"You okay?" Slade asked, looking over at a pale Lacey, sitting in the passenger side seat of the truck in the jewelry store's parking lot. 

        "Yeah, I just got really nervous all of the sudden." Lacey replied, still staring straight ahead of her as the white lights of the store name became blurred from not blinking for so long. Relieving her eyes from the dryness, Lacey blinked a couple of times, her vision becoming clear again. 

      "Nervous? Why? It's not like we are pickin' out something permanent that you'll wear nearly every day for the rest of your life or anything." Slade gave her his famous grin, the one that made his dimple slightly show on his left cheek. 

       Rolling her eyes, Lacey said, "Not helpin' my nerves over here."

       "You're right; I tend to say stupid stuff when I am nervous." Slade admitted, making Lacey look over at him. "Yeah, I said it. I'm nervous, too." 

      "Well, hopefully once we get in there and start lookin' around, those nerves would go away." Lacey exhaled a chuckle. 

     "True. And it helps that we have already done research, so we know what to look for. You ready to head in?" Slade opened his truck door, hopping down, answering his own question for Lacey. 

      Reaching behind her with shaky hands, Lacey grabbed her wheelchair, piecing it together before setting it on the ground beside the truck. Unbuckling her seat belt, Lacey carefully lowered herself into the chair, mindful of how much higher it sat compared to Slade's daily driver. Slade stood at ease beside the open door he held for Lacey, ready if she needed assistance, but he knew better than to flat out as her. 

        "All good." Lacey said, rolling away from the truck so Slade could close the door. 

       "Here, I got you." Slade offered, taking his spot behind Lacey's chair, pushing her forward towards the jewelry store. The only time he let go of the handlebars was when he stopped to open the door for Lacey.

      Rolling forward, Lacey entered the store. The interior was beautiful; glass encased display cases formed a square around the perimeter of the store. In the center of the wooden floor stood a four foot tall case, perfectly displaying the "signature collection" of jewelry. The necklace shown was large, appearing very heavy. Rings and bracelets were presented as well, the diamonds on the rings almost the width of Lacey's finger. At the sight of the extravagant jewelry, Lacey felt her mouth drop open, only to close it when Slade's hand rested on her shoulder.

       "Hi, y'all, my name is Nicole. And y'all are?" A pretty mid-twenties lady with dirty blonde hair extended her jewelry clad hand out to Lacey first. 

       "I'm Lacey." She shook the lady's hand, surprised that she hadn't ever seen Nicole around town with regards to just how small town was, and how few people lived here. 

      "And I'm Slade." Slade shook Nicole's hand.

       "Great! Well, Slade and Lacey, it is a pleasure to meet you both. What can I help y'all find today?" She smiled, showing a mouthful of perfectly straight, sparkling white teeth.

      "Well," Slade started, "We just recently got engaged, but we are here to buy her a ring, to really make it official." He was smiling right at Lacey, hardly able to turn away from the smile she shot his way. 

      "Aw, very cute!" Nicole's voice made the lovebirds tear their gaze away from each other to look at the jewelry specialist. "Do y'all have any idea the type of ring you're looking for?" 

     "Actually, we have a picture here from your website of the ring we were looking at." Slade said, handing Lacey his cowboy hat, that he removed the second they entered the store, to pull his phone out, scrolling through the pictures. Finding the one of the ring, Slade showed it to Nicole. 

    "That ring is one of my favorite ones that we carry. It's right over here." The fancy bracelet around Nicole's wrist clinked as she lifted her hand to motion to the display case in the far corner of the store. Walking across the store, Nicole's hard soled boots hit loudly against the wooden floor, resonating an echo as she crossed the room. "That particular ring is part of our 'eternal' collection. It's a fairly new ring, it only came in a few months or so ago, and has been awwed over by several customers. I personally love the ring myself, and if it was in circulation when I got married, I probably would have purchased it myself." Nicole explained, making her way behind the case, pulling out a black felt lined tray. 

      Lacey rolled up beside the display, but found it hard to see into the case due to the angle of her chair, and the case. Even though the rings on the mannequin hand were angled to get the best lighting, it posed a problem for Lacey, who sat just below where she would have needed to to see it well enough. 

