The Cowboy's Promise (UNDER HEAVY REVISION)

A Renewed Relationship

Stephen jumps off my sister's truck. Even from here, I can tell he's shivering violently. I grab a blanket out of the backseat and hand it to him. Faith, Red, and Andrew jump out of the two vehicles. Faith's F-250 has its front tires stuck in the ditch. Andrew's car's back end is wedged in the snow. I look at my youngest brother.

"How do we do this, El?" I ask him.

"Pull Faith's out first? Then Andrew's car?"

"Okay. Get the chain hooked up," I tell him. Stephen hooks the other end to the Ford's trailer hitch. When the chain's secure, Stephen and I push against the grille while Elliot drives and Red directs him. After a few minutes, we get her truck out. Her teeth are chattering so bad I'm afraid they'll break, so I shrug out of my jacket and hand it to her. Then we work to get Andrew's car out.

Elliot and I get in my truck, and the others get in Faith and Andrew's vehicles. We follow them home to make sure nothing else happens. The minute we pull in the driveway, Thalia, Mama, and Daddy are on the porch. Mama immediately orders Andrew to call his parents and say he's staying over here. I don't blame her. We drove home at a crawl, barely able to see past the hood of the truck.

I walk inside to hang my jacket up and put our snowshoes away. Just as I enter my room to go to sleep, Thalia comes in. I roll over and look at her green eyes. After an awkward second I sit up and pat my bed. She sits down beside me.

"Hey, Blake. Sleepy?" she asks.

I yawn. "Not at all."

"Have a good Christmas?"

"Fantastic. You?"

She smiles impishly. "Great. Let's continue this elsewhere."

She stands up and throws a pair of Wranglers at me. I replace my pajama pants and follow her outside. What does she want in this damn storm?

"Wait, where are we going?" I tell, trying to be heard over the storm.

"Somewhere," she replies, not turning around.

"Look, I'm not going with you into that damn storm until I know where I'm headed. So what destination do you have in mind?" I counter.

She sighs, visibly aggravated with me. "Fine. I'm going to your old tree house. I have a surprise for you there. So why won't you come?"

"I- I'm scared of snowstorms," I admit. Terrified, really. I was shaking the entire time El and I were getting the truck and car free. I'm still shaking, even though I try not to show it.

"Oh, poor thing." She comes and wraps her arm around my elbow. We both flinch at the touch, and I have to keep myself from jerking away. "C'mon. We'll walk together."

We bow our heads and push through the snow together. I can feel every inch of her tiny body pressed against mine. I'm shivering so violently it's a wonder I haven't fallen apart. But it's not the snow that's making me shiver, it's what it can do. We walk slowly until we reach the frozen creek and climb up the ladder to our old tree house. Daddy and I built it when I was thirteen. It's been through about a thousand storms already and is still standing. It should be safe through one more snow storm.

"Don't come up yet," Thalia calls to me. I sigh and lean against the sycamore bark. I hear some rattling then she sticks her head out. "You can come in now."

I give her a wry grin. "Nice to know I'm allowed in my own playhouse."

I climb up the ladder. When I reach the entrance, all I can do is stare at her. Before her is a picnic blanket full of food. In the middle of the spread is a silver box with a red bow. Thalia's sitting on the corner of the blanket. I finally gain enough control of my body to smile at her. Is this really the girl who hated my guts this summer?

She pours two mugs of hot chocolate from a thermos, then we start eating the cookies and other treats she brought. Everything's quiet except the howl of the wind. Finally Thalia pushes the silver box towards me. At the same moment, I hand her a velvet box from my pocket.

"You got me something?" she asks.

"Of course," I smile, "can't receive a gift on Christmas without giving."

"Well, you know you have to open mine first. Then I'll open yours," she informs me.

"Fine. Stubborn," I remark with a smile. Then I untie the bow and open the box. Inside is a new golden pocket watch. I click it open. The face of the watch is a picture of us on our horses, Grenade and Breeze. It was taken about five or six years ago at the river. The other side holds the chorus to My Wish by Rascal Flatts. I blink away tears. That was our song while we were dating. I can't believe she remembered that. I look over as she opens my gift. I got her a Pandora bracelet. One charm for each year we dated. A horse, canoe, dog, horseshoe, and finally, a bull. The thing that tore our relationship apart. She touches that one carefully, like she's afraid it'll hurt her again.

"Thank you. So much," she finally chokes out.

"Thank you, too. So, you wanna try this whole relationship thing again?" I ask. She laughs.

"Blake Dodge, you are such a dork."

"I'm sorry, I don't speak female."

She laughs again. "My answer is yes, you dork."

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OH MY GOD! 300+ reads and 5 votes! You people are amazing! Ily all so much! Now if we could just get a comment...

What did y'all think of this chapter? About Thalia? I know she wasn't a huge part before, but she will be now. And what about Blake's fear? Even though he was terrified, he still helped his little sis. How sweet. 

Note: this chapter takes place in December, while Sick of Hospitals Part 2 took place in early July. Several things have happened in between.

Above is a pic of Elliot Dodge, played by Scotty McCreery. Look him up, he's an amazing country singer.

Next will be a dance hosted at a certain ranch  and a cattle roundup. And no chapters complete without danger!

Okay, long authors note. I'll see you next chapter, and as usual I encourage you to vote and comment!