Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 5

Chapter 5   

A small jostling of the bed woke Gabriel up early the next morning, and he opened his eyes to find Kate’s pale eyes gazing down into his. The pleasant awakening was the foretelling of a great day for the both of them. Normally, Gabriel wasn’t one for being woken up early unless he was at a reenactment.

“Good morning!” Kate greeted him in her sweet voice. “Breakfast is ready.”

He pushed himself onto his elbows so he could see her more clearly, “Really? What time is it?”

“Seven-thirty,” she headed for the door and stopped when he started to say something. “Shall I wait for you to get dressed?”

“If you want. It won’t take me long,” Gabriel was already out of bed and reaching for his jeans, which had somehow ended up folded on the chair by the window, along with his shirt. Kate. He noticed the house felt warm as he walked out into the hallway to meet up with Kate while pulling his long hair back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

Kate’s parents greeted them at the kitchen table a few minutes later. Both of them seemed to be in a good mood, but Gabriel knew from experience that parents could change in a heartbeat.

“Did you sleep well, Gabriel?” Corey was busy giving Roxanne her bottle; otherwise the four of them would have to endure her crying throughout breakfast.

“It took me a little while to fall asleep, but yes,” he started loading his plate with bacon, sausage, hashbrowns, and eggs. “I guess I just had too much on my mind last night.”

Cherrie was the next person to ask a question, “So, what are your plans for today?”

“Well, I need to call my mother, because I’m sure she’s…” As if on cue, Gabriel’s cell phone started to ring, making him cringe. Just lovely. “Yes?... Mom, I’m fine… I’m still in Washington… No, I did not get thrown in jail, at least not yet… Mom, calm down!... I don’t know when I’ll be home… Okay, Mom, breathe!... Stop freaking out… Don’t you dare call the police… Yes, I’ll call Dad,” Like he’s worried about me, anyway. “Okay, bye, Mom… Bye!” He quickly snapped his phone shut and shoved it into his pocket, then looked up to see the other three staring directly at him, eyebrows raised. “Okay, that went over well. Next time remind me to call her the night I’m supposed to be home so she doesn’t have an aneurysm.”

Kate chuckled as she chewed a piece of egg before getting up to put her plate in the sink, “Gabriel, do you think you could show us some of the things you do in the cavalry?”

A smile came to Gabriel’s face as soon as she asked the question, “Do you have a horse I can work with? Preferably one who’s well-trained?”

Gabriel trotted the brown gelding around in a tight circle, then turned him the other direction; a way of making the horse learn to follow its rider’s sudden decisions. Afterwards, he pushed the gelding into a canter and jerked back on the reins, causing him to skid to a stop in front of Kate, “Now, that’s just basic drill. The next thing I’m going to show you guys is very dangerous, and I’m the only one in my cavalry division who’s trained to do this. Don’t worry, your horse will be fine,” he whipped the gelding around and kicked him until he was galloping down the pasture, when all of a sudden Gabriel jerked the reins up and to the side while using leg pressure, pulling the horse off its feet. The impact of the ground came quickly, but Gabriel brought the horse right back to its feet and eased him to a stop before dismounting. “And there you have it.”

“When do you ever do that?” Kate was still in shock after seeing one of their horses pulled to the ground.

“There are times when I’m supposed to act like Bo gets hit by a bullet during the battle. He is specially trained just for that maneuver.”

Corey stood nearby with his arms crossed over his chest, “Impressive. You’ve got quite a deal going for you with this reenactment business,” right at that moment he realized what time it was. “Oh, we’ve got to get to work, Cherrie,” then turned back to Kate and Gabriel. “We won’t be back until late tonight, so you two just find something to occupy yourselves with. And Gabriel…”

The green male looked up, “Yes?”

“Feel free to stay here again tonight. Cherrie and I don’t mind a bit.”

“Okay, thank you. I appreciate it very much.”

The afternoon grew into a beautiful centerpiece for the two after her parents had left. They decided to walk around outside and enjoy the warm sunshine while they could, along with learning more about each other’s lives. As the moments ticked by, Kate moved ever closer to Gabriel, taking in his features. At a closer glance, she saw that Gabriel had a small, gold hoop earring in the cartilage of his left ear.

