt about her. As if Wander could watch all they wanted. There was something warm and wonderful about that.

  “You first,” Wyatt said as he pulled back.

  Landon always declared his news before hers. Her world was changing in so many ways.

  “Gail offered me a position! Job-sharing with her. She’s expecting and they need someone to divide the workload and take over for her when she’s on leave. The hours are perfect. Everything’s perfect.”

  “That’s amazing!” His eyes told her he was genuinely happy for her. “You’ll be fabulous at it.”

  She felt almost breathless with happiness, wondering just how much more joy the world could hold for her. “What’s your good news?”

  Wyatt stepped back and spread his hands. “You are looking at the new partner and future owner of a certain highly successful auto garage.”

  That was fabulous news indeed. “Really?”

  “I thought Manny was telling me he was selling the place. But he wants to sell to me. A sort of pay-as-you-go setup that allows him to scale back and eventually retire.” He grinned. “I’m gonna own the garage.” He pulled her close again. “I feel like the king of the world.”

  “A promotion above the Carousel Man?”

  “I’m thinking I just may keep that title. I mean, these days I feel like I’ve got enough fabulousness to spread around.” It was all joy, no boasting. No positioning, no tactics. She’d been part of a network in Denver, but this is what it felt like to be part of a community. How had she allowed herself to forget that?

  His eyes grew serious for a moment. “Everybody knows.”

  “Maybe they’re as amazed that we fell in love as we are. Do you care?”

  “Nope. Do you?”

  She surprised herself by answering, “Not a bit. Our friends know what a good thing this is. The rest will just have to figure it out.” It felt wonderful to remember she had good friends here.

  Wyatt took her face gently in his hands. “What about the girls—are they okay?” As if it still baffled him, he added, “Do you have any idea how much I love your girls?”

  Those were the only words that could fill her heart more than it already was. Speech left her, and she managed a nod as she felt a happy tear slide down one cheek.

  Wyatt wiped it away with his thumb. “I love you. All of Wander could raise a monumental stink about it and I’d still love you.” Way back then, she’d known a Wyatt who was brazen, defiant and mesmerizing. The man holding her in her arms was still a bit of those things, but he had also grown into a man who was loyal, true to himself and those he cared about, and strong. A man she could love without fear or doubt.

  Wander Canyon had blue skies and bright sunshine most days of the year. But today the skies were far bluer, the sun far brighter, and the world opened up to new possibilities Marilyn had doubted would ever come.

  A delightful version of her traditional list sparkled in her mind:

  Three things I’m thankful for:

  1. Wyatt.

  2. Wyatt.

  3. Wyatt.

  Three things I need:

  1. Wyatt.

  2. Wyatt.

  3. Wyatt.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Wyatt knew he had about fifteen minutes to execute his vital mission. He herded the girls into the carousel building, now surrounded by pumpkins and all manner of fall decorations. His nerves made his steps so fast Maddie and Margie had to almost run to catch up to him.

  “I want the sheep today!” Margie cried out, the pair of them starting their dash toward the animals.

  He caught them just in time. “Hang on. We can’t ride just yet. We’ve got to do something first.”

  Maddie looked annoyed. “What?” He was pretty sure their pouting would dissolve once he revealed his plans.

  “I have a super-important question to ask you, and then I’m gonna need my helpers to give me a hand on a really important choice.” He motioned for them to sit on the edge of the carousel platform, one on each side of him.

  Margie sat right down, hands hugging her knees. “Okay.”

  He took a deep breath and dived in. “You know I’ve been spending a lot of time with your mom. That’s because I really like her.”

  Maddie shifted toward him and pinned him with one of her matter-of-fact stares. “No, you don’t.”

  That wasn’t how he planned on this going. “Huh?”

  “You love her. That’s not the same as like. And she loves you. She told us.”

  “Love’s way better than like.” Margie said it
as if it were the simplest thing in the world, rather than the stunning truth that had knocked him off his feet in recent months.

  He felt surrounded in more ways than one. “It sure is.” He stretched out his arms, one around each of the girl’s shoulders. It felt so incredibly perfect. Like something he’d feel proud to do for the rest of his life. “So lots of times, when people love each other, they get married. I was wondering how you’d feel about me marrying your mom.”

