Chapter 6
Jenna couldn’t stop looking at the ring. It was magnificent and fit her perfectly. She hadn’t expected the proposal, but when he’d asked her, she realized just how much she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
He held her hand on the console, his thumb gently rubbing her ring finger. She glanced at him, and she couldn’t stop smiling. They were almost home when she gasped.
He looked at her, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”
“Tonight. With your parents and the kids. What are we going to say? Should I take the ring off so they don’t notice –
“No, keep it on. I’m excited to share the news with them.” He squeezed her fingers.
“Oh, I hope so. But, what if they don’t respond well? Then what will we do?” She began to fret his family wouldn’t take the news well.
“Jenna, darlin’, it will be fine. Believe me, my family is very important to me, and I would never bring anyone into the fold that I wasn’t sure would be the perfect fit. And you are. I know it to the core of my being.”
She let out a breath and nodded. “I know you’d be careful. And I do love your kids, and getting to know your parents is very important to me.”
“Good. It will all be perfect, I know it.” He stopped the truck. “Now, shall we get that mass of groceries we bought into the house? We have about an hour before they arrive.”
“Yes, yes! I want to get the roses into a vase and put out some of the cheeses and bread we got. Hurry.” She hopped out of the truck and helped unload everything into the kitchen, every now and then kept peeking at her ring.
An hour later, with a variety of food set out, the wine breathing, a fire in the grand fireplace, and candles lit, they waited for their guests.
“Jenna, come and sit by me; bring your glass of wine,” he told her, and she did. He put his arm around her. “There’s no need to be nervous.”
“But I am. I can’t help it.”
The crunch of tires on the drive announced the arrival. “Here we go.” Chet rose and held her hand, his fingers wrapped around hers.
With Belle’s loud welcoming bark, his parents’ dog barreling onto the back deck and into the kitchen, and greetings all around, the house was full of noise and happiness. Chet was thrilled. He loved it when the kids came home.
He hugged Taylee and grabbed Tytan as he walked by, pulling him into a bear hug.
“You guys. I need to see you more,” he told them.
“Dad, we’re here now,” Tytan told him as he extricated himself from Chet’s fierce grip.
Taylee lingered a little longer in her father’s embrace.
Chet looked at Jenna and the smile of joy on her face warmed his heart. She held her hands under her chin, and her ring flashed in the waning sunlight streaming in through the windows.
“How about a hug for your mother, you big lug,” Rose said and put her arms around her son.
“Ah, Mom, always,” Chet said and wrapped his arms around her.
His father walked over and patted his son on the shoulder then went to the island laden with drinks and food. “I’ll deal with this, how’s that?” Chuck advised them all. “Now, who wants a beer?”
They gathered around the kitchen island, and everyone talked at once while bags were unpacked, goodies laid out on the counter, beer caps popped, and wine was poured.
“This is nice.” Rose picked up a glass of wine. “Shall we go and catch the sunset in the other room?” she suggested, and carried a plate of cheeses.
Chet watched his family gather in the great room, in the house he had built with his own hands and couldn’t have been prouder. He never thought he’d be here, in this position with a woman he loved. His grown children starting out their own lives and his parents all under his roof.
The only person missing was his brother, Colton. A bit younger than him, he was still on the rodeo circuit, and actually down in Texas putting up his horses at the Wild Vista Ranch. He wished he was here to hear the news of his engagement.
Chet crossed his arms over his chest and let his gaze take in the happy scene. He knew Jenna would be fine with his kids and parents. She’d mentioned in passing a few times how nice it would be to have a family like his. Well…now she would be part of it.
Just as he was about to step into the room and take a spot beside Jenna, she reached for her wine glass and her ring caught the late afternoon sun, sending a prism of light that was almost blinding.
“Hold the phone!” Taylee said.
Everyone stopped talking and looked at her. “What?” Tytan asked.
“Am I seeing things? Wasn’t anyone else blinded by that rock?” Taylee said and stood, going over to stand beside Jenna.
Chet moved into the room. She’d seen Jenna’s ring and he wasn’t sure what was coming next.
