Page 5 of Bred By the Cowboy

“I am, I think that’s a great place to start.”

Hudson left the table, carried his plate to the sink then went searching through the drawer of the hutch. When he found what he was looking for, he went to sit back down beside her, but then stood back up and moved the chair away and knelt on one knee.

“Oh my gosh Hudson?”

He held a light blue ring box with a white ribbon in his hand in front of her.

“Now I know this isn’t exactly the picture-perfect proposal that every girl dreams of and we both already knew we were getting married before you got here but now it’s really a real thing and I want it to feel real for you too.”

“Oh Hudson, I don’t know what to say.”

“I hope you’ll say yes. Officially I mean.”

He held the box closer to her so she could pull the ribbon, then emptied the outer box. He took the plush padded ring box from her and opened it to reveal a princess cut diamond in a shiny platinum setting with a matching wedding band and one in his size to match hers.

When he looked at her, tears had welled in her eyes.

“Will you marry me?”

She nodded profusely so he pulled the diamond from the cushioned box and slipped it on her ring finger. Before he could stand, she flung herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck so tight. He stood, taking her with him, her feet dangling above the floor.

“Thank you so much. The ring is beautiful.”

He kissed the side of her neck and bent over, standing her back on her own two feet.

“It’s me who should be thanking you. I still can’t believe you took a chance on a guy who would place an ad in a newspaper looking for a wife.”

“It made you sound a little desperate and I felt sorry for you.”

When he portrayed a look of shock, she giggled.

“Just kidding, but I don’t know, it just drew me in I guess.”

“Well, I for one am glad it did. Why don’t we get out of here and go make it official.”

“I’m ready if you are.”

***

The drive into Buffalo was a completely different experience than the night before. Mainly because she fell asleep before they ever left the bus parking lot. She’d felt so bad but was so exhausted she couldn’t help it. The area was beautiful in the daylight. Hudson had explained that they had to drive into Buffalo because that was the closest town that was big enough to have a courthouse.

He'd already been there earlier in the week and filled out all the necessary paperwork and paid for the marriage licenseso everything would be legal. She’d never investigated what was needed to get married, so she trusted him on that.

“Oh hey, do we need witnesses to stand up with us?”

“Yep, and I hope it’s okay, but I took the liberty to find us a couple. You’ll meet them when we get there. It’s a friend of mine and his wife.”

“Oh good, maybe I can make a friend.”

“She’s really sweet, I’m sure you’ll like her.”

“I’m sure I will. I remember you mentioning a sister at one point. Where is she?”

“That’s kind of a long story. I promise that after we’re all done in town, we’ll stop for a nice dinner and I can tell you the whole sorted story, including how I got us both into this situation in the first place. Deal?”

“Deal. If it’s a steak dinner.”

“I’m pretty sure I can make that happen”

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