The drive out to the ranch took about fifteen minutes from the quaint little town that had charmed Maggie from the moment they’d approached last night. Everything about it felt like home, from the cute Main Street to the barn with the mural painted on the side.

She sat all the way on her side of the truck with the window down. It played with her hair and she leaned her face into the wind, breathing in the green smell of the country around her.

“There’re a lot of grape fields out this way,” Chase said.

“It’s beautiful.” Maggie flashed a smile in his direction without truly making eye contact.

“Maybe I went the wrong way.” He peered out the windshield, but Maggie caught sight of the sign the realtor had described to him, which he had told her about as they’d left town.

“There it is,” Maggie said, pointing out her window. “The sign says Grape Seed Ranch, but there’s a carving of a peach.” She turned toward Chase. “Just like the realtor said.”

“I guess they grow a lot of peaches in Hill Country too,” Chase said. “I don’t particularly like that sign, but I suppose that can be changed.”

Maggie chuckled. “Don’t be so sure about that. Did you see that town? It’s steeped in tradition, from that beautiful statue in the town square, to the lettering on the buildings on Main Street. They all looked like they were made two hundred years ago, in Germany, and brought over on boats.” She grinned for all she was worth, because she’d loved the town, Old English lettering and all.

“I don’t mind the name,” Chase said, turning from the hard-packed road onto one that hadn’t seen as much traffic. “But a peach on the sign? What’s that about?”

“I like peaches,” Maggie said as they passed under the sign and through the gate. “So this is it.” Minus the fields of grapevines, the land looked the same. A rolling hill sat in front of them, and the fields on either side of the road had been planted with hay. Someone had been taking care of the place, but when they finally arrived at the homestead, it looked a little worse for the wear.

Maggie got out and stretched her legs though they hadn’t been driving that long. A couple of shutters hung at crooked angles, and the whole house needed to be repainted. A garage sat next to the house, but there was no driveway that she could see. The road veered to the right, and then left again, and she could see barns and other outbuildings lining the road.

“It’s built in squares,” Chase said. “This is the innermost square, with the homestead and all the buildings. The fields surround it in patchwork squares. There’s a community of cabins further back on that road.” He glanced at the house as if he could see through it. “And three way out in the pastures.” He studied a map the realtor had given him. “But this is the house.”

He looked at her with apprehension riding in his eyes. “This is the house.”

She gave him the best smile she could conjure. “Let’s go look at it.” She linked her arm in his elbow and led him toward the house. The front steps had recently been strengthened, and she said, “I like the wrap-around porch. I’ve always wanted one of those.” She toed a spot to the left of the front door. “We could put a rocker right here, and you can play me a song every night after work.”

Chase tightened her hand against his body. “Maggie, this might be too hard.”

She paused and peered at him. “What do you mean?”

His eyes locked on hers and they swam with intense emotions she couldn’t quite identify. “I want to marry you so badly,” he whispered. “And you talk like it’s going to happen. We’re here planning our whole future, where we’ll put furniture we don’t have, all of it.”

Agony shone in his eyes. “What if none of it happens?”

“Chase.” She put her arms around his neck and leaned her weight into his body. “It doesn’t matter if we live here or somewhere else. I don’t care if I have a rocker or not. I just want to be with you.” She smiled and it felt a little wobbly on her face as a rush of emotion made tears prick her eyes.

“I love you,” he said.

Surprise bolted through her. He’d never told her that before, not in those three concise words. Before she could repeat them to him, he kissed her. A slow, passionate kiss that built until she pulled away breathless.

“C’mon, cowboy,” she said. “Let’s go look at the house.”

* * *

Chase liked the house. He didn’t mind that it needed to be painted inside and out. He could easily wield a paintbrush, and Maggie could choose the colors she wanted. It had new carpet and enough bedrooms to raise a large family, and a central kitchen where everyone could gather.

He walked through the outbuildings, taking notes the way Frank had advised him to. He’d said that Maggie would be interested in the house, but that Chase should be interested in everything else.

Compared to Three Rivers, this ranch held its own. It had been on this land for over a hundred years, but updates had been done throughout the spaces. He even found a horse in a stall connected to an exercise yard, and he assumed someone had been out to feed it, based on the fresh water and hay in the troughs.

With every minute he spent at Grape Seed, the more he liked it. The further away it felt, too. Unattainable for someone like him. He wondered why the family didn’t want it anymore, and he decided to ask Clyde when he got back to town.

He met Maggie at the truck, where she sat on the tailgate, her legs dangling down. “Hey, pretty girl.” He swept her into an embrace and kissed her quick. “Let’s go out to the cabins, all right?”

She looked up at him with complete adoration on her freckly face. “How was the barn?”

