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Post by Anabelle Grace Bryan on Oct 28, 2012 17:21:10 GMT -5
The last week had started off perfectly for the tour, and the next week was going to be completely hectic. Thankfully due to Logan being awesome, they had the next two days off to just sort of relax and rest – unfortunately for Luke one of those days included Tyler coming down to film some stuff of him for his music video for ‘Country Man’. So while he was busy working, Anabelle could actually relax, aside from the rehearsals that they also had for hosting the CMA’s that were being aired live on Thursday night. Busy, busy, busy week. So when Luke made the comment that he wanted to go hunting on one of their days off, she sure as heck wasn’t going to fuss with him. Coincidentally they were in Tennessee anyways for both the tour and the award show, so it only made sense that they stop by his parents place where he could go hunting on their land. Anabelle dropped her duffel bag down at the base of his bed before she closed her eyes and stretched her arms out from side to side. Sleeping in those bunks seriously hurt a few nights in a row, so she was pretty thankful that Luke had offered for her to come sleep at his place. He lived a bit out of Nashville, so they had taken his truck from the tour bus back to his place and let the bands stick in the big city since they were wanting to sight see. “ Thanks for bringing me home. It’ll be nice to meet your family tomorrow,” she said tiredly before she reached into her duffel bag to pick out a babydoll. After asking him where his ‘powder room’ was she made her way in, brushing her teeth, brushing her hair, putting on lotion, putting on her babydoll. Anabelle yawned as she turned the light out and made her way in the darkness over to the bed. It was weird how Luke had kissed her so many times, yet it didn’t seem like either of them were in a rush to push it any further physically, which was nice. Anabelle pulled the sheets up over her shoulders, surprised at how warm they already were before she leaned over tiredly to place a kiss on his lips. It seemed the moment she laid her head against the side of his chest she instantaneously fell asleep.
It was rare that Anabelle slept throughout the entire night. Usually she woke up enough at least to reposition the way she was laying, which she was almost positive drove Luke nuts since it had to wake him up. But the sun hit her eyes and she woke up realizing that she was still in the same position as she had put herself in about 8 hours ago. She sat up, bringing her hand to her face and wiped the corner of her eyes tiredly before she looked over at Luke to see him sleeping. She moved cautiously as she could, pushing the blankets off of her legs as she climbed out of bed. On her way to the bathroom she opened one of his drawers and took one of his t-shirts out. Anabelle turned on the shower and let the steam fill the bathroom before she climbed in and started to wash her hair. The one thing she had forgotten to grab out of the tour bus was her body wash, but it couldn’t hurt to smell like Luke for the day. She narrowed her eyebrows as she opened the lid and leaned down to smell it, bringing a soft smile to her lips before she placed some in her hands. Not long after she was pulling on a new set of underwear and bra before putting on his t-shirt and scrunching her hair into the towel to semi dry it. They hadn’t been gone long. She assumed what was in his fridge was still fresh, they’d only been on tour a week. Anabelle set everything on the counter before sniffing the orange juice in the jug. Ew. Nope. She walked over to the trash, throwing it out before she went through the fruit and took out the oranges, opting to make him some fresh squeezed orange juice for the morning. Anabelle looked up, hearing the shower start again before she took out a few potatoes and started chopping them up into tiny slivers to make some hashbrowns. She loved the kitchen, how it all seemed to flow together pretty easily. He’d organized it pretty well for a bachelor. She puffed out her cheeks, placing the orange juice in the fridge to cool before she took out the bacon, milk, and eggs. Everything in her said the proper thing to make was biscuits, but she was sort of feeling the Paris theme lately, so hopefully he would settle for some French toast. Anabelle took out some brown sugar and coated the bacon in it before she set it on the frying pan. After stirring together milk, eggs and some vanilla she took some bread, submerging it into the bowl. She hummed to herself quietly, setting it on a different frying pan before she checked on the bacon, flipping it over. The boy was going to need powdered sugar and whipped cream. When she opened the fridge she shook her head at him. Instant whipped cream. This boy. Anabelle reached in to take out heavy cream and took it over to a bowl, mixing it in with a small amount of sugar and vanilla before she started stirring it together to make him some home made whipped cream. The shower had gone off and Anabelle smiled to herself, moving over to the frying pan. She stood still, bringing her right foot up to the back of her left calf, trailing it slowly as she took the bacon out of the pan and placed it on a plate. Quickly she took the French toast and arranged it with powdered sugar, whipped cream and strawberries before placing the toast beside it and going to get him a fresh cup of orange juice. “ Mornin’, sugar” she said, kissing his cheek before she placed the plate and glass down at a table for him. After grabbing herself a small pate of bacon and strawberries with whipped cream she came over to join him.
