“I’m meeting Bliss at her house, and I’m going to help her move some sheep.”
Dad grins at that. “I’m glad to hear it. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am to see the two of you together. She’s good for you. Whenever I see you with her, you seem happier. I’ve thought that for a long time. But no one’s ever asked my opinion on the matter.”
“Bliss is good at bringing the best out in people,” I reply slowly.
Dad nods and walks around in a small circle in my living room before he finally speaks. “Well, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to drop by to say I’m getting some paperwork drawn up and will need your signature in a couple of days. I’m signing the property over to you. I talked to both your brothers this week, and they both agreed that they want you to have it.”
I nod slowly, fighting a strange lump in my throat. This is what I want. This is what I’ve been working toward…and now that it’s actually happening, I feel strangely emotional.
“Anyway, I just wanted you to know that your mother and I are very excited for you, and we are hoping you’ll be as happy as we are.”
I don’t have any words, so I pull my dad into a hug. He squeezes me tight and clears his throat loudly. When he steps back, he rubs the back of his hand over his eyes and looks everywhere but my face.
He’s not very good at emotional displays. “I won’t keep wasting the daylight for you. You’d better get on over there and help your fiancée with her sheep.”
And then he hurries out the door just as quickly as he appeared on my porch.
Something cracks a little in my chest at the thought that I haven’t been completely honest with him. But then again, it’s not like Bliss and I are already planning a divorce, are we? The only plan we have is to get married. So how duplicitous can that be?
I pull down the long driveway of the Flying J. When I texted Bliss last night to see if she wanted help moving her sheep to the Coyote Creek pasture, she replied with an enthusiastic yes and several big, smiling emojis.
I park my truck next to the Jeffersons’ garage and watch as Bliss comes out of the house. She’s wearing a tank top with her jeans and cowboy boots. Her hair is pulled back into a low ponytail, and she is wearing a floral headband. She grins when she sees me and offers me a travel cup full of coffee when she stops in front of me. “Thank you so much for coming and helping today.”
She takes a sip of her coffee from her open mug, and I smirk down at her. “I still can’t believe you run around with mug like that.”
She shrugs one shoulder. “If it works, it works!”
Shaking my head, I turn around and open my pickup door. I grab my phone from the dashboard and a baseball cap from the middle seat, settling it on my head.
I face Bliss again. “I didn’t bring any of my dogs, because I think they’d be more of a hindrance than a help.” My four stock dogs have all been trained on cattle and are aggressive enough to hold back a herd of wild range cattle. Sheep need a softer touch, so if dogs have too much drive, they can scatter the herd and cause more problems than they solve. Moose is the most laid back of my dogs, and even he is too much.
Bliss waves a hand through the air. “No problem. I’ve got Chip, and I’m bringing Posy, Belle’s dog, that she left here when she moved to Texas. She’s turned into a decent sheepdog.”
She lets out a whistle and the two dogs in question come racing from the barn.
“Good dogs,” Bliss says as she pats their heads when they reach her. “Are you going to be good today?”
Chip nods, and the other dog just seems to grin. “Are you going to stay when I tell you to, Posy?”
Posy grins, and I chuckle. Dogs have big personalities, and people who disagree probably have never tried to work with dogs before.
“Do you want me to follow you down there with my pickup?” I ask as she starts walking down the driveway, both dogs running ahead of us.
“I’ve got a four-wheeler at the field already, so you can just ride with me if you don’t want to waste the fuel.”
“Sounds like a deal.”
I follow her to the back of the barn, where she has a semi truck warming up.
“Bliss, wait.” This isn’t the time or the place for the conversation we need to have, but I only have a week left to talk to her about this. So I’m going to take the opportunity that I have.
She stops walking and turns around to meet my stare with a questioning look in her eyes. “Yes?”
I can’t believe I’m going to say this. My dad just offered me everything I wanted on a silver platter this morning.
But this is Bliss. Somebody has to look out for her best interests. And I guess that somebody is me—even if it means protecting her from myself.
“Bliss. You’re young. You have so much life ahead of you. You don’t have to tie yourself down with me. If this isn’t something you can see yourself being content with, I don’t want you to do it.”
