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When they had the baby and Cristina settled in the cab of the truck, she turned to him. “Thank you for such a wonderful afternoon. She is such a delight.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” he said thinking that he’d been a little nervous given the fact that Jacob’s wife was a very renowned artist from a wealthy family.
Glancing at the sky, he noticed that the clouds were building in the west. “Best we get home.”
No matter what he did, storms still made him nervous.
“When am I going to meet your brothers?”
“Not until tomorrow,” he said. “Though I’m shocked several have not come around this afternoon.”
“We haven’t been at the ranch,” she said smiling.
“No, we haven’t,” he said pulling out of the Burnett Dude Ranch gate.
He’d asked their housekeeper Susan to fix them a special dinner tonight and he hoped Wyatt would fall asleep early and they could spend time talking. Maybe some kissing and even more if things led to them being together.
He’d put her and Wyatt in a guest bedroom, but he truly hoped she’d spend the night in his bed.
Driving the country road back to the Kissing Oaks Ranch, he hoped she liked where he lived. They had left almost as soon as she got there in order to reach the Burnett ranch and see Hannah and Jacob.
Now going home, he felt nervous. Anxious almost. And he didn’t know if was from Cristina being there or the fact that the weather station had issued a tornado watch. God, how he hated those.
“Why don’t you park your car in my double-car garage when we get back to the house,” he said. “Just in case the weather gets nasty.”
“Thanks,” she said. “That’s better than it being outside at the apartment complex.”
“So are you going to start painting more?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “In fact, I thought that whenever you come to visit Wyatt, I’ll take that time to paint. That will be my time for me.”
“Good,” he said. A gust of wind hit the truck. The wind had definitely picked up in speed, but the clouds were not dark. It looked like they were gathering in the west, but not bad. Maybe they were just being cautious.
When they pulled up to the gate, she gazed at him. “Why is your ranch called the Kissing Oaks Ranch?”
A grin spread across his face. He loved telling this tale.
After they went through the electronic gate, he pulled his truck to a stop and pointed to an old oak tree off in the distance. “See that oak tree? My great-grandfather asked my great-grandmother to marry him beneath that tree. All the generations that have asked the person they love to marry them beneath that tree have remained married. My brother didn’t believe in the tale and asked his first wife somewhere else and they are now divorced. But he asked Madison to marry him beneath that tree. Someday I hope to ask the woman I love to marry me beneath that tree.”
“What a sweet tale,” she said.
“Yes, it’s just part of our heritage.”
He put the truck in drive and continued down the road.
“How neat to live out here and be so far from everyone. It must be extremely quiet,” she said softly.
“It was a great place to grow up until that damn twister took everything from us,” he said quietly. “Someday I hope to have my own family living here and my kids running around, playing with their cousins, digging in the dirt, riding horses, and learning about ranch living.”
For a moment, she was silent.
“I feel like I’ve taken that away from you,” she said. “Wyatt will always live with me.”
Oh dear, he didn’t want her to be anxious.
“You’re his mother and unless something happens to you, he should be with you,” he said knowing that he wanted them both with him.
They passed the big house.