Within the next hour she had cleaned up the kitchen and though she wanted to wear a sundress Luke had convinced her blue jeans might be smarter if she decided to spend some time outside with Stella, his hunting dog. So a pair of blue jeans, some boots and a thermal shirt later .. and of course after curling her hair without about five different curling irons they were ready to go. Just because she was country didn’t mean she didn’t appreciate having her hair done. It was probably her pageant days left over in her. Anabelle crawled into the passenger seat of Luke’s truck, pulling her hair over her shoulder as they rode over to his parents place. She sat up as they passed the small downtown and looked out the window, smiling at the people that waved to Luke as he made his way through their little town and out to the outskirts of his parents where they had what seemed like a ton of land. “Wow,” she said quietly, pushing the door open as she climbed out of the truck quietly. It was a little chilly outside. Chilly enough that she could see her breath, and there was a frosty looking dew across some of the foliage outside their house. Suddenly a coon hound started barking and darted out of the screen door and onto the porch before she made her way towards Luke and jumped up to put her paws on his chest. Anabelle smiled, going over to greet the dog. She was probably just as anxious to get out with Luke and hunt as he was. They probably had a whole system and understanding. “ She’s bigger than I expected,” Anabelle said, reaching down to scratch her hand behind her ear. “ Y’all get on out of that cold, you aren’t even wearing coats yet. Get on in here,” she heard from inside and turned to look at Luke, giving a small smile before she headed onto the porch and made her way inside. She looked down at the mud she had gotten on her boots just from walking to the entry way and reached down to take her boots off in the mud room before she stepped into the warm house. Warm in every way, temperature wise, it smelled like apple pie was in the oven, and she was being hugged by his mother. “ Well no wonder Luke is on tour. Now he has had plenty of offers, darling but none of them looked as cute as you,” she said with a smile on her lips. Anabelle smiled while she hugged her and took a slight step back, “ Mama says she made me from scratch,” she said with a slight laugh before thanking her for the compliment and stepped to the side to hug his father since his mother was all about hugging Luke right now.
Anabelle stepped into the kitchen after being offered coffee and it seemed like Luke was asking his father to go chat with him for a bit. He probably was going to ask him to go hunting. Which was perfectly fine, she could stay back with his mama and help make them lunch. They’d be hungry after a few hours of hunting. What would be better to come home to than a warm meal waiting on them. Besides she loved people’s mama’s. She had coffee with Hunter’s every time she went home which usually ended up in them baking together. So when Luke’s mom offered her an apron, Anabelle gladly set her coffee cup down and took it, tying it behind her waist before she pulled her sleeves up to her elbows. Luke had been gone for what seemed like anywhere from a half hour to forty five minutes, so she had been helping his mom maked everything from sweet tea to fried okra, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, the prep work for country fried chicken over on the counter behind her, some cornbread and beans. He’d have a lot to look forward to. But when she looked up he was in the doorway with a soft smile and she made a confused expression, though she had a matching smile on her lips. “ Ain’t you left yet?” she questioned, wiping her hands off on the apron. “ Do you want to go hunting with me, Anabelle?” he asked and she smiled, looking over at his mom who was basically shooing her out of the kitchen after Luke’s request. “ Well, sure I do,” she said, untying the apron before she set it on the counter. She didn’t have anything to wear, and she would need better boots and a jacket, which clearly Luke thought of because he held both up. Anabelle took the boots from him, pulling them on over her feet, which felt like they were about ten sizes too big. The jacket was about that big too, reaching down to her knees before she looked up at him with a helpless expression.