“Wow! I didn’t realize your ear was pierced,” she commented. “Did it hurt?”

He turned his attention over to her, a smile shining, “Not really.”

“Who did it?”

“Sean. He held me down and shoved one of Mom’s sewing needles through after numbing it with ice,” without even thinking, Gabriel wrapped his arm around Kate’s waist, feeling how delicate she was, which brought back the painful memory of the peril she had been through earlier in the week. “Are you feeling better now?”

“I’m still a little sore, but I can handle it.”

He sighed heavily, “Kate, I am so sorry that happened to you. I should have stayed with you.”

Kate lightly pressed her finger to his lips, silencing him, “It’s not your fault. I could be seriously hurt, or possibly even dead, if it wasn’t for you. I was so scared at the time, but then you showed up to comfort me. You even got yourself injured in the process.”

“It’s okay. Believe me, I would have been hurt a lot worse if something happened to you… Well, worse than what did.”

She chuckled to herself, and then caught sight of movement ahead of them. At a closer look she saw that it was a doe and her fawns retreating into the safety of the forest, “So cute. Do you have any wildlife where you live, Gabriel?”

“Do skunks and opossums count?”

Kate burst out laughing, tears coming to her eyes, “No, I don’t think so.”

“The dang critters keep getting into the trash and driving Charlie nuts.”

“Is Charlie your dog?”

 “Yeah, he’s our Golden Retriever. Actually, he’s my parents dog, but for some reason he likes to sleep with me,” Gabriel rolled his eyes and sighed. “He’s a great personal space heater in the winter.”

“I can see why.”

During the relaxing walk Kate concentrated on keeping her eyes averted so as to not strike up an inappropriate conversation, but curiosity got the better of her, “Have you ever had a girlfriend?”

“No,” Damn! I shouldn’t have said that. I’m just digging my hole deeper. “Well, yeah, but I’ll tell you about it later.”

She was confused by what he was saying, but didn’t want to intrude on his personal life. If it was anything, she wanted to gain his trust up front, and that would be the wrong way of going about it. Instead, she thought of another question to ask, “Since you’re Irish, do you drink whisky?”

The question made him laugh out loud for a few seconds, “Okay, just because I’m Irish you automatically assume I drink whisky? Actually, I do… but only at reenactments, and even then I stay more than half way sober considering I’m in charge of the 1^st Texas Cavalry. Wouldn’t that be lovely, me instructing a bunch of rebels, who are probably drunker than a skunk, in the middle of cannon fire and a gaggle of squirrely guys who don’t even know which haversack they put their gunpowder and caps in. I swear my horse gets drunker than I do. Some of the guys in our camp pour the rest of their bottles into his water bucket. Now, when you have twenty or thirty men in camp, all with their bottles half empty when they pour it in, it makes for one drunken horse. One morning Bo was stumbling around so much there was no hope for him being ridden that day,” Gabriel grinned at Kate’s surprised expression. “So, does that answer your question?”

Kate was almost too stunned to reply, but she eventually found her voice, “Uh, yeah. Okay, what are your parents like, Gabriel?”

“My dad’s just like me; we both have the Irish accent, but his is much stronger since he’s from Dublin. My mom is from Arkansas and acts pretty much the same as your mom,” You’ll get to meet them really soon if I stick to my plan. Good thing I always keep that ring with me. Maybe this time it will stay on a woman’s finger longer than it had. God, I miss you, Susan. “Anything else?”

She thought long and hard for several minutes before thinking of something else to ask, “Have you ever suffered a heartache?”

The wrong question to ask; Gabriel could feel the tears building up, but he shook his head in order to diminish the painful memory from earlier on in his life. When Kate noticed the hurt look in his eyes she instantly regretted asking her question, “I’m so sorry! I shouldn’t have asked that.”

He held up his hand for her to be silent, “Stop. It’s not your fault. I need to forget everything bad that’s happened and move on with my life. Besides, I’ve already found someone to ease my pain,” he scuffed his foot along the ground and kept up with her. “My turn to ask the questions… What is your one dream?”

