Jasmine had just crawled beneath the covers that night when she heard a faint knock on her door. Lord, what will I do if that’s Flint? she wondered as she threw back the sheet and quilt and padded barefoot across the floor. She eased the door open a crack and heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Diana standing there.
“Can I come in for a minute? I’m too excited to sleep,” Diana said.
Jasmine opened the door wide. “Of course. I’m having trouble settling down too.”
Diana crawled up in the middle of Jasmine’s bed. “I can feel the vibes between you and Flint. I knew within a week of the day I met Roger that he was the one, and we were married three months later. Your mama and mine almost had heart failure. They took me on a weekend trip to Vegas and tried to talk me out of getting married so soon. I liked the place so well that I invited Roger to fly out, and we went to one of those chapels right there.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Jasmine climbed onto the bed and propped pillows against the headboard to lean on.
Diana raked her hand through her spiky gray hair. “Because I didn’t listen to everyone, and Roger and I had thirty wonderful years together before he died. We had two great daughters who have done well in life. Now that I’m retired from the post office, I’m embarking on another journey, something that I’ve wanted to do for years. I can feel Roger’s blessing on my decision to do this, and my two dear friends will have a job too.”
She stopped and wiped a tear from her eye. “I’m telling you this because I almost let our mothers talk me out of marrying Roger, and I’ve felt guilty about it ever since. My mother will tell you that since she’s twenty years older than Aunt Wynona, she’s so much wiser. Aunt Wynona will say that even if she’s the youngest daughter in the family, she’s lived long enough to learn a few things. Don’t let either of them tell you what to do with your life. Follow your heart, and you’ll never go wrong.”
Jasmine had always had a close connection with Diana, even though she was the same age as her cousin’s youngest daughter. “Thank you for that, but…”
Diana put a finger over Jasmine’s lips. “Don’t ever have any buts in your life. Do what your heart tells you to do and be damned to the rest of the world. Now that I’ve spoken my piece, I think I can sleep. Good night, sweetie.” She slid off the bed and left the room.
“Wow!” Jasmine muttered. “That was quite a pep talk.”
What do you intend to do with it? Granny Thurman’s husky voice popped into her head.
“Have no buts.” Jasmine turned out the bedside light and snuggled down beneath the covers again. She closed her eyes and dreamed that she and Flint were sitting in the sunroom at the ranch. In her dream, Flint had a little silver in his dark hair, and he was telling her all about a heifer that had just had her first calf. It would be perfect for their son to show at the county fair the next spring, he said.
When she awoke the next morning, she sat straight up in bed and looked in the mirror to be sure she hadn’t aged at least ten years. “It was just a dream,” she muttered. “But…” She stopped and slid out of bed. “No! No buts, only ands for the rest of my life.”
Marcus and Clark were already signing papers when Flint made it to the office on Friday afternoon. Marcus stood up and stretched out a hand. “I’m Delman and Ginger’s son, and I want to thank you for buying this ranch. Dad doesn’t know much anymore, but sometimes he frets about the tractor or the fences. Now we can tell him that it’s all being taken care of.”
“Thank you for accepting my offer.” Flint shook hands with Marcus and then sat down in the empty chair. “My foreman and movers are about fifty miles east of here at the moment, so it will be good to get everything taken care of before we actually move into the house.”
“Is your foreman going to live in the cabin?” Marcus had a wicked gleam in his eyes.
“That’s what we plan, but from your expression, I’d guess you have some memories there,” Flint said.
“Our foreman used to go visit his kids for a couple of weeks at Christmas, but I’ll plead the Fifth on saying anything more than that,” Marcus said.
Flint could have liked this guy, even if he wasn’t a rancher, had he lived closer to Ringgold. “I understand.” He nodded as he picked up a pen and began to sign all the places that had little yellow tags beside the lines. When he got to the page concerning mineral rights, he glanced over at Marcus. “You’re selling the mineral rights with the land?”
“That’s what Mama wants,” Marcus said. “They had a company come out and check most of the land when I was a little kid and they said there was no oil on the place, and she doesn’t want to deal with it if there is.”