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Post by Luke Thomas Bryan on Oct 29, 2012 23:44:20 GMT -5
That morning when Luke woke up, fully rested and able to climb out of bed without yawning and dragging his feet, he knew. Absolutely knew for sure, no doubt in his mind, was more sure about the decision that ran through his head than he was about what his own name was. And he’d be damned if his name wasn’t Luke Bryan, hunter, fisherman, country musician, son, brother, uncle and hopefully, because of this brand knew decision, soon to be husband. Luke liked to think he wasn’t a bachelor by choice, no sir. He’d have married himself off as soon as he was old enough to do so, would not have waited until this age. He wasn’t a big shot, he grew up on a farm and he worked hard, got his hands dirty. But that was okay, because he grew up being taught that family was the most important thing, and the best thing a man could be was a good husband. He’d find himself six feet under if his mama ever thought he wasn’t treating a lady right. People grew up with dreams of having fancy careers and fast cars and Luke thought both of those were alright, but he grew up looking forward to the day he’d have a wife and a family. Maybe he was just made for family life, he didn’t know. He didn’t think there was much more rewarding that having someone to share your life with. And he’d been waiting for it to happen, wonderin’ if bachelor life was going to get the best of him. The only thing missing was that special someone. He’d had plenty of women in all his days, but not one struck his fancy as a potential wife. He just wanted a good southern girl, someone warm and sweet, made him smile, someone to wrap his arms around. He hadn’t seemed to have found that yet. And then he met Anabelle. That was two weeks ago, boy had things changed.
When Luke went out to the kitchen, rubbing his bare chest and saw Anabelle in the kitchen cooking he smiled. Since he’d already made up his mind, it was like seeing the future. That’s what being married would be like, waking up every day to see her pretty self. Her cooking skills didn’t suck either. He’d convinced her to put some jeans on because chances are Stella was going to love her. And want Anabelle to play with her. Which meant being outside. Plus it really wasn’t that warm. After they drove to his parent’s house and got out, it wasn’t long before Stella was bounding out of the front door to great them jumping up to put her paws on his chest, “Hey girl, I know I missed you too,” he laughed, “Anabelle this is Stella.” Luke looked a the dog who was bounding toward Anabelle, saying sternly, “Stella, sit.” And what a perfectly obedient dog she was, sitting immediately and let Anabelle pet her. Luke chuckled and shook his head, “Oh don’t let her size fool you, she’s just a puppy still.” Luke looked up when he saw his mom in the doorway, yelling at them about not having any coats on and Luke took Anabelle’s hand, leading up the front steps. “Hey mama,” he said, leaning down to kiss her cheek, “Mama, this is Anabelle, Anabelle, this is mama.” His mother laughed, “Oh, my name is actually Theresa, but you can call me mama if you want,” she joked, “That’s what this one calls me.” Luke’s mom looked up at her only son lovingly and led them inside, holding the door open for Stella before shutting it. After everyone had greeted each other and Anabelle was beckoned into the kitchen, Luke headed into the living room with his dad and Stella at his heels, laying down at his feet when he sat down on the couch. His dad sat down and got comfy, then said plainly, “You don’t bring gals here usually.” Luke looked up and grinned, “I don’t bring gals over at all pops.” “Well she must be somethin’ special then.” Luke agreed, “She is, I’m going to marry her.” “Is that so?” “Yessir, I am.” “Hmm. Well. You seem pretty sure about that.” Luke leaned done to pat Stella on the head, “I am. I been waitin’, just waitin’ to meet my wife, and then I met Anabelle and I just know this is it.” “I know you been waitin’ son. You know what you have to do then?” “Yeah,” Luke chuckled, “I better ask her daddy.”
Luke got up and headed for the computer, his dad looking at him, “Wait, right now?” “Yeah right now, if I’m gonna ask her, I better ask her dad before we leave.” “You gonna ask her today? You just met her two weeks ago.” “Well so what, it took me a weekend to know this was it, I ain’t wastin’ no more time waitin’. We’re gonna be together.” “Do you even have a ring son?” “I’m gonna get one.” “You’re damn right you’re going to get one.” Luke sat down at the computer waiting for it to boot up and his dad added, “Boy, you are smitten.”