     Nicole carefully took the ring off of the display, wiping it with a cotton towel before setting it down on the tray, sliding it closer to Slade and Lacey.

      Slade, knowing Lacey couldn't see it well from her spot, grabbed the tray and handed it to Lacey. Bending down beside her, Slade whispered into Lacey's ear, "Darlin', that's beautiful." He dropped a kiss on her red cheeks.

        "It really is." Lacey stared at the white gold ring with awe. Turning back to Nicole, she asked, "Do you mind if I try it on?" 

        "No, please, go right ahead." 

       "Here, let me do the honors." Slade grinned, grabbing the ring with one hand and Lacey's left hand with the other. With shaky hands, Slade ever so carefully slid the silver, woven ring onto Lacey's ring finger. The second he did, a lump formed in his throat. It was then that it hit him that he was engaged to the love of his life, and soon, she would be his wife, his forever. 

        The air was silent around the couple as Slade and Lacey stared at the ring on Lacey's hand. Lacey wanted to form words to express how much she loved the ring, but found she couldn't. It truly left her speechless. By far, the ring was much more beautiful in person than it was online. A happy tear rose to Lacey's eye as she moved her hand side to side, admiring the ring she would soon wear on her hand every day for the rest of her life. 

     "Well, what do we think about it?" Nicole interrupted the moment. 

    Lacey wiped her eye with the back of her right hand, turning her attention back to Nicole. "It's absolutely beautiful. I'm truly in love with it." Turning her head to look at Slade, who's eyes were still on the ring, Lacey asked, "What do you think of it, babe?" 

      "I agree with you completely." Slade grinned, still holding onto Lacey's hand.

      "Great! Well, would you like to look at some other rings in the collection just for comparison? We have some that are similar to it." The sales person side of Nicole came out.

        "I think I'm good. This is the ring that I want. It's truly beautiful; better than I ever imagined it." Lacey couldn't stop looking at it. 

       "Well, that sounds perfect then! It is a perfect style for you and really compliments your skin tone and hand shape." Nicole leaned over the case, reaching out her hand to Lacey. When Lacey offered her hand, Nicole toyed with the ring some, moving it side to side and up and down Lacey's finger, trying to gauge how much gap there was. "You want there to be a little give so when your fingers swell up, the ring won't cut into your skin too bad. This size looks perfect for you. How does it feel?"

      Lacey pulled her hand back. "It feels perfect." She posed her hand to look at the ring perched on her finger. Everything about it just looked so natural to her. 

       "Fantastic! Well, while y'all are here, would you like to also look at some wedding bands?" 

     Slade looked at Lacey to see her thoughts. With a glimmer in her eye and a smile, Lacey nodded her head. "Sure, we would love to look at the wedding bands as well." He answered for his fiancee.

     "Alrighty. Well, Lacey, here is the wedding band that is 'recommended' with that engagement ring. It compliments it perfectly, but we have several other options, too, if you wanted to look at those as well." Nicole pulled another ring off out of the display, wiping it free from fingerprints, smudges or dust, handing it to Lacey. 

     The band was relatively thin in length, but was covered with small diamonds around it. Slipping off the engagement ring, Lacey slid the wedding band on her finger, placing the engagement ring on second. Nicole was right, they perfectly complimented each other. 

       "That looks really good together, Lace." Slade smiled, knowing if he didn't, tears would start forming in his eyes. 

       "It really does." Lacey, not wanting to take off the rings, asked Nicole, "What wedding bands for men do you have in this collection?" 

      Nicole pulled out three different options. All three rings looked relatively the same: all thick and silver with a beveled edge to them. "Our 'eternal' collection is definitely the most ranchy, or cowboy looking rings that we have here, as you can see." 

     "Well, do you want to try them on?" Lacey asked Slade, picking up the first ring. 

      "Sure." Slade looked at the ring Lacey was holding in her hands. It was a hammered metal look to it that Slade didn't particularly like. Picking up the second one, he immediately fell in love with it. In the center of the ring was a thick band of almost matte metal, outlined with two thin bands of shiny metal on either side of the matte look. Before even putting it on, he knew that was the ring that he would end up getting. It matched Lacey's ring set perfectly, and he couldn't wait to wear it. 

