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Elise smoothed her hand over her dress for the millionth time as she sat in the passenger’s seat of Garrett’s truck. How many times had she ridden up the driveway to the Macklin’s house? And yet, this was different than all of those other times. After today, everything would be different. She would no longer be a friend of the family, here to visit because her parents had known the Macklins for decades. No, now she would be a member of the family. Her stomach twisted thinking about it. Were they doing the right thing? She knew it was the right decision to protect her brothers, but what if the Macklins knew why they had made this decision? Would they understand or be hurt?
And there was that moment with Garrett last night. When he wrapped his arms around her, she wanted to melt into his embrace and stay there forever. Then she remembered that most couples who just got engaged would kiss and laugh or cry tears of happiness as they celebrated. This wasn’t a celebration, and as committed as Garrett was to the marriage, he wasn’t in love with her.
Elise turned her attention to the boys in the backseat. “Now you two need to behave tonight. Remember that Mrs. Macklin had made a wonderful dinner for us. You need to eat it and be grateful.”
“Yeah,” Garrett jumped in. “I’ve heard if you eat your dinner, there’s a special dessert.” He looked into the rearview mirror and winked at them.
Elise couldn’t help but crack a smile. Garrett might not consider himself the fatherly type, but he had such a natural way with the boys. Probably from growing up with a pack of brothers. It was going to do them a world of good to be around Garrett more. They had told the boys about the engagement at the house before they left. Noah and Ethan had looked confused and had plenty of questions about what that meant and where they would live. They didn’t seem too sure about things, but when Elise told them they would live at the ranch, they seemed to forget everything else. Elise’s heart stung a little at the idea that they weren’t concerned about leaving their parents’ house. But then again, they were just kids, and they had been through so much in the last few months. If they were excited about acres of land to run on and horses to ride, she couldn’t fault them for that.
“Here we are,” Garrett said, pulling up to what everyone called the main house. He had promised to show Elise his own house in the next few days, so they could start planning where to put furniture and how much she should bring from her house.
The boys took off running to the front porch where Benji, Jenson’s adopted son who was about their age, sat petting one of the old ranch dogs.
Garrett fell into step beside Elise. “Are you ready for this?” he asked.
Without looking at him, she nodded. As they stepped up onto the porch, he surprised her by taking her hand in his. Her gaze quickly moved to their linked hands and then up to his face.
“I just thought we should probably look like a cozy, happy couple.”
Elise blinked back the tears. Years ago, she had wished she could be a cozy, happy couple with Garrett. Now she had what she wanted in the strangest way possible. “Okay,” she said quietly.
“Are you?” he asked, stopping just outside the door. “Happy I mean?”
Elise tilted her head. What a strange question. And what a complicated answer. “I’m grateful,” she said. “So grateful. And that makes me happy.”
Garrett narrowed his eyes as if he wanted to push for more, but then thought better of it. “Let’s do this,” he said, opening the door for her.
Elise moved through the house, following Garrett’s lead as he held her hand tightly. The sound of voices coming from the kitchen filled the house, but as soon as they walked in the room, everyone stopped talking.
Finally, Lydia broke the silence. “Elise,” she said, moving towards her and enveloping her in a hug. “We’re so glad you’re here.”
Elise smiled, but felt like her voice had been left somewhere outside. She glanced at Garrett. They hadn’t really discussed how they would make the announcement, but now she realized the ring on her finger might make it for them. She started to tuck her left hand into her pocket, but before she could, Garrett reached and took it in his.
“Is everyone here?” he asked, looking around the room.
“I think so,” Sawyer answered.
“Well, that’s new,” Jenson added.
Elise could remember many dinners that were started without one or more brothers who were still out working.
Garrett chuckled in surprise too. “I’m glad you’re here, because we have something to tell everyone.” He looked at Elise, as if asking for permission, and she nodded to him as she took a deep breath and smiled. He gave her hand a quick squeeze. “We want to tell you that I’ve asked Elise to marry me, and she said yes.”
Gasps and cheers rang throughout the room. Sierra and Katie and the other wives encircled Elise, pulling her from Garrett to grab her hand and see the ring.
Elise’s heart pounded in excitement and dread. This should be a moment of pure joy, and everyone being so happy for them only made her feel worse.
“Elise, I can’t believe you finally tied down this cowboy,” Katie said.
“Right?” Sierra shouted. “Who says he will never get married now?”
Grace quietly hugged Elise and said, “The ring is absolutely beautiful.”
Elise’s heart flipped at those words. She still couldn’t believe Garrett had bought her a ring. Surely that was hard earned money that he had been saving, and he used it to propose to her when she was the one begging him to marry her. Still, it was the most perfect ring. She had never wanted anything fancy or elaborate and somehow he had picked out exactly what she would have picked for herself.
Lydia moved into the circle and held Elise’s hands in hers. With tears in her eyes, she spoke. “Another daughter. I just can’t believe how blessed I am.”
Elise blinked away her own tears, and Garrett stepped up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.