Luke wasn’t going to explain how he had set this up but he somehow got Anabelle’s daddy on skype. And by some miracle he got her father’s blessing, though Luke knew he owed Hunter for that. Luke stood up after hanging up the call, doing a small victory dance to which Stella hopped up in excitement, and Luke shrugged at his dad, “Well, that is that. I’m gonna go see if Anabelle wants to go out for a walk.” Luke threw on his hunting clothes, grabbing some for Anabelle too and went to the kitchen. Luke laughed when she mentioned he hadn’t left yet, “No I haven’t darlin’.” Luke asked her if she wanted to go hunting and she agreed which was good so he gave her the extra clothes, grinning at the size of them on her. They fit his six foot something, but Anabelle just looked cute as hell swimming in all that camo. “Darlin’ you are cuter than a baby bunny, let’s get out of here.” Luke led her outside to his truck, opening the tail gate and pulled his bow case out. Luke leaned down to his dog, “Stella, come here,” and when she sat next to him he took off her camo collar and switched it out for a bright orange one. Luke reached over and stuck a orange hat over Anabelle’s curls, “Your hair won’t like it, but we don’t want any accidents.” Luke laughed, looking her over with the outfit and now the bright hat, laughing to himself and shook his head, “Good god, you’re too cute.” Luke leaned down to steal a kiss from her and then turned his own hat around backwards and shut the tail gate. Grabbing his bow, he knew he wouldn’t really get any hunting done, not with Anabelle and her hair product. The deer could probably smell it from yards away, but that was alright. The whole point of all this wasn’t hunting anyways. And besides he knew Stella was just going to want to run all over the place.
Luke fired up the four wheeler and they piled on, getting Stella so lay down on the back too and headed out to the back property before getting off to walk the rest of the way. They walked for a quite a ways, and it was awfully quiet. But that was part of the ‘hunting’. Luke stopped in a small open meadow, looking at the buck scrapes on the bark of a sapling nearby. He’d have to set up a trail camera later if he had time. Luke pointed it out to Anabelle, telling her at least they knew there were bucks in the area. Stella was sniffing at the base of the tree but Luke called her over anyways. “So,” Luke said, looking at Anabelle, “I have something to ask you. And it might be a little crazy.” He paused, thinking it over, “Yeah, you might think I’m crazy. But I’m crazy about you.” Luke set his things down and went over to her, “I know it hasn’t been long since we known each other, but it feels like it’s been forever. I been waitin’ for someone to come along and steal my heart, and you, you did just that.” Luke hesitated and then got down on one knee, Stella excitedly trying to lick his face, “Stella, sit down.” Stella sat beside him, looking at him expectantly and then at Anabelle. “Anabelle, I never fell so hard so fast in my whole life, but I am completely in love with you, and I can’t go another day without making you mine. Would you do me the honor of marrying me?” Luke waited for her response and Stella broke the silence with a bark of expectance, “Hush,” he told her and looked back at Anabelle. Suddenly Luke looked around, grabbing a small wild flower and picked it, holding it out to her and took her hand in his other one, “I love you,” he said, as if he hadn’t totally made it clear.
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Post by Anabelle Grace Bryan on Oct 30, 2012 21:10:43 GMT -5
Anabelle shifted her shoulders inside the jacket, letting the material slide from side to side since it consumed the entirety of her body. Which was strange really, since Luke wasn’t even that big of a guy weight wise, he was just so perfectly tall. Without hesitation she brought her head up, having to almost tilt her head all the way back to look up at his eyes. Damn her height. But he seemed like he was taking charge and she was not going to interrupt something that attractive. Anabelle placed her hand softly inside of Luke’s as she followed him outside of the coziness that his parents had perfected in their home. She stood at the end of his truck, watching as he meticulously took everything he needed out, switched off the collars on Stella. She had never been too fond of the color orange, but paired up with some camo and it sort of made her feel like she was at home. She grew up on a farm and though she was surrounding by hunting, no one had actually ever taken her. They probably thought she was so loving that it would shake her to the core. Which, to be fair, was probably accurate. She wasn’t a vegetarian by any sense of the word but the idea of shooting an animal and watching it go down made her stomach nauseous without even holding a gun. That being said, if Luke wanted to hunt, she was going to hunt.
