Begin Again

Ten

When I woke up in the morning, Bob was gone but there was an iced coffee from the Starbucks around the corner sitting on the coaster on my nightstand, condensation dripping down the sides of the plastic, and beside it was a piece of banana nut bread. I groaned and looked at the time and it was already 9:30.

Without any hesitation, I jumped out of bed and ran to my closet, grabbing my suitcase before throwing it onto my bed and unzipping it. I was quick to put everything I'd need for the trip from clothes to undergarments to shoes inside, making sure to pack outfits for the party and working with Bob's family.

I left the suitcase open on my bed as I showered, throwing things in as I finished using them. First was my shower stuff followed by my toothbrush and toothpaste. Finally I threw in my hair and makeup items before zipping the suitcase up and zipping it up, groaning from its heaviness as I set it on the floor.

I found my way back to my closet where I put on a pair of jean shorts, short sleeve black shirt, and white converse before wheeling my very overweight suitcase towards the door.

Not knowing if Bob had eaten breakfast before leaving, I made us some breakfast sandwiches that were easily comparable, though better than, a sausage mcgriddle.

Once I had finished cooking and cleaning the mess, I turned on some music before heading back to my bedroom to make the bed and make sure I was leaving the apartment somewhat picked up for a quick trip back home.

Just as I was finishing up, I heard the door close and saw Bob in his khakis with a suitcase in hand.

"Before we go, I made you breakfast," I said softly. "It should still be warm but if not, I can cook something new up."

"What you made is perfect," he replied before pressing a soft, quick kiss to my lips. "Especially because we have to get going."

I wrapped his breakfast sandwich in a paper towel before grabbing my purse and suitcase, ready for our ride to the airport and then onto our flight, which had a quick layover in Denver, before heading to Lubbock where Bob's older brother was planning to pick us up from the airport.

Once we were at the airport and through precheck, we made our way to our gate and I started to get anxious about meeting his parents.

"What if they don't like me?" I spat out as my leg jumped from my anxiousness.

"Hmm? Who?"

"Your family," I replied softly. "What if they don't like me."

"Trust me, they're going to love you," he replied as he rested his hand on my thigh to keep it from bouncing. "You have nothing to worry about."

I glanced over at him and nodded before taking a deep breath. Even with his reassurance, I couldn't help but feel anxious. Not only would I be meeting his family, but would be working with them on their cattle ranch and I knew I would make a fool out of myself one way or another.

"Seriously," he chuckled. "Your feelings are completely valid but I promise everything will be fine. You can ride my horse, she's the calmest of all of them. It'll all be fine."

Bob grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on my knuckles before dropping it as we were called for boarding. With him being active duty, we were allowed to be some of the first to board our flight and we quickly found our seats with the help of the flight attendant.

"You can take the window. I get a window seat every day," he teased as I sat first and he sat beside me.

"Well, not all of us practically live in fighter jets day in and day out," I teased back.

Once the flight had been boarded and took off, we headed towards Denver. The turbulence over the Rockies had been beyond rough and despite my love of flying, it had me freaking out.

"Want to know a fun fact?" Bob asked, trying to distract me from the bumpy ride.

"What?"

"Turbulence is usually the worst during summer and winter months. It's only bad now because of the mountains," he explained as he allowed my hand to grip his tight. "Just some bumpy air."

"Potholes in the sky," I muttered, earning a small chuckle from Bob as the turbulence died down and we began our descent to Denver International Airport.

"Now it's my turn for a fun fact," I said as the wheels finally hit the ground.

"What's that?"

"So there's a huge horse statue outside of the airport and the locals call it Bluecifer. It fell and killed its artist."

"Well that didn't go where I thought it would," he laughed.

"This airport is what nightmares are made of! The artwork is creepy, the horse is creepier, and it just gives weird vibes. It's what conspiracy theories are made of. It went like, millions, if not billions, over budget. Place is weird as heck."

"And how do you know all of this?"

"My cousin is a flight attendant for Southwest and she tells me all of the creepy things," I laughed as we got off of the plane and went to find something for lunch before our flight to Lubbock.

"I never would've taken you as a girl who likes creepy things."

"Oh, I eat it up like candy. I don't like scary though, just things creepy enough to send a chill down your spine."

Bob gave me a side eye and a chuckle as I went on about the Denver airport. We grabbed lunch and went to our gate before taking the flight down south where his older brother picked us up with Bob's niece and nephew tagging along. His brother Steven and I were quickly introduced to one another before they put our bags in the truck.

Once we got into the truck, Bob took the front seat while I sat in the back with the kids.

"Are you going to be our auntie," Bob's niece Cassie questioned and my eyes widened.

"Oh," I laughed awkwardly but before I could say anything more, Steven chimed in.

"Cassie!"

"I'm just asking," she replied, her voice almost as small as she was. "She's really pretty."

"Isn't she?" Bob replied and my heart fluttered.

I stayed quiet on the drive out past the city limits and to the Floyd family ranch. Once we were at the ranch, my jaw dropped when I saw the beautiful ranch style home that stood at the forefront of it all.

Once we were parked, we all got out and I helped to get the suitcases down from the back of the truck.

"This place is beautiful," I said as I looked around.

"Wait til you see all of the land," he replied as he took my bag and I followed him towards the house.

"My baby boy is home!"

A woman flew through the front door and threw her arms around Bob before holding him at an arms length and examining him.

"It doesn't look like they're feeding you, Robert," she replied, a disappointed look apparent on her face.

As she looked at Bob, she glanced over at me and then pushed him out of her way before gently cradling my face.

"You must be the wonderful Morgann I've heard so much about," she said as she hugged me.

"All good things I hope," I replied as I returned her hug, a smile on my face.

"All of the best," she replied, gently patting my back as she ushered us inside of the house.

So far, so good.

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