“Let me see.” She held out her hand and Jenna put hers in it, sending Chet a worried look.
“Oh, my god! Is that what I think it is?” Taylee inspected the ring, which sent the others to their feet, all of them talking at once.
Chet was beside Jenna, and everyone was looking at him with stunned expressions on their faces. He was at a loss for words, unsure if the reception was surprised happiness or not.
“Uh…,” was all he could get out and then Taylee flung herself at him and he grabbed her, his arms holding his beautiful daughter.
“Oh, Dad! It’s about time! We love Jenna and knew the moment we first met, she was perfect for you.”
Jenna stood and he saw tears in her eyes.
“Well done, son,” his father boomed and took Jenna in a bear hug. “Welcome to the family, my girl. I’m looking forward to getting to know you.”
Taylee extricated herself from Chet’s arms and turned to Jenna. “It’s my turn, Pops.”
He handed Jenna to Taylee and they embraced. Chet heard her say, “I’m so glad my dad found you. You’re the best thing to happen to him.”
“Thank you. He’s the best thing that has happened to me,” she murmured and swiped tears from her eyes.
“Now dear, this is not the time for tears. This is the time for celebration,” Rose said and hugged Jenna. “I will have a daughter. I’ve always wanted one.”
Tears even threatened Chet, but he forced them back. This was going so well and he was absolutely thrilled.
“I’m going to find champagne,” Chuck said and disappeared into the kitchen. They heard him muttering, “There’s gotta be a bottle around here somewhere.” He was banging around in the kitchen.
“You better go and help him, Chet, or he’ll have a conniption,” Rose suggested as she took Jenna’s hand.
“Now, dear…
Chet missed the rest of what she said when he went into the kitchen.
“Dad, mellow. In the bottom of the fridge.” He opened the door and pointed, letting his dad find the bottle.
“You grab the glasses. This is a big day, son. We need to celebrate.”
He carried the bottle, and Chet followed him with the glasses. The sun had fallen behind the mountains, which were painted in nature’s brilliance and the sky streaked in all manner of oranges, reds, and purples.
“What a sky,” he said and set the glasses on the table.
“A perfect sky to wonderful news.” Chuck held the bottle and expertly twisted off the cork. It made a gentle pop and he poured. Tytan handed everyone a glass.
Before anyone else could speak, Chet did and he faced Jenna. “To you darlin’. For coming into my life and turning it on its arse. I couldn’t be happier that you agreed to spend the rest of our lives together.”
“Aww, Dad. You’re a romantic,” Taylee said. “You could learn something, Tytan.”
He didn’t say anything and just grunted and shook his head.
“My boy. Engaged to someone he loves and who loves him.” Rose lifted her glass.
“To Jenna and Chet,” Chuck said loudly and raised his glass.
Glasses emptied and refilled. Chet pulled Jenna down beside him and petted Belle who rested her head on his knee.
“Everyone sit. We’ve got some other news,” Chet said.
“You’re pregnant!” Taylee blurted.
“What?” Chet looked at her and then at Jenna, eyebrows raised. “Are we?”
Jenna’s faced flamed red and she gave a nervous smile. “Uhm, not that I’m aware, at least yet anyway.”
“That would be so wonderful!” Rose exclaimed and everyone agreed.
“Well, at least it would be good news if it were the case.” Jenna smiled. “We’ll be sure to let you know if and when.”
“Uh, me first.” Chet put his arm around her and kissed her temple, whispering, “It would be the best news.”
She gazed up at him, happiness reflecting in her eyes.
“Okay,” he said. “You know how Uncle Chester was always jawing on about gold up at the cabin?” He paused and everyone nodded. “Well, Jenna here got a bee in her bonnet about it and has been doing some prospecting.”
All eyes turned to her and she nodded, a big smile on her face.
“And?” Tytan asked. “I’ve wondered about the story since I was a kid.”
“You tell them,” Chet suggested and nudged Jenna.
“Well, I found a nugget. It was kinda big and then we had a team of geologists up at the cabin for a week so they could do some exploration. We had the nugget sampled and it’s placer gold, and the geological samples have been sent to a lab for processing.