There was something about that bow. Even though she couldn’t picture herself going out and doing it on her own, for some reason the idea of hunting was sexy – and watching Luke with a bow and arrow made her wonder what his arms looked like pulling it back. But she saw him taking out a hat and smiled instantly, looking up at him as he placed it on her hair. Just because she spent time curling her hair didn’t mean she cared if they got messed up or not. Do as you please, Luke Bryan. Anabelle climbed onto the four wheeler behind him, taking her own hat to spin it backwards the same way Luke did so that they matched. She was so worried that Stella was going to fall off the back, when realistically she had probably spent more time on that thing that Anabelle had. Never the less, Anabelle reached back and placed her arms over Stella protectively, scratching behind her ears and laying her cheek against her head as they drove out across the land. Once the four wheeler stopped she climbed off it clumsily, being swamped by all of the fabric that weighed down on her. She tried to step quietly, knowing that deer would run away from her, well.. Luke because of her. She tried her best to not hum to herself quietly, but caught herself a few times. After walking a long distance, Luke pointed out where some bucks were and explained how he would set up a video for it. So clearly they were coming back to hunt on some of their days off. “ Oh, I have an idea,” she said, reaching her hand down into the mud where she got some on her thumbs. Anabelle stood up as high as she could on her toes, drawing lines with the mud under Luke’s eyes before she did some to match on her own cheeks. Cause that would help them blend in….It always made her blush when he told her how cute she was. Maybe if she had dirt on her face he wouldn’t bring blood to her cheeks by making her so nervous. Anabelle looked over at him as he walked a bit further into the meadow and wiped her fingers off on the giant jacket that consumed her before she followed him quickly.
Stella was so obedient. Luke makes a command and she obeyed it, with such adoration on her features. Anabelle watched Luke as he started talking, wondering why he was doing that in the first place. Her papa had always said no talking when hunting. And he was just yappin’ away. If bambi’s mama had an opportunity to run away, now would be it. Anabelle looked over at the things he had set down and brought her eyes up to him as he stepped closer to her. It was like her body comprehended what was happening before her mind did, because as he started kneeling down she felt the gasp come audibly from her chest as she brought her hands up to her mouth, holding her breath as she looked down at him. Every single thing he said made sense. At least in the aspect that was how she felt. She just had no idea she was as capable of earning that love from someone else. “ Oh my word,” she said as quiet as possible underneath her breath. It was so much to process, the fact that he had asked, that Stella was barking, being told to be quiet, and then the obvious. He loved her. He loved her. It didn’t matter about what she did for work, or if she wanted to go back to school. He didn’t mind having to take time to explain things to her, or the fact that she always saw the world through rose colored glasses. He didn’t see it as an annoyance or a character flaw, he accepted it. Not only that, but he loved her for it. Anabelle jumped down, tackling him to the ground as she wrapped her hands around his jaw and kissed him when they hit the cold ground. Her small frame rested against his comfortably, which she now realized she could do for the rest of her life. Which also made her realize that she hadn’t verbally given her confirmation, like this wasn’t enough. Anabelle held her hand gingerly against his cheek as she kissed him before she reluctantly pulled away. Another day without making her his? “ I’ve been yours,” she said, kissing his lips again as she spoke against them. “ Yes, absolutely. I would love to spend the rest of my life with you, Luke” she said between kisses before she looked up at Stella who was circling them. Anabelle smiled before she looked back down at Luke , then took in a deep breath. Holy crud, she just agreed to get married. She sat up instantly, sitting off of his body and just a bit to the side. Anabelle never got mad in her life, so she was always happy. So in situations of extreme happiness it sort of made her feel like she was having a panic attack. Anabelle brought her hand down to Luke’s, wrapping her fingers around it tightly before she felt the tears start to come. She closed her eyes, fanning herself slightly before she looked over at him. “ I swear to God I am happy, I’m just overwhelmed right now, I am so so sorry,” she said, squeezing her fingers around his hand so tightly her knuckles started to turn white as she felt the tears start to fall down her cheeks. “ It’s just I’m always happy, and you’ve made me really happy,..and it just feels like a lot,” she said before she took a sniffle in and used her free hand to wipe away some of the tears by her eyes. This is probably what a panic attack felt like to most people. After sitting there for a bit, Anabelle squeezed her hand against his fingers and moved to lay down against his chest. “ I love you, Luke. I will till the last beat of my heart,” she said, tracing her thumb over his hand as she sniffled in again and wiped another tear from her eye. The tears caught in the back of her throat and her voice changed from the tears as she forced out, “I am going to make you a really good celebratory pie,” she said before trying to catch her breath from crying.
