Edward arrived home close to lunch time. He carried a big box into the house. He set it down inside the door then went into the office. He didn't see Debra. He walked back to the kitchen. "Have you seen Debra, Mrs. Gardner?"
"She walked out back a while ago."
"Thanks. Was she upset or anything?"
"Not that I could tell." Mrs. Gardner said.
Edward walked out the back door and stopped quickly as he saw Debra doing some kind of martial arts in the yard. He stepped off the porch and started towards he when he noticed Josh watching her from the corner of the house. Edward walked over to him. "Are you enjoying the view?" He asked jealousy.
"It not like that, boss. She's a master in the arts."
"She seems to know what she's doing." Edward said looking at Debra.
"She has a perfect form."
"You know about that stuff?"
"Yes. I took classes the when I was younger."
"I hope that is all you are looking at."
"Of course, boss. I would never think of Debra in any other way."
"That's good to know." Edward said.
"She's the boss lady. I have the upmost respect for her."
"Good. Don't you have work to do?"
"Yes. I guess. I 'll get back to it." Josh said then walked away.
Edward walked towards Debra. He stopped several feet from her. She continued with her martial arts then turned and stopped when we saw him. He smiled at her. "Don't stop on my account."
Debra pulled out her earphones "How long have you been here?"
"Just a few minutes, but Josh was watching you longer."
"I didn't realize anyone would be watching." Debra said. "How was he watching?"
"He said you have good form, but not in the way I like your form." Edward said as he stepped towards her. "You look awfully sexy in those shorts." He said as he put his hands on her hips. He pulled her close.
"Thank you." She smiled at him. "Enjoy it while you can because before long, my stomach will be huge."
"I'll still think you're sexy." Edward said then kissed her.
Debra put her arms around his neck. She continued the kiss. Several moments later, she pulled back. "So, did you get my package?"
"Yes. Where do you want it?" He asked. "It's downstairs by the door."
"It goes upstairs in my old room, but I can bring it up."
"No, you won't. It's quite heavy."
"You didn't peak in it, did you?"
"No. I wanted to, but I didn't. " Edward said. He kissed her again. "I love you."
"I love you, too."
"You didn't overdue yourself, did you?"
"No. I took it easy." Debra said as she let him go. She reached down and shut off her music.
"I was getting worked up over your books and needed to relax. Maybe now I can find the mistake."
"Ok, but after lunch. Mrs. Gardner was making it when I came out"
"Great, I'm starving." Debra said as she put her arm around Edward's waist. They started walking towards the house.
"It's good that you're hungry."
"Yes and I didn't get sick this morning, either. Maybe the worst has passed."
"Maybe." They went into the house and sat down at the island. Mrs. Gardner put their plates in front of them. "Thank you."
"No problem." Mrs. Gardner said.
"These lunches seem to be getting larger." Debra said.
"You are eating for three you know, and you don't eat enough."
"I eat plenty."
"Just make normal size portions, Mrs. Gardner." Edward said. "Debra will eat when she's hungry. "
"As you wish. " Mrs. Gardner said then walked away.
"I think we offended her." Debra said, "She'll get over it." Edward said. They started eating.
After they got done eating, Edward took the box upstairs and Debra went into the office. She sat down at the desk and started working. Edward came back into the office. "I'm going to get back to work unless you need me for anything else."
"No, I don't need you right now." Debra said. "I need to find your missing money."
"All right." Edward and then walked out of the office.
Debra walked down to the barn later in the afternoon. She walked through and out to Misty's corral. Misty came up to her. "Hey girl. How are you doing?" Misty nodded her head. "Me too. I'm doing good." She gave Misty a carrot. "You're a good girl." Debra pet her for a few minutes then walked back to the barn. She walked through to the other end. She stood by the door and watched Edward on Big Ben. She leaned against the door frame. She stood there for several minutes before she turned and went back inside the barn. Scout came in behind her. He went in front of her and sat down. "Hey, boy." Debra said as she squatted down and pet him. She pets him for a little while then stood up. She walked back through the barn and started up to the house. She went inside and up to her old bedroom. She closed the door and locked it.
