AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hi! First thing I want to do is thank everyone for reading my recent short story All I Want for Christmas: Cole's Dream. I published the last chapter yesterday (Dec 20), but my story didn't move to the top of the story queue, and I'm guessing that is because you have to wait at least 24 hours in between publishing chapters for it to move, which I did not do. So anyway, that story is complete now, so please look for it down in the story queue, showing up as having been updated Dec 19. Hope you enjoy it!
Now, on to the chapter you are about to read here. As you probably know, there are several different opinions on what Cole's last name is. Measuremesky and I were in the "Brookstone" camp. However, when we gave his love interest the name of Brooke, we forgot to consider what her name would end up being if they got married. Since Brooke Brookstone sounded odd to me, in this story I gave Cole the last name of Hence, another last name that people ascribe to him.
I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! Merry Christmas, everyone!
Chapter 7 - A Christmas to Remember
Noting the change in the tone of Cole's voice from playful to serious, Brooke sat upright again, wiping her eyes with the back of her glove. "What do you need to tell me?" she sniffed.
"First, let me give you my kerchief," he said, reaching inside his winter slicker, into the pocket of his Sunday-best coat, "so you can compose yourself."
She smiled ruefully as she thanked him and accepted the black cloth to dab her eyes, remembering the first time he had ever offered his kerchief to her - the night of their first kiss.
After a minute and a few deep breaths, she regained control of her emotions.
"I'm sorry for blubbering," she apologized as she handed the kerchief back to him. "So, you said you needed to talk to me about something?"
Cole cleared his throat. "Yep. I do."
Without warning, he left the seat next to her on the pier and got down on one knee in the snow in front of her. His cheeks were rosy. Brooke could not tell if the cold temperature was the cause for that, or if it was the nervousness he was suddenly exhibiting. He took her gloved hands in his.
"Brooke," he began, his dark brown eyes gazing into her hazel ones, "there was a time when I doubted that a special girl would ever come into my life, and then I realized that my special girl was already in my life. You. A beautiful, smart, kind girl. A fun-loving girl. A girl who likes to punch me in the arm."
Brooke chuckled nervously. Her heart started to pound in her ears as she started to realize where he was going with this conversation.
He squeezed her gloved hands tighter. "You've been my girl for a few months now, Brooke, and every day my feelings for you have gotten stronger. So strong...that I want you to be my girl for the rest of my life."
Cole swallowed hard, his gaze into her hazel eyes more intent than ever.
"I love you, Brooke Dawson. Will you marry me?"
For Cole, time came to a standstill on the shore of Lake Ninjago. Even the geese seemed motionless and silent, as if they, too, were waiting for her reply.
Though it seemed like an eternity had passed, it was only a second later that Cole suddenly found himself laying on his back in the snow. Brooke was sprawled on top of him, her arms lovingly wrapped around his neck. She had accidentally knocked him over as she embraced him exuberantly, causing his hat to fly off and land a few feet away.
"I love you, too, Cole Hence!" she declared, looking down into his mesmerizing dark brown eyes. "I realized I loved you last summer, when Pastor Neuro had you and the other men who rescued Sam and Kai stand up in church to be recognized. That's when you became my hero!"
Tears began to stream down her face again. "And yes, I want to be your wife!"
"More tears?" Cole jokingly complained, but he did not mind. As she rested her cheek against his chest, struggling to calm herself down again, he gently stroked the back of her coat as he lay on his back and looked up into the brilliant blue sky, silently thanking God in the Heaven above it for sending the perfect woman to him.
Cole wished the moment could have lasted the rest of the afternoon, if not forever, but the snow he was laying on was starting to freeze his neck. And, besides, ...
"I forgot to do something very important!" he exclaimed, laughing at himself. "I need to give you the ring!"
Brooke started laughing, too, for she had also forgotten that an engagement ring was an integral part of a marriage proposal. She pushed herself off Cole. They helped each other up and brushed the snow off each other, with the cowboy needing a lot of snow brushed off his back.
Cole retrieved his cowboy hat and placed it back on his head. He directed the saloon girl to sit on the pier again while he repositioned himself on one knee in front of her.
He reached into another pocket of his Sunday-best coat and pulled out a red velvet box with a stylized gold letter K on the top - the symbol for Karlof Jewelers.
"Would the future Mrs. Hence do me the honor of wearing this ring?" Cole asked. He opened the box to reveal a round-cut emerald set in a gold ring, flanked by two small diamonds.
Brooke breathed in sharply. "It's beautiful!" she whispered.
