Welcome to your bonus origin story of how the Sweet Meadows Ranch came to be! This story is set long before Levi Wylder and his brothers were born, but you might recognize the ranch and, of course, Carmichael Wylder, the 79-year-old patriarch of the Sweet Meadows Ranch. Enjoy these two bonus scenes from his point of view from ‘way back in the day.’
The Sweet Meadows Ranch Origin Story
by Jean Oram
© Jean Oram 2021
This was the place. Open land with mature oak trees, a creek that branched and wound around the land, telling him he wouldn’t have to drill far down for his windmills that would pull up water for cattle. There was even a homestead along with a bright red barn.
Carmichael put his hands on his hips and surveyed the ranch. It would need a name. But he could see his bride-to-be loving it. Ruth was a city girl, but she had big ranching dreams and adored horses more than any human he’d ever met.
He turned to Luther, the owner of the ranch. “I’ll take it.”
“When do you want possession?”
“As soon as possible. Wedding’s on the weekend, and I’d love to carry Ruth over that threshold.” He pointed to the one-story home nestled under oaks on the other side of a wild holly hedge. The home was only about 20 years old, ignored for a full five years now. It had been built during World War II and was made with thin planked floors, drafty windows, and was as cute as a button. It would quickly become too small once they started to grow their family, but they would make do.
Best of all, there was lots of land. Room for goats, chickens, cows, horses and a family. All the place needed was some TLC, cats, dogs and some kids to make it perfect.
And, best of all, Carmichael would have his own ranch. Being one of many boys in the Wylder family, he’d always known his chances of getting his hands on the family homestead was slim to none.
Hence the reason he’d been saving up for his own ranch since age eleven. There’d been plenty of days he’d doubted himself. That was until the night he’d met Ruth at a barn dance last year. Then he’d known exactly why he had scrimped and saved for so long. The poor gal had been like a fish out of water, standing there in her brand-new cowboy boots, looking excited as her cowgirl cousins took her out on the dance floor and showed her a few moves. It hadn’t taken long for Carmichael and Ruth to fall in love.
Carmichael shook hands with Luther and climbed back into his truck. He headed back to town, stopping at the bank, then the Longhorn diner, which had been built three years previous, to use their phone. He called the land office to begin the process of registering the ranch as his own.
“Sorry, can barely hear you, Carmichael,” Frank Lloyd said on the other end of the phone. “I think we have a bad line.”
“I bought Luther’s ranch.”
“What’s that?”
Carmichael slowed his drawl. “I bought a ranch.”
“Congratulations!”
“I need to register it in my name.”
“Good-o,” Luther said.
“I don’t have time to come in, can I do it over the phone?” He checked his watch. He had his last suit fitting for the wedding over in Riverside in an hour, and the dirt road that ran between the towns would eat up some serious travel time after last week’s heavy rain.
“What are y’all gonna call it?”
Carmichael would rename the land, give it something with meaning. He gazed out over the empty diner, thinking. “It’s for my new bride.”
“Bromide?”
“No. I don’t have a name.”
“I’ll need one. The brand, if you’re going to have livestock, can wait.”
“I’ll name it. It’s for my sweetheart. The ranch–it’s got meadows, like she dreamed.”
“What’s that?”
“For my sweetheart,” he repeated slowly.
“Meadows?”
“Yes.”
“That’ll be a fine name. No problem.” Frank hung up and Carmichael stared at the phone for a long moment, wondering what he’d just named the land he’d be living on for the rest of his life.
* * *
On the weekend Carmichael turned down the driveway in the growing dusk, Ruth snuggled against him on the truck’s bench seat. She was in her wedding suit, a smart dress she’d changed into at the end of the reception. He was still in his suit, but had used his narrow necktie as a blindfold over Ruth’s pretty brown eyes to keep the ranch a surprise until the reveal.
“Don’t tell me you bought us a little house?” she asked.
Carmichael smiled at her in reply, even though she couldn’t see him. She was pretty in her dress’s long skirt, her slim ankles crossed in her cowboy boots, her dark brown hair flipped out at the bottom in a popular style. She looked adorable and sophisticated, and yet cowgirl, too. City meets country. That was his Ruth.
