Lexi
Mama, I swear I didn’t know Scott was coming.
Lexi
I’m on my way home now.
Mama
You didn’t have to leave Rhett’s.
Mama
I can keep Scott company 🙂
Lexi
I just got in my car. Give me 10 min.
Mama
Did you and Rhett talk?
Lexi
🙄 I can’t get into this right now.
Mama
Aren’t you excited about the farm?
Lexi
I don’t know what I am.
Mama
Rhett wanted this for you.
Lexi
Did he think I would move back?
Mama
Says who? Do you really love it in Dallas?
Mama
Do you want my advice?
Lexi
Is Scott sitting right there?
Mama
I’ve got him looking through your baby book.
Lexi
😳 Mama, are you serious?
Lexi
Whatever, I have bigger issues than whether Scott sees me chewing on a rattle.
Mama
Are you having second thoughts about the engagement?
Lexi
I mean, I wasn’t until today.
Mama
Was it the farmhouse?
Lexi
Well that certainly didn’t help.
Lexi
Mama, stop. It’s probably just cold feet.
Mama
Isn’t that supposed to come closer to the wedding?
Mama
No one will blame you for questioning your choice, you know.
Lexi
But the ring has only been on my finger a few days!
Mama
Are you more nervous because Scott is here now?
Lexi
Well, everything is happening all at once!
Lexi
Seeing Rhett, the farmhouse, Scott showing up…
Mama
Maybe you should take Scott around town.
Mama
Show him where you grew up, your school.
Mama
Maybe that would help now that he’s on your turf.
Mama
Gotta run. Scott is done with your first 6 months.
Mama
Take your time. I have plenty more to show.
Lexi
Put the baby books away. I’ll be there soon.
Lexi drives home, worrying how she’ll feel when she sees Scott.
He’s a nice guy, which makes this even more difficult…
Because Rhett has stirred emotions in her—
Emotions she never thought she’d feel toward her best friend.
As soon as she pulls into her driveway, Scott comes out the front door to greet her.
Lexi
I can’t believe you’re really here.
Scott
I wanted to meet your mom and see where you’re from.
Scott
This is…quite a small town.
Lexi
It is, but it’s so refreshing. Don’t you think?
Scott
Is that what I smell?
Lexi
Uh, no. That’s cow manure.
When he doesn’t laugh, Lexi gets an uneasy feeling.
Lexi
Why don’t I show you around?
Lexi
We can go tomorrow, as soon as the sun rises.
The next morning, they settle into her rental car and head toward her favorite café.
Lexi
This is where I had my first job as a barista.
Scott
Ah, a typical college side job.
Lexi
Actually, I worked here in junior high school.
Lexi
I also worked at the farm, but I wanted something else…
Scott
Something that wasn’t manure related?
Lexi
Anyway, I only worked 2 days a week.
Lexi
Rhett always came in early to get coffee for the crew at the ranch.
Lexi cringes, tightening her hold on the steering wheel.
Lexi
Rhett is actually my best friend.
Lexi
He worked for my dad on the farm. That’s how we met.
Scott
Is he still around here?
Scott
Then I should meet him, too, while I’m here.
Don’t most people want to introduce their fiancé to their best friend?
But the bundle of nerves inside Lexi grows larger at the very thought.
Lexi
I’ll see if I can work it out.
But inside her mind, Lexi has already decided — that’ll never happen.
Lexi drives toward a little park with an old, wrought iron entrance.
Lexi
This is where Rhett and I used to come to get away from the farm and talk.
Lexi
There’s a beautiful pond just over that rise in the distance.
Scott
Sounds like you have quite a close relationship with Rhett.
Lexi
Since I was 16. Guys are easier to talk to than girls.
Scott
Did you tell him about the engagement?
That he wanted an emerald on my hand.
Instead of letting the thought out, Lexi swallows. She resets her grip on the wheel again.
Lexi
He was happy for me.
Scott
Do you think he’ll fly out for the wedding?
Lexi
What about having it here?
Scott
In Millbrook? Is there even a hotel for guests?
Lexi
Nearly anyone I would invite lives here. How many people are on your list?
Honestly, she hadn’t thought of her list other than her mother and Rhett.
Scott
I have a large family and many associates.
She and Scott are so alike in their career aspirations, yet so different in every other aspect of life.
She doesn’t need a large wedding.
An image of a picturesque outdoor ceremony on her old farm flashes through her mind.
Since Rhett owns the farm now…would he let her have her wedding there?
Lexi
What about a country wedding on my old ranch?
Scott jerks his attention to her.
Lexi
Well, it’s part of what makes me, well…me.
Lexi
At heart, I’m really just a small-town girl.
Scott
I can tell by your face that you love being home.
Lexi nods and turns toward her old ranch.
Scott
Love it so much you prefer it to Dallas?
Lexi steers the car back into the driveway of her childhood home.
Lexi
This is where I grew up.
The old white farmhouse sits atop a small hill.
In the distance, the old red barn is weathered and in need of some serious love.
But she can already imagine Rhett rebuilding.
Lexi
Rhett actually just bought this.
Scott
Lex, you seem different here…
Scott
And I can see that you’re torn over this wedding.
Scott
Or maybe you’re torn over me and the life we discussed. I don’t know.
Scott
But I want you happy. If that’s not with me in Dallas, then…
The words hang in the air…
Because Lexi doesn’t know what to say.