“There are about four of them.” He touched his nose to hers and laughed. “And they’re great. This whole place is fantastic.” Chase stepped toward the driver’s seat, glad when Maggie hopped down and followed him.

The trip out to the cabins took about four minutes by truck, and he started dreaming of purchasing one of those new four-wheeled ATVs he’d seen on commercials at Frank’s. He liked that the cowboy cabins were a bit farther from the homestead and the rest of the buildings. They sat on both sides of the street and had individual yards of their own. There were eight of them, with trees in front of each one. It seemed like a real community, with a pavilion with picnic tables at the end of the row. A flag pole stood across the street from the tables, making this place seem more like a historic park rather than a simple row of cowboy cabins.

“This is cute,” Maggie gushed as she got out of the truck. They toured all the cabins, but they were all the same. Two bedrooms, one bathroom. A loft. A kitchen with an eat-in breakfast nook. A small back patio accessible with a sliding glass door. A living room with two couches, a radio, and a color television.

“Nowhere for the foreman,” Chase mused. At Three Rivers, the foreman’s cabin was bigger and nicer than the others. He could be married and live with his family in the cabin while everyone else usually shared.

“Maybe everyone here gets their own,” Maggie said. “I mean, there’s what? Eighteen of you at Three Rivers? And they have ten times as many cattle.”

“There’s twenty-three of us at Three Rivers right now,” Chase said. “And more like twenty thousand head of cattle.”

“There you go,” Maggie said. “This is a much smaller operation.”

But it felt huge to Chase. Could he really own and operate a cattle ranch, even if it was small? Ten thousand acres didn’t seem small.

He looked at Maggie and drew strength from her steady smile. “Thanks for coming with me. I think I’m ready to go back to town.”

She turned and headed for the truck, and he marveled at her. If her father could see her right now, he’d have no reservations about them getting married. Sure, she was still shy of twenty years old, but she was mature and responsible in ways Chase hadn’t been at this age.

He linked his fingers with hers and squeezed. “You wanna go out to Medina River this afternoon?”

“Yeah.” She climbed into the truck. “That sounds fun.”

* * *

Chase went to the bank alone the next morning. They’d be driving home that day, and he hadn’t wanted to take Maggie from the river yesterday afternoon. She’d been like a five-year-old on Christmas morning, exclaiming over the bald cypress trees and the views. They’d stayed through sunset, where he’d told her again that he loved her.

And she’d said it back.

He grinned as he approached the bank. He paused on the sidewalk just outside and sent a prayer heavenward. It seemed that he’d spent more time begging the Lord for what he wanted these last few weeks. Surely God was tired of his pleas, but Chase couldn’t help himself. His parents had taught him to pray for what he wanted and to be grateful for what he got. He’d forgotten that lesson for a while right after his dad’s death, but it had come back, just like the ability to ride a bike.

He opened the door and went straight to Mr. Gallivan’s office. The man stood and shook his hand and gestured for him to sit in the chair where he’d sat yesterday.

“I got the appraisal going. It will take a few weeks to get someone out here and evaluate the ranch and it’s earning potential. Everything on your application was approved, and I just need you to sign this paper to pay the appraiser.”

Chase swallowed as he reached for the pen. “How much is that?”

“Five hundred dollars.”

Chase dropped the pen.

“And we’d need that to be paid today, I’m afraid.” Mr. Gallivan leaned back in his chair, that same sorrowful look pasted on his face. Chase was starting to dislike it. “Then we’ll get him scheduled, and once he comes out, we’ll be able to approve the loan.”

“If the ranch seems profitable.”

“Right.”

“Do you think that’s a big if?” Chase gripped the pen too tight. Clyde hadn’t seemed worried that Chase didn’t have his funding already lined up. He’d said he knew the men at the bank here in town, and they knew what they were doing. He’d told Chase that he could deal with all of that while Chase went on back to his life in Three Rivers.

“I honestly don’t know, Mister Carver. I generally deal in commercial property here in town. A ranch is a bit beyond my professional reach.”

Chase didn’t like the sound of that, but he signed his name on the paper and pulled out his debit card. He had enough to pay for the appraisal, and if he could make a phone call before he left town, he could beg Frank for an advance on his paycheck so he’d have enough money to pay for the gas they needed to get back to Three Rivers.

With that done, and the phone call made, Chase walked down the street to collect Maggie from the hotel. She waited in the lobby, her hair plaited around her head like a crown. He saw her before she noticed him, and he paused to enjoy her haloed in the sunlight pouring through the front windows.

She’s worth it, he told himself. I’d do anything to be her husband.

So he put on his best smile and stepped into the hotel, encouraged and excited when her face bloomed into a grin too.