“One day you’re going to marry me.”
Her eyes rounded and her lips parted then she smiled. Without missing a beat, she said, “Yeah, I will.”
He looked about as stunned as she did. It hadn’t been a proposal, not really. And she hadn’t exactly said they were ready for that step. She was simply done running. Done denying. She was ready for her future.
A future with him.
“Who am I to argue when I’ve been proved wrong before?” She shrugged and popped another fry into her mouth.
“Who indeed?”
EPILOGUE
The Following Spring
“Absolutely not! You know how we feel about that career path!”
Tripp grimaced at his mother’s voice. Wendy slipped her hand into his and leaned against him as they sat on the front porch. The open window at their backs allowed far too much of this argument to filter into the evening air.
Wendy squeezed his hand. “What do you think Brent’s going to do?”
There was no telling what Tripp’s younger brother would do. He’d finally gotten up the courage to talk to their parents about entering the rodeo this year and by the sounds of it, things weren’t going well. He shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She seemed to settle closer to him and he released her hand so he could wrap his arm around her shoulders. Last year seemed like a lifetime ago. Reese’s wedding and everything that came after had brought him to this moment.
If Wendy knew the plans he had for tonight, she’d be antsy. A grin tugged at his lips. It had taken several months for him to figure out the best way to pop the question and he was certain she would approve.
“I’m an adult. You don’t have any say in the matter,” Brent snapped. He rarely raised his voice to anyone, least of all their parents. Apparently, he’d finally lost control.
Wendy flinched. It wasn’t that Brent was yelling. It was the undertones of his voice. She’d gotten close to Brent over the last several months. His whole family had and it was nice to see her come out of her shell and meet some new people. While a little difficult at first, the Dennison family had become some of her favorite people even though she didn’t want to admit it.
“You will abide by our rules if you’re to live under our roof.” Their father said with a low tone that left no room for argument. The threat was clear. If Brent chose the rodeo, he’d be walking away from his home.
“Ooof,” Tripp muttered. That’s not good.”
Wendy craned her head around so she could see him better. “What?”
“Brent might have gotten the courage to fight back on this particular issue, but there’s no way he’s going to just up and leave. He likes living here. Family is very important.”
“So you don’t think he’s going to follow through with it?”
Tripp scrubbed a hand down his face and glanced back at the window. The argument had gone silent. He couldn’t say for certain what Brent would do. A lot was changing around here. With several of his cousins finding love and new passions, therewas no telling if Brent would dig up the courage to call their parents out on their bluff.
Because that was what this was, right? A bluff?
Surely his folks wouldn’t put Brent out on his backside without any prospects lined up.
“I don’t know,” he murmured. “He could stay with friends, but I don’t see Brent doing that. He’s…” Tripp met Wendy’s eyes. “He’s the baby of the family. It was really hard for him to even bring up his decision to enter the rodeo.”
A heavy sigh that could only belong to his father sliced through the silence. “I know this is something you think is important?—”
“It is?—”
“Not at the risk of your well-being. You’re not going to enter the rodeo and that’s final.”
Tripp frowned down at Wendy. There were no more arguments from Brent. No explosive threats to leave or be tossed out. They’d made their decision and Brent was accepting it.
Footsteps pounded through the house and the front door was yanked open. The screen door burst forward and Brent stormed down the stairs, narrowly missing Tripp and Wendy where they sat on the bottom step. He got a few feet away before he spun around and stared at them. “Well? Are you coming?”