      "What do you think about this one?" Lacey held out the third option. It was a floral tooled ring with a curved top to it. 

      "How about this one?" Slade held the ring out so Lacey could see.

     Setting the other ring down, Lacey grinned. "Yes, definitely yes. Here, I'll put it on you." Lacey grabbed Slade's left hand, sliding the ring on his finger, immediately falling in love with it. Tears rose to her eyes, and both of Lacey's hands flew up to her face as she looked at how natural the ring sat on Slade's finger. "Slade..." Lacey started, but couldn't find any words to finish her sentence. 

      "Slade, that ring looks really nice on you." Nicole stated. "What do y'all think about this set here?" She motioned to the rings on both Slade and Lacey's hands. 

    "I think we found the rings we love." Lacey answered for both of them.

     "Great! Will we be purchasing the set today, or what are your thoughts? Just so you know, there is a 15% discount if you put a down payment on the whole set today."

     "I can buy Lacey's engagement ring outright today, but is there a way we can put the wedding bands on layaway or just set up a payment plan or somethin' for the remaining cost?" Slade asked. 

      "Absolutely. Man, y'all are the easiest customers I have ever had. Usually folks come in with no idea what they want, and then they try on every ring in the store, and have four or five rings that they cannot decide on. But you two," Nicole pointed her finger between the couple. "Are clearly two folks in love that know exactly what it is y'all are lookin' for in a ring, and I must say that y'all could not have chosen a more beautiful set." Nicole smiled. "If y'all don't mind, I know you don't want to, but I am going to have to ask for the rings back so I can begin this transaction here." 

       Lacey slipped the rings off of her finger as Slade did the same, setting them on the felt lined tray in front of them. 

      Grabbing the tray with the rings on it, Nicole walked to the back of the store. "I will be just a minute. I am going to go grab y'all your rings. Slade, was that size of ring okay for you as well?" 

      "Yes, ma'am." Slade nodded. 

      Nicole disappeared into the back storage room of the small jewelry store. The second that she did, Slade turned to Lacey. "Are you 100% sure that those are the rings that you want? Do you promise me that you didn't pick them just because they are cheaper than the rest of the collections? I had saved up enough money to pay for a ring that cost double what your engagement ring here costs." 

      Lacey couldn't help but chuckle. "Slade, that is sweet of you, it really is, but I would much rather you use that money to pay for something like our wedding bands or the wedding ceremony, or our honeymoon, or something like that. I am truly in love with the rings we picked out today. I would tell you if I wasn't. But I promise you that they are the rings I want. And, seein' that ring on you..." Lacey' voice broke. "I can't wait to marry you, Slade Reid." 

       Slade bent forward, leaning closer to Lacey. "I cannot wait to marry you either, Lacey Ferry." Softly, Slade closed his lips over Lacey's. As he kissed her a second time, Nicole came out of the back of the store.

      "Oops, sorry to interrupt." An embarrassed blush rose to her cheeks as the couple reluctantly pulled apart. 

      Clearing his throat, Slade stood up straight, facing Nicole. "That's quite alright." 

      "So, I have your payment plan here. Here is the amount you owe today, and here is the future amount you have to pay for the other two rings." Nicole pointed to each of the totals. 

      Curious, Lacey stretched her neck to try seeing the total that the rings were going to cost, but Slade caught her peeking, so he wrapped his arm around the paper, leaning so there was no way Lacey could see. Over his shoulder, Slade smiled at Lacey. 

       "And here is the amount we recommend that you pay off each month. Obviously you can pay more, or less, depending on your financial stage each month, but in order to have the rings paid off a year from now, this is what we suggest you pay. If you're alright with everything on the page, you can go ahead and sign by the X and I will get your account information for you." Nicole smiled as she watched Slade signing his signature on the papers. 

       Reaching into his back pocket, Slade pulled out his worn, tooled leather wallet, slipping Nicole his credit card to pay for the engagement ring. 

