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Will walked into the jewelry store, feeling like the whole world could see him. The two walls of windows did that, and the natural light spilling inside made every gem shine and glitter.
“Ah, Will,” Darrell said. “Here for the ring?”
“Yes, sir,” Will said. He swiped off his cowboy hat, his nerves running rampant through him. “Louisa called and said it was sized and ready.”
“Yes, I think I saw it in the back.” Darrell gave him a smile and went that way. “I’ll be right back.”
Will nodded and watched him go. A little further into the shop, a woman stood behind the case while a couple looked at the rings inside. Other than that, only salesmen littered the floor. He started to sweat despite the cool temperature inside the shop, and he had no idea why.
Probably because the calendar hadn’t even flipped to May yet, and here he stood, buying a diamond ring to propose with. His relationship with Tara had not advanced this quickly, and Will shook the woman out of his head.
After watching Rissa and Spence, then Travis and Shayla, fall in love, Will knew that when a person met their one true love, it didn’t take long to want to spend forever together. He and Gretchen were simply meant to be, and he didn’t want to wait to be with her.
He also didn’t want to wait until December to marry her. If Clarissa really wasn’t going to let anyone get married in the fall months, then Will figured he might as well ask Gretchen now and they could get married in August.
He hoped three full months was long enough for her, and panic paraded through him while his brain screamed at him that he should’ve asked her how long she needed to plan her wedding. For all he knew, she’d send off for a custom dress from the shops in Paris or Milan, and that could take months.
“Here you go,” Darrell said, reappearing in front of Will as if by magic. He held out a smooth black bag with white tissue poking out of the top.
“Thank you,” Will said, his voice grinding through his throat. He nodded at the man, put on his cowboy hat, and headed for the exit. He needed to get out of this place and stop spiraling.
Gretchen wasn’t going to order her wedding dress from Europe. She wasn’t that kind of woman at all. She probably would want to make sure she didn’t have any events on her candy calendar, and she’d want to make sure her brothers could be there.
Will hadn’t met them yet, as they lived some distance from Sweet Water Falls and both he and Gretchen were quite busy with their work. His heart sat heavy in his chest, like someone had filled it with water and it had bloated to twice its normal size.
He had no idea where he and Gretchen would live once they got married. Would she want to live on the farm? In her house in the country? Could he stand having Elvis around all the time?
“Stop it,” he told himself as he drove. “It’s all going to work out fine.” He sometimes hated the way his mind circled and spun, and he’d gotten a lot better at slowing it enough to see reason.
He glanced over to the bag riding on the passenger seat. He didn’t know where to hide it or put it. He didn’t want to hold onto it. He’d bought it for Gretchen, and he wanted to give it to her.
A quick glance at the clock told him that he could be at her house before she left Sweet Water Taffy, and he started making the right turns to get him there. He’d left late enough in the day to not put out anyone on the farm, and he quickly dialed Travis, knowing his brother would be on the last round of milking.
“What’s up?” Travis asked, clearly using the speaker on his phone.
“I got the ring,” Will said, kneading the wheel. “I don’t know what to do next.”
Travis chuckled, but Will didn’t appreciate that. “Sure you do,” he said.
“Don’t I need flowers or something?” Maybe he could stop real quick. Another glance at the clock told him not to. It was Friday, and Gretchen never stayed late on Fridays. She went in so early on Saturdays and again early in the week that by Friday, she did the bare minimum and went home.
It was almost four, and Will actually pressed on the accelerator.
“No,” Travis said. “I mean, it’s nice if you have flowers or something, but no. You have adiamond ring, Will. That’s all she needs.”
“What if she hates it?”
“Okay, I’m hanging up,” Travis said. “Where are you, bro? You’ve never struck me as unsure of yourself or about what to do.”
Will took a deep breath and nodded to himself. “You’re right. Okay, yeah. I’m going over to Gretchen’s now.”
“Good luck,” Travis said. “Not that you need it. I think she’s been waiting for you to ask her for a while now.”
Will nodded again and said, “Thanks, Trav.” He let his brother hang up, and he made the rest of the drive to Gretchen’s as fast as he could.
His heart sank when he came around the corner and her van already sat in the driveway. “Doesn’t matter,” he told himself, though he definitely could’ve stopped for flowers. And pizza. He suddenly couldn’t show up without food, and yet, he turned into her driveway and parked behind her.