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Post by Luke Thomas Bryan on Nov 9, 2012 10:44:02 GMT -5
Waiting for Anabelle's response made him nervous, but luckily for Luke he didn't have to wait very long at all. What we wasn't expecting however was for her to tackle him, but he could see she was smiling so he'd take it. Asking as she was smiling, that was all he needed. It was all he needed right now, it was all he'd need tomorrow, and he was pretty damn positive it was all he'd need for the rest of his life. Seeing Anabelle smile had to be the best thing to wake up to, let alone see everyday. He'd definitely take it, girl tackle away. Anabelle had leaned down to kiss him, saying she was already his and that of course she would marry him. "Yeah?" She'd said yes, and Luke really couldn't help the way hi heart kind of jumped over itself happily, "Stella, she said yes," he told his dog happily, laughing slightly when Stella barked in response. Luke kissed Anabelle again, fairly certain from this point forward he wasn't going to be able to get enough of it and watched as she sat up next to him. Luke brought himself up so he was resting on elbows and watched her cautiously as she started to cry. Wait, what? He wasn't sure if that was supposed to happen. But, as he let out a sigh if relief, she reassured him that she was just overwhelmed but definitely they were tears of joy. Well alright, that was allowed. They'd known each other for what, not even two weeks? She could feel overwhelmed. It was definitely a lot to soak in. Luke didn't think it was everyday that the heart fell in love at first sight.
Luke shook his head, telling her, "No it's alright, you don't have to apologize. You just made me the happiest guy in Tennessee." And it was true, she had. It was just so easy to wrap an arm around her waist, so easy to want to hold her, take care of her. That was all he wanted. He'd take care of her. He was built to take care of someone else, and he didn't want to care for anyone else but her. Anabelle told him she'd love him until her last breath, and Luke didn't think he felt much different, saying, "Good, me too," and missed her again before he laughed, "Oh I get pie? Well alright then, I'll even help make this celebratory pie." Luke brought himself up, standing and offered her a hand, "I don't know about you but I'm pretty over hunting, we have good news to share. Wanna head back? You can call your mama if you want." Which he knew she would want to.
After they got back to the house Luke took Anabelle's hand and then went inside, though he was having a hard time wiping the grin off his face, so he left it. Going into the living room, Luke's dad looked up from his newspaper, smirking slightly, "How was hunting?" Luke shrugged, "It was great, got a beauty actually," he laughed. Luke's father stood up, "You don't say? Well," he offered, looking at Anabelle with a smile, "I take it you said yes by the way he is grinning like a doggum fool," he chuckled. "Said yes to what?" His mother asked, setting her knitting down and approached Luke who had an arm wrapped securely around Anabelle's waist. Luke placed a hand gently on his mamas shoulder as if it might promote calmness, "Mama, Anabelle and I are gonna be gettin' married." "What!?" His mother said excitedly, "oh thank heavens, I am just so happy!" She said and hugged Anabelle tightly, "oh Anabelle, we are so, so thrilled to have you as a member if this family, I can't even- I'm just so- oh this is so wonderful, you both are just so lucky to have found each other," she gushed, "And you," she said sternly to Luke's father, "You sneak, you knew about this an didn't tell me? Incorrigible." She shook her head, "I'm going to make some coffee, you kids stay here and enjoy yourselves. Good lord, I am just tickled..." She mumbled as she went into the kitchen. Luke smiled, leaning down to kiss the top of Anabelle's head and found a comfy spot on the couch, pulling her down beside him and kept an arm around her shoulders. Luke's father picked his paper back up, peeking over it, clearly up for conversation though he tried to make himself look busy, "So what about this tour, hmm? Wedding later on I suppose then?" Luke nodded, "Well sure, I guess there's no rush," he said, looking at Anabelle for input, "Whatever Anabelle wants. We are gonna have to get you a ring though."
