“He’s actually pretty good at hiding things,” Winnie said. “At least he thinks he is. He said he had to do it all the time in the rodeo—that he’d just swallow the fear and get on the bull.” She sighed and looked out at the untamed Texas wilderness too. “I don’t want to be a bull to him. I want him towantto be with me.”
“I think he does, dear,” Momma said. “And like you said, you guys are going to give yourselves a few more months to get to know one another, celebrate some holidays together, experience some birthdays, and see how things go with your father’s surgery.”
“Yeah,” Winnie said.
“For what it’s worth, I don’t think you need to worry about Ty,” Momma said. “I mean, the man babysat your cats—both of them—for ten days, and that Salmon can be a real piece of work.”
Winnie pealed out a laugh, and she hugged her momma tightly. “Thanks, Momma. Now let’s go see where Ty and Daddy are.”
Winnie stepped back into the bedroom and allowed her motherto go past her and out into the hall first. She really wanted to be one hundred percent sure about Ty in all things, and maybe she didn’t have to wait six months for him to propose to her. Maybe they both just needed to be on the same page—ready to write a book about the future of them together—and everything else would work itself out after that.
Winnie paused in the bedroom alone. “Bless me with clarity of mind,”she murmured, and she believed with her whole heart that God could and would answer her prayers. She felt brave and indestructible as she stepped out into the hall and joined Ty and her parents out in the main part of the house.
Ty glanced at her. “Your momma says she’s just going to stay with you until they meet with the doctor on Tuesday.”
Winnie nodded and moved to his side. “That’s right. If the surgery is right away, then maybe they’ll just stay with me through it. Momma wants to have level ground for Daddy to walk on after his recovery, as we already know that a lot of walking after his surgery will be one of the most important parts of his recovery.”
“Makes sense,” Ty said. “I’m fine with whatever. I just want you guys to know that this is available.”
“We really appreciate it, Ty,” Momma said, and she lunged at him. Ty managed to wrap Momma in his arms, and he smiled over her shoulder at Winnie as they embraced.
Winnie stepped back and grinned at all of them. “I’m starving. Let’s go find somewhere awesome for lunch.”
“I know what that means.” Ty kicked that delicious grin at her.
“What does it mean?” Daddy asked, a look of confusion knitting his brows.
Ty considered Winnie for a moment, and she simply watched him back. “Well, Winnie has a way of saying what she wants without really saying it,” Ty said.
Both Momma and Daddy looked at him blankly and then switched their attention to Winnie.
“Right now I’m thinking she either wants Chinese food or tacos,and I’m just trying to figure out which.” He tilted his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Seems to me that I remember her saying there were no good Chinese places in Redwood, so I’m going to go with that.”
Winnie clapped a couple of times for him and said, “Chinese food, cowboy. It’s only the best cuisine on the planet.”
He laughed and took her into his arms and then led the way out of the house, leaving her parents to follow behind them, whether they wanted Chinese food or not.
40
Ty paced in front of the living room windows of his new house. He’d moved in a couple of weeks ago, after Winnie had found out that her father would be doing back surgery the day after his birthday. That day had arrived, and Ty felt no different as a thirty-two-year-old than he had as a thirty-one-year-old. Nevertheless, Winnie had insisted that he should be celebrated, and he knew he had to be ready for guy’s night out tomorrow by six-thirty as well.
Winnie had insisted on coming to pick him up at his house, claiming she’d need the thirty-minute drive from her place to his to get in the right frame of celebratory mode. Her parents wore her to the bone, and she already worked an emotionally demanding job.
Ty still spent most evenings with her and the cats, and now her parents, and the number of conversations they’d had about only having to wait three weeks to do a lower disc fusion surgery was such a blessing had worn him right on out too. He knew Winnie just wanted it done, so the healing and recovery process could begin.
Winnie’s parents would likely stay in Three Rivers through Christmas, and Ty and Winnie were meeting her brother at theirhome in Redwood this weekend to get more of their belongings—clothing and a few pieces of light furniture—as they’d found an upstairs rental in a house only a few blocks away from Winnie.
Brad, his wife, and daughter would make the drive back to Three Rivers in a caravan with Ty and Winnie, and they would get everything moved by Monday as her father wasn’t expected to come home after his surgery until then anyway. Winnie would be able to run over there and check on them easily, but they wouldn’t be living in her house anymore, something that Ty knew would bring her great relief.
They would also be bringing Lucky home with them, as Winnie worried about him day and night. Ty had perked up at that news, asking if he could have the border collie. “Just until your momma and daddy get back on their feet,” he’d said.
“You can have him,” her momma had said immediately.
“Momma,” Winnie had chastised. “He’s your family dog.”
“Honey, we do not have time to take care of a dog,” her mother had said. “Which is why I’d asked Taylor to take care of him. We love him, but he’s a lot.”
“I can run him at the ranch,” Ty had said. “And take him to work with me at Lone Star and the orchards. He’d love it.”