       After getting all the necessary information, and paying the amount he owed today, Nicole thanked both Slade and Lacey, wishing them, "The best of luck, and a truly happy life together" before handing Slade a small brown and tan bag, containing the receipt from the rings and Lacey's engagement ring. Before holding the door open for the couple, Nicole shook both of their hands, saying that she was looking forward to seeing them again soon to pick up the wedding bands once they are paid off. 

     Exiting the small store, Slade and Lacey couldn't help but laugh like little kids. "I can't believe that we actually bought our wedding rings!" Lacey said, excitedly. 

       "Me neither. What do you say we go celebrate over an early lunch?" Slade stopped walking to smile at his fiancee.

       "I think that sounds great. Amarillo's?" Lacey inquired. 

      "Sounds good to me." Slade grinned, taking hold of Lacey's chair, pushing her towards the truck. "Will you let me do the honors?" Slade offered to lift Lacey into the cab. 

      "Sure." She giggled, setting the brakes on her chair before holding her arms out to Slade.

      The second Slade picked Lacey up, bride style, he planted a long kiss on her lips before pulling back to see the look on her face. "Just practicing for the weddin'." He grinned, kissing Lacey's speechless lips once more before resting her on her seat in the truck. 

       Slade grabbed Lacey's hand as he drove the short distance to the restaurant. As he held her hand, his finger rubbed over the spot on Lacey's ring finger where her engagement ring will soon sit. In that moment, Slade couldn't wait to propose to Lacey again. Grinning over at her, he knew Lacey was thinking the same thing. 

                                                                ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        "Man, I am so stuffed. Paige's family always makes sure we never leave without full stomachs." Lacey patted her bloated stomach. 

        "I agree. Even I had leftovers, and you know I always finish my meal." Slade chuckled. 

      As the couple made their way down the sidewalk, about to cross into the parking lot to the truck, an all too familiar face appeared, walking around the corner. 

        Hoping the person wouldn't see her, Lacey tucked her head down to her chin, praying Slade would pick up on the hint. 

      Just as she feared, Lacey's plan didn't work. 

       "Well, well, look who it is. The two lovebirds." The voice said in it's usual annoying voice. 

      Lacey didn't have to look up to know he was smirking, but she did anyways, and sure enough, there was that same old cockeyed grin on his lips. "What are you doin' here, Jeremy?" His name was cold coming off her lips. 

       Slade protectively moved himself closer to Lacey, wrapping an arm around the back of her chair. 

       "I'm goin' to see my girlfriend on her lunch break. I didn't know I still had to check in with you whenever I went somewhere, Lacey. Don't you have Slade here to boss around now?" 

       "Hey, don't talk to my fiance that way, man." Slade's voice was stern, but low. 

        "Fiance? Really? When did that happen, cause I don't see a ring on her hand." Jeremy smirked, testing Slade's limits. 

         "We just got engaged two days ago, and we actually just went to the jewelry store just now to buy the rings." Lacey answered.

         Slade leaned closer to Lacey. "You don't have to answer to him, Lace. He doesn't deserve that."  

         Jeremy ignored Slade's comment. "You have proof of that? Because to me, it looks like y'all just came out of a restaurant, not a jewelry store. Besides, where does a poor, drifter of a ranch hand like you scrape enough money to buy Lacey lunch, let alone a ring?" Jeremy scoffed.

       "Okay, that's it." Slade let go of Lacey's chair to lunge forward, throwing his right fist hard across Jeremy's face, making him fall to the ground. 

       "Slade!" Lacey gasped, rolling forward towards him, but stopped when Slade moved closer to Jeremy.

      "What was that for, man?" Jeremy, still on the ground, holding his bleeding lip asked.

       Bending down, Slade grabbed Jeremy's shirt front,  picking him up off the ground slightly. "Are you goin' to lay there like a coward, or stand up and ask me that again?" He practically growled in Jeremy's face. 

       Jerking himself free of Slade's grasp on his shirt, Jeremy stood up, picking up his cowboy hat off the ground, shoving it back onto his head as he spit out blood from his busted lip. 

       "You fixin' to ask me that again?" Slade stepped closer, his fists tightly clenched as his side. 

        "I would rather just fight you like a man." Jeremy licked his lips, putting his fists up, ready for a duke of a fight. 

