Page 80 of Saving Veronica
Finn hit the outskirts of the pasture, and instead of dismounting he rode directly to Hector’s cabin and hopped off the horse. He pounded on the door and wasn’t surprised when Hector immediately answered.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, and Finn saw his face turn white. “Where’s Ronnie?”
“She’s coming. We need to open the pasture fence. She had me ride ahead to get you, because we’re early in coming home.”
Hector frowned and scratched his head, but he grabbed his hat and coat. Outside, he saw Lou standing there. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Finn held up his hands in surrender. He grinned. “Ronnie made some friends this morning and she’s bringing them home with us.”
“Oh.” Hector still didn’t move, then his eyes widened, he grinned, and said again, “Oh.” He then took off at a run toward his ATV and headed toward the barn. By the time Ronnie arrived, the gate was open, and Lou was unsaddled. What shocked Finn was when Lou went out the gate and stood off to the side, like he was waiting for them. When the first new addition to the farm broke through the end of the trial, Lou started forward and began directing them into the corral. In minutes the seven new ones were inside and Ronnie was dismounting from Sarge. After taking care of both horses, they went over to watch the new ones.
“I don’t know how you do it, Ronnie,” Hector said as he scratched his head.
“I didn’t do the last batch, Sarge did. But, these guys are starving and they had no alpha. After I put feed out for them, they came to me.”
“Took you four hours.”
“Really?” Ronnie looked at Finn in shock. “It felt like less.”
They all looked up when her grandparents and the sheriff arrived.
“What’s this?” Gerald asked, as they joined them at the fence.
“Ronnie’s friends.” Finn laughed. They explained what had transpired and her grandparents only shook their heads at her.
“So, what’s up?” Ronnie asked Sheriff Bronson.
“I stopped to talk to Gerald, but he told me you were up on your meadow. So we came over to leave a message with Hector. Since you’re home, I’ll tell you directly.”
“About?”
“You know Steve Hill was out on bail from when you pressed charges?”
“Yes.” Ronnie tensed, and backed into Finn for support when she felt his hands on her shoulders.
“While out on bail, he assaulted another former girlfriend. Unfortunately, she wasn’t as lucky as you. He is now currently sitting in the county jail on charges of murder. This time, there is no bail. He won’t be getting out anytime soon. At least not for the next twenty years. But…” He held up his hand to ward the questions off. “The DA will be contacting you to see if you’d be willing to testify against him during his trial.”
“You bet your ass she will,” Finn said, with such finality, that Ronnie nodded her head.
“What he said.” They stood around, studied the new additions, and talk about Steve and the charges pending against him. When Ronnie and Finn went inside for the night, both seemed to breathe easier. They admitted to one another later that they had felt he was hanging over their heads with the uncertainty of what he would do next.
*****
Finn wiped his hands on his pants legs for the fourth time in less than a minute. He and Ronnie sat in a restaurant and had just ordered dessert after a wonderful meal. After he took a bracing sip of his drink, he slowly pushed his chair back, stood, then when Ronnie looked at him, he dropped to one knee, and looked at her.
“Dr. Veronica Parker, you complete me. I think I fell in love with you when you held me hostage in that elevator. My feelings for you only cemented when I found you in that ravine. Since we’ve been together, I’ve found what was missing in my life all this time. It was you. Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Ronnie said, then frowned as he put the ring on her finger. “Wait, what did you call me?”
Finn waited until the restaurant had quieted, then he pulled the envelope from the inside of his jacket pocket. He laughed as he handed it over. “You were too busy to look at your mail. This came last week. I opened it.” He laughed at her expression of shock. “Don’t worry, your license is in the safe at the house.”
Ronnie grinned as she read the letter that informed her she had passed with an exceptional grade, and was now a licensed veterinarian for the state of Montana. They finished their meal, and on the way home, Finn reached over and took her hand in his.
“I don’t care when we get married, but can I choose the venue?”
“Sure.” Ronnie shrugged, too much in love and in shock. Not only did she just get engaged to the love of her life, but she was also a vet. All her dreams were coming true. She looked over and asked, “Where do you want to hold the wedding?”
“Your meadow.”
Ronnie felt the first tear, and the second one. She let them flow. Finn only tightened his hand on hers.
“Finnegan Larson, I love you.”
“I love you, Veronica Parker. I can’t wait to start our lives together. Who knows?” he laughed. “Maybe we can have some uninvited, but very welcome guests to the wedding.” Together they laughed as they headed home.
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