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“That’s fine with me. As long as it’s okay with Ellen. Are you sure? You guys are already busy.”
“Well, I’ve been kind of wondering what in the world I’m going to get this woman to do. I mean, as a housekeeper to me, you see the house. It’s not that big. And one man doesn’t need that much. Planning a wedding might give her something to do, and it would make her feel a little bit more like she’s a part of the ranch right off. But it would also keep her behind the scenes.”
“I see.” He appreciated that Ezra had thought it through.
Having Alaska stay with Ezra wasn’t ideal in his opinion. But Ezra was almost forty, and while he didn’t know Alaska’s exact age, he would guess her to be in her mid-twenties. The fifteen years between them probably was a good buffer. Not that he thought that Ezra would do anything untoward. Alaska he wasn’t sure about.
“All right. Talk to Ellen, see what she thinks. Give me a call, and make sure I’m here before you come with Alaska. If you think about it.”
“I’ll do it.” They shook hands, and then Travis walked out. He had some other things he needed to talk to Ezra about. Business things about the ranch, but those things could wait for another day.
Ellen texted him as he put the baby in his truck to say she was on her way.
He was tempted to tell her to meet him at the police station in Rockerton, but he figured that it would be best for him to take them. He buckled Eugene in, while the child chattered and he responded as needed.
Doing everything with two small children made life a lot more difficult, but he had to admit that he was looking forward to Ellen and him having children. He was looking forward to that family thing. Of doing it with Ellen. He definitely wouldn’t be looking forward to it with anyone else.
He couldn’t imagine that.
Before he pulled out, he sent her a text.
Did you get a dress?
Yes.
He smiled as he pulled out on the road. He couldn’t wait to see Ellen in her wedding dress. Standing and waiting for him. There might be a small part of him that was nervous, that, like he told Ellen, was concerned about the responsibility. After all, marriage was a covenant instituted by God, and he would be answering to God for the way he handled his role as husband and father. If that didn’t scare a man, he didn’t know what would. But, he appreciated what Ellen was giving to him. She was voluntarily linking her life with his, and agreeing to submit to his authority.
It was a big step for both of them, and definitely not something he would want to enter into lightly, or with someone who didn’t have the character that Ellen did. It didn’t feel like they were rushing, considering that Ellen had been the one that he had wanted for the last eight years.
He got home well before she did, and, as he figured, Alaska did not want to go to the police station, but she agreed for him to drive her. Ellen stayed at the house watching the children, although he kind of wanted her to go along. There was a little bit of unease about leaving her there. While he didn’t believe that the threats Alaska had received from Chalmer were serious, he didn’t want to dismiss the fact that the man could be dangerous.
It didn’t take long for the police to get all the information they could from Alaska. Travis was not an expert, but he felt like Alaska was being as truthful as possible. He also felt that she wanted to put that behind her.
The ride home was quiet, as he tried to figure out whether he should try to talk to her or not.
“I know that Ellen would agree with me, that if things don’t work out at Sweet View Ranch, you’re always welcome to come back and stay with us. I don’t want you to feel like you don’t have any other options.” He knew when someone felt like their back was against the wall they might do things that they would regret. Brash things that weren’t the smartest decisions.
“You guys have already done so much for me. I could hardly impose more.”
“It wouldn’t be imposing. I know I can speak for Ellen too. We both like you, we love your children, and we want to see you be successful. We’ll do what we can to help you.” He supposed he could just give her a big wad of money, but when a person got money without working for it, they just didn’t seem to have the character to know how to use it. That’s what he’d seen, over and over again. In his opinion it was one of the reasons government programs didn’t work.
“I wish you guys would stop being so nice. While I appreciate it, it just makes me feel like I’m going to owe you more than I could ever repay. I don’t like to be in debt.”
“No one is expecting you to repay anything. Just pass it on when you can. Plus, you can just consider that we're doing it for your children if that makes you feel better.”
“You know, today, Ellen tried on some really beautiful gowns. Beautiful and expensive gowns. It shocked me when she chose not to go with any of those, but instead bought a gown for less than a hundred bucks at a secondhand store. Before that, I felt like you and Ellen were... Out of my league. Too high and mighty for me. Watching her do that, and she didn’t do it for show, or because she thought she was going to impress me. She did it because that’s the unpretentious kind of person she is. I... I felt like I could relate to someone like that. You know? Like, even though I wanted to be like that, where, I am less concerned about the things I have, and more thoughtful about how I can help people. That’s just what she impressed me with over and over today.”
“That’s Ellen.” He smiled, thinking about what a wonderful person Ellen was. And how blessed he was that he was going to get to call her his wife.
She had supper on the stove when they walked in, and they talked for a while around the table, with Alaska and him telling her what happened at the police station, and her and Alaska telling him about their shopping trip.
It was late when they dropped Alaska and the kids off at the Sweet View Farm, and he knew that he would have to take Ellen and drop her off at her house. He didn’t want to spend even another minute without her, but hopefully soon dropping her off would be a thing of the past.
There were a lot of things they needed to talk about, but for now, he was content to hold her hand in the darkness of the pickup, and just ride in silence, enjoying the fact that they were together. And that their life stretched out ahead of them, filled with hope and possibilities and a beautiful, sacrificial love that most people only dreamed about.
Chapter 27
“I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride.”