  Margie squished her face up in thought. “Would you be our dad?”

  Wyatt had given a lot of thought as to how to phrase this. “Well, now, I know you already have one of those, and just because he’s in heaven doesn’t mean he stops being your dad. I’d be your stepdad, which is a different kind of dad who loves you just as much.” It stunned him how much his voice hitched on the declaration of love for the girls. He did love them. Enormously. So much more than he would have ever thought possible.

  “Aren’t you supposed to ask her?” That was 100 percent Maddie. Straight to the point.

  He pulled his arm from the girl to reach into his pocket. “Well, I’m gonna when she gets here. But I figured I had to get your okay first.” He opened the small blue velvet pouch that held the diamond ring Dad had given Mom. Yvonne now wore the one Dad had given Chaz’s mom, and it seemed to form a perfect circle that Marilyn would wear the one his mother wore. If she said yes, that is. “What do you think?”

  Margie was the first to grant her approval. “It’s bee-u-tee-ful and she’s gonna say yes.”

  “You think so?” Wyatt asked, almost embarrassed at how relieved he was to hear it.

  “Yep,” chimed in Maddie, as if it were as easy as choosing an ice cream flavor. Maybe it was. He couldn’t hope to say—he’d never been in love before. He’d certainly never proposed before—on a carousel or otherwise.

  “So you both are okay with this?” Love had reduced him to needing confirmation from first-graders. Granted, they were the most important first-grade girls on the planet to him, but he had a feeling God was enjoying stretching him in these strange new ways.

  Margie decided to press the point. “So are you in love with us, too?”

  It didn’t take him even a second to answer. “You betcha.” He pulled them into a great big three-person hug that nearly sent them tumbling back on the carousel platform. “But no telling until I ask your mom. We gotta surprise her. Which is why I need your help.”

  “Sure!” Maggie said, still giggling.

  “Some carousels have a brass ring you try to grab for a special prize. I’m going to set that up for your mom. Normally, you have to try to grab it while you ride by, but I want to make extra sure your mom gets it. You’ve already seen the prize, but I have to decide which animal to put it on. Can you help me choose?”

  “The ostrich is her favorite.”

  He’d already thought of that. “The ostrich was her old favorite. I want us to pick her a new one for our new life together.” It sounded cheesy, but that’s really how he felt. The ostrich spoke too much of the old Marilyn. He started walking around the carousel. “We have to get this exactly right.”

  “We do,” agreed Maddie, taking the choice very seriously. She stopped on her trip around the carousel and turned to look back at Wyatt with almost somber eyes. “It’s gotta be the swan.”

  He and Margie thought about it for a moment, and suddenly there was no other choice than the elegant white bird with the stretched-out neck and grandly spread wings. “Gotta be,” he agreed, walking over to tie the blue pouch at just the right spot on the pole above the swan. He could stand on the front of it, rising and falling with Marilyn as she rode, facing her as he asked her to spend the rest of her life by his side.

  “We’ll ride these two,” Maddie said, pointing to the turtle and the owl just behind the swan. “We won’t look when you kiss her.”

  Wyatt could only laugh. If Marilyn said yes, he’d kiss her in front of all of Colorado and not care who watched. “She’ll be here any minute.” He gave his shoulders a shake. “I’m nervous.” Why on earth was he admitting that to the girls?

  “Why?” Margie said with complete innocence. “She’s gonna say yes. Gramps says she’s broomed off her shoes.”

  It took Wyatt a minute to work it out. “Your grandfather thinks I’ve swept her off her feet?”

  “Yep. That’s it.”

  He didn’t know if he’d won over Katie Ralton yet, but it sounded like Ed Ralton was in his corner. He’d take that victory.

  Wyatt checked his watch and tried to stand casually by the carousel as if his heart wasn’t pounding in his throat. The pounding was replaced by a huge lump as Margie and Maddie each took one of his hands and they waited together.

  Come on, Lord, Wyatt prayed as he watched for Marilyn to come through the door. You’ve done some pretty impossible things so far. Let’s just shoot for one more.

  * * *

  Marilyn walked into the carousel house with a smile on her face. She smiled so often now. Funny how you forgot how that changed things. She’d felt the welcome shift in her spirit from survival to hope, thankful she could pass that vital hope on to her daughters. Growing up in Wander, the carousel had always meant joy to her. Now it meant so many more things.