Edward knocked on the bedroom door when he came in for dinner. "Debra, it's dinner time." He said then tried to open the door. "Did you lock the door?"
"Yes. I'll be down in a minute."
"Are you all right?"
"Yes, I am just working."
"All right. I'll see you downstairs."
"Ok." Debra said. She put her stuff away and got up. She walked to the door, unlocked and opened the door. She walked downstairs and into the dining room. She sat down at the table. "Big Ben looks good. He's not limping that much."
"He's going to be fine."
"I was watching from the barn earlier."
"I know." Edward said. "So, did you find the mistake?"
"Yes, I flip flopped some numbers."
"I've done that a few times." Edward said. "So, you started your dress?"
"Yes. That's why the door was locked. I don't want you to see it."
"If I promise not to go in. Can you not lock the door? I don't like locked doors."
"I guess. Do you promise not to go inside?"
"Yes, I promise unless I have to for any reason."
"It's important to me for you not to see my dress until we get married."
"I know, so unless there's a fire or an emergency, I will stay out. You have my word."
"All right. I won't lock it." Debra said then started eating. "Misty seems lonely. Do you think she can be put in with the other horses?" Debra asked. "Maybe where she can stretch her legs more?"
"I guess we can try to let her in with the other riding horses. We'll try that tomorrow. but you'll have to keep an eye on her for a while to make me she's all right with the other horses."
"I can do that." Debra said. "I'm done with the office work for now, I think."
"Good because after we eat, I want to take you for a ride and show you something."
"Really? What?"
"Another piece of the ranch." That's all I'm going to tell you."
"All right." Debra said. She ate some of her dinner. "Is everything all right. It looks like there's something on you mind."
"I'm fine, darling"
Debra put down her fork and turned to Edward. "No, something is bothering you." She said. "I can tell."
Edward put his fork down and pushed his plate back, "It's about the wedding." He said then took a deep breath. He reached over and took a hold on her hands. "I want this to be your day and what you want. You seem to think you need to think of what I want. If you would be fine, I would elope with you in Vegas. I am fine with small."
"Really?" Debra asked. "I think of who you may want because I don't have anyone. I know you have a lot respect in this town and have a lot of friends. I've figured you would want everyone here."
"Maybe for the reception, but for the ceremony, I would rather just have family and a few close friends. Maybe twenty at the most at the house."
"All right, that's fine with me. I'm not the greatest around lots of people. I was thinking you would want that."
"I want what you want to. I would take you to the courthouse if you wanted. I don't need anything fancy, but if you want, we can do that. I would have a church wedding if you wanted."
"I don't need a church wedding. I just need you. So, we can decorate the house. I can walk down the stairs. Or we can do it outside if it's nice. I'm fine with that."
"Good. I love you, Debra. " Edward said. "Now about the honeymoon? Where would you want to go?"
"I don't need to go anywhere, but you want to go, surprise me."
"All right."
"Are you trying to help with the wedding to reduce the stress on me?"
"Yes. You got me. Also, Carrie called me today and wants to know what she can do. She was running down a list of things we need to do."
"I have my own list and it's simple."
"She just wants to help."
"Maybe we should just go to the courthouse." Debra said as she pulled her hands away from Edward and got up. "Or forget the whole wedding." She said then walked out of the dining room.
Edward carried two cups of coffee onto the front porch a while later. He set one on the table next to Debra. He leaned against the pillar and looked across the yard. "I wish I knew what you are going through, Debra. Your life has been turned completely around in the past month. I am going through some changes, too." Edward said then sipped his coffee. "Carrie just wants to help you out."
"She's talking about caterers and DJ's and flower arrangements. She called me ten times today. Each time she added something else. I am a simple person, Edward. I don't need much to make me happy."
"You're more complicated than you think."
"The only thing I want special for our wedding is my dress. That's the only thing I need. All the other stuff is superficial. If I am wearing my wedding dress to marry you, I'll be the happiest bride around."
Edward turned around with a smile on his face. "All right. I have an idea." He said then squatted down in front of Debra. "If you don't mind, why don't we have Carrie plan the reception and everything else? We will handle the simple the ceremony and she can handle the other things."
"I don't know, Edward. Can I think about it?"