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Post by Anabelle Grace Bryan on Nov 9, 2012 21:23:11 GMT -5
Anabelle rested her chin on Luke’s chest as he was sitting on his elbows. Yeah, it was a lot to take in. She’d met the guy two weeks ago and suddenly they were promising to spend the rest of their lives together. Did things like that even happen in real life? She took in a breath before he kissed her and smiled slowly against his lips. She could get used to those things. Let the girls watch him shake his hips, they didn’t get to know his taste. She laughed quietly when he asked if she was in the mood for hunting. “ Did you even plan on hunting at all, Luke Bryan?” she asked as she narrowed her eyes at him skeptically. Anabelle remembered in that moment the small flower he had been holding, she knew she’d want to keep that. She picked it up carefully, holding onto it like it meant the world to her.But she joined him gladly, holding out her hand for him to help her stand up before she wiped the dirt off the back of her legs and made her way back over to four wheeler, this time insisting that she get a shot at driving it. And he was right, she would want to call her mama. She knew how excited she would be more than anyone. Sure she worried about what her daddy might think, all little southern girls did. But it was her mama that she knew would be relieved, like her prayers had been answered. And Luke was just that – the answer to her mama’s prayers. Anabelle just knew in her heart that Luke would do anything he could to take care of her, he had already in those short two weeks. Even in the eyes of Anabelle, who saw the good in everyone and thought the world was the friendliest place on earth, she knew that he was something special, different than the others. Sure, he was the most handsome guy she’d ever had the pleasure of setting her eyes on. But she would have thought that even if it weren’t true. He had the kindest set of eyes she ever did see. Anabelle smiled as she pulled the four wheeler to a stop, not as nicely as Luke would have mind you, and hopped off of it immediately. Almost instantly she started tearing off the hunting jacket, hanging it up nicely in the mood room as she did her best to hop out of the way too large boots and made her way inside with Luke. Anabelle made a confused expression, paired with her going-nowhere smile, as Luke and his papa were talking. What did he mean he got a beauty, they didn’t even hunt. And goodness gracious when his mama came back into the room, she was surprised that she was so elated. “ Oh my goodness,” Anabelle said overwhelmed, wrapping her arms tightly around his mama as well. After all, they were going to be her family too. “ Don’t you think you can hide behind that newspaper,” she said to his papa after letting go of his mama and made her way over to him, squishing her way between his body and the newspaper as she hugged him tightly as well before placing a big old kiss on his cheek. She kept her body close to Luke as he held his arm around her and leaned her side against him, wrapping her arm around his lower back and waist. Anabelle smiled, resting her cheek against the side of his arm until he decided to make himself comfortable on the couch. And Anabelle surely followed suit, sitting down beside him. Remembering the flower she sat up and went to the coat before taking it out of the pocket and bringing it back to the couch. She listened quietly as him and his father spoke to one each other, making herself comfortable on the couch by draping both of her legs over one of his and scooting in close to his side where she rested her head. She made a face at Luke as he suggested she needed a ring, “ I don’t need a silly ring.” she said, trying to wrap the flower around her finger. “ We could donate that money instead to an animal shelter. Or I was watching this special on the news the other night about dogs that get injured while working with the police force and then have to have physical therapy,” she said while nodding, still trying to tie the flower on her finger. After a moment of frustration she glared at the flower, giving up and setting it on her lap. Anabelle scrunched her eyebrows together, looking between Luke and his father as they were discussing when the wedding should take place.
