Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63004 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 315(@200wpm)___ 252(@250wpm)___ 210(@300wpm)
“Lilith!”
“My mom!”
“This is perfect,” Mom said before she walked over and shoved me toward the door. “Ladd, all you need to do is show up with the ring. We’ll plan everything else.”
“Well, I mean, shouldn’t I know what’s going on?” I asked as Mom opened the office door.
“Yes, of course. I’ll fill you in after we have it all planned.”
I turned and looked past my mother to see Dad quickly plugging in the camcorder—and I almost laughed out loud.
Focusing back on my mother, I asked, “You won’t wait until the last minute to tell me, right?”
She laughed. “Of course I won’t.”
The door shut, and I heard her groan, “I knew you didn’t have the camcorder charged!”
There was a light knock on my bedroom door, and before I could even say anything, David slipped in.
“Are you nervous?” he asked as he made his way into the room.
“A little.”
“Don’t be. She’s going to say yes.”
I drew in a breath and slowly let it out. “Do me a favor, when you open your gift from Vivianne, will you please act like you love it? I didn’t want her spending all kinds of money on gifts for you guys and Dad, so I talked her into buying flannel shirts. I told her we always wore them around the ranch when we’re working.”
He smiled. “Dad already talked to me, Mike, and Jason about it. We’ve got you covered.”
Hitting the side of his arm, I said, “Thanks so much.”
“Mom sent me up here to let you know what the plan is.”
I laughed. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Mom and Dad are more excited than me.”
He nodded. “They really like Vivianne. We all do. I think what Mom and Dad like most is how happy you’ve been. Have you told them about the partnership with Mitch yet?”
I shook my head. “No. I want to get it all ironed out first. Once we have all the legal stuff out of the way and we start getting things moving, then I’ll tell them. I want to show Dad that I know what I’m doing and can do this without his help.”
“I think he already knows you can do it.”
“I know,” I said with a grin. “But it will be nice to get it all down and bring him to the building and show him what it’s going to be.”
“Did you guys come up with a name?”
“I’ve got two different names to pitch to him. Mountain Sporting Goods or River Falls Mountain Supplies.”
He frowned as he thought about both names. “I kind of like them both?”
“Yeah, so do we. Viv liked Mountain Sporting Goods, since we’ll sell more than just mountain gear.”
David nodded. “I can see that. Yeah, thinking of it that way, I think I like the sporting goods better.”
“Me too.”
“So, have you shown the ring to anyone? Mom asked me if I’d seen it because she hadn’t.”
I shook my head. “I wanted Viv to be the first person to see it.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “Seriously? I don’t get to see it? I mean, I’m assuming I’ll be the best man at the wedding; therefore, you’ll need to trust me with the wedding band. I think it’s only fair I see the engagement ring first.”
I stared at him. “That strangely made sense. But no. Viv will be the first to see it.”
He shrugged. “Whatever. I didn’t want to see it anyway.”
Shoving him, I said, “Get out of here.”
Once he was gone, I walked over to the dresser and opened the top drawer. I took out the blue velvet box and snapped it open. It was a ring I’d found in a jewelry shop in Estes Park a few months back. It was an Old European cut diamond in an intricate group of geometric shapes that made up the setting. There were small diamonds that went down the platinum band as well. It was beautiful, and I knew Vivianne would adore it because it was different and antique. She loved anything that had a story behind it.
The owner of the jewelry store said he’d bought it at an estate sale just a few weeks prior. I’d had to take money from my savings account for the business, but it was money well spent. And with Mitch agreeing to fund the remodel, it worked out perfectly.
I shut the box, then slipped it into my jeans pocket. With one last look in the mirror, I gave myself an internal pep talk.
You got this! She’s going to love it. She’s going to say yes. Just don’t fuck anything up!
With another couple of deep breaths, I opened the door and headed downstairs. I could already hear Vivianne laughing, along with my mother and grandmother.
Any doubts I had about her loving River Falls or my family were wiped away when I saw her dancing with my father while Nat King Cole’s “Deck the Halls” played. My heart felt like it grew ten times its size as I watched her laugh while Dad spun and dipped her.