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He rushes up front as the rest of the guys come back, as well as some of our favorite customers. I stand in front of the car, nervously waiting.Joey comes back with a huge smile on his face, Mads behind him with a blindfold on.
“Okay! Take it off!”
Madilyn rips the blindfold off and gasps, tears prickling her eyes. I walk over and take her hands in mine.
“Happy birthday, beautiful. This baby is all yours.”
She looks at me, then back at the car. “Mine? For real?”
Doris laughs. “Yes! Now get in it!”
Madilyn looks at me and I nod, opening the door for her. She slides in and looks all around until she finds the bag on the passenger seat. Mads leans over and takes out the little box.
As she opens it, I get down on my knee and wait for her to turn around. Inside, sits a two carat Emerald and round cut white diamond halo style engagement ring in rose gold.
Madilyn whips her head to look at me and the tears roll down her cheek.
“What do you say, Mads? Wanna get married?”
She chokes out a half laugh, half cry as she nods her head, leaping into my arms. I place the ring on her finger, leaning down to kiss her as we stand up.“Beck… this is all, wow. The best birthday I’ve ever had.”
“Good, pretty girl. I love you until the moon stops shining.”
She grins and kisses me again. “I love you until the sun stops shining.”
The End
ABOUT LILA GREY
Lila Grey currently resides in the beautiful town of Peterborough, New Hampshire with her two children, husband, and three rescue cats. When not writing, she can be found snowmobiling in the winter, spending time with her family, and of course, reading. She wrote her debut romance novel in 2019 and has plans for many more.
All her links can be found here.
WORKING INTEREST: SUTTON BISHOP
DEAR READER
There’s a good chance I am a new author to you. I enjoy underpinning my stories and novels in real-life settings and environments, particularly when transporting you to countries and cultures outside of the US.
To aid readers, I employ glossaries and translations when necessary. An example of this is my Ancient Passages series—spicy global and multicultural action and adventure.
Working Interestis set in Oklahoma, and the story isshort. So, instead of bogging it down with terminology and legalese, I’ve provided it below, in a bulleted list for your reference.
During the Depression, many Sooners sold off their oil and gas rights to keep their family farms, leaving them with surface rights only. Oklahomans are aware of this, and oil wells areeverywhere.Dotting the landscape and on public and private properties. Oil and gas rule.
Nix Ogden is a landman (correct terminology), which means she is the middle person between Jude Carpenter, a farmer, and Ogden-Keller Oil, her family’s decades-old company. During the 1930s, Jude’s family sold mineral rights to keep the family farm. Tension anyone?
Sooner: The term evolved from the land claim races, i.e., Land Runs, after the Oklahoma Territory opened for settlement in 1889. Each race began with a pistol shot. Those who entered the plots illegally—jumped the start—were called “sooners.” The moniker was embraced by many pioneers and their descendants and came to mean “can-do.”
Landman: The person who determines mineral rights and how to approach various land transactions. Responsibilities include researching court records and legal documents to identify proper ownership (to include titles and deeds to the surface and sub-surface land, as well as the rights to the parcel (s) to be contracted). In addition, a landman negotiates and develops leases for the purpose of exploring and producing (if discovered) oil, gas, and / or minerals within specified tracts and other oil and gas agreements.
Surface Rights: Rights attached to the land’s surface. The owner has full access to their property in accordance to permitting and laws. Examples: building businesses, homes, and other buildings on the property, farming the property, and hunting and fishing.
Sub-surface Rights: Often referred to as mineral rights, what lies below ground.
Unified Estate: When the owner (s) holds both the surface and sub-surface rights.
Joint Tenancy (JTWROS): Co-ownership of real property by two or more people, each with equal rights and responsibilities and rights of survivorship.