        "Take the first swing, I'm ready." Slade held his arms out wide, only for one of his wrists to be grabbed, and pulled down by Lacey.

      "Slade, stop." Lacey pleaded, fear in her eyes.

       Turning, Slade whispered to Lacey, "Go wait in the truck, I will be right there, darlin'." 

      "I would listen to your fiance, Lacey. He doesn't want you to see me beat him up." Jeremy interjected. 

        Lacey gave Slade a look, telling him to just be careful. Knowing she wouldn't be able to stop Slade, or change his mind, Lacey made her way to the truck, just in time to hear Slade shout something at Jeremy about disrespecting and mistreating Lacey. As she made her way across the parking lot, she could hear the grunts of the guys as punches were thrown. 

        Once in the truck, Lacey was thankful that Slade had backed into the spot, otherwise, she would have seen the fist fight, and that was the last thing she was interested in at the moment. As she waited for Slade to come back to the truck, Lacey thought about when the last time was that a guy threw a punch because she was being disrespected. No matter how hard she thought, Lacey could not think of a single incident that Jeremy, or any other guy, supported Lacey the way that Slade had. Granted, Jeremy had gotten into a number of fist fights when him and Lacey were together, but that was simply because he was a fighter who looked for any reason to square up to someone. 

     Even though she didn't want Slade throwing punches at anyone, especially on her behalf, Lacey was glad that she had a man who stood up for her, putting Jeremy in his place. 

     After five minutes of waiting in the truck, Lacey worriedly looked over her shoulder, concerned that Slade was seriously hurt. Just as she did so, Lacey saw a beat up and bloody Jeremy held up by his collar against the brick wall of Amarillo's by Slade, who was shouting something at him, pointing at the truck with one hand, most likely saying something about Lacey. With one final shove against the wall, Slade let go of Jeremy, watching as he slouched back against the wall, wiping blood from his nose. 

       As he made his way back to the truck, Slade looked up to the cab, almost making eye contact with Lacey, but she quickly looked away before he could. Biting her lip, she thought of what to say when Slade got into the truck. 

          "I'm sorry." Slade spoke first. 

          That was the last thing that Lacey expected to hear come out of either of their mouths. "Slade, you don't have to apologize." She reached out to grab his hand, seeing how scuffed up and bloody it was. Both of Slade's hands were much worse off than his face, telling Lacey that Slade threw more punches than he received. 

       "I do, because you shouldn't have had to see that. That isn't who I am. I don't go around beatin' up people anymore. That was the old me, but I don't do that stuff anymore. I promise you, babe. I'm sorry for what I did." Slade said it genuinely, concerned for what Lacey would think of him.

      "Slade, I am not upset with you. In fact, I am proud of you." She wiped her hand over Slade's roughed up hand. 

       "Proud of me? What for?" Slade glanced at Lacey. 

      "For standing up for me against Jeremy, and for not letting him speak to us that way. I'm proud of you for being a bigger man than he is. And by the looks of it, you punched Jeremy more than he punched you, so I think it is safe to say that he got what he deserved and you certainly got the better of him." 

       "Either way, I don't think a woman should be present during a fist fight between men, which is why I feel so bad. And I said some not very nice things to him that you didn't need to hear me say to him either." 

       "Slade..." Lacey kissed his hand. "Please don't feel bad. You did something that I wished that I had the strength to do long ago. Even though revenge isn't the right thing every time, I still think that by you not allowing Jeremy to continue being abusive, you taught him a much needed lesson. And I was sitting here tryin' to think of a time that a guy has ever stood up for me the way that you stood up for me, and I couldn't think of a single time that someone has done that. Thank you." She gave his hand a soft squeeze.

      "Thank you, baby. I know you're right. I love you." He leaned across the center console to drop a kiss onto Lacey's lips before quickly pulling back. "That kinda hurts my lip to kiss. Probably shouldn't do that." He grinned playfully, telling Lacey he was mainly joking with her. 

      "Oh you just hush up and kiss me." Lacey rubbed her nose against Slade's. 

       "Yes, ma'am." 

      "I have you trained so well." Lacey replied, smiling into the kiss again. She could not wait until the rest of her life was like this with Slade.