Grabbing my laptop, I log on and navigate to my email in record time, clicking on the message and reading it as quickly as possible. They have found a potential match for me. His name is Maverick Landry, a twenty-nine year old rancher from a town in Oklahoma that I have never heard of, but an online search tells me has a population of about fifty thousand and most of the land is agriculture or cattle.
I hum to myself as I read up a little more on Maverick. His name alone sounds sexy as hell, but he declined sending a picture along with his profile information. I would wonder why that is, but I did the exact same thing, wanting to get to know the person without them having any preconceived notions about me. As much as I tried to shut it down, my parent’s voice in myhead telling me that a man would never go for me based on looks may have also been a factor.
Shaking that thought away, I take a moment to look at the profile again. He is the middle child of a family of five, and his older brothers are already married. A big family like that could sound overwhelming to some, but to an only child like me who no longer talks to her parents, it sounds absolutely delightful.
Other than the basic information, Maverick identified himself as an introvert, listing hobbies like reading and stargazing as his favorite. What really got me smiling was him saying that he wanted to start a family right away, just like me. It’s not a lot to go on, but I bet he’s a gentle soul and we’ll get along famously. It looks like he already viewed my profile and agreed to start communicating if I want to, which has to be a good sign.
Texting out of the blue might be a little much, so I decide that an email may be best. It will be like the love letters I was talking about. My heart catches on the word love. This man could be the love of my life, a thought that causes my smile to widen as I write out my message to him.
Maverick (or do you prefer Mav?)
I assume you’ve read my profile information, but in case you need a refresher, my name is Violet Garner, I am twenty-six years old, and I teach yoga in St. Louis, Missouri. Teaching others to find peace within themselves and their bodies is something I love doing, and luckily, I can do it from anywhere if things should work out between us. I have a good feeling that they will.
I know it might sound silly, but I feel like I already have a sense of who you are just from the little bit of informationI already have. I bet you’re an old soul like me, longing for simpler times where the most pressing matter was ‘what’s for dinner?’ Maybe a simple kind of life is something the two of us can create together. I surely hope so. Looking forward to your reply.
Yours,
Violet
My eyes scan the short message one more time, and even though it might be a bit presumptuous, I hit send anyway and go about my day. Half an hour later, my phone pings again and I ignore it, grabbing my laptop and squealing with excitement when I see that I already have a reply from Maverick.
Violet,
You can all me whatever you want, little flower. You were right about me being an old soul. I do long for simpler times, times where I can spend my days working hard to support my family and my nights spent enjoying the love of a good woman. I look forward to getting to know you better over the next few weeks, though like you, I kind of have a sense of who you are already.
Is that strange? My mama used to say that our fates are written in the stars. I’m not sure that’s true, but I’ll be outside tonight staring up at the night sky just in case. Maybe I’ll be able to see where our stories intertwine. I have a feeling that where that star is will be the brightest and most beautiful one I have ever seen.
Yours,
Mav
I stare at the screen and reread his words much longer than is necessary. There is something about this man that already has me thinking wedding bells and baby booties. It could just be my own wishful thinking, or maybe, just maybe, its fate letting me know I’m on the right track.
Chapter Three
~Maverick~
It takes all of my focus not to pull my phone out of my pocket and check for a new message from Violet. We’ve been talking over the last two weeks and today is the day we decide whether or not to move our relationship to the next stage. I know my answer is a resounding yes, and I hope Violet’s is too.
We seem to be on the same page in just about every other regard, so I can’t imagine her answer will be anything but that. Even so, the part of me that remembers every odd glance, every pitying look can’t help but wonder if she’ll change her mind once she gets here and sees me for the first time. We haven’t exchanged photos at all, having agreed that is was better to get to know the “real us” first. Violet also mentioned she thinks it’s more romantic this way, and I have to agree.
After reading her emails over the last fourteen days, I can tell that she is a romantic person at heart. We’ve written about loving old movies and feeling like we were born about a hundred years later than we should have, how we long to create a life focused on working enough to support our family andbringing up our children as good people who understand that every person has value and deserves kindness. It’s amazing that I could find the person I believe is my perfect match without having met her in person yet, but here we are.
As I start driving in another fence post on the horse paddock we’re expanding, a phone dings and I almost slam the wood right on top of my foot. My fingers fumble into my pants pocket and dig out my phone, but it’s blank. I frown at it before turning that frown upon my younger brother who is laughing at me as he swipes his phone open.
“Still waiting for a message from your future wife?” He teases as he thumbs out a message on his own phone before shoving it in his pocket. “You’ve been distracted all damn day. Why don’t you just message her already?”
My frown deepens as I glare at Wyatt. “Because I already messaged her early this morning telling her I wanted her to come out here as soon as possible. I don’t want to come off as desperate,” I tell him gruffly before stuffing my own phone away.
The mid-afternoon sun beats down on me and I wipe the sweat from my brow. Even in November, it’s still almost eighty degrees and I’m tempted to take my shirt off to cool down, but that’s not something I do anymore. Even my siblings have only seen as much of my scarring as was absolutely necessary during my recovery a few years back.Better get used to showing them off sooner or later,I tell myself. Kind of hard to start a family if you can’t even get naked with your wife.
The thought of being with Violet as husband and wife is equal parts thrilling and terrifying. I’ve jerked myself over a dozentimes already these past weeks thinking about having my sweet Violet underneath me. Of course, the pleasure fades when I think about how disgusted she might be by the sight of me. The more rational half of my brain knows she’s not like that, but the half that doesn’t know any better is still scared shitless.
Wyatt snorting breaks me out of my shameful thoughts, and for once I’m grateful for his jokester ways. “I think the desperation ship sailed the moment you signed up for a mail order bride,” he tells me, getting the fence post lined up where it’s supposed to be and securing it for me. “You should just come out with me. All the ladies flock to where I am and I’m sure you could pick up a stray or two.”
I scoff, shaking my head at my idiot brother. “I’m surprised you get any women with the way you talk about them, like their birds or cats and not people.”
Wyatt looks a little hurt by my comment, but brushes it aside like he always does. “You know I’m just messing around,” he tells me with his trademark grin.
