“Are you ready for your surprise sweetheart?”
My heart started pounding. He looked so handsome standing there but he also looked scared as hell! He was probably worrying himself sick if I was going to like what he picked out for me. I reached up and felt my daisy necklace he gave me for my graduation. Then I looked down at my bracelet. I never took either of them off and threw a fit in the hospital when I found out they took them off of me.
I walked over and took his hand and nodded yes.
I was so confused when Gunner started to lead me out to the Jeep. He helped me in and then gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. He jogged around to the other side and hopped in.
“Where’re we going?”
“We’re going to the hunter’s cabin.”
“The hunter’s cabin? The one you showed me on my first tour of the ranch?”
“Yep! That’s the one.”
When we rode by it I remembered making a comment to Gunner about how romantic it was having a cabin out here in the middle of the ranch. It was a small cabin and was so rustic looking. It looked like at one time someone might have had a garden out front. It just screamed romance to me. Gunner laughed and said it was a dump and no one had been in it for years. Why the hell was he taking me there?
Gunner must have sensed my confusion. He reached over and placed his hand on my leg. The tingles instantly started in my leg and went right to my stomach. How did he do this to me still? I mean we had been dating for six months now. I thought it would wear off, but sometimes it felt like it was getting more intense.
The sun was starting to go down now as we drove on the gravel roads of the ranch. It was breathtaking. We came around a giant live oak and I saw the cabin. I’m sure my gasp was loud because Gunner snapped his head and looked at me.
It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The whole outside of the cabin was covered in white Christmas lights. As Gunner got closer I started to shake. OH MY GOD……I could see the inside lights were on in the cabin but I couldn’t see in the cabin.
Gunner pulled up and parked. I just sat there stunned. He walked around and helped me out of the jeep. I looked up at him and was at a loss for words.
“When did you do all of this? How did you do all of this? My god Gunner it’s beautiful!”
Gunner let out a small laugh.
“I didn’t do it. Aaron and Jenny did it for me. Do you like it so far?”
“So far? There’s more? I mean YES! It’s so beautiful but I thought you said this place was a dump.”
“When you mentioned how romantic you thought it was I got an idea so I talked to Gramps about getting it fixed up and he agreed.”
He took my hand and started to lead me to the front porch and when we stepped up on the porch I was stopped in my tracks. Daisies…..they were everywhere. In flower vases, buckets, laying on a bench and even in a bouquet of daisies in a cowboy boot…….holy hell…....I thought I loved this man before but now my heart felt like it was going to burst open from the love I was feeling.
I turned to look at Gunner who was watching my every reaction. “Gunner I….I don’t even know what to say this is all so beautiful!”
“There’s more inside Ellie…..”
OH…..there was more?
Gunner told me to close my eyes so I did as he led me into the cabin and I heard him shut the door. He turned my body just a little and then I felt his warm breath up against my ear as he told me to open my eyes. I held them closed another few seconds before I slowly opened them.
HOLY HELL…..oh my god….
I started to cry as soon as I saw the small one room cabin. I looked around the room and was not sure what I loved the most. I quickly noticed a giant King size bed to the left side corner of the room. It had beautiful white linens on it and the whole bed was covered with daisy and rose petals. Next to the bed was a side table that had a few white candles on it that where already lit and a vase full of purple daisies.
I moved my eyes and they landed on a small writing table that had more lit candles on it and an iPod player. Just then Gunner reached up with a remote and “Magic” by Colbie Caillat starting playing. I threw my hand up to my mouth……how did he remember me saying I loved that song. I started to cry even more.
Gunner leaned down and asked against my face as he wiped a tear away if they were happy tears. All I could do was shake my head yes. I kept moving my eyes to the right. There was a small kitchen and every surface was covered in more white candles and vases of daisies in ever color you could think of. There was a small dining room table on the right side of the room and it was covered in chocolate covered strawberries, fruit, more white candles and red and white roses.
I started to shake. Did Gunner plan all of this? I looked on the floor and it was covered in daisy and rose petals.
I closed my eyes to control the tears that were falling like rain. I spun around and looked into those beautiful blue eyes. Gunner leaned down and kissed me. I was lost in his kiss and I’m not sure how long we kissed for but now Colbie Caillat’s “Stay With Me” was playing.
“Drew…..oh my god…..did you plan all of this?” I knew Gunner loved it when I said his real name. I said it every morning to him because he told me he loved to hear it from my lips first thing each morning.
“Yes sweetheart. I told Aaron exactly how I wanted everything to look and he and Jenny started early this morning and did it all. Do you like it?”
I just stared at him. He reached over and pushed my mouth shut with his finger and laughed.
“Gunner…I don’t even have the words to describe to you how wonderful this is. It’s…..” I turned around and looked at the entire room again. “It is magical.”
“Good…that’s what I was going for! Now, for your Christmas present my sweet Ellie.”
“This is not it?”
Gunner threw his head back and laughed.
“No baby this is just the beginning.”
Oh my….my heart was pounding. I stopped dead in my tracks.
OH MY GOD! Oh holy hells bells! Gunner turned and looked at me.
“What’s wrong sweetheart?”
“Gunner….when you said you had a plan…..you….we’re going to…..oh my god…” I put my hand up to my mouth again.
Gunner grabbed me and held me close to him. His heart was beating just has fast and hard as mine. No wonder he has been nervous all day.
“Yes baby……I plan on making love to you over and over again tonight.”
OH. My. God. My knees felt weak. Finally……I jumped into his arms and he held me so softly.
“OH….oh my god…you couldn’t have made it any more special Gunner! I love you so much!”
“Oh but you are wrong Ellie. I still have your Christmas present to give to you.” He pulled away and took my hand again. He brought me over to the table.
I could only imagine what he was going to give me. OHH…… maybe something sexy to wear since he told me this morning he couldn’t give me my present in front of everyone! I wanted to jump up and down I was so excited.
Gunner had me sit down in the chair. I noticed there was a bottle of champagne on ice sitting on the table. Oh hell yes! I’m going to celebrate me finally losing my virginity and to the most wonderful man in the world. I smiled as I looked at the champagne and all of the fruit on the table. The roses smelled so good!
I never even noticed Gunner getting down on the floor. I looked back at him and sucked in a breath of air when I saw that he was kneeling down on one knee and he had a jewelry box in his hand. I couldn’t breathe….oh my……I looked down at the box and then up at his eyes that were filled with so much love.
“Ellie, I had this whole thing planned out to say all of the reasons why I wanted you to be my wife. I’ve been practicing it for a week now. But…all those words….they cannot even begin to describe to you how much I love you. How much I want to spend the rest of my life with you. To be able to wake up every morning and look at your smile that turns my world upside down. To live on the ranch with you, have children with you…..to rock on the front porch with you when we’re in our 90’s. I love you Ellie so much and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you sweetheart. Would you please do me the honor of becoming my wife?”