Page 42 of Slay Bells
Gabriela blew out a breath and decided to go stand by the baggage claim. Her heel caught on something and she fell backward. Out of pure reaction, she grabbed the woman in front of her who immediately lost her balance too.
A man in the group tried to catch them, but instead of helping, they pulled him down with them.
Thankfully, Gabriela landed on something soft. Possibly, the person who’d tapped her on the shoulder. Unfortunately, two rather large people fell on top of her making it difficult to breathe.
“Need assistance?”
Above her, Jeremy’s face came into focus. “You really need to stay out of airports.” He pulled her to her feet while people helped with the others.
“You made me fall,” the red-faced woman shouted at the same man she’d been irritated with earlier. “All you had to do was hold my arm, not do whatever you did.”
The group lost interest in the fall when someone called out a name and everyone rushed to greet their person.
“Don’t tell my family what happened. They always rib me about being so accident prone.”
Laughter broke out and she turned to find Nana in the center of the rambunctious group looking at someone’s cellphone.
“You’re a hoot,” her Nana said, wiping tears from her eyes. “All that’s visible is a leg and your hair. It could be me.”
“My Nana thinks they’re here to greet her,” Gabriela said hurrying to retrieve her grandmother.
The drive from the airport was uneventful. Jeremy drove her father and brother and she her Nana and mother. All the way, they discussed last minute wedding items that needed to be done. The entire time, Gabriela couldn’t stop grinning. It was a happy time.
This was actually going to work out. Her family would come to Montana often. As a matter of fact, her brother already had plans to come in the spring to help with ranching. Juanito was always up for exploring new adventures.
Her parents and Jeremy’s were negotiating traveling back and forth and exchanging homes, depending on the seasons. Her parents wanted to come up and experience a white winter, while the Hawkins’s were excited about a milder San Diego one.
“What the hell is that?” her Nana called out pointing. “Is that a naked man? Pull over. Stop the car.”
Gabriela slowed down and then brought the car to a stop.
“Henry, what the hell are you doing?”
Nana got out and rushed to the man holding out a shawl. “Did someone mug you and take your clothes?”
“No Ma’am,” Henry replied with a smile. “I am responding to a dare. I am not the kind of man to be dared.”
“Well that’s just plain stupid,” Nana said, wrapping her shawl around his midsection. “Your pecker is going to fall off.”
Henry considered what she said. His teeth chattered and his lips were already turning blue. “You think so?”
“Get in the back Henry, we’re going to the ranch. Jeremy is going to be mad at you.”
“All right. Let me get my clothes.”
Her mother peered out from the back window and gasped. “You’re putting a naked man in the back seat with me? No way.”
“I’ll sit with him,” Nana said. “He’s a bit young for me, but I suspect he’s single.”
Gabriela burst out laughing as her mother hurried to sit in the front. “Come on, let’s get to the ranch. We have a wedding to plan.”
Her parents and brother each had a cabin. Gabriela and Jeremy were going to stay at the same one she’d stayed when first coming to visit until the wedding.
That night after dinner, Jeremy took her hand. “Come outside, I have a surprise for you.”
It took a few moments to get her coat, scarf, and gloves on before she left with him. They went to the snowmobile and Jeremy drove away from the main house.
The cold air made her cheeks sting, but she loved holding onto Jeremy as they zipped across the expanse of the land.
