Destined By Proxy

~6~ Home Sweet Home

Magnolia's POV

"You really ain't gonna tell me what's goin' on?" Levi says a few minutes later as we stay completely silent in the back of the wagon.

Micah turns to him and shoots him a glare, and Levi simply raises his eyebrows and shrugs. "I'm just....Rachel is gonna have yur hide, Micah. She hates surprises."

"Rachel probably will have my hide," Micah mutters, and the pit in my stomach gets deeper.

Lord, I don't think I made the right decision. If I would have, there would be peace. I'm feeling no peace, Lord God... Just crippling fear.

"You nervous? Yur actin' all fidgety," Levi says after another few minutes of silence.

Micah turns to look at him, and if I wasn't watching them I would have missed the soft "yeah" he says in response.

If Micah is nervous, then I really made the wrong decision.

Levi's mouth literally drops open, and he glances at Rosie sitting in Theo's lap in the back. "Can I please be there when you explain it to Rachel?"

"Enough," Micah barks, and a soft "yessir" is all that's said the rest of the trip.

~*~

My mouth drops at the sight that awaits me when Levi pulls the wagon into the ranch. I'm used to mountains, but the one that serves as a backdrop to their home brings tears to my eyes.

How did you create such a masterpiece, Lord? Is this really what I'm going to wake up to every morning?

The whitewashed, two-story home that's tucked in the back of the ranch is modest, and the matching white picket fence that surrounds it makes me smile.

This is beautiful

It sits on a grassy lot—The only grass that I can see. But in this one small spot, it is the epitome of a cozy yard.

The wooden porch attached to the house has multiple rocking chairs, and I smile at the Magnolia tree nestled in the corner of the lot, providing shade against the intense sun.

I'm so thankful this home has a Magnolia tree. My papa told me that they were my momma's favorite, and it's how I got my name.

Rachel must love flowers. Her entire house is surrounded by the most beautiful assortments.

If I only stared at the grassy yard, lovely home, and breathtaking mountain in the back, I would think I was on a piece of heaven itself.

But when I turn to my left and see the half dozen barns and corrals with packed dirt paths, reality hits me.

So this is a cattle ranch.

From here I can smell the distinct aroma of manure. If I can smell it here, I can't imagine how much worse it is where the cattle are.

Cattle are grazing up on a hill in the far distance, and I wonder just how many of these creatures live here. And what you actually do with them. Is there someone working on the fence over there? It's too far away...I'm not sure

I shade my eyes and realize that the entire hill the cattle are grazing in is all grassy terrain. Thank goodness it isn't all just dirt.

When I start to really take in the scene, I suddenly understand. It's not that there isn't any grass, it's that it's been walked on so much that they've worn dirt paths all over.

Why am I such a ninny? Of course this place has grass

"It smells," Rosie whines as she plugs her nose, and I quickly take her hand away from her face when Micah walks up.