“Thank you.” Flint continued signing. “I’m not sure that I’d ever want a pumper on my land anyway, but it’s good to know that I own what’s under the dirt as well as what’s above it.”
“You are welcome,” Marcus said.
They finished their business in an hour, and Flint went straight out to the ranch. He opened the door to the house with one of his keys and walked through the place. He decided that Jasmine should have the master suite. It wasn’t any bigger than the other two bedrooms but it did have a private bathroom, and that would give Jasmine a little more privacy. He would take one of the other two bedrooms and use the bathroom off the hallway. The third bedroom could be set up with a desk and a file cabinet for her to work on her cookbooks.
“Anybody home?” Jasmine knocked on the door and came in without waiting.
Flint hurried down the hallway, picked her up, and swung her around until they were both dizzy and laughing like children. “I have a ranch,” he said. “It’s all mine now. Signed, sealed, and delivered. I can’t believe it.”
“I hope it’s okay, but I brought a few things since I was coming this way.” Jasmine was completely out of breath when he set her down.
“That’s great!” he said and planted one of those steamy kisses on her lips. “I’ll help you get it into the house. I’m so glad you’re here to help organize things when the movers get here.”
He tucked her hand into his, and together they walked out to her van. Just that much contact made him want to rush things, but she was right. They should see how they did in all situations before they took their relationship to the next level.
Relationship? His grandfather chuckled so loudly that Flint looked over his shoulder to see if he was standing on the porch. I’m glad to see you even know how use that word.
“Me too,” he whispered.
“You too what?” Jasmine asked.
“Do you ever hear someone that has passed on talking to you in your mind?” Flint asked as he picked up two boxes and headed toward the house.
“Oh, yeah,” Jasmine answered. “Were you agreeing with someone?”
“Yep, with my grandpa,” Flint replied, “and do you hear what I hear? That’s the sound of trucks coming down the lane.”
“Looks like your movers are here.” She grabbed the last box from her van and hurried inside the house. “Where do I put this stuff?”
“The bedroom with the bathroom is yours. We’ll put all this in the closet.” Flint led the way.
“This should be your room,” Jasmine protested.
“Maybe it will be someday, but right now it belongs to you. The room right across the hall is your office.” He rushed out to the porch and across the yard. When he opened Sam’s truck door, Gator bailed out, hiked his leg on a dormant rosebush, and then stretched out on the porch.
Sam got out and wrapped Flint up in a bear hug. “Looks like we’ve got some mesquite to clear off this place.”
Flint patted Sam on the back. “Welcome to the Promised Land.”
“I’m glad to be here.” Sam took a step back. “Please tell me that van sitting over there belongs to Jasmine. I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Did I hear my name?” Jasmine stepped out on the porch.
“Yes, you did, and that picture Flint sent me didn’t do you justice.” Sam took the steps two at a time and stuck out his hand. “I’m right pleased to meet you, and even more pleased that you’ll be staying here on the ranch. Me and Flint can both put together a meal, but that ain’t sayin’ it tastes good.” He winked.
“Those two trucks comin’ up the lane right now are going to back in here, and you kids will need to tell them what to do with things. When they get done fillin’ up this house, then we’ll take the rest to the barn, and me and Flint can use our pickups to take my things to the cabin.” Sam talked as he walked through the house. “And just so you know, Miz Jasmine, I’m a man of few words unless I’m all excited like I am right now, and then you can’t turn me off.”
“What do you think?” Flint followed along behind him.
“I think it’s a fine place with plenty of room to build on either way if you ever want to,” Sam said. “It’ll be plenty big to raise a couple of boys in, but if you was to have a big family, you might need a little more space. The trucks are here. Let’s get busy. We’ve got work to do while there’s still a sliver of daylight left.”
Flint found Jasmine standing in the middle of the kitchen floor and drew her close to his side. “Think we’ll ever have to build on to this house?”
“I read a quote this morning in one of my books. It said: ‘The past is your lesson. The present is your gift. The future is your motivation.’ I can sure agree with that. I’ve learned a lot from my past.” She raised on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Let’s enjoy the gift that we have right now.”
“And be motivated to have a great future,” he said.