“Certainly not singing,” her reply was serious by the way she answered. “But I would say having a family of my own. What about you?”

I thought she’d bring that up, “This may sound a little clichéd for me to be saying… but I’ve always wanted a baby girl. Not to mention, my mom keeps bugging me about it. Any time I go somewhere she’s always telling me to bring back a lady. Right before I left for my vacation that’s exactly what she told me.”

“That’s wonderful, always having your mother on your case.”

“Not all of the time, but I think this time she’ll finally be satisfied,” a sly smile peeked out from the corners of his mouth, his aqua eyes glinting in the sunlight.

Upon seeing the gleam in his eyes, Kate edged closer to him, wanting to know what he was thinking. He’s being very mysterious about something. I wonder what? “Why do you say that, Gabriel?”

He turned the diamond ring over and over in his jeans pocket, gathering up to courage to pop the question. After a few more seconds he pulled it out, holding it up for her to see, “Because I finally found a reason to use this.”

Kate’s mouth dropped open at the sheer beauty of the ring. She couldn’t believe what was happening right in front of her, “Oh, my gosh! It’s beautiful, Gabriel.” the moment he took her hand in his her heart started beating wildly while she gazed into his eyes. Oh! Is he seriously going to ask the question?

“Kate, I really don’t know why I’m feeling like this, but right from the first time I looked into your eyes I knew you were the one I wanted to be my wife and the mother of my children. So, I’m asking you now, will you wear this ring as my wife?”

Without saying a word in response, Kate flung herself on top of Gabriel. The impact of her body crashing into his caused both of them to fall to the ground, Kate landing on top of him before she lightly placed her hands on his cheeks and closed her lips over his. For what seemed like an eternity they kissed each other until she pulled back and gazed into his bright blue eyes, seeing the sparkle in them, “Of course I will. I’ve been hoping you’d ask me, Gabriel. I know it’s so soon after meeting, but I love you. I love you so much.”

Gabriel managed to slip the silver ring on her finger between her kisses, “The other half of the wedding ring you’ll get once we get to Jefferson. It’s part of my family’s history and is very special to me. The diamond band goes above it,” After explaining, he pushed himself up so that he was sitting beside Kate with his arm around her waist.

“When will the wedding be?” She tried to hold back her excitement.

“Hopefully as soon as possible, and I don’t want a giant wedding, either. Just say the vows, put the rings on, kiss, and we’re good.”

“So you’re saying you want to get married before you, excuse me, we, go to Jefferson?”

“Yes.”

“Fine by me.”

 

 

The old clock on the mantelpiece kept up a steady ticking, the only sound in the otherwise silent room. The two lovers relaxed on the loveseat in front of the fireplace. Kate leaned against Gabriel’s chest, listening to his heartbeat. The sound calmed her and almost made her fall asleep, but she forced herself to stay awake; she didn’t want to miss one moment of being near her new fiancé. I wonder how Mom and Dad are going to take the news?

“If I see any sign of your dad freaking out I will be long gone,” Gabriel seemed to be thinking the same thing as Kate.

She raised her head and kissed his cheek, “Don’t worry. Daddy has been waiting for me to get engaged. I’m his favorite, but don’t tell Mom I said that.”

“What about Twila?”

Kate scoffed at her sister’s name, “He’s not on good terms with her at the moment. He thinks Mom pays more attention to her than me and will get her anything she wants. Daddy actually told her to buy her own car, but he helped me buy my Camaro,” she tried to hide a giggle, “The other day he told her she was a spoiled brat… to her face. Needless to say, she won’t be coming to our wedding. Not if I have anything to do with it.”

“I can see why,” he sighed, pulling her closer. “God, I’m tired. I could just pass out right here.”

“Then go ahead, I’ve got to go feed the dog.”

Around midnight, Kate’s parents arrived home from work to find their daughter snuggled against Gabriel, both of them asleep. At a closer glance, Corey noticed the diamond ring on her finger and a smile came to his face. If Cherrie had noticed, she hadn’t said anything about it, Good for him. He’s chosen a wonderful woman to be his wife. Not to mention, I really like him and his personality, so I know he’ll treat her well. So as not to disturb them, he led Cherrie upstairs after turning off the lamp by the couch.

