Rey Kanata is a senior in high school, a girl from the city who just moved into the country life surrounding Mishawaka, IN. When she takes a class in Agricultural Science as the only elective needed in order to graduate, her life changes irrevocably...
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Summer. Four years later.
Holding the soft gaze of the figure before him, Ben prepared himself to ask one very important question. Taking a deep breath he repeated the words in his head for the hundredth time that morning. For the past several months every spare second was spent carefully going through the words and motions.
Now feeling confident with his plan Ben was certain he'd hear a yes from Rey. At least he hoped. But since she'd left for graduation rehearsal at the university earlier he set aside party preparations and made Kylo his designated guinea pig.
Swallowing down the sudden wave of butterfly jitters as Kylo eyed him expectantly, flicking an ear, clearly not amused, as Ben found his voice. "Rey, will you marry me?"
What in the hell was that? It was definitely not what he'd been rehearsing. And he'd just stood there foolishly as if everything had suddenly been blocked from his memory.
"Shit, that's not how it was supposed to go," Ben scolded, firmly palming his eyes. "And I forgot to kneel, didn't I? Let's do it again. One more time."
Lowering to one knee on the lush summer turf Ben extended a palm to Kylo, absent of the engagement ring that belonged to his grandmother Padme Amidala-Skywalker, due to arrive at any moment with his parents from their winter home in North Carolina. If any of the ranch staff was watching they'd likely consider the act absurd but Ben didn't care.
Because how often was a man able to ask his girlfriend to marry him the day of her college graduation? Not to mention he'd planned to propose in front of guests who were expected to show later at the party. There were no 'ands' or 'ifs' about it, he couldn't screw it up.
Schooling his emotions back to somewhat normal, Ben took another breath. "Rey," he breathed, "I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you please marry me?"
Ignorant as to what his master was wanting to accomplish Kylo snorted and abruptly veered his attention toward a patch of grass, the mid-afternoon snack Ben had so rudely interrupted. Slumping his shoulders Ben rolled his eyes, his annoyance set on Kylo.
"Thanks for helping, buddy," he praised though the words were anything but genuine. Of course, he wasn't really mad. Kylo was just a horse. And it wasn't his fault that Ben was such a fucking wreck.
"You could have offered him a carrot or two if you wanted him to be a bit more receptive, you know," Sabine hollered, perched on the top of a corral post behind him.
"Not a bad idea actually," Ben sulked. With a heavy sigh, he rose to his feet, dusting a bit of soil from the knee of his slacks. "You wouldn't happen to have any with you at the moment, would you?"
"Do you always need to act like the sky is falling?" Sabine groaned. "You're being ridiculous."
Grimacing, Ben ambled towards her, hands buried deep inside his pockets. "I just want it to be perfect," he explained, worrying his bottom lip between his front teeth as he approached. "I had everything figured out earlier and now..." He left the words hanging as he leaned his lower back against the wooden fence, sighing. "Now I've totally fucked it up."
