Frank grabbed a hay bale and tossed it down to the main floor of the barn, where Gideon grabbed it and tossed it outside. The boys were out there waiting to attack it with their pitchforks. Frank had his doubts about giving six teenage boys sharp, pointed implements to use as part of their chores, but no one had gotten impaled yet, so he’d count that as a plus.
“Have you heard anything from Lani?” Gideon asked.
“She texted to let me know she got home safely, but nothing since,” Frank replied. “I sent her a smiley face yesterday morning, but I don’t want to bother her if she’s busy.”
“It’s been how long since she left—three days? That’s long enough for her to unpack and get settled and be ready to contact you,” Gideon said. “Why don’t you give her a call tonight? She’s probably waiting for you to make the first move.”
“I sent her a smiley face! How is that not making the first move?”
Gideon rolled his eyes. “A real move, dude. Like a phone call. Conversation. You remember how to have a conversation, don’t you?”
“I’m not so sure I do anymore. I haven’t dated anyone in forever—not since college, and I kept it pretty chill because I knew I wasn’t getting married that young.”
Gideon shook his head. “Tonight. After the boys are in bed. You’re calling her.”
“Fine, fine, Mr. Bossy,” Frank responded.
After they were done with their chores, the boys stopped in at the house to grab a cookie, and Frank took advantage of the opportunity to talk with his dad. Peter was working on a jigsaw puzzle in the corner of the living room, but Frank wasn’t fooled. His dad only did jigsaw puzzles when he had a mental puzzle to work through—the project helped him sort through the things that were really bothering him.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hey there, son.” Peter leaned back in his chair. “I can’t seem to find the other foot for this tree frog.”
“Don’t look at me,” Frank replied. “I’m terrible at puzzles.”
“They’re not for everyone.” Peter studied his son’s face. “So, what brings you by? I notice that you boys hardly ever seek me out for casual conversations anymore. You’re all about the serious stuff.”
“Yeah, well, this has been a pretty serious year,” Frank said. “So many changes—we’re entering a new era, Dad. Things aren’t going to be the same much longer.”
Peter nodded. “I know. It’s exciting and frightening all at the same time, isn’t it?”
“It is, and I’m completely lost as to my place in it.”
Peter looked surprised. “Are you? I thought we’d trained each of you up to know your role and how vital it is to our family.”
“You did, but . . .” Frank sighed. “I can’t stop thinking about Lani.”
“She is quite a remarkable young woman,” Peter replied.
“She really is. She’s smart and pretty, she has a great sense of humor, and I love how she interacts with the boys. I can picture her here on the ranch, Dad. I can imagine her fitting in and helping us out and doing a lot of good. I just don’t understand why the powers that be haven’t given their approval.”
Peter raised an eyebrow. “How do you know they haven’t?”
“What? Have you had a vision about her? Why didn’t you say so?”
Peter held up a hand. “No, I haven’t had a vision. But listen, son. You were given a tremendous ability as a human being—that of intuition. What is that intuition telling you?”
“That I want to marry Lani. That she’s the perfect choice for me.”
Peter nodded again. “There you go.”
“What do you mean?” Frank was frustrated. “Come on, Dad. You’re not usually so mystical.”
Peter chuckled. “The gifts are there to help us when we don’t know what to do. You already know what to do, son. You’ve known from the start—that’s why you came to me and asked if she was the one instead of me being the one to tell you. This is what I’ve been trying to explain. You have all the tools you need within yourself. You just need to trust them.”
Frank sat up a little straighter. “So, if I say I want to marry Lani Markland, that’s how it should be?”
“That’s how it should be because you made a wise choice, yes.”
Frank leaped out of his chair. “Thanks, Dad. I think I’m going to marry Lani Markland. Well, first I have to find out if she wants to marry me, but yeah.” He paused, picked up a puzzle piece, and handed it to his father. “Here’s that tree frog foot.”
“Thank you,” Peter said, adding it to the puzzle with a smile.
As soon as Frank went out into the hallway, he sent Lani a text, but there was no response. Feeling like a caged animal, he went and found Gideon and the boys in the kitchen, joking around with Lillian.