Kate awoke the next morning to find her mother cleaning the house with baby Roxanne lying on her blanket in the middle of the living room floor. Her mother seemed to be in a happy mood about something considering she was humming, and flashed Kate a bright smile.

“Good morning, honey. I hope you slept well.”

Kate yawned and stretched her arm out to the side before getting up from the couch, “Yeah,” looking around, she didn’t see Gabriel at all, “Where’s Gabriel?”

“Ah. Your soon-to-be husband is outside helping your father train Butterfly. From the look of it, the filly’s winning,” Cherrie winked at Kate and went back to dusting off the family photo.

Kate didn’t even want to think how her mother had found out about the engagement, and picked Roxanne up before walking out to the training pen in the warm sunshine. She watched the two men lasso the filly and place a saddle blanket on her back. Then, she saw Gabriel lean over and whisper something in the horse's ear, causing her to become still.

  “Hey! Why don’t you take a break?” Kate called from the other side of the fence. She held her baby sister on her hip while bouncing her to keep her entertained.

Gabriel looked up after hearing the familiar voice, excited to see Kate standing nearby, “Well, good morning. I figured you’d still be asleep,” he chuckled warmly and hugged her. “You were snoring pretty well when I got up.”

“I guess I was tired. So, did you sleep well?”

“For once,” Gabriel reached over and tickled Roxanne’s feet, smiling when she giggled. “Your sister’s so adorable. May I hold her?”

“Sure you can!” Corey had overheard their conversation and walked over to join in. He slapped his hand down on Gabriel’s shoulder before continuing. “Besides, it’s great practice for when you have children of your own in the near future.

“Daddy!” Kate hissed.

Gabriel saved some embarrassment by breaking in, “Don’t worry, Kate. He knows about the engagement… and he couldn’t be happier.”

Kate had to see her father’s expression to be sure he was telling the truth. Once she received the nod of approval the only thing left to do was show him the ring, “See? Gabriel really knows how to please a girl, but it could be a rock and baling wire and I’d still love it. He said it’s been in his family for a long time, so that makes it all the more special.”

After inspecting the ring, Corey said, “It’s very beautiful…and congratulations on the engagement. I’m so happy for the both of you,” he reached over the fence and gave his daughter a hug without hurting the baby clinging to her sister’s side. In all reality, he was overjoyed that his precious girl was finally marrying the man she loved even though they had only met just recently. He had always believed in love at first sight, and apparently it was true with Kate and Gabriel.

Kate beamed with joy with Gabriel inching closer, but trying not to make it too obvious; he wanted Corey to know that he intended to marry his daughter, and marry her he would without anyone stopping him, “Corey, Kate and I were hoping you could help us…” He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Kate in order to see her expression, “We would like to get married as soon as possible. Do you think that would be alright?”

The smile her father gave widened, “Of course. How about this weekend, because I’m sure you’d like to get back home to see your parents… and show Kate off.”

“I have a feeling Mom’s going to have fits when she meets her. She’s been waiting a very long time for me to get married since I’m her only son and the only way our last name can be passed on. So, hopefully Kate and I will have a son when we do decide to have children.”

“Makes sense,” Corey sucked in a breath of air before continuing. “Well, I guess we better start shopping for the wedding.”

It was Kate’s turn to speak if she wanted to keep things the way she wanted it, “Now, Daddy. I don’t want a big wedding with the entire family present. What would make me the happiest girl in the world would be finding a place outside or something, and maybe a cheap dress… nothing fancy like Twila’s.”

“God, I still can’t believe your mother insisted on spending that much for her wedding, but I wouldn’t mind doing that for you,”

“No, Daddy. I just want a simple wedding, and I’m sure Gabriel would agree.”

Her fiancé nodded in agreement, Yes that would be great.”

“Fine. Whatever you wish.”

Reviews

[Crimson Apples]

*applause* Great job on this! it was an awesome chapter. But really Gabe? If this is your definition of slow, You'd be making babies if you took this fast xD

[Sympathy Heart]

true that. so cautious