Chapter:20

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After we had cleared the blazing pastures we all sat at the barn. "There were several heads trapped but were saved." Riley told his dad. "How?" Mr. Bradford asked. I could tell Riley was pointing at me. I looked up at him. "This one. By using water she was able to make clear exits for the cattle trapped in the pens of fire." Riley said.

"You better be marrying her after that crazy stunt." Mr. Bradford said. "And what if I just married her right after becoming engaged to her?" Riley asked. I looked back at him. "You better be planning on giving the girl more time." Mr. Bradford said. "I am. In fact while she's here," He stood up and pulled me to my feet. "Becky it's been an eventful two and a half years. From the first winter you were here, to the incident and New York trip, to now. You absolutely proved yourself to me without even trying to.

"You fit in beautifully with the ranch life and everything else. I honestly don't see a future without you. You made me see and helped me gain understanding." He whispered the last two sentences. Honestly didn't know what to think. "I wouldn't be here without you. If you hadn't of been that caring then I would have been dead out in the snow by the time someone actually found me." I whispered.

He kissed my forehead. "Then how about dinner tonight?" He asked. "How bout hotdogs and s'mores over the fire pit?" I asked. "To be honest I'm tired of seeing fire until winter." He said. I giggled as he took my hand. "Then where?" I asked. "Wear something nice. The location is a surprise." He said before letting me mount my horse. I let Cal lead the way back to his stall. Once there I untacked him and cooled him off better before going inside and showering.

He honestly didn't say anything else except wear something nice. I went through my closet pulling out two dresses and three nice shirts. I even had a denim skirt I could wear. I chose my favorite blouse with my dark washed denim skirt and rhinestone belt. I pulled some ankle socks on before my distressed brown boots. I fixed my hair quickly as a knock sounded on the front door.

I opened it seeing Riley dressed in dark twenty X wranglers, a pearl snap and a pair of really nice ostrich quill boots. His eyes were wide as he quickly took my appearance in. "Beautiful." He muttered. He then offered me his elbow before leading the way to his personal truck. He opened the door for me before closing it behind me. We were silent the entire way. Once there I saw the sign realizing it was the same place we had met.

Before I could back out he had the door open and was helping me out. I was frozen as he held my hand tightly. "You'll be fine. I promise. Your too good for any of the men you went to school with." He said. I slightly blushed. He held the door open for me. The music kept blaring some upbeat new country song. "Two beers please." Riley said paying for them before leading us over to a booth. We ordered food before he started talking.

"Remember how that night went?" He asked opening both bottles. "You were sitting in the booth not wanting anyone to mess with you and I was dumb enough to walk over and talk to you then went over to the bar and paid for the one beer you had drank. And before it was empty the next song came on and after that you went out to your vehicle after I had gotten your name." He said.

I was blushing at him recalling that night. "Look who showed back up in town." We both jumped seeing my ex holding a pool cue in his hand as he glared at us. The music had stopped playing and the whole joint was silent. I glanced over at Riley. He had a hard look on his face. The bouncer was standing nearby. "We just want a peaceful evening dinner without any fights." Riley told him. "Peaceful." He chuckled. "I doubt your going to get that here."

A few of the guys noticed the hard stare. They backed away from where my ex was standing. If he was going to start something his buddies were not going to be in on it. I've seen Riley ticked off. He's almost ticked off. "And if they don't want trouble from your a**?" My friend yelled. He and the entire place looked over at her. "What do you mean by that?" He asked her. One of the biker dudes nearby apparently didn't like his attitude and reason before he was taken up by the man and his companions before going outside with him.

One came over saying he wouldn't be bothering us again tonight. I saw as he walked by a bible verse tattoo etched into his skin. ""So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." - ‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:1‬." The music was back to playing. The pool game back to being played. Our food came. We ate in almost silence as everything else around us went on. Then a certain song came on.

Riley stood up holding his hand out. I stood up our hands intertwined. One hand rested on his shoulder while the other stayed clasped with his. His other hand was on my hip. He spun me around a few times even gently dipping me. As the song ended he pulled me partially off the dance floor. He pulled a box out and got down on one knee. Tears were already forming. "Becky I know we met here and your life was rough then, would you make me the happiest man in the world by marrying me?" He asked. I covered my mouth tears making everything blurry.

I nodded. I kept nodding before saying yes.

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