Epilogue #2
Surely, he knew he didn’t achieve that by only fixing cars. “I thought you told me you weren’t a mechanic? It was just something you happened to be good at?”
He pointed a bashful smile at his lap. “Yeah, well, I was trying to show off. Anyway, then you had your accident, and I realized what the word “home” meant. It’s not a building. Or a ranch. It’s a feeling you get when you’re with the right person.”
These were not impromptu words. He’d been practicing.
As if I needed more encouragement.
“Ava, I know I dragged my feet,” he continued. “But I didn’t want to rob you of your dream. I had to make sure I didn’t hold you back.”
“I have no complaints.”
“Good.” He eased Denver in beside Jessie so our legs brushed. “Listen, I know you’ve done the marriage thing already …”
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe.
“… and I get it if you don’t wanna do it again. But I have to at least ask.” He shifted in his saddle, folding his hands over the bill of his hat so tightly that I worried it might snap.
I reached out to save it. “Hey–”
He grabbed my hand. “Ava, I want to put a ring on your finger. So, the boys will stop teasing you about losing it. So that everybody knows I belong to you. So you know, wherever you are, and whatever kind of day you’re having, that someone out there loves you and Nina more than anything else. That to someone, you are home.”
Wow. Whoever helped Eli with his speech needed to join our marketing team.
His fingers wove into mine. “I wanna be your family. Nina’s dad. Make roots with you.”
A joyful tear slid down my cheek.
He pulled his hand out of mine to wipe it away. “Is this because you’re happy, or because you’re about to bite my head off?”
I choked out a watery laugh. “You were on a roll, don’t stop now!”
“Okay, good.” He shifted to dig into his pocket.
A smile split my face. We were back to the unscripted Eli.
He pulled out the ring. It wasn’t in a little velvet box.
Horse people didn’t need boxes. Dirt and sweat measured the quality of our days.
He turned it in his fingers so I could admire the design: two diamond-studded white gold bands intertwined. Subtle and graceful. My breath hitched.
“Is it okay?” A hint of uncertainty lingered in his voice.
“It’s perfect.” I did the girly thing and held out my hand between us, letting Eli slide the ring on my finger, and together, we stared at the glimmering stones against my tanned skin.
Eli closed his eyes and let his head fall back. “God, I’m glad that’s done.”
“Did you think I’d say no?”
“No. Well, maybe. I was worried I’d mess up the moment. Or if you weren’t ready to, you know, go all in.”
I picked up his hat from the saddle horn and shoved it on his head. The poor keepsake was nearly threadbare. I’d patched the frayed bill several times over. In turn, Eli salvaged my Chevy’s license plate and turned it into art that he hung in our bedroom.
Now, he leaned in, priming to press his lips to mine, but Jessie was apparently done with all the mushy stuff. She sidestepped, and Eli wobbled back into his own saddle, laughing in that shy, self-deprecating way that made my knees weak.
“I swear these horses have it out for me.”
“How about,” I said, collecting Jessie’s reins, “we head back so you can kiss me in the stable?”
I didn’t have to ask him twice.
Later that night, I walked around the kitchen table to each place setting, brandishing a pair of tongs and the tamale tray.
The long wooden surface mirrored a rural harvest painting with its massive platter of corn, a giant bowl of salad, and a collection of mismatched plates and cups.
The murmur of side conversations and clinking forks rose in symphony. Loud like a restaurant, cozy like home.
“Marley, you made these?” August asked as I stopped at his spot. He eyed my ring.
“I did,” she answered. “And if you say they suck, I will throw this corn at you!”
“No need to waste good corn, hon,” Terry interjected, smiling under his bushy white mustache. The thing had to be twice the size since he’d gone on his trip. “Just cut off the hot water. That boy hates cold showers.”
“Hey!” August protested. “I work hard! It helps my muscles.”
Marley pulled a face. “Ew. Why would I be at his house?” We had seen her every week since she started on-site classes at the University of Phoenix. Apparently, the dorm food sucked, and the laundry room smelled like gym socks.
August requested three tamales. Before I could move to the next plate, he grabbed my arm. “You,” he said softly, “are not smiling big enough.”
I gave him a comically large grin. “Better?”
He tsked. “You have been wanting for this guy so long, I almost beat him up. You should be happy, no?”
I peered at Eli, who leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, smirking. “I’m thrilled,” I said. “But I’m also trying to feed everyone a hot meal.” I moved on to Eli.
“So long, huh?” he teased.
I dumped two tamales on his plate and continued on, ignoring him. “How many, Brick?” The kid came from a large foster family, so he stayed for dinner a lot.
“Four,” he said. As I served him, he blurted, “Hey! You found your ring!” Turned out, everyone knew Eli’s plan, except for Brick.
“Mama’s getting married!” Nina sang. “And I get a baby sister!”
Kip honked out a laugh.
“That’s a separate thing,” I said as Eli announced,
“Or a brother.”
“Eli!” I scolded.
“You don’t want more kids?” Disappointment coated his tone.
“Can we talk about it, not in front of everyone?”
His chair scuffed as he stood. “Brick, finish passing out tamales, will ya?”
Kip wiped amused tears from her eyes at my expense. Marley pushed her plate away, muttering how gross we were.
“I-I didn’t mean right this second.” All eyes bounced between us. With a sigh, I handed my tray to Brick. “Fine.”
Eli snagged my arm and dragged me out of the kitchen, around the corner, and out of sight.
“Tell me quick,” he said. “It’s not a deal breaker, but I don’t wanna get my hopes up.
” When I lacked a ready response, and why should I?
We’d only just gotten engaged, he added, “Honestly, Ava, I really wanna make babies with you.”
Who knew that hearing a man say that would be so … arousing. And he said babies. Plural. “H-how many?”
“I dunno. What do you want?”
“Two? Is two good?”
He shrugged.
“Three?”
“Depends, I guess.”
“On what? Four?” I asked in disbelief.
He crowded me against the wall, his hips finding mine. “Ava,” he rumbled, sending warm licks down my spine, “if you don’t stop upping the ante, I’m gonna have to haul you to the bedroom right now.”
I bit my lip, and Eli’s eyes smoldered.
“You two okay out there?” Bill called.
“Yeah!” Eli hollered back. “She said four!”
“I did not!” I slapped his chest as it shook with laughter.
“Better eat a good dinner,” Bill muttered loud enough for us to hear.
“Thanks a lot,” I growled, ready to fall into a cactus just to avoid the embarrassment of returning to the table after that. But as I took my spot between Nina and August, I noticed pink on the tips of Eli’s ears. At least we were in this together.
Our boots brought us home.