Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch (The Ryan Family #1) by Carolyn Brown

“Apology accepted,” Cricket said. “What did you tell Tommy when he proposed, and how did he ask you to marry him?”

Cricket figured Anna Grace would stutter and stammer, but she smiled.

“We took a blanket out into a field of Texas bluebonnets to watch the sunrise. He’s very inventive with our dates, and we have so much fun together. He’s taught me that money isn’t everything and helped me find my inner self,” Anna Grace answered. “Right when the sun came up that morning, he brought out the ring and asked me to marry him, and I said yes. Now what do I do?”

“Well, since you said yes, I suppose that you should marry him,” Cricket answered, but she still didn’t believe all of this was real.

“I’ve always dreamed of having a big wedding with the fancy dress, at least eight bridesmaids, a blowout reception, and all the trimmings, but I know if I tell Mama that I’m engaged to Tommy Bluestone, I’ll have to give all that up.” Anna Grace sighed.

“A wedding is a day. A marriage is a lifetime,” Cricket told her. “Jennie Sue and Rick didn’t have a big wedding. They went to Las Vegas and got married in one of those funny little chapels out there. You have to decide whether you want a big wedding or a marriage. At least, that’s the way it looks to me.” Cricket didn’t give a flip about a huge event, if and when she ever got married, but she did want a man to look at her the same way her brother looked at Jennie Sue. That was pure love, and it beat the hell out of a fancy dress, a string of bridesmaids, and a four-foot wedding cake.

“Tell me more about Tommy. Why are your folks so set against him? Teaching school is an honorable profession.”

“That’s what I told them back when we had been dating a few months,” Anna Grace sighed. “But they informed me that I’d been raised in a better lifestyle than he could ever offer and reminded me that I made five times what he did in a year working at Daddy’s oil company, but my job would come to an end the day I married Tommy. That’s how much they’re against me and him having a happy ever after.”

“What’s money compared to love?” Cricket asked. “You go to work. You come home, have supper together, talk about your day, and then spend the night in each other’s arms. Tell me where you would live if you decided to go against your folks.”

“Tommy has a small, one-bedroom apartment in Sweetwater. The whole thing is about the size of my walk-in closet. The Belles will shun me worse than they did Jennie Sue if I do this. Mama and Daddy swore three years ago that they would disown me if I marry him.”

“Do his parents accept you?” Cricket asked.

“Oh, yes! He’s the baby of eight kids, and they all are so sweet to me. They invite me to everything—birthdays, anniversaries, holidays—and they are just awesome. I love spending time with them,” she said.

“What do his folks do, as in jobs?” Cricket asked.

“His mother was a high school math teacher. His father was a history professor at the Tech College. They’re both retired now,” Anna Grace answered.

They sounded like pretty influential folks to Cricket, but then in the eyes of the Belles, she could understand where the Bluestones might not make the social cut.

“How much money do you need to be happy?” Cricket asked. “You could get a job at a rival oil company. That would really piss your folks off.”

“Truth is, I’m not qualified for another job,” Anna Grace said. “I’m just window dressing at the company. I answer Daddy’s phone calls, take coffee to him, and take care of his appointment book. I don’t know anything about managing money or living on my own.”

Cricket remembered sitting in the café and seeing Jennie Sue get off the bus when it stopped across the street. Cricket could hardly believe that the famous and very rich Jennie Sue, the daughter of a Belle, was coming home with just a suitcase and riding on a bus instead of driving a fancy sports car. “I guess it just depends on what you want most. Tommy or money.”

“That’s harsh,” Anna Grace said.

“Maybe so, but it’s the gospel truth, isn’t it?” Cricket was almost believing her, but not quite.

“Tommy wants us to get married at the end of summer on the beach at Padre Island. He has a friend who has a cabin down there that he’s willing to let us have for a whole week for our honeymoon.” Anna Grace sighed again. “Daddy said that if I make Mama happy, then I can have a honeymoon on the Riviera in France.”

“Again, Tommy or money? What will make you smile like you did when Tommy opened that box you’ve still got in your hand? What are you going to remember the most about your wedding and honeymoon on your fiftieth wedding anniversary?” Cricket asked. “Answer those questions, and you’ll know what means the most to you.”

Test her, the voice in Cricket’s head whispered.

“Want a cup of coffee?” Cricket asked. “There’s also some leftover blueberry muffins under the cake dome if you want one.”

“I’d love both, but I’ll get them. You don’t need to wait on me,” Anna Grace said.

“I didn’t plan on it.” Cricket took a sip of her lukewarm coffee and pushed her office chair back. “I’m going to heat my coffee up in the microwave. Those muffins might be better if you give them about ten seconds.”