Chapter Seven
Groaning as she turned—every muscle in her body sore, her thighs the worst—she hobbled out of bed and headed to the bathroom, looking in horror at her reflection in the mirror. Rummaging through the drawers of the vanity, she found a bottle of Motrin and took three tablets, cupping water from the sink into her hand. Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she threw on clothing and headed downstairs, where she was greeted by Marisol.
“Good morning, Miss Ivy. Mr. Deacon is no here. He’s out with his horses.” Marisol pointed out the back window to the stables.
Slipping on her jacket and boots, she headed out to the barn looking for him. The morning air cold, she stuffed her hands in her pockets for warmth as she walked down the path toward the stables.
George was talking to one of stable hands and held up his hand as he spotted her. She waited until he was finished, then approached him.
“Morning Ivy. You looking for the boss?” he asked, with a smile. “Yes,” she answered. “Do you know where he is?”
“Yep. I believe he’s in the tack room connected to the indoor ring. You remember where that is?”
Ivy nodded and pointed through the stable in the general direction of the building. “That way, right?”
George nodded. “Oh…I wanted to let you know…Good call on Gert. Doc Stone was here. Seems Gert had an abscessed tooth. Doc extracted it and she’s on the road to recovery.”
“Oh no. Poor Gert! Will that affect her in any way?” Ivy asked. “Well, she is missing most of her molars, so we’ll have to change her
to a soft diet, but she’ll do just fine. Gert’s a tough ole girl.” Ivy was relieved. “I’m glad to hear that, and in case I don’t get a
chance to see you later, it’s been a pleasure meeting you George. I’ve really enjoyed my stay here.”
George smiled at her and took a step closer. “Miss Ivy, I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but I’ve never seen Deacon look so happy. I hope things work out for the two of you.”
Ivy’s blinked back tears. “Thank you for saying that George. I hope so too.” The words caught in her throat.
Pulling a business card from his pocket, he placed it in Ivy’s hand. “If there’s anything that you ever need darlin’, don’t hesitate to ask.” He nodded and winked before he walked away.
Ivy looked at the card. The logo on top was the same one that was on the tail wing of the plane. For some reason, Ivy hadn’t put two and two together. The jet she’d flown into Colorado on was Deacon’s. Stuffing the card in her pocket, she watched George walk away and slipped out the back.
Heading through the first stable, she took the same path that Deacon had taken her on the day before, walking past Gert’s stall, where she stopped and just looked at the magnificent animal. “Hey Gert, I hope you’re feeling better.” Ivy laughed as Gert reared her head up and snorted, her face still slightly swollen, probably from her extraction. She remembered how swollen her own face had been after she had her wisdom teeth removed.
“Go ahead and pet her if you want to. She’s a gentle lady.” Whipping her head around—she hadn’t heard him or seen him come
in—Deacon stood right behind her.
Hesitantly lifting her hand, she smoothed her palm down Gert’s neck in gentle strokes. “George told me she’s going to be just fine. I’m so glad to hear that.”
“Thanks to you, she suffered less than she would have and got the care she needed.” He wrapped his arms around her from behind, clasping them around her stomach, and held her as she got to know Gert.
They had breakfast, then Ivy and Deacon went to his room to help Ivy pack and bring her luggage down. After saying her goodbyes to Marisol, they headed out toward the airport, the two-hour ride quiet, in stark contrast to the way the weekend had been. After loading her bags onto the plane, they stood there, facing each other. Neither of them seemed ready to say goodbye.
Finally, Deacon spoke. “This has been the most amazing three days of my life, and I know this is crazy, but…I have never felt this way before about anybody, Ivy. I know that we’ve only just met, but I can’t imagine my life without you in it. This is not goodbye. We will make this work somehow. I promise you that.”
In an instant, she was in his arms, kissing him, tears streaming down her face. “I can’t even imagine waking up tomorrow without you there. You have made me fall for you, and I will never be the same, cowboy!”
They kissed as the engines of the plane roared—there, on the runway, with the cold Colorado wind whipping around them—promising each other to find a way to be together.
