Chapter 10
It was the second day on the drive and though Scott wasn’t talking to his brother as much as Marcel would have liked, there was no way to carry too much inside with the outside so pretty. There were no houses and power lines to ruin the view and Scott spent most of his time just thinking about how he got to where he was and what he was going to do next. He missed Lisa, but knew deep down that if she was happy with the new guy, he didn’t want to ruin that for her.
He had missed his chance. He knew that now and though he still had the need to beat in the face of anyone that touched her, Marcel’s plan was working. Every hour out there in the silence and beauty, working the animals, brought him further away from the point that he would ask for the name when they got back. Scott still might, but he wasn’t sure. It was getting harder to imagine it as the anger dissipated out of him.
The worst part of it all as he looked at the rolling meadow in front of him, was the realization that it was in fact his fault. He should have scooped her up years ago and since he had refused to, it was hard to imagine a woman like her staying single long. Scott didn’t think he was ever going to be able to replace her and he couldn’t even imagine trying. That is what hurt most for him. His anger was at himself for giving up the most important thing that he had in his life.
“Are you ready to stop for the day?”
Scott shrugged. He didn’t care either way. The sun had another half hour or so before it was down for good, but his body was tired. He hadn’t been getting much sleep, still not adjusted to sleeping alone. “That’s fine. We got a bit longer though. I don’t see the point of wasting the daylight but if you are getting too old for the long rides, I can understand that.”
Marcel just chuckled and pulled up on the horse. They were at a good place to stop for the night. The animals were already going to the river for water, while others were eating. They still had another ten miles or so upriver to go before they crossed in the morning. It was the place they always went over and quickly the cows were moving into the river and across it.
When their heads bobbed as they started to swim, it was when chaos started to ensue. There were too many of them and the river was just too wide and deep. Marcel was already off his horse, thinking that they were going to be able to stop for the night, but it was quickly clear that it was not going to happen. A small black newborn that was only a few days old was moving away from his mother as the swift water started to sweep him away.
Scott was into the river with the horse and up to his waist in the water before he could lasso the wretched creature out of the water that was becoming a swirling mass of black and white froth from movement. Marcel was back on his own horse and chasing after another small brown dot that was getting pulled into the surf. The larger cows seemed to be doing better, but they didn’t like the water and even their large bodies were feeling the effects of the force of water. It made them moo and try to move faster through the fray.
When Marcel looked over to look for his brother, his horse was on the other side of the river, as well as the calf with a rope still dangling around his neck, but Marcel couldn’t see Scott. He was wearing dark coat with dark jeans and as the light faded rather swiftly, it was getting harder to see into the water. The animals were making such a racket and churning up the water, it was several minutes until Marcel could get around them to where he last seen his brother. Looking further down, he thought he saw him washing up on the sandy shore.
His heart was pounding in his chest as he made his way to him. Marcel’s horse wasn’t moving fast enough, but he doubted that any amount of speed would have been enough. When he got to him he wasn’t conscious and it looked like he wasn’t breathing.
Marcel had never had to give a man CPR before, but he tried to imitate the scenes in movies that made it look so easy. It didn’t help that his hands were shaking and he was terrified that something was going to happen to him. He wouldn’t be able to live with himself, insisting that they went early and with two less people than usual.
“Come on, Scott. You stubborn ass, breathe!”
Smacking his chest with the last words, he had given up on the technique and Scott started to cough up water. He had blood coming from a wound in his head and he winced when he moved, but Marcel had never been so happy to see him smile. “You okay?”
He shook his head that he wasn’t.
“Well you are here. Welcome back.”
“Did the calf make it?”
Marcel shook his head. “Who cares about that calf, Scott? I thought I had lost you.”
***
“I just wanted to see you. I heard what happened from Gemma and I had to make sure you were okay.”
Scott had been thinking about her and as she came closer to where he was laying, his eyes drank in the sight of her. Her teeth nibbled on the bottom of his lip, telling him that she was nervous.
“I’m better now that you are here.”
Lisa smiled at him, already feeling relaxed. She had missed him and when she heard that something had almost happened to him on the cattle drive and they had to come back early, Lisa couldn’t stop herself from going down there to make sure that he was actually okay. She had to see it with her own eyes. She leaned in to give him a hug before she could stop herself.
He winced and hissed out of his teeth and she pulled back. “Sorry, are you okay?”
Scott nodded that he was, even though she had elbowed him in one of his broken ribs. It didn’t matter though. She was there and it was all that mattered. Lisa had been all he could think about for so long and the smell of her shampoo reminded him of so many good times. His body reacted to seeing her as if he hadn’t seen her in years. Scott had missed her terribly and the last thing he wanted was for her to leave.
“It will be fine, Lisa. Just a few bruises.”
“Gemma said that you broke a bunch of ribs and had a concussion.”
“You know how Gemma is.”
“What happened?”
He gave her the short version and her eyes widened when he got to the end. It made her think of the what-ifs and losing him would have been something that she simply couldn’t have gotten over. “I miss you, Scott.”
It was all she could say. Her voice was quiet and it was hard for her to look him in the eyes. She was sitting down next to him on the bed and looking down at the pattern on the comfort. “I’ve missed you more than I ever thought it was possible to miss someone, Lisa.”
Scott touched her hand and pulled it into his, resting it on his bruised chest. Her blue eyes finally met his dark ones and there was a familiarity that she never wanted with someone else. She could read his soul and that was far more important than any piece of paper. If all she got was him, it was going to be enough and Scott getting hurt made her realize that.
“I don’t want to marry and have kids, Scott. If I can’t do those things with you, then they just aren’t for me. Not all women have kids and I already have two nieces. I don’t care about getting married. I just want you. Can’t we go back to the way things were?” Her eyes held the desperation she felt. Lisa just wanted them back and that was it. It was all her fault for getting greedy and wanting more.
“No.”
Her heart sank and she pulled her hand away. “Why not? Because of David?”
“David? That was who it was? The guy from the feed store?”
She started to get up. “Yes.”
“Are you with him now?”
Lisa shook her head. “How can I be with anyone when I love you? There is no one else for me. I was with David to feel something and then it wasn’t there. It wasn’t worth my time. I don’t want anyone else but you and when you just pushed me aside it hurt.”
“I know. I don’t blame you for that, Lisa. Just know that.”
“Then why can’t we go back to the way it was? You know that we were good together.”
“Because you want more.’
“I want you, Scott.” Lisa could hear the need going back in her voice. The same feeling of her throat closing up and her world caving in as before when he had told her that it was over.
“I should have asked you to marry me a long time ago. You are who I want and I am sorry that I was so pig-headed about it. I thought that marriage would be like being put out to pasture and I wasn’t ready for that. But I love you, Lisa, and there is nothing more that I want to do than get married to you.”
She looked at his face to make sure that he was being truthful. It was what she had always wanted to hear and Lisa was afraid that her mind had made it up for that very reason. “I love you too, Scott.”
“So will you marry me?”
There was no ring or grand gesture on his knees, but it was perfect. It was all she had every wanted and he could have stuck a candy ring on her and it would have been enough. “Of course I will, Scott. But I don’t want you to feel forced. We can just keep on as we are. I am perfectly fine with it.”
“I know, but I’m not. I don’t ever want to lose you again.”
Lisa rushed down to give him another kiss, ignoring the wince of pain. He was just going to have to deal with it because she was too happy to not give him a kiss.
“You aren’t on any pain meds or anything, are you, Scott? Cause I am holding you to this.”
“You better.”