CASH
Today is Melanie’s birthday. She’s twenty-six and glowing like the sun in the middle of the Texas summer.
It’s a day that I know will be a mixture of happy and sad. She misses her parents, and it’s more acute on holidays and special occasions. Birthdays are especially hard because there was a particular tradition for Melanie and her Pa. They’d both get dressed up, and he’d take her on a special father-daughter date to the diner in town.
Today, we’re doing something special to take her mind off the past and bring it into the present.
She’s always talked about traveling, so we’ve booked a trip.
I wish we could get away for a proper break and take her to Greece or France or some other place that she used to talk about going to with her momma. The problem is that Hard Valley Ranch doesn’t wait for vacations. I’ve hired in extra hands to cover the two days we’re going to be away, and I’m crossing everything that there isn’t a disaster while we’re gone.
The risk is worth it for our girl.
Melanie comes trotting down the stairs to where we’re all waiting for her in the kitchen. “Happy Birthday,” I shout at the same time as my brothers. We’re all on our feet in a flash, and we surround our girl for birthday hugs and kisses. If we had time, I’d take her upstairs and give her some birthday pleasure, but the flight won’t wait. There will always be time later.
“We need to go,” I say as she draws back, smiling.
“Go where?”
“We have a plane to catch,” Colt says, grinning.
“A plane?” I wish I could take a picture of her shocked face. It’s just too cute.
“Yep,” Sawyer says. “We’ve packed your bag. Grab your purse, and we’re going.”
“Seriously?” Mel squeals. “Where are we going?”
“Vegas, baby!” Scott shouts. “We’re going for two nights in Sin City. We can take you to Paris and Rome and Venice without the long flights.”
“Don’t forget Egypt,” Cary says. “There’s that hotel shaped like a pyramid.”
Melanie claps her hands with excitement and then covers her mouth, her eyes wide. “I can’t believe it. Seriously? We’re actually going to Vegas.”
“We sure are,” I smile, putting my arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. “But we need to get going, or we’ll end up back at this ranch instead.”
The drive to the airport goes to plan, and before we know it, we’re on the plane. “Oh my God,” Melanie hisses as the engines roar to life. She clutches my hand and Scott’s – he’s also sitting next to her – and stays that way for the short flight. She only dares to look out of the window once and then asks Scott to close the blind because she’s too scared to see the clouds flying past.
It’s crazy windy when we’re landing at McCarran International Airport. Melanie almost draws blood from my palm as the plane lurches. It doesn’t take long for us to disembark, and when we’re almost outside the airport, I find the dude with the BRADFORD sign in large black capital letters.
“That’s us,” I say.
He nods politely. “Follow me.”
Melanie practically combusts with excitement at the sight of the limousine that I’ve booked to take us to our hotel. Inside, it’s so luxurious that we all look like fish out of water, but Melanie is clapping her hands and asking me to fix her a soda, and all is right with the world.
We chose to stay at the Venetian Resort because it’s on The Strip, and we thought Mel would love to go on a gondola ride. I’m pretty sure she’s going to drag us everywhere anyway, and it’ll be fun getting to experience everything with her.
“I can’t believe we’re here,” she squeals, running into our room and flopping onto the ridiculously large and fancy bed.
“Believe it, baby,” Colt says, landing next to her. I can see this turning into a love fest and as much as I would like to make my girl see stars right now, I want her to see so much more today.
“Come on. Let’s go. We’ve got dinner booked for 8 pm. That’s plenty of time to get around a few of the hotels.”
Melanie is on her feet in no time. “Can we go to Paris first? I want to see the Eifel Tower. And then can we go to Caesar’s palace?”
“We sure can,” I smile.
“I want to hit the rollercoaster at New York, New York,” Cary says.
“And I wouldn’t mind hitting the pool,” Scott says.
“Sounds like a plan.”
We dump our bags and set out walking. The Nevada sunshine is intense, but we’re used to working in the heat, so walking and relaxing are easy. I snap a ton of photos of my girl enjoying herself. She looks so pretty today in a white embroidered blouse that Cary found for her in the only nice store in town. She’s wearing the necklace Scott bought for her and the brown sandals that Sawyer found. Even her purse is the new one that Colt bought. He admitted to relying on the woman who owned the store to choose it, but it’s the thought that counts. I’m the only one who hasn’t given her my gift yet, but I’ve told her that I’ll give it to her tonight, before dinner, and although she frowned with curiosity, I know she’s happy to wait.
