THE LEAVING
SEVEN YEARS EARLIER…
How wasshe supposed to leave Ben in an hour?
Hannah looked around her wreck of a room. The clothes she’d rejected lay in messy piles on the floor, her bed looked like it’d been attacked by a grizzly from her sleepless night, and her pink suitcase was exploding with all the stuff she’d crammed into it. Basically, her childhood bedroom was in shambles.
Like her life.
She grabbed her new passport and stuck it in her bag so she wouldn’t forget it. She’d been so excited to leave, but now…
This trip to Scotland was supposed to be the beginning of their life together. They were going to be living together for the first time, for Pete’s sake. Now there was only sadness, dread, and disappointment.
Ben had said he was going. He’d been as excited for this chance of a lifetime as she was, but he’d suddenly pulled a one-eighty and told her he couldn’t go with her. Too many responsibilities at the ranch. Blah, blah, blah.
Sure, he was all man, the rough and tough kind who loved his family and the land, a man who sat for hours alone withhis thoughts in the saddle tending cattle and horses unless he was with her.
For all of those reasons, she loved him and more, except now she didn’t know where they stood.
She bit her lip, thinking about their last fight. Why was he so stubborn? She knew he loved the ranch, but they’d only be gone a year. Receiving the coveted Culpepper Scholarship to train with the renowned herbalist Duncan Murdock, with room and board included, was a dream come true. Going to Scotland was the right choice for her—certainly better than going to med school like her dad wanted. Ben knew that.
But no…
He had to turn mule stubborn. Even when his twin brother said he’d step up and take over his duties at the ranch. God, even Mr. McAllister supported Ben taking the year off.
Hadn’t they always talked about seeing the world together? For as long as she could remember, they’d lie under Big Red’s staggered branches and plan out the future—theirfuture.
It wasn’t like they wouldn’t come back—we’re not moving to Scotland permanently.
She turned to look out the window. She was going to miss their quiet rides and more spirited horse races through the breathtaking meadows and verdant valleys between Sanctuary Springs’ jagged mountain peaks.
How many times had they held hands and talked amid the slash of pine trees and rough-hewn rocks as the sun journeyed across the land like the hands on a watch face? Every day—except for when they’d been at college. Even then, they’d found forest-rich trails to wander around together when they’d meet halfway—when she could find time away from her pre-med University of Utah studies and his own ag business and ag science work at Montana State.
Going to Scotland together was supposed to mark thestart of their next chapter as a family. She fought angry tears. Now it wasn’t going to happen.
Picking up their photo album, she ran her hand over the well-loved edges. Every photo of her and Ben was in this album, since the first time they’d been captured holding hands at four years old, him tugging her along as he’d tried to climb the foot of Wild Mountain to find her the wildflowers she’d always loved.
Should she try to stuff it in her carry-on? Or did she leave it behind?
Could she leave Ben behind? She’d loved him forever.
Like she had her sister. Except death had stolen Sarah away when Hannah was twelve, leaving a gaping hole inside her, one only Ben had helped her fill.
They’d never been this far apart on anything.
Theclip-clopof horse hooves reached her as she was pushing the last of her boxes into her closet to store.Ben. Oh, thank God. Had he changed his mind? Please let that be it.
She ran to the mirror hanging above her dresser. Checking her face, she winced at how pale she looked. Her auburn hair was a tangled mess from tossing and turning last night, and her green eyes were red-rimmed from crying. He’d seen every side of her and loved her, but still, she wanted to look pretty. Finger-combing her curls behind her ears quickly, she pinched her cheeks and mashed her lips together.
As she peered closer to her reflection, she caught sight of the photo of her and Ben taken at last year’s McAllister Cherry Festival currently tucked in the oval edges of the frame. Their arms were around each other, giant grins on their faces. The wind had blown her pink cowboy hat off like usual, but Ben’s black Stetson had stayed on like always. Cowboy magic, he liked to joke.
Something thudded against her window. She saw the lasso's rope first, then caught a flash of something white, and then a rainbow, only to realize the sparkle came from a ring.
She pressed her hands to her cheeks and padded a few steps closer.
An engagement ring sparkled in the soft morning light.
Oh my God!
