…I’ll be dreamin’ of the future The thought popped into Jimmy’s head as he tried to fall asleep, He should ask Abby to marry him. He was tired of them both going to their separate beds every evening, he was tired of not reaching out in the middle of the night to pull her close as he longed to do. He wanted to wake up to her smile every morning. The only way that would happen is if he married her. Abby wasn’t the type to share a man’s bed without being totally committed and the more he thought about that, the more he liked the idea of having her by his side for the rest of his life. He could see them now…a nice little house somewhere outside of town, at some point a few children running around the yard and hanging on Abby’s skirt. Yes, the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea of making a home with her. With that thought in his head, Jimmy finally fell into a peaceful slumber.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The happy mood he’d been in after thinking about asking Abby to marry him was still with him several days later. The more he thought about it, the more he knew it was the right thing for him to do.Ignoring the bemused looks of his fellow riders, Jimmy ate his breakfast with a smile on his face as he watched Abby across the table from him. Every time she’d look up from her plate he’d grin at her, wondering if she’d be surprised at his thoughts of marriage. When breakfast was over, Jimmy asked Teaspoon if he could talk to him for a minute as the others made their way out to the barn to start their chores. “What’s on your mind son?” Teaspoon asked, not having missed the besotted looks the young man had been sending the pretty red head over the table that morning. “A…Teaspoon, do you think I might be able to take the day off? I don’t got a run today and Cody does owe me from the last time I helped him out so maybe he could do my chores…” Teaspoon could tell whatever Jimmy was wanting to do was important to him even if he didn’t say what that was. Taking his hat off and scratching his head, Teaspoon hemmed and hawed for a moment, taking some amusement in seeing the young man squirm. “Well, I suppose that might be possible. You haven’t taken any time off in a while and you got some comin’.” At the hopeful look on Jimmy’s face, Teaspoon had to ask, “Where you headed son? Seems like you got somethin’ important your wantin’ to do.” Slapping the stationmaster on the back, Jimmy grinned. “That I do, but I can’t rightly say what it is yet. You’ll know soon. I promise. Thanks Teaspoon!” Hurrying back into the bunkhouse, Jimmy went into his trunk and pulled out some of his saved earnings and tucked it into his shirt pocket for safekeeping. As he pushed the trunk back into it’s place, a shadow fell over him. “Good morning Jimmy….is something going on?” Abby asked, having been racking her brain over what could have the young man in such a good mood and sending her such looks as he did earlier. Standing up, Jimmy leaned over and gave Abby a kiss on the cheek. “It’s a secret sweetheart!” and with that he gave her a wink and told her he’d be back later that evening.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “But that ain’t fair I tell ya!” Cody complained after Jimmy gave him the news of having to do Jimmy’s chores as well as his own.“You owe me Cody and you know it. ‘Sides, Teaspoon already said I could have the day off. See you all later,” he called as he led Sundance out of the barn. “Where’s he goin’ anyhow?” Cody asked frowning. “Don’t know, don’t care,” Kid told the blond man grinning at the thought of Cody’s taking over Jimmy’s chores for the day. What Cody didn’t know was it was Jimmy’s turn to not only cart away the manure from the barn, but also help dig a hole for the new outhouse out back. Looking at her friends, Lou said, “Whatever it is, must be important. Did you see the way he was lookin’ at Abby this morning? It almost made me blush!” “You and me both,” Noah laughed. He’d never seen Jimmy so smitten before. It was amusing to watch the young man in love. “I’d love to see what this is all about, but I’ve got a run to Bear Run Crossing,” Buck told them, saddling his horse. Thumping his chest to get his friends attention, Ike promised to tell him what happened when he got back in a few days. “Thanks, Ike. I appreciate it.” A call from out side of “Rider comin’” by Teaspoon sent Buck hurrying out of the barn with his horse following behind.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Jimmy headed northwest towards the town of Lander. He’d recalled seeing a sign for a jeweler there the last time he’d been out that way.With his mind occupied with thoughts of Abby and how he was going to surprise her with the ring, time seemed to fly by and the trip was made in no time at all. Letting out a sigh of relief upon seeing the weathered sign for the jewelry shop, Jimmy stopped Sundance outside of the shop and entered the establishment feeling a bit nervous over what he was about to do. “May I help you?” asked a kind faced elderly man behind the counter. Jimmy wasn’t quite sure what he was wanting so he shrugged. “If you don’t’ mind, I think I’ll just look around for a bit first,” he told the man as he gazed into the glass cases filled with rings, bracelets, necklaces, watches and other handcrafted items. “Let me know if there is anything you’d like to see,” the man said before turning to work on something on the bench behind him. A little while later, Jimmy asked, “What’s that green stone? The one right there?” He pointed to a ring in the case he was looking at. Hurrying over to the case, the old man took the ring in question out. “This is an emerald. And a fine one it is too. Look at that deep green color. You don’t find many that dark. Most are a pale green it seems. At least most that I’ve worked with are.” “Hmmm,” Jimmy said studying the ring with interest. The green would go well with Abby’s red hair. The two would compliment each other he thought. The shape was nice too. It was oval but looked kind of plain to him. Pointing to a ring near the emerald, he asked, “Do you have one that has them little clear stones around it…with an emerald, not the red stone?” The shopkeeper shook his head. “No I don’t son, but it wouldn’t be to hard for me to make you a ring like the red one there. I can take the emerald out of that setting and put it into a new one and put the two diamonds on the sides. I could have it ready for you in about a week if you would like. Yes, Abby would like it, he thought. “How much?” he asked hoping that he had enough with him. Jimmy grinned at the price the man told him. Taking out the money he’d brought with him, he paid for the ring and promised to be back in a week for it. “Whomever you plan on giving it to is one lucky woman,” the shopkeeper told him. “ Actually, I’m the lucky one,” Jimmy told him with a tilt of his hat. “She’s going to love the ring. Thank you.” Deciding that he’d get something to eat before heading back to Sweetwater, Jimmy headed for the saloon, thoughts of Abby and how she’d like the ring dancing in his head.
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