Scott and Colt pose with the marble statues in Caesars, and we drink ridiculous colored drinks from plastic Eifel Towers with long straws. At New York, New York, we find the start of the rollercoaster and line up with the other tourists.
Melanie rides in front next to Sawyer, and her high-pitched scream is the loudest for sure.
When we’re back at the hotel, we just about have time to shower and dress for dinner. Melanie slips on the dress that she wore to Connie’s wedding and leaves her hair loose, and I swear my heart skips a beat just at the sight of her.
“Here,” I hand her the box that I carried all the way from home. It’s large and flat and secured with brown parcel tape. Her eyes flick to mine questioningly, but she starts to score the edge of the package with her fingernail, trying to break it open.
“What did you get me?” she asks.
“You’ll see,” I say. My heart speeds in my chest, and my palms feel sweaty. I hope I’ve done the right thing with this gift, but it could go either way.
It takes Melanie a few minutes to get inside the box, and then the canvas is wrapped in protective tissue paper and bubble wrap. Mason, my cousin, did an awesome job of protecting his work for the journey.
When Melanie finally reveals the painting, her hand flutters to her mouth as she gasps.
Is it a good gasp? I can’t be sure. I know this is going to be emotional for her, but I’m hoping Mason’s painting of Cooper’s Cottage will make her happy.
When her eyes finally find mine, they’re brimming with unshed tears. Then she flies into my arms, hugging around my broad chest fiercely. “Thank you,” she whispers against the fabric of my shirt. “Thank you.”
Her hair is so soft against my palm as I soothe her. “Do you like it?”
She tips her face up to mine, and I’m breathless at her beauty. “I love it,” she says. “I can’t believe you did that.”
“Well, Mason painted it.” I grin as she draws back, shaking her head.
“I guessed you weren’t secretly hiding a genius-level art capability,” she grins, swiping at her face. When she presses her sweet, pink lips against mine, the ache in my chest intensifies.
“Awww…you guys,” Colt says from the other side of the room. His voice holds the perpetual smile that he was born with.
Melanie presses her whole body against mine in response, gripping my neck and deepening our kiss. It’s like the most delicious ice cream sundae, being with my girl.
Someone else clears their throat. “Get a room,” Scott says, but I can tell he’s grinning as well.
Melanie draws away again, smiling up at me. “Anyway, I have a birthday gift for you guys too.” She swivels so she can see all my brothers, beaming like the Cheshire Cat.
“That isn’t how birthdays work, sweetie,” Colt says, rolling his eyes.
“If you mean birthday sex, then I say cancel dinner,” Cary laughs.
“Not quite,” Melanie says. “Although it is related to that.”
“Related?” My question hangs as she smiles some more, then she lifts her hand and rests it low on her belly, and I know. I know before she says another world that she’s about to make us the happiest men on earth. “Are you serious?” I say, stepping in front of her and tipping her chin so I can look into her gorgeous, happy eyes.
When she nods, I can’t hold back anymore. I tug her into my arms, hugging her so tightly that she squeals.
“What’s going on?” Colt asks.
“Is she?” Cary steps closer.
“Yes, I am,” Melanie laughs.
“Pregnant?” Scott gasps.
“YES!”
I don’t think I’ve ever seen my brothers look so happy and stunned at the same time. I mean, we haven’t exactly been careful, but we weren’t trying to conceive either.
But Melanie is right about one thing. This birthday gift is the best ever.
That night, we eat well and share a bottle of champagne, which Melanie abstains from. She’s already in protective mom-mode, and I couldn’t be prouder.
And after, when we’re back in our room, we take turns in showing our girl just how happy we are.
There will come a time when we’ll make her our wife, but that isn’t right now. When we ask her, I want it to be special and just about Melanie.
I knew I wanted to marry her the day that I found her curled up in her old barn, like a ranch-style Sleeping Beauty. And we will when the time is right.
For now, though, we’ll bask in the happiness that fate has sent our way.
When we bid on Cooper’s Ranch, my heart had felt heavy, knowing that the purchase came with complications that wouldn’t be easy to resolve. Now, two years on, with my girl in my arms and a baby on the way, I feel as though I’m walking on air.
(c) Stephanie Brother 2021