Cole removed his gloves so he could take the ring out of the small box. After removing the glove from Brooke's left hand, he slipped the small piece of jewelry on her ring finger.
Brooke held her hand at different angles to admire the symbol of Cole's love for her. It warmed his heart to see her hazel eyes dance with excitement at his ring selection. He had tried to pick out something to reflect her bold style.
Her newly adorned hand reached out to cup his cheek.
"I love you, Cole," she murmured as she leaned forward to kiss him.
"I love you, too, Brooke," he replied before her lips met his. He loved getting close to her. That vanilla scent of hers never failed to tantalize him.
Though her fingers were icy on his cheek, her kiss was warm and soft.
Cole observed that the sun, which was shining overhead when they arrived at the pier, was now shining from a more westerly angle. He realized it was time to get going to Garmadon Ranch.
Cole hopped up from his kneeling position. "We're expected to be at the main house at five o'clock, and we can't be late or else your mama said she'd give me a slogging. Shall we go to the bunkhouse now to have some cocoa and open Christmas gifts before we go over there?" he asked her, grabbing her wrists to pull her up to stand in front of him.
"Sakes alive, Cole! After all the money you spent on me, you got me a separate Christmas gift, too?" Brooke exclaimed incredulously while putting her left-hand glove back on. Her gift to him, a set of black kerchiefs on which she had personally embroidered his initials and a design with white thread, was starting to seem to her to be inadequate for him.
He grinned as he escorted her back into the cutter. "Don't worry, it's nothing too fancy." He secretly hoped she would like it, though. It was a dressmaker form that he had bought from Miss Camille, the proprietor of Miss Camille's Dress Emporium. Brooke had told Cole that she had a dream of becoming a ladies' dress designer. Cole, in turn, had told this to Miss Camille one Sunday after church while asking her opinion on Christmas gift ideas for the willowy brunette. (He had Sam and Nya keep Brooke busy so she wouldn't see what he was doing.) Camille had suggested the dressmaker form, and she said she looked forward to seeing some of Brooke's creations when they were ready.
Back in the cutter, Cole and Brooke made their future plans as they traveled to Garmadon Ranch.
The cowboy told his new fiancée about the meeting he had with his boss, in which Cole had discussed with Mr. Wu his plan to propose to the saloon girl. Mr. Wu had told Cole that he wanted to build a cottage for the couple as his wedding present to them, just like he had built cottages for the Smiths and the Walkers. However, the cottage for the Hences had to wait to be built until the springtime, after the winter snow had melted.
Mr. Wu had also told Cole that he would be happy to host a simple wedding reception in which cake and punch would be served. And he would give Cole a whole week off with pay so that the couple could travel to Brooke's home city of Ogacich. The ranch owner would also buy their transportation tickets. Over in the United States, it was becoming fashionable for newly married couples to do some traveling right after the wedding. People were calling this kind of trip a "honeymoon."
These reception and travel offers by Mr. Wu were the monetary equivalent of what the ranch owner had spent on each of the other married cowboys when he hosted the big double wedding barbecue for the Walkers and the Smiths a few months ago.
So the couple had to decide when and where to get married.
If they decided to get married within the week, while Brooke's family was here in Ninjago Town, then her kinfolk would already be present for the nuptials. It was possible to plan a wedding in that short amount of time - Jay and Kai had married their women only one week after proposing to them. The problem with having the wedding right away was that the newlyweds would have to live separately in their current residences for three months until their cottage was ready.
Another option was to wait until springtime, and then travel to Ogacich to get married. No one would look askance at them traveling there as an unmarried couple, since they would be getting married anyway. But though Brooke loved her family, her sentimental ties to Ogacich itself were not quite strong enough for her to prefer to be married there over being married in Ninjago Town, a place she had grown to love in the three years she had lived here, where the air was fresh and the friendships were strong. And though Brooke didn't say this out loud to Cole, she did not want that slimy varmint, also known as her late aunt's husband, to be among the guests on one of the happiest days of her life. If the wedding were held in Ogacich, he'd have to be invited.
So the third option, which the couple decided was the best one, was to wait until the springtime, and then get married right here in Ninjago Town. Right after the wedding, the couple could travel to Ogacich to visit her family and former neighborhood and Brooke could introduce her new husband to friends and neighbors.
The couple made plans to speak with Pastor Neuro next Sunday about conducting their wedding ceremony in the first week of April.
"You know, we have another very important decision to make," Cole informed Brooke.
"What would that be?"
"The flavor of our wedding cake. Lemon or chocolate?"