“Did you?” she asked. “My cousins were filling my head with rumors.”
“Slow your horses, woman. No use guessing your surprise and ruining it for yourself.”
She bounced beside him like a child as he parked the truck in front of the small home. With his heart beating fast with love and the joy, he said, “You can uncover your eyes.”
She pulled down the tie, looking at him for a long moment before turning to look out the windshield at the small home with a porch decorated with a giant ribbon that wavered in the wind. She burst out laughing, her hands pressed against her cheeks. “Look at you. You did it?” She looked to him for confirmation, her eyes bright with joy.
He nodded, momentarily unable to speak. “Do you like it?”
She slid across the seat, opening the door. “I need to see inside before I decide that. What if the walls have horrible wallpaper or the floor is missing?”
Carmichael chuckled and came around to her side of the truck, even though she was already bouncing past him toward the house.
“I assure you the walls are respectable, and there are windows and a solid floor. It’s not much, but it’ll do us.”
Ruth clambered up onto the small porch, ducking under the red ribbon that spanned the steps. She peered through the windows, her hands cupped around her face. He opened the front door and gestured.
Her boots clipped across the porch as she hurried to the open door. As she went to blast past him, he scooped her up into his arms, carrying her over the threshold.
“You old romantic,” she said affectionately, her arms slung around his neck. He stopped inside, kissing her gently. He set her on her feet, knowing she wanted to explore. He flicked on the lights and she scurried from room to room, full of energy and excitement. When she was done, she stood in the middle of the living room, hands on her hips.
“I feel a draft.”
“I believe it’s that newfangled thing called air conditioning.”
“I doubt that very much.” She spun around in a circle, arms out. “I love it, sweetie. I absolutely love it. And I can’t wait to fill the extra bedroom full of children.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I am ready whenever you are.”
She grinned at him, then patted his chest and bounced out of his arms. “Tomorrow! I have more exploring to do. Did I see a barn down there?”
“How did you see a barn? Were you peeking?”
“A little.” She giggled and slipped away before he could catch her.
She was out the door, calling over her shoulder, “Are there any animals yet? What should we get first?”
He hustled to keep up with her, opening the barn’s doors before she could. The two horses he had picked up at auction were standing in their stalls, shifting as the new couple entered.
Ruth gasped and covered her mouth. “I love them. Are they ours? What are their names?”
Carmichael introduced her to Cinnamon and Cloves and promised that in the morning, when there was light, they would saddle up and explore their newly owned acres.
As they walked back to the house, Ruth tucked at his side, she gushed over all the right things, paused to inhale the right aromas and savored all the same things he did as well.
As they entered their home again, he gave her a kiss of promise.
“What’s the name of our ranch?” she whispered.
Carmichael pulled the deed from inside his suit jacket pocket and handed it to her. She unfolded the papers and scanned. She laughed.
“Sweet Meadows Ranch. I do like that.” She leaned into him. “You old romantic.”
“That man at the registry office is half deaf,” Carmichael grumbled, throwing his hat onto the room’s bare floor. They were going to need furniture. Dishes. Cattle. So much still to do.
“Well, I like the name.”
“I was going to call it Bride’s Ranch.”
“For me?”
“For you.”
She was quiet for a moment, then she said, “I’ll always know that. And in the meantime, this is a name that can be passed down for generations. It’s timeless. Like our love.”
She cupped his face, kissing him in a way that made the mistaken name seem like a very smart idea. In fact, anything that made his new bride happy was fine by him. He had a feeling that every day was going to be bright and wonderful, and he looked forward to their future and the family they would have.
Because as long as he had Ruth, he had everything he needed in order to smile.
* * *
Ready for book two in the The Cowboys of Sweetheart Creek, Texas series? Read about Myles and the town librarian, Karen, in The Cowboy’s Secret Wish! Myles has secrets, but Karen is sure to discover them!
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This collection includes:
The Cowboy’s Stolen Heart
The Cowboy’s Secret Wish
The Cowboy’s Second Chance
The Cowboy’s Sweet Elopement
The Cowboy’s Surprise Return
Sweet Troublemaker
Sweet Joymaker