Cheyenne and Sarah drove up into the Calaveras Hills to the address William gave them. As the pulled up onto the brick driveway, Cheyenne suddenly understood how William could drive such a huge car. His house wasn't exactly on the small side. It was a rustic cabin style mansion with large floor to ceiling windows in the front. Behind the house, Cheyenne saw what looked like a big barn. She liked this place.

Sarah parked the car in front of the front door and got out. Cheyenne stepped onto the driveway in her scuffed-up brown boots. She called these her 'good luck boots'. She wore the boots the day she met William and the day he said he loved her. She grabbed the simply wrapped gifts they bought for the family, and walked up to the door with Sarah and rang the doorbell. A shorter woman with black curly hair and warm brown eyes opened the door.

"Oh, hello!" she said with a cheery smile. "You must be Sarah and Cheyenne! Come on in!"

She stepped to the side and Cheyenne immediately looked up as she entered. The foyer was grand, with an arched two-story wood ceiling and a deer antler chandelier. The foyer opened up to a curved staircase on the right, and on the left was a family large room with two leather sofas, a comfortable looking recliner chair, and a cow skin rug.

"Chey! You're here," said William happily as he came around the corner. 

He had on his black baseball cap, a brown t-shirt with a skull and wings on it, and his usual leather band on his wrist that hid a scar from when fell off the loft in the barn and sliced his wrist with a roll of barbed wire when he was nine.

"No, I'm not," joked Cheyenne. "I'm just a figment of your imagination."

"Pity," teased William. "The imaginary Cheyenne looks so much better than the real one."

"Thanks," said Cheyenne sarcastically. They started laughing as both of their mothers watched with amusement.

"William, are you forgetting something?" asked Mrs. Dunn.

"What? Oh, sorry. Cheyenne, this is my mom Catherine Dunn. Mom, this is my girlfriend Cheyenne Brooks, and her mom, Sarah Brooks."

"It's wonderful to meet you both. Dinner's going to be ready in less than thirty minutes if you wanted to head to the family room," said Mrs. Dunn.

"This way," said William, taking Cheyenne's hand. He led her and Sarah to the back of the house where the kitchen was and Cheyenne's mouth fell open.

There was a massive stone fireplace adorned garland, candles, with red and gold ribbon at the far end of the room, the mahogany table was immaculately set with candles, mini trees and a red ornament on all of the place settings. In the back corner, there was a twelve-foot tall tree with an eclectic mix of ornaments and topped with a star that barely cleared the wood beams. On the other side was the kitchen. It was sparkling clean with sleek black granite counters and natural oak cabinets. On the center island, there was an assortment of cheeses, meats, grapes, and crackers with a variety of wine and cider.

"You like it?" asked William looking at Cheyenne with an entertained grin.

"It's gorgeous!" said Cheyenne in awe. "I can't believe you live here!"

"I don't," said William. "I live upstairs in my bedroom."

"Unless you have a kitchen and a bathroom in your bedroom, you can't live in there."

"I mean I spend most of my time in there anyway," said William. "My room is comfortable."

"Whatever you say," said Cheyenne smiling.

"Mom, when is dinner gonna be ready?" asked William.

"Not for another twenty minutes," replied Mrs. Dunn taking a peek in the oven.

"C'mon," said William taking Cheyenne by the hand and leading her upstairs. He pushed open a solid oak door and stepped aside to let Cheyenne in.

It was a decent-sized room with a queen-size bed with blue plaid bedding against the wall. His gray walls were covered in posters of motocross riders doing tricks in midair, and female country artists. He had racing trophies on his cedar dresser under his TV that was mounted to the wall. The desk by the window was covered in unfinished homework and the bookshelf housed a large collection of CDs rather than books.

"Your room looks a lot how I pictured it, except much cleaner," said Cheyenne picking up a photo of a William and a very pretty girl about his age with long red hair. "Who's this?"

"My ex-girlfriend," William said. Cheyenne raised an eyebrow. "Are you jealous?"

"Not really, just wondering why there's a picture of her on your desk."

"Because she's not my ex-girlfriend," said William grinning, and leaning against his wall with his arms crossed. Cheyenne liked it when he did that. It showed off his muscles. "That's my favorite cousin. She lives out of state but she and her younger brother stayed with us over the summer."

"Well I like her better as your cousin than as your ex-girlfriend," said Cheyenne, putting the photo back, and sitting on his bed. "So, out of curiosity, how many acres do you guys have? It looks like it's more than four."

"About 50," said William, and Cheyenne stared. "Most of it is the steep hill, but the land has been in the family for five generations. I'm next in line to inherit."

"What about your siblings?" asked Cheyenne.

"They don't want it. My brother and his family are moving to Vermont after I graduate, and my sister has plans to travel to Europe for a few years before settling in another state."

"So, you're getting all 50 acres?" asked Cheyenne, astounded.

"Yep," said William. "And a third of the family fortune."