We’re waiting to hear back with the results. ”
Everyone was silent and stared at them.
“We don’t know anything more than that and we’re keeping it close to the chest. We don’t need a rush or word getting out until we have the final results. And once we have that, then we’ll decide what to do.’
“Chet, will you tear up the place looking for the gold?” his mother asked, looking concerned, and he shook his head.
“No, that’s one thing we won’t do, and we hope you all agree. It may all come to nothing, we have no inkling. It’s more like trying to put old Chester to rest.”
“Well, Dad, it’s not like we need the money, but it could be fun to do some panning,” Tytan said.
“That’s how Jenna found this chunk. She had a sluice and some pans. You never know.”
“I agree with your thoughts. This is your land, and the decision is yours.” His dad looked thoughtful. “But it would be nice to find out if Chester had lost his marbles or he was right.”
“This is exciting, but I want to talk about the wedding,” his mother interrupted. “Tell us everything. When and how did you propose? What’s the date? Will it be a big wedding or a small one? Should I start making a guest list?”
Jenna glanced at him and he smiled.
“Honestly, we have no clue.” Jenna told them. “It only happened today and I’m still overwhelmed. I think I will be in a state of shock for a while.”
“Can you tell us how he proposed?” Taylee asked.
Both Chuck and Tytan looked at each other and rolled their eyes.
Chet laughed. “See those roses on the table?” He pointed to the vase on the table. “They were involved. But that’s all I’m gonna say. The rest is for my fiancée and me to remember.
He put his arm around Jenna, pulled her close, and smiled at his family. Everything was going to be good. He had the love of his life, his children and parents all here celebrating with them.
“Who’s hungry? Let’s start up the grill.”
Later, after everyone had gone to bed, they lay on the lounge chairs out by the fire pit. Jenna snuggled under the blanket, safe in Chet’s arms, and gazed up at the starry night.
“Do you realize this is how we started?”
“How so?” he asked.
“You mean you don’t remember? How can you not?” She rose on her elbows and looked at him.
“I’m kidding, of course I remember. Your first night here, we came out to watch the sky, have a fire with the snow all around us. And we got to know each other, if you catch my drift,” he teased.
She nodded, satisfied he was just pulling her leg. He pulled her back down next to him and she sighed happily.
“Yes, we did get to know each other out here under the blankets,” she said, her voice soft and low.
“Want to get to know each other even more?” he asked, his voice gravely and suggestive.
She laughed and then exclaimed, “Oh, look! A shooting star, did you see it?”
“I caught the tail end. It went right across the sky.” Chet tightened his arm around her. “Didn’t we see one that first night as well?”
“I think we did. Wow. Bookends.”
“No, not bookends. Think of this as another volume with more to come.”
Jenna nodded. “I like that thought. There’s room for so much more; we have an awful big library to fill up.”
He chuckled. “Yes, we do, a very big library, and I look forward to every new volume we put on the shelf.”
Jenna shifted again, and gazed at him. “Me too. And we might need a new shelf.”
He met her gaze. “A new shelf?”
She smiled. “We’ll know for sure soon, but the new shelf may have to be in a new room, with a rocking chair.”
He looked perplexed. “I’m not sure I understa – ” Then his eyes widened. “You mean?”
She nodded and giggled. “Like I said, we’ll know soon. But I think so. I didn’t want to say anything earlier to the family because it’s still so early.”
“Could this day get any better?” He let out a big cowboy whoop, startling Belle who was laying on the chaise next to them.
“Oh, Chet. What a whirlwind this has been between us. And I’ve loved every minute of it.”
“Me too, darlin’.” He rolled onto her and pressed her back in the cushions. Lowering his head against her lips he whispered again, “Me too.”
Jenna wound her arms around his neck. “Just think. We could have a mini-you.”
Then his mouth closed over hers and they lost themselves in each other under the starry sky.
Thank you for reading Chet and Jenna’s story. Find out how their love began in PASSION COWBOY STYLE. For a sneak peek, see a snippet on the next page.