"Of course, you can. I want to take you for a ride, darling. I want to show you something."
"All right." Debra drank her coffee. She set her coffee cup on the table. Edward stood up and finished his coffee. He set his up next to Debra's and took her hand. He led her down to the truck and helped her inside. He walked around to the other side. He got inside and pulled out.
Debra reached over and took his hand. " Pretty soon, you'll need a forklift to get me in the truck."
"I'll just have to get you a lower vehicle to get in."
"Don't even think of getting me one. I'll be fine with a step ladder."
"I'll get right on that." Edward smiled at her. He turned down the driveway.
"Where are we going?"
"Just to another part of the ranch. I'll take one of the side roads."
"Oh. How long will it take to get there?"
"Not long. darling."
"Did you set up another date?"
"No." Edward said. "You're terrible when I want to try to surprise you."
"Fine. I'll just shut up." Debra said. She let go of his hand and folded them on her lap. She stared out the side window.
"That's a first." Edward laughed. He drove down the driveway a way then turned off on to a dirt road. "This may get a little rough."
"Thanks for the warning."
"Sorry, I guess I didn't think about how rough the road would be on you."
"It's fine, " Debra said. They drove down the road.
Edward tried to miss the bumps, but it didn't help much. They finally pulled up to a building. Edward parked the truck and shut it off. "This is what I wanted to show you."
"It's some kind of old barn." Debra said.
"Let's take a look." Edward said as he got out of the truck. He walked around and opened her door. He helped her out. He took her hand and led her around the front of the truck. "Please keep an open mind." He said. He opened the door and led her inside. "I know you were concerned about weather, so I was looking at the ranch map and Josh pointed out this place." He said as they walked in.
"What do you use it for?"
"We used to use it for training show horses, but we built a new facility. We use it for storage now. But we can clean up and have the reception here."
"It would be big enough for everyone."
"Yes, it would be." Edward pointed to one end. "We can set up a band or DJ over there. And set up a dance floor. The tables can be all around."
"You're getting into this, aren't you? "
"Well, Carrie was so happy when she was talking, and it made me happy by remembering their wedding and Ace's wedding. I started thinking about it."
"All right, we can have the reception here and Carrie can help, but we have the final say." Debra said. "On one condition."
"And what would that be?"
"You get that road fixed."
"You got it, darling." He said as he hugged her. He picked her up and swung her around in a circle. "I love you." He said as he put her down then kissed her.
"I love you." Debra said between kisses. "I had a dream the other night about us riding in on horses. I was wearing my dress and you were all dressed up." She said. "I know that isn't going to happen, though."
"That does sound nice, but it will be nice no matter what." Edward said.
Edward helped Debra into the truck about an hour later. He got in the other side. "So, now we got the locations covered. All you have to do is worry about your dress and let Carrie do the rest."
"I will call her tomorrow." Debra said then looked out the door window.
"What's wrong now, darling?"
"I'm just tired, a little. I didn't take a nap today." She looked at him forcing a smile.
"Do you not want Carrie to do this?"
"I wanted simple, Edward. I afraid she's going to do too much."
"You just need to explain to her what you want. She'll listen. Maybe I will see if they can come up this weekend and we can go over our ideas."
"All right. This place is great, though."
"I'll start by getting the road in better condition."
"That is top priority. Is there any other way we can get back to the house?"
"I don't know if the other way will be any better, but we can try."
"Good, because I don't know if I can handle that again."
"I will try to take it easy for you."
" Thanks. " Debra said.
Edward started the truck and pulled out. He went slow and took a different road. "This way will take longer, but we'll get there."
"It's not that we have anything else to do."
"I can think of plenty to do. Something I've been thinking about since I saw you in those sexy shorts you had on."
"Really?" Debra asked. "So, are there any cameras out here?"
"No, there isn't. " Edward said as he smiled at her.
"Do you want to pull over?" Debra smiled. Edward put on the brakes and parked the truck. He shut it off.
Edward pulled up to the house a while later. They got out then walked down to the barn. They checked on the horses then walked back to the house. Debra went to the kitchen and got a drink of water. She drank one cup and filled it up again. She stood by the sink and drank it. She put the glass in the sink then went upstairs to bed.