Chapter 63

Ryan

That next morning, I woke up before Sara and got showered and dressed. When I came out, she was just stirring, and I walked over and kissed her on the cheek. She moaned softly and opened her eyes, looking up at me with a sweet smile.

“Get dressed.” I smiled. “Let’s hunt down some breakfast.”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m starving.”

She got out of bed and pulled on her clothes, walking into the bathroom and gargling with mouthwash. I sat on the edge of the bed watching her as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail on the top of her head. She looked so happy and carefree, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Hey, the barbecue place also serves a mean weekend breakfast,” she said. “The whole town is usually there throughout the morning.”

“Sounds good to me,” I said.

We headed out to the barbecue joint, and the first thing we heard whispered through the crowd was Sheriff Janson and his deputy’s name. I tried to listen closer, but I had to wait until we sat down at the table. We looked at each other but didn’t say a word, leaning back slightly and eavesdropping on the table next to us.

“Oh, yes,” the older woman said. “The state police came right up into the station. They had their guns pulled and everything. They walked the sheriff and his deputy right out of the building, in handcuffs and put him in the back of their police car. The sheriff looked madder than hell, and I’m pretty sure it was the first time I’d ever seen him without his cowboy hat on and a pistol on his side.”

“Well, where’d they take him?” the older man asked.

“To some holding facility in the next county over,” she said. “We don’t have a good facility here, you know that.”

“Well, I wonder what they got him on?”

“Rumors have been flying,” she whispered. “They’re saying he had something to do with the bank robberies.”

“Aw, they caught them fellas,” he said. “You and that rumor mill.”

“Well, whatever it was, the order had come down from the state capitol to arrest them,” she said. “My nephew, Hubert, heard the arrest warrant broadcast over the state police frequency last night, and it was signed by the dang state’s attorney general.”

“You know, I’m not surprised by any of this. I’ve told you for years that man was crooked,” the older gentleman said.

“Harold,” she gasped. “We’re in public.”

“Don’t make no difference. He ain’t around to come tromping all over my rights like usual,” he said.

I glanced back over at Sara, and she sat back up in her chair. She stared down at her plate, but then a big smile moved across her face. I picked up my glass of orange juice and toasted her, not needing to even say a word. Things seemed like they were looking up for us. The insurance would cover the lost solar panels, and even more importantly, Sara could live her life without the fear of Janson walking around the corner or trying to hurt the animals and property she loved so much. Sure, I felt relieved, but I couldn’t even imagine how relieved she felt. It must have been like a new day for her, and I loved to see that smile on her face.

Just as we were finishing up eating, finally laughing and talking again, I got a phone call. It was my insurance adjuster, letting me know they would be heading out momentarily to the ranch to assess the damage. They had flown in from New York and stayed at the same hotel as me. I could only wish that Alison’s insurance adjuster was that quick to hop on things. It was starting to bother me for the first time that big money came before people who were actually in need. The barn was covered, but she could use that money to replace the other stuff I didn’t even know was lost in the fire.

“So, my insurance adjuster is on the way over to the ranch to look at those solar panels,” I said.

“That was fast,” she replied.

“Yeah,” I scoffed. “Wish Alison’s was just as fast.”

“I know, right?”

“I guess I’ll have to go over and meet with them since I took them inside and locked them up to keep them safe from the elements,” I said. “Do you want to come out there with me?”

“I would, but I have some work I really need to get done,” she said. “And then this afternoon, I want to head out to the horse rescue to see if Alison needs any help with anything. Is that okay?”

“No.” I laughed and smiled. “But I suppose I’ll have to make due.”

“Thank you,” she said, returning the smile. “I have some really big plans today.”

“Oh, yeah? Whatcha doing?”

“I have some serious filing plans.” She laughed. “I have papers stacked up to the ceiling in my office that need to be filed away in their correct folders.”

“You don’t put them in a computer?”

“No, we do, but we keep the hard copy,” she said. “I like to have it in my hand when I’m examining a patient in case I need to know something then and there.”

“Ah,” I said, shaking my head. “Old-school, there’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Yeah,” she scoffed. “Coming from the technology wizard, I have a hard time believing you.”

“You do what’s right for you.” I smiled, standing up. “I’ll walk you to your car at the Mexican restaurant.”