“I want to get married, but I need to find the bride,” he said.
“Did you lose her?” Nick asked, some of the old sarcasm in his voice, but speaking with a grin.
“If I did, it’s just temporarily,” Frank replied. “I need to make a quick trip down to Houston. Can you all figure out how to live without me while I’m gone?”
“Well, it’ll be hard—you are our reason for waking up every morning,” Gideon said.
Frank grabbed a napkin from the table, wadded it up, and lobbed it at his brother’s head. “I’m serious. Can I take off?”
“Of course. Go get her. We’ll figure it out.”
Frank dashed out of the kitchen and ran toward his cabin. He’d just take a light duffel bag—three days’ worth of clothes should be enough. If he couldn’t convince her by that time, he’d find a laundromat. What he wasn’t at all expecting was to find Lani sitting on his front porch steps when he got home.
He pulled up short and just stared at her.
“Hi,” she said, looking a little anxious. “I was wondering if you had any job openings here on the ranch. I can provide a resume and references upon request. I can write freelance from anywhere, you see. That’s the beauty of the Internet.”
He slowly walked toward her. “A job? Here?”
“Yeah. I quit my job at the magazine. They wanted me to do an expose on your family and I refused. I figured it was best that we part ways.”
“You quit your job?”
“Sure did.”
“And you came back?”
She shook her head. “You know, this isn’t going quite how I imagined it. I was thinking that you’d cheer or sweep me up in your arms or something. Instead, you’re repeating everything I say. That’s not very original. Or romantic.”
Frank blinked. “I’m sorry. I was just on my way to my room to pack a bag so I could come find you. I’ve sent you several texts.”
She ducked her head. “Remember how klutzy I am? I warned you about that . . . well, I sort of dropped my phone and broke it. I promise, I would have answered you otherwise.” She paused. “Coming to find me? What would you have said when you found me?”
“That I want to marry you. That I want you to live on the ranch with me and raise a family and work together and have picnics and basically enjoy every minute we have on this earth.”
“Wait, wait.” She held up both hands. “Marry you? Frank, I don’t know if you’ve learned your numbers yet, but we’ve only spent two days together. Two. That’s not very many.”
“Oh, but I have learned my numbers, and I’ve decided that numbers don’t matter when something’s right.” He took a seat next to her on the porch. “But if it’s that important to you, this is what we’ll do. Let’s think of today as day one. On day one, we’ll tell each other our favorite colors. Day two, we’ll talk about favorite books. Day three will be favorite foods. Day four—”
“Are you serious?”
“Well, you sounded like you wanted to date a while before we get engaged. I’m just trying to give you what you want.”
“Longer than two days, yes, but at the rate you’re going, we’ll both be dead before you ever put a ring on my finger.” She looked thoughtful. “What if we got engaged now, but we didn’t actually get married immediately? We could go on some of those picnics you mentioned and have some of those crazy-long conversations, and then get married.”
“I don’t know. People in my family tend to tie the knot awfully fast.”
“I’ve noticed that about you people.”
He ran a finger up her arm. “So, what exactly are you saying, Miss Markland? Are you saying that yes, you will marry me?”
“That’s what I’m saying, but I think the timing needs to be negotiated. We need to be a little bit logical about this, don’t we?”
He slid closer, slipped his hand behind her head, and brought her close for a kiss. Then he let her go. “You were saying?”
“Um . . . I think I was saying that logic is stupid and it’s only for nerds and people who know how to use abacuses and that we should just start planning this wedding already.”
“I agree. Well, except for the part where you lumped abacus users in with stuff that’s stupid. That hurt a little, honestly.”
“Do you know how to use an abacus?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“I do, actually.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“There are a lot of things about me you don’t know.”
“Which proves my point—we should have a longer engagement so we can learn these things about each other.”
He raised an eyebrow. “You can’t mean that my use of an abacus would be a deal breaker.”
“I’m not saying that. At least, I don’t think I am.”
He imagined that this conversation could go on for quite some time, and he could think of any number of things he’d rather be doing. So instead of continuing the debate, he pulled her close again, which was definitely at the top of his list of preferred activities.
THE END