Honestly, she couldn’t see how she could possibly get back on a tour bus with him and have him not be her husband. She didn’t want to lay down in a bunk with him knowing that they were how many nights away from being able to say that. Rushing things? They’d known each other for two weeks and were getting engaged, so it didn’t really seem too crazy for what she was about to suggest. “ Well,” she started off quietly, nervous to sort of mention it. Anabelle sat up on the couch, turning her body to face Luke and smiled at him. Heck, he had asked her to marry him – so in reality he should be the person she was most comfortable around. Maybe they were crazy, but at least they were crazy together. “ When I call my mama, I can ask her how quickly her and daddy can get here. Your whole family is already here, so it would just take getting’ mine here. I know how much Tennessee means to you. And I could marry you anywhere,” she said before looking away from him and looking at his daddy to see his reaction. “ Our mama’s could do the cookin… That would be better than any fancy New York catering anyways. I could find a dress here in town. I’m sure Hunter would come down in a heartbeat.,” she said, realizing she was probably come off as rambling from all of her excitement. “ Oh my gosh do you have a shelter around here? We could take left over food to the homeless shelter,” she said as she looked at Luke, pulling the sleeves of her shirt down into her palms since she was getting chilly. Plus she had promised to make him a pie. So she was mentally going over the shopping list that they would need for when they went to the grocery store before going back to his place. Their place? “ Oh my goodness,” she said as she looked at Luke, “You get to be my home now,” she said as though the heaviness of it finally weighed down her. Going home, that meant walking in and being able to see him, every night. She got to wake up and make him breakfast, stay up late on Sunday and Monday nights watching football and drinking beer. They got to be best friends, living together and actually sharing everything. She bit the edge of her lip as she smiled, knowing that she probably looked like a moron with how much she had been smiling already today. “ I’m gonna go call my mama!” she said before taking her hand and gripping his chin and leaning up against his body to kiss him. Never going to get tired of that.Anabelle picked up the flower, offering it back to Luke, before she ran over to her purse and took out her phone, wandering into the kitchen where she could FaceTime her and tell her the good news. As much as she wanted to wait on it, there was someone she had to call first – Hunter. That conversation would take less time than with her mama, but she still wanted to tell him first. So that was exactly what she did. This time it was her mama’s turn to cry, and apparently Luke’s papa hadn’t been the only one to keep the secret, because there her mother was scolding her dad for the same thing. She smiled, realizing that Luke must have somehow asked for his permission. She brought the phone back into the living room when her mama decided she wanted to congratulate Luke as well and perched herself back on the couch with him, letting him hold the phone as they FaceTime’d. Anabelle looped her arms around one of Luke’s, turning her head so she could kiss the side of his arm before she rested against it. Once the phone call ended, Anabelle sat up and looked at him, taking in a deep breath. “ Well I don’t know how soon too soon is for you.. but mama and papa said that they could fly in tonight if we decided to get married tomorrow,” she said, giving him a soft smile. But it dawned on her for a moment and she turned on the couch to look at his mama before she spoke up. “ Is there any chance you could take me into town tonight to look at some dresses while we wait for my mama? “ she asked and then turned to look back at Luke. If her family was flying in, her parents would undoubtedly call Hunter and ask if him and Mandi wanted to fly in tonight as well. “ Supper..” Anabelle said thinking to herself before she pushed her hair away from her face and looked at Luke. “ What about that restaurant you were tellin’ me about that you used to go to a lot growin’ up. You think that we could all eat dinner there when my family gets here?” she asked before she smiled again instantly. This was maybe the best thing that could have ever happened to her in her entire life. It was. Anabelle sat up against his body again, giving him another kiss as she held her hand securely against the side of his cheek. After she pulled away she sat still for a moment before she widened her eyes and looked up at him, “ I ain’t tellin’ Renner,” she said with a slight shake of her head. Anabelle curled up to Luke’s side, placing the blanket on the end of the couch over both of their legs as she held onto him tightly. She looked down at Stella who was resting her head on the edge of the couch staring up at the two of them. She was coming back on the bus with them too once they got back on the road. She couldn’t help but smile to herself, thinking of how much they had changed from the moment they stepped off the bus until the moment she got to step back on it with him.
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