Texas Big Man

My heart drops through the ground. He didn’t say that. I must be hallucinating. Harlan Decker didn’t just propose to me. Or maybe he did.

“What?”

“Marry me,” he whispers. “Be my family. I want you to be mine.”

Something deep inside me clicks into place like a puzzle piece that was wasn’t working, but now it’s found all the right edges. I don’t have any doubts when I tell him, “Yes.”

His smile is the most dazzling thing that I’ve ever seen, and I want to see that smile forever. I want to be the source of that smile. And the only reason I take my eyes off that smile is because he’s suddenly kissing me again, and I close my eyes and imagine kissing him forever.

“What in the fuck is going on?”

Trevor has come around the corner of the barn. Shit.

12

Melena

There’s no way to hide what we just did. Not with my pants down and paint smeared across our bodies. I can feel my face going bright red as I pull up my pants, but Harlan doesn’t let me go, he just stands there smirking. “That wasn’t even close to two hours, Trevor. C’mon man.”

“Yeah, I know. I didn’t want to leave Mel alone that long knowing that she was upset. This is…not what I expected.”

I open my mouth to explain, but Harlan’s hand squeezes my side. “And it’s not what it looks like either. We’ve been a little busier than just fixing up this old place. Trevor, I just proposed to Melena and she said yes. I want to marry her.”

Trevor goes pale. “Are you serious? You want to marry my sister and you propose to her like this? After doing, well, you know, on the side of the fucking barn?” He scrapes his hands through his hair. “I thought you two hated each other. I can’t…deal with this right now.”

I’ve rarely seen my brother explode like that, and I watch in shock as he disappears around the corner. Harlan looks equally shocked, and he and I stand there in silence, not knowing really what to do.

“Maybe he doesn’t like this red paint? It is a little loud,” Harlan jokes, breaking the tension.”

I punch him in the arm, smiling, before I button up my pants. “He’s old fashioned. Like I thought I was, and like my parents are. My parents did it that way. They’ve always been the happiest couple that we’ve ever known, and they fell in love and got married before they had sex. That’s just the way we were taught that it worked. So this…it will look insane to him. And don’t forget, I’m his baby sister. But I can talk to him. Awkwardly, but he and I will have a talk.”

Harlan catches me by the arm before I get too far away from him. “Before you walk away, I didn’t get to say it.”

“What?”

“That I love you, Mel.”

Perfect warmth glows in my stomach, and I can’t stop my smile. He said it back. He takes my face in his hands, presses his nose to mine, and gives me the lightest kiss. “And just for good measure, I want to say it again. I love you, Mel.” I stare into his eyes and the sincerity lights me on fire. It’s hard to pull away, but I owe Trevor an explanation. I blow him a sassy kiss before running after Trevor. He’s nearly to the house now.

“Trevor!”

He doesn’t stop, so I call his name again. This time he does stop, though he’s not happy about it. “What?” he barks at me.

“I want to talk to you. I want to explain.”

“Maybe after I scrub my eyes out with bleach from catching my little sister having clearly just had sex against the fucking barn wall! I didn’t think that this was what you wanted, Mel.”

I shrug. “It wasn’t. This wasn’t my plan. Hell, I thought I was spending the summer with my big brother, clearing brush and mending fences. But…then I drove up to this ranch and there was a new plan waiting for me. I realized that I’d been waiting all this time for something to be perfect, something that was almost too ideal, and I wanted to be happy. So I let myself be happy. I let go of some of my old ideas, and in the process, I fell in love. I’m in love with him. It’s like…he understands me without having to say it.”

“I really did think you hated each other.”

I laugh. “We didn’t get off to the best start, but that changed pretty quickly. I understand if you think that I’m crazy. I know it’s fast, but I also know that it’s right. Things change, and you of all people should know that it’s hard for other people to understand your dreams, right?”

Trevor shakes his head. “That’s for sure. After the amount of shit I’ve taken for buying this ranch, I definitely understand that. I just want you to be happy, Mel. That’s all any of us have ever wanted. And if he’s what you want, then I’ll support you.”