Chapter 15: Cinnamon Crest Falls / Matthew's Lot

It was an evening at the Falls like any other. Matthew sat by the water’s edge reading a book, waiting to see if Aasifa would visit. He didn’t come every evening, but he was there several nights a week and usually saw his unicorn friend at least once. He’d hand over the produce du jour and they’d enjoy the quiet crashing of the waterfall for an hour or two. Usually Aasifa would hunt for seeds to munch on and Matthew would read or fish, making the occasional comment to Aasifa or updating her on his life. That night, he wanted to tell her he picked a lot for his ranch.

Sure enough, Aasifa quietly emerged from the trees shortly after nightfall. Matthew’s eyes were on his book, but he noticed her familiar hooffalls when she got closer. He looked up and watched her as she walked up to the pond and drank some water.

When she looked up at him, he smiled. “Hey,” he said softly.

A familiar yet inexplicable sensation washed over him as Aasifa gave him her blessing once again. He was filled with warmth and a sense of calm despite the bright light that flashed before his eyes, then settled into sparkling lights around him. He smiled and took a deep breath, enjoying his newfound feeling of bliss.

“You have something to tell me?” Aasifa’s ethereal voice asked. Matthew still wasn’t used to hearing her without being able to pinpoint the source of the sound. Did she even make sound, or did his brain just think she did, so he could understand her? For now, though, he had to answer Aasifa’s question.

“Yes,” Matthew smiled and stood up. “I’ve found a perfect spot for my ranch.”

Aasifa cocked her head. “Moving farther from the Falls…” her voice remarked. “You’re excited to live farther away from here?”

Matthew’s smile faltered. “That’s actually the one part of moving that I’m not excited about,” he clarified. “But… there will be room there for you, if you want to visit when I can’t come out to the Falls.”

“Visit…” Aasifa’s voice said softly. She walked closer to him. “That is really what you want?”

“Well, um,” he hesitated. “You could live there, with Dorothy and I, if you wanted… I would like you to.”

“First, prove to me that you are a friend to all creatures. Only then will I consider your offer,” she replied.

“As you wish,” Matthew bowed deeply.

“And I smell vegetables,” Aasifa added.

Matthew chuckled and offered her the lettuce and tomatoes he brought. She gobbled them up from his palm, invited him to pet her neck, then walked off to look for seeds to gobble up as well.

---

The next morning, Matthew took his father down to the lot he had in mind. It was much closer to the center of what might one day be ‘downtown’ than it was to his parents’ house or the Falls. He hoped the location would help Dorothy want to move there with him; it would offer more opportunities for her and one day, their children, if local businesses or a school opened. At the same time, the lot was big enough for a modest ranch home and horse paddocks.

“Well, here it is,” Matthew announced proudly, turning to his father. “The site of my future home! What do you think?”

Based on his expression, the lot was not exactly what Altman expected. But Matthew’s only closer option would have been on the same street as his parents’ and sister’s houses, which didn’t seem very appealing.

Altman didn’t reply right away. Instead, he turned to survey the empty lot. A trail ran along one side and curved behind the property. A smaller lot with a paddock and hay storage behind it sat on the other. He had to admit it was a decent location for a ranch, but he had hoped Matthew would choose a location closer to home.

“Dad?” Matthew asked, walking onto the lot to catch up with him. “What do you think?”

“I’m warming up to it,” Altman smiled. “It would suit a ranch.”

“One day it’ll be close to downtown, but it still has plenty of room,” Matthew added. “And to save some money we can make the paddock match that old one next door. Like we’re trying to preserve the local character.”

“Mhm,” Altman agreed. “I wonder if we can get any salvaged wood from when they tore everything down.”

“You can see home from here, you know,” Matthew smiled, motioning towards the hill with one hand. “See?”

Altman smiled at his son and nodded.

“And the river, over there,” Matthew added. “It’s a beautiful spot.”

“The trail, too, it’ll be great for when you have horses.”

The men looked around a bit more and shared ideas before heading home. To both of their surprise, they continued the discussion for most of the walk home and the trip passed quickly.

“I’m so glad you liked the lot,” Matthew said when they got home. He went into his room to grab a sweater and pulled it on as he returned to the kitchen, where his father waited.

“I’m glad it’s not one of the even larger lots down by the river,” Altman admitted. “Do you think Dorothy will like it?”

“I hope so,” Matthew answered. “Actually, I was going to ask you something about her.”

“Well, we’ve assumed for a long time that you’ll want the house built for two,” Altman smirked. “But if you’re going to ask if I think she’ll like living on a ranch, I’m not sure I have the answer you’re looking for.”

Matthew smiled, but winced a little. “Well she’s coming to visit tonight, and, uh…”

“You should show her the lot,” Altman smiled.

“Yeah… Actually, I was thinking of taking her to the Falls…”

Altman examined his son’s face suspiciously. “Mhm?”