Cheyenne was curious but she didn't want to ask how much he was going to get. That would make her look like a gold digger and she didn't want to give William that impression.

"Two million," said William.

"What?" asked Cheyenne, confused for a moment.

"Two million dollars," said William. "That's what I'm getting. I saw the look on your face like you wanted to ask. It's okay. If we're going to get married one day, you have a right to know."

"How the hell do you have that much?"

"Luck?" replied William. "My great grandpa struck rich in the gold rush and made a few good investments. Money has been building from there, despite several splits from inheritance. Each generation has been given the choice to take the land or split it. It's been split once."

"How much land was there originally?"

"Three hundred acres," said William. "My grandfather had four other siblings that wanted to have the land, so it was divided evenly. Over time, it was all sold. This fifty acres is all that's left."

"That's still a lot," said Cheyenne she smiled a little as she got lost in the image of the future. "Can you imagine this house full of kids running around everywhere? Playing out in the barn..."

"How many kids do you want?" asked William, obviously amused by the idea of Cheyenne chasing a bunch of kids.

"Four or five," said Cheyenne. "Mostly boys, and just one girl. But not until after I graduate from college. I want to graduate from college, get married, wait a year or two, and start filling up the house with kids."

"I like that plan," said William. "That sounds a lot like what I had in mind."

"One more thing," said Cheyenne, suddenly realizing something. "This house doesn't look that old. What happened to the original house?"

"It was destroyed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake," said William. "It completely collapsed. Oddly enough, the barn survived. Well, mostly." Cheyenne threw her hands over her mouth looking worried. "Don't worry. No one was in the house. We were out fishing at the pond." Cheyenne relaxed and William continued. "My dad and my uncle took what was salvageable from the original house and reused it. The dining room table used to be the front porch. The hall bathroom window was the only window that didn't shatter so it's original glass, and the stone on the fireplace is all from the old house. Then they built this house from the ground up. It's pretty earthquake-proof."

"That's incredible," Cheyenne smiled as she thought about the family preserving their past.

"Dinner's ready!" called a voice from downstairs.

"Okay," William called back. "Brace yourself if things get heated. It probably will," he added to Cheyenne. She nodded.

Cheyenne followed him down to the dining room where the table was now covered food. There was roast turkey garnished with rosemary and lemon slices, mashed potatoes with the skins, gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, cinnamon applesauce, sweet potatoes with marshmallows, stuffed mushrooms, and apple, pumpkin, and cherry pie.

"Does this happen every year?" asked Cheyenne as she sat down in a chair between William and Sarah.

"For as long as I can remember," said William.

"This looks better than the frozen turkey dinners we usually have," Cheyenne said to her mom.

"You've never had a real Christmas dinner?" asked Perry, William's brother.

"It's been just the two of us for so long," explained Sarah, "and up until the end of summer, we were barely scraping by so I skipped on dinner so I could get Cheyenne a gift for Christmas. I didn't want her to wake up to nothing under the tree."

"I'm sorry," said Perry.

"It's okay," said Cheyenne. "I had my mom for Christmas. That's all I really needed." Sarah's eyes filled with tears as she hugged her daughter.

"I love you, Chey," said Sarah.

"I love you too, Mom," She looked at Mr. and Mrs. Dunn. "Can we eat now? I am so hungry!"

"When are you not hungry?" asked William, teasingly.

"When I'm full," said Cheyenne. William laughed.

"So William never told us how you two met," said Mrs. Dunn, as Mr. Dunn started carving the turkey.

"We have Theater class together," said Cheyenne, fixing herself a full plate, "but we didn't officially meet until See You at the Flag Pole."

"She literally ran away from me that first day," said William. "I couldn't figure out what I did wrong."

"I actually hated you for a while," said Cheyenne. "But only because I couldn't stand the butterflies you gave me."

"Thank you for the confidence boost," said William, with a sarcastic smirk.

"You're welcome," said Cheyenne grinning back at him.

"What do you want to do after you graduate, Cheyenne?" asked Mr. Dunn.

"I've thought about going to college for psychology," Cheyenne said. "But I'm also interested in teaching elementary school. Preferably first or second grade. I love little kids. I think teaching is one of the most rewarding careers available, even if it doesn't pay as well as it should."

"It sounds like you've got your future planned," said Mrs. Dunn. "You've done a good job with her, Sarah."

"Thank you," said Sarah beaming with pride. "So what about you, William?"

"I'd like to keep working at the machine shop with my parents or build custom cars. I wouldn't mind driving a truck, but I'd rather be able to be home more often than once or twice a week."

"What college did you have in mind?"

"UC Davis," replied William.

"UC Davis?" asked Cheyenne, taken aback. "Really?"

"Yeah, why?" asked William.

"That was my first choice!" she exclaimed. "This is wonderful!"

"I might be graduating by the time you get in, though," said William absentmindedly, with a grin on his face.