She watched through the window of the plane until she could no longer see him or his truck, both sad and happy that she had found the man of her dreams through an online dating service, and hoping beyond hope that they could sustain their long-distance relationship.
Chapter Eight
Three months later
...
Between Skype, texting, and phone calls, Ivy and Deacon had managed to maintain their relationship, even stealing away for two long weekends. However, for Ivy, that wasn’t enough. Suddenly, the hustle and bustle of New York City no longer held her interest. Her heart was in Colorado, and that’s where she wanted to be. Unbeknownst to Deacon, she had hired a headhunter and secured a job in Denver. The pay was nowhere near what she made in New York, but she didn’t care. If she and Deacon had a chance of building a life together, living eighteen-hundred miles apart was not going to help the situation.
Before making the move, she had one more important phone call to make. Taking the card out of her wallet, she smiled as she dialed the number.
“Hello George, it’s Ivy. I need your help...”
*****
It was a gorgeous late May afternoon. Finally, all of the snow had melted, and the grass had turned from brown to green. He’d been down to the stables twice already. Why the hell he had ever let George talk him into buying the stallions from North Carolina, he’d never know, but they were due to be delivered in the morning, and now, at 2 p.m., he was getting antsy. “Have you found out anything yet?”
George just patted him on the back. “They’ll be here soon. Don’t you worry.
Frustrated, he walked out of the stable and was headed for the house, when something coming up the long drive caught his attention. Shaking his head, he narrowed his eyes and couldn’t believe what he saw. A woman on a white horse, her long, red ringlets cascading down her back, slowly made her way toward him. It finally dawned on him what he was witnessing. His Princess Ivy, coming to him on a white stallion. He remembered his comment to her when she’d first arrived in Colorado on that cold, February night, and now, it had come full circle. She smiled as she neared him, looking as if she’d stepped out of a storybook. Swinging her leg over the horse, he helped her dismount, and gathered her in his arms.
“Now that’s a way to make an entrance.”
She smiled up at him, and then looked off to the side. He followed her gaze and saw George and Marisol standing there,
Marisol wiping tears from her eyes.
“I had a little help,” Ivy said, as she stood on her tiptoes and brought Deacon down for a kiss. “I love you Deacon, and I can’t live thousands of miles away from you.”
His heart pounded in his chest like a bass drum at her declaration. “I’ve taken a job in Denver so that we can be closer.” She gazed into
his eyes, searching for his reaction.
What else could he do but smile? The love of his life was here, and now they could spend every minute with each other. He didn’t want to waste any time. They had wasted a lifetime already, and if half a country couldn’t keep them apart, nothing would. Dropping down onto one knee, he held her hands. “Ivy, I don’t have a ring right now, but, by God, I’ll get you one. I don’t want to spend another night apart from you. I love you with all my heart and soul. Ivy, will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Ivy nodded. “Yes, yes…a million times yes.” Tears streamed down Ivy’s face as Deacon stood and gathered her in his arms, kissing her with everything he had.
Epilogue
…
Gently tucking her wispy red hair behind her ear as he watched her sleep, he was thinking that he was the luckiest man in the world. No man could love someone more than he loved her, and he would spend his whole life ensuring every day that she knew that.
“I knew I’d find you in here,” Ivy whispered, as she picked up the small brown teddy bear that had fallen on the carpeted floor, before heading over to the crib. “Whatcha doin’ Daddy?”
Deacon snaked his arms around his wife’s waist and pulled her in close. “Just saying goodnight to Ella, the other princess who owns my heart.”
Ivy smiled up at Deacon, then kissed the middle of his chest, where his heart was. “You think you have room enough in this heart for one more?” she asked.
Deacon glanced down at her with a look of confusion, then narrowed his eyes in question as a smile spread across his face. “Are you trying to tell me that…?”
Ivy nodded. “Yes. We’re going to have another baby. Are you happy?”
Deacon lifted her up off the floor and twirled her around, his heart bursting with joy. “I couldn’t be happier.” Sliding his hand down her belly, he rested it where he knew the promise of new life would bloom.
Ivy smiled and placed her hand over his, intertwining their fingers together.
“Darlin’, you have made me the happiest man on earth.”
The End