Page 85 of The Cowboy and the Outcast
“We’re engaged to be married, Mom,” Kell said, his voice rising with excitement. “Marston’s just proposed—on one knee!—and I’ve said yes.” And then he held up his left hand so the light would glint off the ring.
“Oh.” The word was a gasp, indrawn and quick. Janet’s hands flew to her mouth as if to capture the sound, and her eyes went round, and then she began to cry.
At first, Marston thought she was crying in disappointment, but then he realized she was smiling, wiping away the tears with shaky hands and a small gasp of a laugh.
“Engaged,” she said. “To be married. When’s the wedding? Am I invited?”
“Of course you are, Mom,” said Kell stoutly, leaning forward a bit as if to let the Zoom camera emphasize how much he meant that. “Of course she is. Right, Marston?”
Both of their gazes were locked on Marston, as if he controlled all of this. Which he didn’t. But it became quite evident, as it had in the past, that perhaps he might be standing in the way, or was perceived to be standing in the way, of the happy family that they could be.
Marston was the last person on earth to believe in happy families. Nothing in his life had led him to believe it could be possible. That was until he’d met Kell. Until he’d heard Kell talking to his mom on the phone. Until he’d seen Kell interacting with Janet over Zoom calls. And then witnessed Kell’s soul-deep disappointment when it became evident that the flight bringing her to Wyoming had been cancelled.
And, just as before, when Marston had waited on Highway 313 for Kell to arrive, when he had been surprised by the number of men tumbling out of a single truck simply to greet him with six-packs of beer, he might be pleasantly surprised this time, as well. If he let himself risk it.
“Ofcourseyou are,” said Marston as stoutly as Kell had. “And when you come out in January, you can help us start planning. Because, for starters, I don’t have a single idea how old a flower girl should be.”
“A flower girl?” asked Janet with some confusion, which was only natural, seeing as how Marston had dumped her into the middle of his thoughts.
“Well, there’s Bea,” he said.
“Bea?”
“She’s Clay and Austin’s little girl, up at the guest ranch,” said Marston. “I think she’s seven. Is that too old?”
“A flower girl can be as young or old as you like,” said Janet, brightly. Then, more somberly, she asked, “Do you really want me to help?”
“We sure do,” said Marston, answering for both of them, nearly tumbled off his seat as Kell hugged him hard. “And bring what’s-his-name—I’m sorry, I honestly don’t remember, but he should come, too. Will he like staying in a yurt, d’you think?”
“Steve,” she said with a laugh. “And I’ll ask him. I’m sure he’d love to come with me, if he can get time off work.”
“We’ll keep an eye on the weather for you.” Marston nodded to emphasize this, then, once again, let his mouth run away with the thoughts in his brain, saying them aloud before he was really ready to hear the answer. “And once Kell and I are married, will I call you Mom or Janet?”
She had such big, green eyes, just like Kell had. So deep you could see right down to her soul as she dipped her chin, a little wary, as if she imagined he might not like her answer.
“You could call me Mom,” she said, and now those eyes brimmed with tears. She paused to reach for something, which turned out to be a tissue, and as she wiped her nose and her eyes, she said, her voice a bit thick, “I’d be honored—I’d love it if you called me Mom.”
“Mom it is,” he said, a solemn promise to try to keep his heart open for the goodness that might come. He sometimes felt as though he’d forgotten his own mother’s name—Sara? Sabrina?—and now he wouldn’t ever have to remember it. “When we get closer to the thaw in January, we’ll figure out whether to put you up in a yurt or a motel, but in the meantime, how’s Aunt Miriam?”
In the spring, Aunt Miriam would soon be his aunt-in-law, or maybe, more correctly, she’d be his great aunt-in-law, and maybe she might like to invite her great-nephew and her great-nephew-in-law to her lovely, rambling house overlooking a pond. And maybe she’d let him sit on that large, expansive porch with an iced tea in one hand as he pet one of her Brittany Spaniels with the other.
Then he’d just sit there and absorb the warm summer air into his lungs and perhaps, for the first time in his life, feel as though he belonged. That Kell’s family was his and never more would he have to wander the earth alone.
Shaking himself, he laughed under his breath and straightened up, tucking away that particular fantasy for later, and concentrating on the moment that was right in front of him. Him sitting beside Kell, the gold ring glinting off Kell’s finger, the Zoom call holding their attention, his new Mom telling them about Aunt Miriam’s leg, then listing the things they needed to think about for a wedding, accompanied by the soft woof of a dog in the background, perhaps announcing that it was time for a walk outside.
All of this wrapped around him like a soft, warm blanket.
“Okay, Jenny,” said Janet as she bent to kiss the white forehead of a somber and brown-eyed dog who’d put its paws in her lap. “I should go. She needs a walk. They all do.”
“We’ll catch you later,” said Marston, a little glad to have such an emotionally fraught conversation winding down, as he very desperately needed to filter through what had been said, what he felt—was still feeling. And he very much needed to wrap his arms around Kell, and have Kell’s arms around him in return, needed to let the silence sink down around them while he counted his blessings, one by one.
“That sounds good,” said Janet, her arm expanding into the screen as she reached to click the End Call button. “I’ll talk to you later then, and I’ll have more ideas for the wedding.”
“See you, Mom,” said Kell, followed by an echo from Marston. “See you, Mom.”
Kell reached to end the call, then closed the laptop, reaching for Marston, giving him the biggest hug.
“You’re amazing,” he said, as they both stood up, their arms around each other as though they meant never to let go. “Just amazing.”
Kell tipped his head back for a kiss and Marston kissed him, gently at first, soaking up the warmth and touch and shiver of connection. Then he held Kell to him and together in the warmth of the tiny house, they rocked together, back and forth, gentle and slow, as the snow came down in soft, white flakes outside the window.
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