"What do you mean?" asked Mrs. Dunn.

"I'm a freshman," said Cheyenne simply.

Mr. Dunn choked on his wine, and Mrs. Dunn froze with her fork halfway between her plate and her mouth.

"You're fourteen?" asked Mrs. Dunn.

"Well, actually I'm fifteen. I started school a little bit late due to an illness," she answered, feeling a little startled about their reaction.

"What's so bad about Cheyenne being fifteen?" asked Sarah.

"William is going to be eighteen in two months!" exclaimed Mrs. Dunn. "He's graduating in June!"

"What?" exclaimed Sarah. "You're joking!"

"We're not! He's already been accepted into the community college and -" Mr. Dunn looked at his son's hand and immediately noticed that the ring he always wore was missing. "William where is your class ring?" said Mr. Dunn.

"I don't have it," said William sternly.

"Where is it?" said Mrs. Dunn, furiously.

"I gave it to Cheyenne."

There was an instant uproar. Both of William's parents stood to their feet yelling at him at the top of their voices. Sarah sat looking angrier than Cheyenne had ever seen her, then she started yelling. Cheyenne felt a sense of foreboding. It was going horribly wrong. She sat still and braced herself.

"How could you?"

"Are you two out of your minds?"

"Fifteen!"

"I don't know what's wrong with you."

"Throwing your life away!"

"I raised you better than this."

"He's too old for you!"

"SHUT UP!" bellowed William.

His parents stopped instantly and stared at him looking dumbfounded. Cheyenne knew for a fact that William never yelled. Not even to be heard. He would growl if he was angry or raise his voice slightly, but he wasn't the kind to yell. This sudden outburst surprised her. Cheyenne looked up at him. He was standing up, with his fists pressing so hard against the old wood, his knuckles were white.

"Dad," he said with a voice of forced calm, "you told me years ago how you and mom met. You told me when you know, you know. Those were your words. Well, I know. Trust me, I fought it." He looked at Cheyenne with love and desperation in his eyes. "I fought it as long as I could, but when you love someone this much, you can't fight it forever," Cheyenne smiled up at him and grabbed his hand. Then she looked at Sarah.

"Cheyenne you're fifteen," said Sarah exasperatedly.

"And you were my age when you met Dad, and you told me that he was really handsy," said Cheyenne defensively. "William respects me. He won't even kiss me without asking me first. He's got a steady job; he has dreams and ambitions. That's more than Dad ever had."

"What about your schooling? Your grades?" Sarah asked.

"My grades have been fine," said Cheyenne. "You know that. Besides, if it wasn't for William I'd be really behind in math."

"And Cheyenne has been helping me with my English homework. She's brilliant. If it wasn't for her, I'd be failing. She's amazing at it. Anyway, it's not like we're actually engaged."

"We've just been talking about a possible future together," said Cheyenne. "We both know that we're young and anything can happen, but we're both willing to fight to stay together. Even against our own parents."

Sarah and William's parents stood there staring thunderstruck at their children. Neither William nor Cheyenne had stood up to them before as both of them were pretty laid back and tried to avoid confrontation with their parents when they could. Even though Cheyenne could hold her own against anyone, she preferred to avoid a fight. They were standing there, hand in hand, with a mixture of determination, anger, and pleading on their faces.

"You're really serious about each other, aren't you," said Sarah after a long pause.

"Yes," said William.

"We are," said Cheyenne. "I love William, Mom. More than anything in the world. I can't imagine any possible future without him being a part of it."

Sarah looked at Mr. and Mrs. Dunn, who were looking as though they were ready to wave a white flag, then at William and Cheyenne.

"Fine," she said. "I'm obviously not going to get anywhere. I give up."

William looked at his parents as though he was daring them to protest. Both Mr. and Mrs. Dunn seemed to know better and surrendered.

"If this is what you want, fine," said Mr. Dunn.

"Why does it seem like you two were ready for this?" asked Sarah.

"Because we were," said Cheyenne. "We knew we were in for it when you found out I have his high school ring. That's what I've been wearing around my neck. I didn't wear it tonight because we were trying to avoid this. At least for tonight."

"We didn't think you'd go nuts about the age difference, though," confessed William. "That was a surprise. But Cheyenne is much more mature than any girl her age I know. Or most girls my age for that matter."

"We've both talked about everything," Cheyenne explained. "If this works like we want it to, we're not going to officially get engaged until after I get into college, get married after I graduate, and wait a few years before will stockpile the house with kids."

"That's plan A anyway," said William. "We've discussed all foreseeable options and if something comes up, we'll take it when it comes, and we'll take it together."

"I think our kids have more horse sense than we did at that age," said Mr. Dunn.

"Fine," said Sarah in defeat, "you have my blessing in whatever you choose to do, Cheyenne."

Cheyenne beamed, then looked at William, who pulled her into him and kissed her forehead.

"Merry Christmas, William."

"Merry Christmas, Cheyenne."