He pushed himself once more on the porch swing. The stars were shining bright across the plains. He took a deep breath and let it out. The day had been long and daunting. Well, daunting was not the right word. The day was full laughs, tears, smiles, family and a little stress. But it was well worth it. He saw his beautiful daughter glowing today, more than ever. She was stunning in her cream colored dress, and pink flowers placed in her long hair.
His daughter. Boy did those words scare him when he first heard them. He thought back to the day when he learned he was gonna be a father. They weren't even married at the time of the announcement. He didn't even know if he wanted to be married…to have a family. But he knew the baby was his. She was his only lover, and he was hers.
He was supposed to go West after the Express was over. He didn't need to be tied down. But honor got the best of him and he had married the woman. Over the years he had grown to love her and his baby. He lost his heart to his baby girl when she was born. As the years progressed, he grew to love them both even more.
On her first day of school, after dropping her off, he raced out of town with tears in his eyes. Leaving her there was the hardest thing he had ever done. Or at least he thought it was. As she grew older, she had been through a lot. She had her first heart ache at the young age of thirteen, and he was there to help it heal, telling her he was the only guy who would never break her heart.
Her first fall from a horse had scared both of them. But he was there to dust her off, wipe the tears and helped her back onto the horse.
Now she was married and moving on with her own life. He liked the guy. And she didn't agree to marry him until her father gave the okay.
He led her down the aisle and gave her away to the man she loved. She was happy and that's all that mattered. Who knew that baby girl he hadn't planned on would change him forever.
He felt warm arms wrap around his shoulders. Without comment he rested his head on his wife's shoulder. He loved her more than anything. Well, loved his wife and daughter more than anything.
"It was a good day, wasn't it?" She asked.
"Yes, it was." He answered.
He felt a tear escape from the corner of his eye. "Why does it feel like I just lost everything?" He asked softly.
"You didn't lose anything, sweetheart. She'll always be with us, here." His wife answered placing a hand on his heart. "We had her for the short time, and now it's her turn to have her family. We gave her everything we could, taught her all we knew. Now it's her time."
"She was my life." He said softly.
"I know." His wife answered, without feeling any jealously. She knew what he meant and how he felt.
Their baby was their life and now she was out of their nest. But soon she would have babies of her own soon and that was exciting to think about.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I left names out because it could really fit for any of our Riders. It's been awhile and feels good to get a story out again.
Always,
~s