AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Lee turned around and stood still while someone out on the deck prayed. When the “Amen,” chorused into the air, he stepped outside, leaving the sliding glass door open for her. Rosalie sighed, shook her head, and sent up her own prayer that Lee would recognize his pride before the entire picnic got ruined.
* * *
Hours later,he hadn’t snuck away to speak to Will, at least not according to Rosalie’s knowledge. The food had been delicious, even the store-bought items, and Rosalie could admit that everything the Coopers touched seemed to turn to gold. Even watermelon and definitely potato salad.
“Fireworks starting in five minutes!” Spencer yelled. “Everyone find a seat and let’s get this show on the road.” He swung into the back of a pick-up truck, along with a couple of other cowboys, and they rumbled into the corn field.
Rosalie sank into the chair Lee had set up for her. She’d eaten two cupcakes there, and she wanted another one. She watched Autumn and Ford on the blanket in front of her, and they seemed to get along well enough for a four-year-old and an eight-year-old. He showed her something on his tablet, and Rosalie wasn’t going to argue about screen-time today.
Lee reached over and took Rosalie’s hand in his, his fingers tightening. “You ready for our second dessert?”
Rosalie turned toward him, no explosions in the sky yet. Someone turned on some patriotic music, and it blared out over the yard.
Lee got to his feet and bent down to say something to Ford. His son nodded, and Lee tugged Rosalie away from the rest of the people all set up on the hill, waiting for the fireworks to start.
“Lee,” she half-whispered with a giggle. “Where are we going?”
“I hid some cookies over here,” he whispered back. “Come on, we have time.” He ducked behind the shed and reached to lift the lid on his mama’s garden box. He’d tucked a zipper bag of cookies on the top, and he lifted them out triumphantly.
Rosalie looked at the handsome cowboy, the light shining from the house going out. The crowd she couldn’t see made some noise, and she giggled. “Lee.”
“Rose,” he whispered, pulling her closer and dropping the cookies on the top of the garden box. “I’m falling in love with you.” He didn’t give her time to respond properly. He simply kissed her, and Rosalie could feel herself falling in love with him too. She could feel the truthfulness in his words in the slow, deliberate way he moved, the way he kneaded her closer, and the way he let his actions speak louder than anything he’d ever said.
He was still kissing her when the first big boom filled the sky. Rosalie jerked, and Lee pulled away. He breathed in deeply, and Rosalie did too, finally opening her eyes and looking up between the buildings.
She couldn’t explicitly see the multi-colored sparks, but the sky definitely held more light than before.
“Come on,” he said, his voice lodged in his throat. He picked up the cookies and tucked her hand in his again. “We don’t want to miss the fireworks.”
Rosalie felt like the real fireworks show had started the moment he’d murmured the wordlove, and the pops, bangs, and spectacular light display of the Fourth of July bounced through her bloodstream.
Back in their chairs, he opened the saved bag of cookies and let her take one first. He then took one, and then he offered them to the children. Beside him, Will asked in a hushed voice, “Lee, can Gretchen and I have one?”
Lee handed over the bag without a word, and Rosalie knew the two brothers had made up. She didn’t know how, and she didn’t even know what the problem had been. Perhaps the Coopers did have their own way of communicating and working through problems, and perhaps she should just let Will and Lee do what they’d always done.
She took a bite of her cookie, the salty peanut butter mixing perfectly with the semi-sweet chocolate. She leaned further back in her chair and smiled up into the bright white splay of fire in the sky as it began to drift downward, leaving a trail in the sky.
She’d had no idea she wanted a country life, but the thought of putting on a skirt and heels come Monday morning made a pit in her stomach open which had nothing to do with the cupcakes and cookies she’d eaten that day.
During the show, with the Stars and Stripes playing in the background, she started to fantasize about what being a farm wife would be like. Blue jeans, sunscreen, and freshly baked cookies every day.
It sounded like heaven to Rosalie, and during the grand finale, with the sky full of sound and smoke and shockingly red lights, she kissed Lee again, hoping that her unspoken words ofI’m falling in love with you toowent through loud and clear.
