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He picked up the bag and took the ring box out of it. “It’s just me and you,” he said, hoping the pair of them together would be enough. He flipped open the box and gazed at the ring he’d chosen. It said Gretchen to him the moment he’d seen it, and he smiled softly at the bright gold band which flourished up to hold the diamond.
It was actually shaped like a diamond, and two more tiny gems sat along each of the four sides. They were pink diamonds, and for some reason, Will thought of Gretchen when he looked at the ring.
Somehow, his booted feet took him up to her porch. He swept his cowboy hat off his head one more time and knocked. Elvis meowed behind the closed door, and Gretchen’s female voice shushed him.
A couple of moments later, she cracked the door.
“Just me,” he said, holding his hat against his chest with one hand, the ring box concealed behind it.
A smile bloomed on her face. “Hey.” She opened the door even further. “I wasn’t expecting you until later.” She licked the corner of her mouth. “I was just having a snack.”
He grinned at her. “One of Jon’s haystacks?”
She giggled and backed up so he could come in. “How did you know?”
“I can smell the chocolate on your breath,” he said, entering the house and closing the door so Elvis couldn’t make one of his feline escapes. Gretchen retreated into the kitchen and plucked another haystack from the box on the counter.
Faced with her, Will wasn’t nervous at all. He lowered his cowboy hat and dropped it on her loveseat as he passed. He couldn’t look away from her. “Gretchen,” he said, and she looked at him, half a haystack in her hand, the other half in her mouth.
He held up the ring box, and she froze.
He grinned at her. “That day at the drug store last year changed my life. I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine. I love you.” He opened the box with strong, sure fingers and turned it toward her. “Will you marry me?”
Her eyes widened as she looked at the ring. She shook her head, which made Will’s chest cave in.
“No way,” she said. “You’re not down on one knee.”
“Are you kidding right now?”
She hastily set down her uneaten haystack and dusted her hands. “I’m wearing the ugliest shirt I own.”
“So what?” Will couldn’t believe this. Travis had said none of this would matter.
Then that teasing glint came into Gretchen’s eyes. She flung herself into his arms, and he dang near dropped the diamond that had carved a hole in his bank account. “I’m kidding, Will Cooper. I love you, and of course I want to marry you.”
She kissed him while relief ran through him, and it took Will a couple of seconds to catch up to the situation. “Not funny,” he murmured in the moment he pulled away. Then he kissed her again—a real kiss this time, with both of them aware of what was happening.
When he finally had the decency to pull away, Gretchen grinned at him with glassy eyes. “This is how we are, Will. Things are little hectic. Cats run away. Caramel gets burned. You seem to have it all over you and the most inopportune times.” She held out her left hand. “We’re awkward, and I love that about us.”
“Mm.” He slid the ring on her finger, and they both gazed at it for several long seconds. He looked up at her again and found love streaming from her. “What are you thinking?” he asked. “Like August? Or are we waiting until December?”
She put her arms around his shoulders and clasped her hands at the back of his neck. “Oh, we can’t wait until December.”
“I wouldn’t think so,” he said, already sliding his mouth along her jawline.
“I don’t need very long,” she said. “I’ll look into a venue, and then get a dress. It won’t be hard.”
“So…maybe next month?” Will asked, pulling back and grinning at her.
Gretchen giggled and said, “Listen,” in her stern-Will-Cooper voice. “We’re not getting married in the same month as Trav and Shay. They deserve their own spotlight.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Will said.
“But maybe June or July…” She tilted her head to the side. “I’ll check the calendar and talk to my brothers.”
Just as he’d known she would. “I’ll talk to Mama,” he said. “Do you want a venue? We can get married here. At the farm. At your dad’s place. His backyard is beautiful.”
Gretchen’s face lit up on the last one, and Will knew they’d be getting married in Short Tail. “Could we get married at Daddy’s?”
“Of course,” Will said, leaning down to kiss her again. “Whatever you want.”
“I love you, Will Cooper,” Gretchen whispered.
“Love you too,” Will said just before kissing his fiancée.