  “Mom!” Margie and Maddie ran up to her, offering extra-enthusiastic hugs this afternoon. Wyatt seemed to have that effect on the girls, filling them with the same zest for life that drew her to him. “We’ve been waiting for you!”

  Wyatt stood by the carousel platform. He looked distracted, but then again the girls were masters of distraction. She always marveled that for a man who never had been a parent, he seemed to have endless ways of involving the girls in every aspect of his life. He had the oddest expression on his face as he hopped up onto the platform and made his way toward the switch that would set the ride in motion. “Hop on, ladies.”

  They always rode when they visited Wyatt. Even if the carousel wasn’t officially open—which it wasn’t due to be for another thirty minutes—he turned it on for a private ride. It was a small thing, but it made the girls feel so special. Silly as it was, it made her feel special, too. She often found herself humming the calliope songs, smiling at all the memories.

  Instead of heading for their usual favorite animals, the girls went straight to a pair on the other side of the platform. And when she turned toward the ostrich, Wyatt’s hand gently pulled her away.

  “You gotta ride this one today.” Maddie pointed with amusing seriousness toward the swan in the row just in front of them.

  Something was up. Conspiratorial looks passed between Wyatt and the girls as he checked their harnesses, pulled the lever to set the ride in motion and directed Marilyn toward the swan.

  “Okay, then.” When she glanced at him for an explanation as the platform began to move, he merely shrugged. When he helped her up onto the graceful white bird, the glint in his eye turned to something else. Nervousness.

  As the swan began its slow arc of up and down, he stepped up on its wooden feet so that he rose up and down with her, facing her. It was both grounding and dizzying to travel around the circle with him in front of her like that. He placed one hand over hers on the pole as she held it, and she was reminded again how the warmth of his hands always held such comfort for her.

  “Back in the day some carousels would mount a brass ring on the outside rim of the ride just barely within reach. The idea was to try to grab it as you went by, but it was tricky. Older carousels didn’t have animals that moved on the outer rows, so they got ignored. Someone came up with the ring game to fix that. It’s where the expression ‘grab the brass ring’ came from.”

  “I’ve heard the expression, but why the history lesson?”

  “Well, you know me. I’m not much for playing by the rules. So I switched them up a bit.” He pointed up with his free hand.

  She followed
his gesture, eyes looking up the pole until she saw a small blue pouch tied a few feet above her head.

  “Your turn to grab the ring,” he said. “Easy as pie.”

  She had to rise up a bit off the swan to reach it, and she felt Wyatt’s hands reach around the pole to steady her. It was a marvelous little picture of their relationship—her reaching for a prize while he steadied her and the girls looked on. The ribbon holding the pouch pulled out of its knot easily, releasing the small velvet bag to fall into her hands. As she sat back down, Wyatt took the bag out of her palm and reached inside.

  The lights, the music, the movement, all of it mixed with the dazzle in Wyatt’s eyes as he held up the delicate gold ring with its simple square diamond. “You’re my ring, Mari. My prize. I could take on the whole world if I knew you’d be beside me. Will you marry me?”

  There wasn’t a better reason in the whole world to be dizzy. “Yes,” she said without a moment’s hesitation or the tiniest shred of doubt. And while she wouldn’t have thought a long, sweet kiss on a moving carousel swan to be possible, it most certainly was.

  “You’re gonna be Mrs. Carousel Man!” Margie cheered from her mount behind them.

  Marilyn laughed. “Well, I hadn’t thought about it that way, but I suppose that’s true.”

  “I guess that makes you the Carousel Twins,” Wyatt said. Marilyn loved the joy that filled his voice.

  Margie looked at her sister. “The Carousel Twins!” Together, in time with the music, they began to sing their new titles over and over.

  Wyatt kissed her again. When the ride and the song drew to a close, he helped her off the gorgeous wooden swan. “Why this one?” she thought to ask.

  “The girls chose it. I told them it was time to leave the ostrich behind and asked them to pick you a new favorite. I think they did pretty good.”

  How perfectly wonderful of him to find a way to include the girls in his proposal. “Do you have any idea what an amazing parent you’re going to make?”

  “Shh,” he said, pulling her closer. “Don’t let that get around.”