A Marriage Deal

Afternoon on the Ranch

Jade's POV:

My father came around the corner as I was cleaning up the kitchen.

"Good afternoon," I said as I looked up. "How did you sleep?"

"Very well," he said as he took a seat across from me at the counter. "Tell me, where is everyone?"

"This is a ranch dad," I said, "everyone's day starts early."

He grinned, "I appear to have missed the memo."

"Alonzo and Dylan went out in search of the heard. Arabella is helping her grandma in the garden, while Rob is working in the stables." I explained.

As I finished putting away the last of the dishes, Arabella hurried into the kitchen, trailed by her grandmother. As she ran and jumped into my arms, I squatted down. Before setting her down, I gently scooped her up off the ground and spun her around.

There was an awkward pause of silence that fell between us. 

"When will we be able to talk?" He inquired.

I raised my hand and shook my head swiftly.

I stated, "I'm not ready to have that conversation with you. However, I must inform you of something. Everyone who lives here contributes to the ranch's success. Given my current state, I would appreciate it if you could tend to the grooming of the horses and cleaning of the tack, I would greatly appreciate it."

"I can most certainly do that," He accepted. 

"Thank you," I sighed. "Well, take your time getting ready and feel free to help yourself to anything in the kitchen. When you are done, meet up with me in the stable and I will show you what to do."

"Okie Dokie," He replied. "That sounds like a plan."

Before stepping outside to the stable, I exited the kitchen and put on my boots. When I went out to the stables, I put Diablo and Storm out to graze while I worked on the stalls. Mucking the stalls was actually therapeutic for me because I had so much on my mind. When I experienced a really severe kick from the baby, I dropped the rake and placed my hands on my belly, I had no idea Alonzo had returned from bringing in the herd.

Alonzo dashed over to my side, exclaiming, "What's the matter, Jade? Please tell me what's wrong!"

"I'm alright, Alonzo," I assured him. "It's just the baby kicking."

"Here, feel," I said as I took Alonzo's hand and placed it over the location where the baby was kicking.

"The way the baby kicks is incredible," Alonzo said as he glanced up at me with his lovely eyes.

As he drew me in for a kiss, his palm lightly brushed the side of my cheek.

"Which reminds me, what did the doctor tell you when you went into town?" Alonzo remarked as he backed away.

"She said everything with the baby looks excellent," I said.

"What did she advise you to do regarding the pain you've been having while pregnant?" He inquired.

I grinned, "She actually advised sex."

"Is that so?" Alonzo chuckled as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. "Are you experiencing pain right now?"

"I do have some back pain," I said, playing along.

"You know, that new load of hay that came in is in the loft." Alonzo made a suggestion.

"You sure did," I smiled. 

My father walked into the stable and said, "Alrighty, what do I have to do?" before I could accept Alonzo's offer.

Despite our displeasure with my father's impeccable timing, Alonzo kissed my forehead and murmured, "I'll see you later tonight."
"Okay, be safe and I'll see ya tonight!" I responded.

Alonzo left the stable, leaving my father and me alone.

"Did I interrupt anything?" He inquired.
I lied and said, "No. Storm and Diablo are out in the pasture, so all you have to do now is bring them in one by one to the wash stall. I'm assuming you know how to bathe them, correct?"
He chuckled, "I'm not that stupid."
"You'll do the same with the horses out in the herd," I explained. "This should be done over the course of a week, after which you can walk through the tack room and clean what you can. In the closet, you'll find polish and rags."
He remarked, "That all sounds straightforward."
"All right, then," I said, "I'll let you get started."