Helping Hands

"I've enjoyed being here, but it's way too expensive. Anyway, let me know if you want to um...shack up." Kendall actually giggled when she said that and Zack laughed.

He spent the rest of the evening and all day Saturday thinking about it.

Cass's car was already there when he pulled in on Sunday around noon. He got out of his car and heard a noise by the barn and when he looked over he just smiled as Cass had her arms around Barrett as they talked and laughed. "Looks like love is in the air," he said to himself as he went inside. He'd stopped knocking and let himself in.

"Lucy? I'm hooome!" he called out. Kendall came out of the kitchen and threw her arms around him.

"Hi handsome! Did you come here to tell me you're moving in?" she asked as they kissed.

"Something like that," he told her.

"You got your own place!" she surmised. "You did, didn't you! You were going to surprise me but I can read you like a book already!"

"I can't keep anything from you, can I?" he said as she led him into the kitchen.

"Okay, everything is almost ready. I've got sandwiches, chips, drinks, napkins..."

"Where's the champagne?" he asked.

"Champagne? We're riding horses, not going to a wedding. Why would we need champagne?"

"You never know," he said.

On the way out to the barn, where Cass and Barrett where still holding one another, Zack said, "Let me grab something." He reached in and produced a bottle of champagne and said, "Hey, you never know when you might need a bottle." He also had four plastic cups which he put in the cooler that one of the horses would carry.

"Okay you two!" Kendall said as they got closer. "Get a room or get on a horse," she told them.

"We already got a room," Barrett boomed out.

"Bar—rett!" Cass said partially feigning embarrassment.

"Well, where do you think these two have been every night this week?" he quipped as Kendall shot him a look.

"Okay, okay. Let's get ready to ride," she said.

Barrett had gotten four of them tacked up and a few minutes later they were on their way.

"Beautiful day for it," Barrett said as they mounted up and headed out. He reached out for Cass's hand and said, "And a beautiful girl to share it with."

Zack and Kendall were a ways behind them and Zack said, "They seem to be getting along pretty well."

"I've never seen Barrett like this before. He's usually in and out—no pun intended—in one or two dates. But Cass is different. I think he really likes her."

"I guess the age difference doesn't matter the other way around either, huh?" Zack joked.

They were still holding hands as Kendall reached for Zack's. "Nope. It doesn't seem to matter."

The horses ambled along for another hour before coming to a creek with a flat, open area next to it. "This has been a favorite spot for years," Kendall told them.

Cass helped her spread out the blanket and passed out the sandwiches. There was some polite chatter as they ate but mostly they just took in the scenery. The blue skies, the mountains in the distance, and the sounds of the babbling brook.

"This is my idea of heaven on earth," Kendall said as she rested her head on Zack's shoulder.

He put his arm around her and said, "It doesn't get any better than this, does it?"

She looked over at him and the two of them instantly knew of one place where it really did get better than that and they both laughed.

"Okay, you two," Barrett said to them this time. "There aren't any rooms out here, you know."

"Speaking of rooms..." Zack said. "I don't think it's any secret Kendall and I are um...romantically involved."

Cass giggled, Barrett laughed, and Kendall said, "Hon-ney!"

"We're not blind," Barrett said. "So what about rooms?"

Zack stood up and said, "Well, I moved back in with my folks as soon as I finished school and didn't think much about getting my own place until um..."

"Zack!" Kendall said pretending he was telling some big secret.

Kendall was still sitting and Zack went around behind her and stood here as he spoke to Cass and Barrett. "Anyway, there's an obvious reason we're um...romantically involved. The simple truth is I'm in love with this beautiful woman right here."

"Awww!" Cassandra said. "At least someone isn't afraid to say it."

She glared at Barrett who through his hands up defensively. "Hey, for me a second date is like saying I love you and we've been out five time already, okay?"

"Rrrghhh," Cass said playfully.

"I've loved her for as long as I could remember but for other obvious reasons, I couldn't tell her. What I didn't know was that I was in love with until last week."

He came around front and said, "We've talked about moving in together and I've decided to take Kendall up on her offer."

"Oh, great. Guess I'm movin' out then," Barrett said as though he didn't already know it.

"I'm not religious or even all that old-fashioned, but I really don't want to live with my girlfriend." He looked down at Kendall and saw the smile fade from her face. He reached for her hand and helped her stand up.

"So because I don't feel comfortable living with my girlfriend..." He turned them both sideways then reached into his pocket and produced a small, white box and got on one knee in front of her.

"Oh, my God!" Kendall screamed.

"Kendall? I've loved you for years and I am so in love with I want us to be together for the rest of our lives." He pulled out the modest-sized ring and said, "Kendall Kelly? Will you make me the happiest man in the world and marry me?"

She was crying and shaking as he slipped the ring on her finger. "Yes. Yes, yes, YES I will marry you, Zachary!"

He stood up and kissed her. As he did they both heard Barrett say, "Don't go gettin' no ideas, Cass."

"As long as I can get another date, I guess that'll be okay—for now," she told him.

They looked over and saw the two of them kissing, too, as they went back to doing the same.

"I love you, Doctor Zack Bartlett and I can't wait to be your wife no matter where we live."

Kendall really had had enough and decided to sell the ranch back to Barrett's family. With the money she made, she and Zack bought their first home in Pueblo together and lived there together for three months until their wedding on a cold, snowy January day several months later.

Barrett surprised everyone and especially Cass when he proposed to her later that evening at the reception. Six months later, they too, were married, and four months after that, the first Bartlett grandchild was born. It was a healthy, baby boy they named Zachary III, and it not only turned Zack's mother's life around, it even put the hardened Zachary, Senior, back in touch with his humanity. Shortly after, his mother moved back into the same bedroom with his father.

Later that year Dr. Weber finally did retire and sold the practice to Zack. He loved his job dearly, but he couldn't wait to get home to his beautiful wife and child each night. Kendall also dearly loved being married to Zack and also loved being a stay-at-home mom raising their son and making sure nothing every changed between her and her husband, her former helping hand on that big old ranch.