“Dad… I’m going to ask her to marry me,” Matthew announced. “Well, assuming you and mom, uh, are okay with that? I know I should be asking Dorothy’s parents, too, but she’s not really talking to them right now and I don’t have a way to go see them, and—”

“Nervous?” Altman interrupted.

Matthew swallowed hard, his eyes wide.

“Don’t be,” his father smiled. “Your mother and I haven’t always understood your relationship with Dorothy, but it’s clear as day that you’re both very in love.”

Matthew looked relieved. “Thanks dad.”

“I’m sure she’ll say yes,” Altman continued. “The only thing I’d be worried about is whether she’ll want to move out here with you. You can’t sacrifice your dreams of running a ranch and writing your novels for a woman, even if you are in love with her.”

Matthew’s smile faltered. “Yeah…” he muttered. “Maybe we’ll talk about that, first.”

Matthew rehearsed how he’d broach the subject, especially if he was going to bring it up before the proposal. Before his dad mentioned it, he hadn’t been worried about whether Dorothy would agree to move to Appaloosa Plains. They’d talked about hypothetical futures plenty of times, often imagining themselves on a ranch… but now that he thought about it more carefully, he realized Dorothy had also mentioned scenarios where they lived in the city. In fact, he realized he wasn’t even sure if she wanted a family. Some scenarios had little versions of themselves running around, but others didn’t. Did they want the same things?

Some of his concern evaporated when he saw her coming up to the house. More melted away when he heard her voice call, “Hello.” They had to find a way to make things work between them. He loved her and didn’t want to try to love someone else just to make the question of where he’d live easier.

“Hi, beautiful,” Matthew smiled as Dorothy walked into his arms.

After a quick bathroom break, Dorothy agreed to drive to Cinnamon Crest Falls. Matthew was quiet on the drive over and walked straight to the water’s edge when they arrived. Dorothy caught up after locking her car.

“You okay?” she asked. “You’ve been so quiet.”

“Uh… yeah,” Matthew said, clearly distracted.

“Matt?” Dorothy prompted. “What is it?”

“Do you, uh…” he muttered. ‘Get a grip,’ he urged himself.

“I took my dad to see the lot I picked out,” he blurted. “For, uh, my ranch.”

“Uh huh,” Dorothy smirked. “And?”

“Well, uh—he, um, made me realize that I haven’t really asked you if you’d, uh—"

Dorothy raised her eyebrows. “You’re not sure I’d like it?”

“Yeah… living on a ranch, I mean,” he said.

She smiled, which began to reassure him. “I’m not dealing with any horse crap, if that’s what you’re asking,” Dorothy laughed. “But Matt, you’ve been talking about this ranch since you were a kid. Even when you played along and we dreamed about moving overseas, I knew staying here was what you really wanted.”

Matthew let out a sigh of relief.

“Besides, I’ve known since we were little that I have to share your heart with that unicorn,” she added with another smirk.

Matthew laughed and finally relaxed. As she smiled at him, he found himself staring into her eyes and getting lost in their deep grey color. ‘Watcher, she’s beautiful,’ he thought.

“What?” she asked sweetly.

“You know what,” he said, taking her hand and moving closer.

“I like hearing it.”

Matthew leaned in and whispered in her ear, “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispered back, resting her hand on his shoulder.

He turned his head to kiss her gently, then started to move away. Getting down on one knee, he tried to remember everything he’d practiced saying in his head. His thoughts were racing with everything he could say to try to explain how much he loved Dorothy, how beautiful she was, how relieved he was that she’d move to Appaloosa Plains to help him realize his dreams, how he wanted to make her dreams a reality, too. But none of the words came out of his mouth. He began to panic – he was already on one knee, she had to know what he was going to ask next. ‘Get it together, man!’ Matthew urged himself.

“Dorothy,” he managed to say. “I wish I could explain how I feel about you… how much I’ve always loved you… but even though I’m a writer, I don’t think I’ll ever find the words.”

She let out a small gasp as Matthew reached for his pocket.

“I think you’re one of the most intelligent and fun people I’ll ever meet. And on top of that, you’re gorgeous, and you’ve been incredibly supportive – I never could have asked for someone who has helped me grow as a person the way you have. I hope I’ve helped you, too,” Matthew continued.

Dorothy nodded as tears welled in her eyes.

“I don’t want that to change. I want to keep loving and helping each other like we always have,” he opened the ring box to reveal a sparkling diamond ring. “Dorothy, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” she cried. “Yes, of course, yes!!”

Matthew’s smile brightened. He slid the ring onto Dorothy’s finger and she admired it while he stood up.

“Oh, Matthew, it’s gorgeous!”

“You’r—”

“Don’t,” Dorothy laughed. “Proposals are cheesy enough,” she added, wiping a tear from her eye with one hand while still admiring the new ring on the other.

“I love you,” Matthew said softly. He touched her arm and leaned in for a kiss.

“I love you!” she replied, practically falling into him for a hug.

He held her close. “I can’t wait to finally marry you.”