“I almost forgot I left it there,” she said.

I paid the tab and walked her, hand in hand, out to her car in the parking lot down the street. I leaned up against her van and smiled at her. She looked back at me as she pulled her keys from her purse and blushed.

“What?” She laughed.

“Just thinking about how beautiful you are, that’s all,” I said. “And how I want you to promise to meet me for dinner tonight. I don’t want to go days without seeing you. I want to start seeing you every day if I can, multiple times if it’s not too creepy.”

“Not creepy at all,” she said. “But why don’t we cook dinner at my house tonight? We’ve already eaten at the only two restaurants in town more than once.”

“That sounds nice.” I pulled her in and kissed her lips. “Though we haven’t had the culinary stylings of the Saloon yet. I’m sure they have killer cheese fries.”

“Actually, they are cheese tater tots. And I don’t go in there.”

“Why? Don’t like dirty kitchens and frozen gourmet cooking?”

“No, as a matter of fact, I don’t.” She laughed. “But I haven’t set foot in that place since I found out Janson was cheating on me with not one but two of the waitresses employed there. Thought it might be a tad awkward, and it was his stomping grounds.”

“Ugh.” I grimaced. “Seriously, that guy is an asshole.”

“Was an asshole,” she pointed out.

“Very true, but still, I hope someone kicks his ass six ways from Sunday while he’s in jail,” I said. “He’s a terrible human being all around. I’m struggling to understand how you ever started dating him.”

“Well, he didn’t start out like that. He hid it from me for a good while,” she said. “But his true colors showed through eventually.”

“I’m just glad that’s all behind us now, and we can look forward to the future,” I said, leaning in and kissing her lips. “But I have to go before this adjuster has a hissy fit for having to be in the middle of nowhere for too long.”

“Go,” she said, laughing and slapping my ass. “I’ll see you tonight at my house.”

“I can’t wait.” I smiled and walked over to my truck.

I climbed into my truck and headed out for the ranch. When I got there, the adjuster was standing outside in a skirt suit, swatting flies, and struggling through being out in the country. She sighed and went inside with me, going over the damages, taking pictures, and listening to the different accounts from the employees. They already had the police report, and this should finish up their investigation. When that was done, I went to my office and tried to focus on my own work until it was time to see Sara again.

It was hard to do when all I could think about was her. The night before kept blowing through my mind over and over again, the way she’d looked on that dance floor, how relieved she was to hear about Janson, and how blown away she’d been by the romantic gesture I had made. What she didn’t realize was that I wanted to spend my life doing things like that for her. I wanted to pamper her, make her feel special, and always make the effort to go above and beyond to make beautiful memories together. It was definitely a change in mindset for me from where we had started, but I didn’t regret it at all.

On top of all that, the night had been interesting for another reason. During sex, I had blurted out that I loved her. I’d meant it. I didn’t just say it because of the moment, but I was worried my execution might have been a little off. I wasn’t even sure if she had heard me because she didn’t say anything back. Of course, I didn’t give her much time since both of us exploded into orgasm as soon as I’d said it. Still, I had waited for her to bring it up all morning, but she never did. She acted almost like it never happened. But maybe she had heard me. I’d been loud and looked straight into her eyes when I said it.

I didn’t know how to think about that, thinking that she heard it and didn’t respond. Did that mean she didn’t feel the same way as me? She had to feel something for me, right? We had been around the block trying to get together, and she had taken care of me after the fire. She wouldn’t just keep going out with me and hanging out with me if she didn’t have some sort of feelings for me. I swore I’d seen the look of love in her eyes when we were dancing that night, and I never mistook that look. It was the one that, in the past, would have made me run for the hills, but not with Sara. With Sara, it only made me want her that much more.

I couldn’t let this go. I was going to get a hold of her that night and just kiss her over and over again until she admitted she loved me as much as I loved her. I knew it was in there. It was just a matter of making her feel comfortable enough to say it. I wanted to hear it so badly that I couldn’t really think of anything else. When she finally caved and admitted her feelings, that’s when I was going to completely buckle and take that girl to the church and make her my wife. There was no other woman in the world for me. I knew that without a doubt, and marrying Sara would make me the happiest man in the world.