A birthday surprise

A devastating loss

Jason's pov

I'm driving back home with the box in hand and a smile on my face. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna ask her to marry me. I'm super jittery with excitement. I know she'll say yes. I can't wait to see her smile. I open the door but all I saw were tears in her pretty eyes as her cell phone drops from her hand. "Babe, what's wrong?!" I cry, rushing over as she holds her arms tightly in tears. "She's dead." She whimpers. Dead?! Who's dead?! "Oh my God, Jason, she's dead!" She cries hysterically. The box falls from my hands as she collapses in heartbroken tears. I hold her tight. "Miranda, what happened who's dead?" I ask. She just sobs on my shoulder. I have no idea who died. She's too upset to talk. It also means there's no way I'll be able to propose to her right now, not in this condition. I put the box in my pocket and take her to our room. "Just tell me when you're ready." I whisper, soothingly and holding her in my lap as she cries uncontrollably.

Miranda's pov

I have to tell him but I can't bring myself to say the words. I haven't stopped crying since I found out and he hasn't stopped holding me since he came home and saw me crying. I try to stop crying as he rubs my back. "She's dead!" I whimper. "Who's dead, sweetheart?" He asks, looking down at me. "Mama, she had another heart attack." I cry. I hear a sudden intake of breath. He's caught off guard. "She didn't make it this time." I choke out, burying my head in his chest again and sobbing. His arms tighten around me.

Jason's pov

I can't believe it!! I only met her once but she gave me the greatest thing in my life. Her daughter. I don't know what to say. I don't want to say it'll be alright because for her it isn't, and I'm sure it'll just piss her off. She cries herself to sleep in my arms. I sit for like 3 hours just holding her. I don't want her to wake up and not be in my arms.

*the next day*

We're at her mom's house. She insisted on it. I didn't think it was a good idea but I didn't want to tell her no.

Miranda's pov

I go to my old room from when I lived here and sit on the floor in front of the dresser, just crying. "I have so much I never asked her, so much I wanted to say. I'll never be able to say it." I cry, my knees to my chest. Jason stands in the doorway, staring at me sadly. I turn around and open a drawer. I found my box of memories. I pulled out the letter she wrote to me when I was giving her the silent treatment at the age of 15. I read it and dropped a tear where she signed her name, smearing the ink. I can feel the love emenating from it. She loved me so much that when I was not talking to her, she did what I loved to do. That was writing even though she had badly arthritic hands. It was, is, my passion. Jason sits beside me on the floor, pulling me into a hug. "One thing I wish I asked her, did she know you were at the radio station? Because she parked right in front of it and she wouldn't let me change the station that fateful day." I whisper, the letter clutched tightly in my hand. "She can't be gone! It's too soon! I need my mama!" I scream, sobbing again. Ugh I just realized he's in my room from when I was a teenager. That means he can see the posters and calendar I have of him. I hope he doesn't think that's weird. I force myself to stand up and go to the secret compartment beside my bed. I hid a love letter there. I wrote it just for fun, never thinking I'd get the chance to give it to him. I pull out the letter and hand it to him. "What's this?" He asks. "Something I wrote a long time ago." I say, packing up my box of memories. He reads through it silently. I remember every word as if I wrote it yesterday.

Dear Asphalt Cowboy,
I don't know why but your music and your voice brings me to a whole new level of happy. I've got every album. I can't get through the day without hearing your voice, if CDs ever went out of style I'd be screwed because that's how I listen to music. I'm so glad ya didn't give up on being a musician, cause I don't know where I'd be without you. I am such an Aldean Addict that my friends get so sick of me talking about you all the time. Even though my mom hates it when I say it, this is cold hard fact. Country music is my drug and Jason Aldean is my dealer.
Love your number one fan,
Miranda K. Brown

He finishes reading it and stares at it shocked. "I forgot all about it until we came back here." I say, closing my eyes and fighting back the waves of grief coming over me every five seconds when I relive the fact that my mother is dead. "That's awesome. I love the last line about me being your dealer." He says, forcing a smile. "Mama thought I was crazy for writing that. I wanted to send it through fan mail but she thought if you saw it, it would freak you out." I mumble rambling. He just smiles and listens anyway. He doesn't make any move to interrupt or tell me to stop. I sit back on the bed and divulge in the memories of my mom, my right wing woman, my go to gal, my bffl. I told her everything and now I'm telling him everything.