Chapter Nineteen
Susannah had now been in Bakersfield for six months, and Wesley had invited her out on a picnic.
She wasn’t sure what he was thinking. However, she was sure that she would have a good time.
In the time she had been in Bakersfield, she had come to know him well.
That was to be expected since they had enjoyed lunch and dinner together almost every day during those months.
He arrived to pick her up from the inn lobby, as he did for all their dates away from the inn. She felt much better about their arrangement now that she was covering her own room and board at the inn.
Wesley had insisted that he didn’t mind, but she preferred having control over her expenses.
“There you are. I was worried you had forgotten about our picnic,” Susannah teased Wesley when he finally arrived.
“I didn’t forget. I had… needed to make preparations that made me late,” he responded.
The pause he took made her curious. What could he possibly need to make preparations for? The picnic blanket and such had been her job, as was the food. She hadn’t minded that at all. But what kind of preparations did he have to make today that she couldn’t have made?
“Oh. Well, I thought I had handled all the preparations…” She pursed her lips. “Did I forget anything? Or did you forget to ask about something?”
“This was something that I wanted to take care of from the outset,” he said. “It’s the location. I want to take you to my favorite spot in Bakersfield today.”
She felt a bit of heat rising on her cheeks.
That was indeed something she couldn’t have prepared for.
Then again, if he had said anything, he might have considered that spoiling the fun of the day.
He was always ready to have a good day. She felt a little silly for teasing him about forgetting to ask if she wanted to take care of it.
“Don’t you worry about teasing me,” he said as he offered his arm.
“I left you everything else because I wanted to be sure that you wouldn’t mind so much if I took care of the location.
Even if you wanted to go picnic elsewhere, we’ll have all the time in the world to picnic elsewhere if today goes as I hope. ”
This piqued her curiosity, but she didn’t know what to say. Instead, she decided that she was going to enjoy the day as it had been planned.
“Then, to the picnic spot?”
“To the picnic spot. Come. Let’s get you and all the supplies in the buggy. Will you be all right in the back with the supplies instead of with me in the front so that nothing spills?”
“I would have expected nothing less, honestly,” she said. “I’m glad you understand.”
He smiled and then helped her into the buggy. She got the picnic basket situated on the floor between her legs and held the blanket in her lap. Then they were off. She was excited to see where he had picked to have this picnic, but she couldn’t see anything out of the buggy.
When he stopped and came to help her out, she got her first look at the area.
It was a grassy hill that overlooked the city.
The sun was setting, so they would probably be riding back to town in the dark.
She hadn’t thought that would be the case, but she supposed that was what happened in the fall and winter.
“This is beautiful, Wes,” she said as she spread the blanket on the ground before setting the basket down. “Beautiful.”
“I’m glad you think so because I couldn’t imagine doing this in any other spot,” he said.
She turned to face him when he said this and found him on one knee in front of her. He held a ring box in his hand, and in it, a simple golden ring shimmered in the sunset.
“Susannah Peterson, I know you’ve not had many people to profess their love to you in your life, but I must admit that you’ve had me bewitched since we started writing. When you came to Bakersfield, I only fell harder for you. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
He held the ring box out a little more for her.
She nodded as she held out her left hand to him. He slid the ring onto her finger. It was a bit loose, but better to be a bit loose than a bit too tight, in her opinion. Then she hugged him tightly.
“I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to ask for my hand in marriage,” she said. “I do appreciate the wait, as it gave me time to become comfortable with my feelings, but I was starting to worry that you were unsure of what was waiting right in front of you.”
Wesley laughed.
“Pauline was the one who clued me into your worries. I was just waiting for the ring. It took longer to get it from San Francisco than I expected. I apologize,” he said.
“It’s a beautiful ring. You’ve no reason at all to apologize.”