It was a few days later and Kendra was still in the hospital.
Travis was doing surprisingly well, all things considered. He enjoyed staying over at Sunrose Creek Ranch; it was like a fun vacation to him. Lucy doubted that he fully grasped what his mom was going through or what he had in store in his future.
Life continued on as normal, for the most part. Lucy was still running the daycare and Travis attended with the other children as usual, only he was there when they arrived and he stayed after they left. Even Amanda's kids and Cassandra's son, Charlie, left eventually.
Travis liked being the only kid left on the farm.
Sean still worked crazy hours, of course, and Lucy never knew when exactly she might expect to get to enjoy dinner with her boyfriend, when he might be in bed with her, when he might have to leave suddenly in the middle of the night, when he might have to work weekends or have several days off in a row.
And then he had a million and one duties around the community; from appearing at local schools, to giving speeches to firemen and other government workers who he was supposed to inspire and instruct in a myriad of different functions.
Lucy was just now beginning to see the full extent of his career demands and it was intimidating. She also saw now how he had been pushing hard for free time to spend with her in the beginning.
Now she found herself looking at a lifetime of lonely nights, canceled plans, missed trips and holidays, along with bushels and bushels of stress.
Lucy knew that none of this was ideal, none of it was planned or easy, and she knew she had every reason to simply decide to raise their twins without him as her lover. It's not like he couldn't still be in their children's lives.
She had a big loving family who could help her take care of them, after all.
Sometimes she seriously considered if she should just leave Sean now, before they got any more entangled; wrapped up so tight in expectations that they choked each other to death.
And yet...
And yet, every time he came back to her, every time he walked through the front door and gave her that you're-my-everything smile, then swept her into his arms for a kiss...suddenly all the stress seemed worth it.
Being in his arms made all her doubts and fears seem to magically melt away for a while.
The problem was, each time she had to watch him walk away then got all the harder. Every time he walked out that front door again, she knew it might be the last time she saw him; he could get shot and killed in the field even during a routine raid.
Every time he left her, it got harder and harder not to simply beg him to stay.
###
Lucy and Travis were out in the paddock together, one beautiful summer day. She was walking him around while he sat on Hopalong Cassidy's back, clinging tightly to the saddle horn.
Sean pulled up at the far side of the house and so they didn't see him, but he saw them when he gained the front porch.
He smiled to himself at the sight. Lucy was positively glowing; even from a distance he could see how happy they all were together, even the lazy old horse seemed happy.
Lucy was so in her element when she was with animals and children.
He didn't go to them, however, as much as he wanted to; he missed his hugs and kisses from them.
Sean gulped and was glad he was alone because he knew he was probably slightly ashen in the face right then.
Holding something tight in his pocket, he headed inside the house.
###
Martha was still in her cast and wheelchair, even though her leg should have long since been healed by now. She was lounging back, sipping a glass of ice tea while she gossiped with Grandma Flora, when Sean walked in.
"Oh, why, hello there, Mr. Marshal, sir!" Martha tittered, patting her hair. She'd gotten her salt and pepper hair cut into a new bob recently.
Sean paused in the doorway to grin at them. "Evening, ladies." He drawled, tipping an invisible hat to them.
"Would you like a glass of ice tea, Sean?" Flora said wryly. "Lucy's just out in the paddock with Travy, they'll be back soon."
"Oh, that's fine, ma'am, thank you, but I'll have to take a rein check on that. I was wondering if the menfolk were about, actually. There's something I need to ask them."
Flora's eyebrows shot up and she and Martha exchanged a quick glance. "They're in the main office, just down the hall. Oh, you know where it is!"
Sean smiled at their obvious fluster, deliberately torturing them a bit by remaining entirely nonchalant, as if nothing special whatsoever was afoot.
He knew it made them crazy, but he just couldn't help himself.
They both put their heads together as soon as he'd strolled casually away, whistling with his hands in his pockets.
"Oh! Do you think he's gonna finally propose?!" Martha squealed softly, glancing at the door with bright eyes full of vicarious delight.
Flora crossed her arms and pursed her lips. She'd been raised a good Christian woman, after all. "He had better, if the boy knows what's good for him!"
###
Grandpa Leroy and Guy were going over the books together in the main office, just as Flora had said they were, but they were also smoking cigars, even though they'd both promised their womenfolk that they were quitting.
Sean smirked at their guilty expressions when he walked in.
"It's okay, I won't tell on ya." He assured them, sitting down across the long desk from them.
"To what do we owe this pleasure?" Guy asked him flat out. He believed in always being blunt to the point of brutal honesty.
Sean appreciated this because he, too, believed in getting straight to the point. "I would like very much to ask for your blessing, from both of you, to ask Lucy to marry me."
Leroy leaned back in his chair and puffed on his pipe thoughtfully. "Well, you hardly asked us for permission to knock her up, I don't see why you should start asking for permission now! The girl obviously loves the hell outta ya and it's ultimately her choice."
"Yeah," Guy grunted, squinting at Sean as he inhaled a cloud of cigar smoke into the air, "maybe you outta ask my mother for permission, for that matter, everyone knows Flora's the one who runs things around here."
Leroy nodded shamelessly. "It's true."
Sean started to smile in mild exasperation. "Is that a yes, gentlemen?"
"Well, I suppose it goes without saying that if you take her, you had better darn well honor and cherish her forever.
"You best not go running off again at the first sign of trouble. And if you hurt our little girl, at all, in any way, well, I think you're familiar with mine and Pa's personal gun cache, yes?"
Sean saw Leroy conceal a wince and he granted Guy a small smile that wiped Guy's expression of smug superiority away at once.
"Are you threatening a US Marshal, Mr. Davenport?" Sean asked softly. He respected the hell out of both of the older men, but he was also an alpha male and he knew he needed to stake his claim on Lucy firmly or they would never respect him.
"US Marshal or no," Leroy backed up his son, always, "if you break our Lucy's heart, we'll kill ya."
Sean grinned. "Fair enough."
They all laughed heartily after that and shook hands then they insisted he smoke a cigar with them to congratulate him preemptively.
~ ~ ~