The Rancher's Proposition

Chapter 4 - The Arrival

It had been three weeks since they first started to correspond with each other. When Arabella told Kayla that she was honestly thinking about taking Jonathan up on his offer, Kayla laughed it off. If there were one thing that Arabella was not, it would be spontaneous. However, after the first week of constant emails and getting to know each other, they thought it would be beneficial to video chat. All-day Bella was worried about if he would look like his picture or if he would like her. Once that was out of the way she went and put in her two-week notice. Kayla was a bit shocked but was truly happy with her friend. She hoped that Bella found what she was looking for, but was a little worried that she would end up hurt in the end.

When the day finally came, Bella turned in her keys to the apartment and said goodbye to the place she called home. She had about three hours before her flight and decided to have a quick breakfast with Kayla. It was a sad moment as they hugged goodbye.

"I am going to miss you so much at the office. Please be careful and call me when you get there." Kayla said giving her a huge hug

"I will miss you too, and I am always careful. Just try not to forget about me." Bella RepliedKayla laughed "I will never forget you, it's only six months right?" she asked

Bella shook her head "Yep six months is the agreement. It should give me some idea of what to do afterward."

Then as they hugged one final time the lady over the loudspeaker finally called for her to board the plane to Helena, Montana. Arabella had never been on a plane before so she was glad when she boarded that she had no one sitting next to her. All she wanted was to rest and breathe, a lot was riding on this trip and marriage, and she hoped it wasn't going to be a terrible mistake. After eight hours and one stop at the Chicago airport, she finally arrived at the Helena Reginal Airport in Montana. Jonathan told her he would meet her at the baggage claim so before she headed over there she went into the bathroom to make sure she looked presentable. Arabella glanced at herself in the mirror her hair was a bit frizzy, and she looked tired but other than that she thought she looked acceptable and decided it was now or never.

Jonathan was nervous when he noticed that most of the people that were on the flight from New York had already grabbed their bags. All he kept thinking was that she decided not to show up. Finally, after five minutes he looked around and spotted her. She was even better to watch in person than what was in the picture. She had on some tight blue jeans that hugged her curves just right and a bright pink shirt that flattered her tan skin.

Clearing his throat, he asked in a hushed tone "Arabella Lane?"

Bella turned and smiled at the man who approached her, and as she gazed upon him, she was pretty sure her heart stopped. "Um, Yes I am. I take it your Jonathan Woods." She replied hoping that she wasn't blushing too bad, but the man did. the sight of him makes her feel like her stomach did a triple backflip. He was a lot taller in person than she expected but then again being only five foot three inches, made everyone seem tall to her. She could not fathom how a man like him had trouble finding a woman.

"Yes, I am. It is a pleasure to meet you finally in person. Might I add that I am thankful that you decided to come here and help my sister and me out, it means a lot?" He said as he reached down and picked up her two small neon pink bags. They carried on a little conversation as they made their way from the airport to his truck asking how her flight was and explaining that it would be about another hour before they made it to River Grove.

"I hope you don't mind if these go in the back of my truck." He said as he was pulling down the tailgate. He had figured she would have more than this based on the truck that came yesterday with about twenty boxes varying in size and had made sure that the vehicles were spotless for whatever she brought with her.

She smiled at him as she stared at the beast of a truck. "No, it's fine with me. Those are old bags anyways." She said shaking her head. The truck was monstrous-looking and was trying to figure out how she was going to get up into it.

Trying not to laugh Jonathan moved towards the passenger door and pulled it open for her. He never realized that she would be the size of a pixie. "Here, use these running boards to help lift yourself." He started pointing to a chrome-looking bar about three feet from the ground."Oh thank you." She said blushing at her embarrassment. This was no doubt going to be an exciting six months she thought to herself.

It was a quiet drive, for the most part, talking about little facts about each other and Bella asking questions about the ranch. When they weren't discussing anything, she took in the view of the rolling hills and farms that could be seen here and there. After about forty-five minutes she finally saw the sign that said Welcome, to River Grove, Montana. It was a tiny town with a few restaurants, stores, a post office, and a small motel.

"It isn't much but this is our town and trust me once word gets around that you're her the rumors will fly." He said hoping that her seeing how small and country his hometown truly was that she wouldn't run for the hills and never look back. Then added "We should be at the ranch in about ten minutes.

Arabella was in awe over everything and as he was talking about the town she got more and more excited about finally seeing the ranch. Over the last month, she couldn't help but fantasize about what the house looked like and how her life would play out during her time spent there. She knew he had several herds of cattle but was looking forward to hopefully learning how to ride a horse. The time seemed to slow down in anticipation for their arrival at the Woods Ranch loomed closer. Then out of nowhere the small field of hey turned to a grassy plain and the smell of wildlife lingered in the air.

Jonathan smiled at the look of excitement that was displayed on Bella's face as she took in their surroundings. "Welcome home." He said with a hint of laughter in his voice as he turned right onto a dirt road with a metal sign that said: "WOODS RANCH" cut out of it. Arabella held her breath at the sight of the ranch and the house that was on it. It was at least a two-story home that was all white except for the teal blue trim around the windows and doors. It looked like it came straight out of a magazine and nearly brought tears to her eyes as she looked at the wrap-around porch that had white posts going to the roof every few feet.

I have dreamed of that house for years. How do you think this will go?