if I can remember how to ride from my teenage years,” I said, feeling a bit nervous.
“Lose that attitude,” Jim laughed. “Those horses are the most well-trained, best-behaved animals around; however, they’ll feed off any fear you have, and you’ll regret it later.”
“You’re right.”
It took us a while, but we were now on our way. We rode at a slow pace through the massive amount of acreage at this place, and I basked in the contentment I felt, enjoying this peaceful ride through such beautiful terrain. I felt like we were the only three people in all of England. Once Jim saw that I was comfortable on my horse, we picked up our pace. As we trotted through the lush fields, I glanced over at Jim and Addy, and the sight alone made my heart smile with joy at the way they rode his horse together. Jim rode like a true equestrian, all while Addy beamed with pride as she sat safely in front of him.
We rode for about an hour when I noticed that we’d circled back to where Jim and I had sat under a walnut tree, overlooking the hills that rolled on forever, the first time we were here together. He dismounted, helped Addy down, and then I felt his hands on my hips as he guided me off my horse.
“You see,” Jim started, taking Addy’s hand while I held onto his arm, “your mom once wished she had time-traveling binoculars.” He smirked at me and pointed toward the vast hills of England’s stunning countryside.
“But why?” Addy asked him. “That’s silly.”
“Some might think so, but I thought it was a fantastic idea,” Jim said while he led us to the tree, and I smiled at the memory. “You see, your mother wished she could see back in time so she would witness the history of this beautiful land.”
“The history?” Addy’s face scrunched up in question. “Why, though?”
“Because mommy loves the history of England,” I said in an excited voice. “There are so many things that could have happened out there. With my time traveling glasses, I could’ve seen when kings and queens rode horses like we did today. Wouldn’t something like that be pretty cool?”
“That would be,” she said with a look that made it clear she was humoring me.
“But that’s not all,” Jim added. “If you could put on those glasses, you could see your mom sitting next to me at this tree. It’s where I realized she was the most delightful woman I’d ever met,” Jim said with a smile. “I wished I could marry her then and there.”
I looked at Jim in confusion. This was a beautiful side of the story I never got.
Jim looked at me, “We were both chasing ghosts back then, in our own ways, of course. So, asking you to marry me then—well, that just wasn’t the right time.” He walked over to me and took my hand in his, “But being here now is different. I had to sort out so many things to be able to appreciate the woman who had stolen my heart in a way no other woman could,” he said. “Perhaps we had to go through the fire in order to purify our love for each other?”
I grinned, “That’s one way of putting it.”
Jim’s solemn expression didn’t waver, “Avery Gilbert, you have fascinated me from the first moment I laid eyes on you, and you have changed my life in ways I didn’t know possible. I love you so deeply, and even more so than the first moment that I knew I wanted you in my life forever.”
I reached for my throat, almost about to choke on the lump that was suddenly there. Was he really doing this?
“You bring me peace that I can’t explain. You breathed life into me from the moment you sat next to me on that plane. You’ve given me everything and asked for nothing except for my love,” he said. “Before you, I was on autopilot, going through the motions of life but never truly living it. I can’t go on another day without you understanding that you and Addy are the best part of my life, the part of my life that was missing. I humbly ask you to trust me and know that I will always love and protect you, and I promise to devote my life wholly to you and Addy above all things. Will you please bestow upon me the highest honor I’ll ever achieve by