True Love Waits

Chapter Thirty Seven

       Waking up the next morning, Maleena had felt even worse about how she and Cody had left things the night before. However, after a long bout of fighting sleep, Maleena had come to a final decision on where she personally thought Cody should go to college. In her head, it made the most sense to her, but everything else was screaming that it was a wrong decision. 

       Knowing that Cody and Chandler had plans to work for Cody's family today, and were meeting up at the Lackley's, gave Maleena the excuse to, hopefully, see and talk to her boyfriend. That is, if he wasn't still mad at her. The couple rarely fought, which Maleena was thankful for, but unlike last night, they usually forgave and moved on very quickly, never letting the feelings of anger and resentment linger for very long.  

       Physically shaking her head, as the thoughts about last night replayed in her head, Maleena turned to her chores in the barn to attempt to keep herself and her mind busy. Now all she had to do was wait and hope that Cody would make an effort to come out and talk to her before he and Chandler headed off to make some deliveries. 

       Removing the lid off of the first feed bin outside of the tack room in the horse barn, Maleena saw there was hardly enough grain to feed one horse. Letting out a sigh, she set the lid on the bin beside it, walking to the pallet by the door that had a pile of feed on it. Hoisting one onto her shoulder, Maleena walked back to the feed room, undoing the bag, and pouring its contents into the black, plastic container. After continuing the process three more times, the bin was finally full. Before proceeding to scoop out the horse's morning feed, Maleena took the liberty of checking the levels on the other bins, only to see they were almost completely empty as well. 

       Deciding to save herself the trouble, Maleena found a wheel barrow, filling it up with several bags, only having to make two trips to and from the feed room, instead of twelve. Finally, many feed bags later, all of the bins were full to the brim, and Maleena could go about feeding the horses.

     Just as she was halfway through preparing Stryker's feed, a soft knock on the wooden beam of the barn beside where she stood distracted Maleena's attention, turning to the source of the sound. A wave of relief washed over Maleena when she saw it was her boyfriend. 

     Before Maleena could so much as greet him, Cody started, "You didn't answer any of my calls, or texts, so I decided to swing by. I really want to talk to you...in person." He watched as she scooped out feed, piling the full buckets on top of each other. 

       "I'm glad you came over early. I wanted to talk to you as well." She stopped what she was doing to turn and face Cody, brushing some hair from her face. A small smile tugged on her lips, giving Cody a sense of relief, hinting that she was not still mad at him for the night before.

        That wasn't quite the answer that he was expecting, but he was glad for it. Not allowing his nerves, or pride stop him, he felt bad for interrupting Maleena, but he had to say what was on his mind before his girlfriend stopped him. Staring at his boots, Cody told Maleena his decision, "I'm goin' to accept the application for the college here in Montana. I am fixin' to call the University in Colorado and turn down their offer." Looking back up to see Maleena's expression, he pushed on, "I don't want to be away from you, and there will be other opportunities to get scholarships in the future. The college here is close enough that I can commute, and then I will still get to see you practically every day. It's a win-win." He tried his best to sound convincing. Maleena wasn't the only one who was up all night mulling over their argument, weighing out the decisions and consequences.

       "No." Maleena shook her head, turning sideways, picking up the tall stack of feed buckets. Looking back to Cody, she saw a confused look on his face. "You're not goin' to school here in Montana." 

       Cody was utterly dumbfounded. "Excuse me?" He asked, unsure that he heard her right. Ever since he even made a mention of the University in Colorado, Maleena had been trying her little ways to get him to stay here in Montana so they could be close by to each other. Now, all of the sudden she has changed her mind? Right after he tried to be okay with going to a school that he didn't like, but was close by to the woman he didn't want to be far away from? Man, his girlfriend was confusing. 

       Setting down the feed buckets beside Stryker's stall, Maleena let out a heavy breath, giving Cody her full attention again. "The opportunity that the school in Colorado offered you is not something that you can pass up. You have to go there; it's a no-brainer. It would be such a great experience for you, and if you go there and end up hating it, then you can always transfer to another college, or something." She shrugged as if her 180 degree change of mind was no big deal. "Plus, it would be good to experience life outside of the state and town you grew up in. Take it from me. I spent 17 years in a state, just for us to up and move this summer. Even though it was hard at first, I am forever thankful we did move." 

          "Are you sayin' all of this just because of our disagreement last night? Because you think I won't change my mind no matter what, or where is this coming from?" He wasn't upset, he was just genuinely interested in what caused the sudden change of heart. 

        "Well, I got no sleep last night, so it gave me plenty of time to think, and weigh out all the pros and cons. I truly want you to go to Colorado. I know it will be hard at times, but it really will be good for us to have some distance, y'know? Besides, seeing how excited you were when you got that phone call last night, I don't want to take that from you. That's the most excited I have seen you in a long time. Besides, you talk about Colorado all the time. You never say anything positive about the college here." 

        "But what about-" 

      Maleena put a hand up in the air, stopping Cody's counter argument. "No ifs, ands, or buts. You said I get to be the deciding factor on this, so I am using that for my advantage. You are going to school in Colorado, and that's that. I will be mad at you if you don't." 

     A smile rose on Cody's lips at his spunky, bossy girlfriend. This side of her rarely came out, but when it did, he couldn't help but think it was extremely adorable. "Yes, ma'am." Cody obliged, taking a step forward, holding his arms out for a hug. "You are seriously the best, darlin'. I don't know what I would do without you." 

       "Good answer." Maleena reached forward, making Cody think he was getting a hug, but instead, she took his sell phone out of his jeans pocket, holding it up in front of his face. "Now, you take your cell phone and that cute butt of yours and you go call that University back and tell them you would be honored to take them up on their offer, and that you look forward to seein' them in the fall." A serious, but caring smile covered Maleena's lips as Cody stared down at her. 

      With a chuckle, he took his cell phone from Maleena, but only after leaning forward and quickly giving her a peck of a kiss on those grinning red lips. She loved being bossy, and she knew that he enjoyed it, too, only because it was evident that Maleena had Cody wrapped around her finger, and he wasn't fixing to let go anytime soon. 

        Turning around, and walking away, Cody began dialing the number for the man he talked to last night on the phone when something that Maleena had said just registered in his mind. "Wait, you think I have a cute butt?" Cody stopped dead in his tracks, turning around and giving Maleena a smirk, a look in his eyes. 

        "Well, I..." Maleena stumbled for an answer.  

        "I'm never lettin' you live this down, now, I hope you know that." Cody winked at her, walking away, knowing she was most definitely watching his Wrangler patched jeans as he disappeared from her view. 

          This. This is what Maleena was going to miss most when Cody was away to college. Their teasing, the cute pecks of a kiss, Cody's joking attitude. It would be hard for them to be six hours away from each other, but she knew that together, as a couple, they were tough enough to conquer any hardship that came their way, or so she hoped.