Otherwordly Beauty [River & Penn]

Penn was about to ask who Melissa was until she followed up with the question about her therapist. Ah, Melissa must be the name of her therapist. "Did you tell her you were at least thinking of coming here or will she be totally surprised?" He asked. "I mean, I can go with you when we get back if you want to prove to her I'm not some crazy psycho or something." He said with a little chuckle.

"I'll fetch anything for you, Buttercup." He said with a playful little wink.

"A little bit of both, animals and crops. That's where the goose chasing thing happened. We've got a few horses, chickens, geese, pigs, and a couple of cows. As far as crops, it's mostly corn. My dad has part of the corn crop sectioned off and does a corn maze every fall for the town." He explained. "As far as who gets it...it's still undecided at the moment. None of us are super invested right now, but my older brother still lives close to home and he'll probably end up with it."

"If you want me to even go near the birds you'll have to bring something." He joked. "Otherwise I'll just keep my distance. All I really know is that it won't be me who ends up with the farm. Not unless the birds go." He said with a little laugh.

"The tech stuff is mostly my thing. My older brother, Ben, is a lawyer and definitely has the ego for it. We butt heads sometimes but it's been better since we stopped living under the same roof. He's the one with my nieces, Kyla and Leah. His wife's name is Katie. My little sister, Amy, is a videographer. Her husband's name is Ray. They are the ones with the baby on the way."

He took bites of food between their conversation.

Penn beamed at her, she had a good memory. "Don't be sorry at all. It's great. And yes, all correct. Except that Amy and Ray don't know if it's a boy or a girl yet...or haven't chosen to find out...or something. I can't remember exactly. It was Kyla who taught me to make the flowers. She's nine and Leah is six. If I had my phone I'd show you pics, but alas...that shall have to wait." He said with a smile.

"What is your Dad's name? I don't think you ever told me."

Penn set down his fork as he finished eating. His plate wasn't empty but he had had enough. He leaned back a little in his chair, listening to River with a smile. "He sounds really cool, I'm looking forward to meeting him. Is there anything I should know before I meet him? Any big red flags to avoid so he'll like me?" He asked.

Beyond River saying yes to marrying him, he knew the next more important thing was to get her father's blessing. It was likely even more important than with another girl considering that not only was River his only child but his only family.

Penn smiled softly and nodded. "I think I can manage that." He said with a small chuckle and a thoughtful nod. "I just really want him to like me."

A new song started to play and Penn smiled, pushing back his chair and standing. He offered his hand to River. "My Queen, may I have this dance?" He asked her with a flourishing bow.

Penn's gaze fell to her lips as she bit it and he beamed down at her. Taking her hand he pulled her a little from the table so they had plenty of room and his free arm moved around her back. He began to sway gently with her to the slow beat of the music. He was no professional by any means but he could manage.

If she let him he'd let go of her back to spin her once softly before bringing her back to him.

She looked so beautiful. She always looked beautiful but there was a certain radiance about her tonight that he found enchantingly captivating. He felt like they were falling into a rhythm with one another as they were becoming more and comfortable together. In this moment he wasn't think about anything or anyone else, only her.

As they swayed his thumb stroked her hand and he pulled her a little closer against him, leaning down to rest his head gently on top of hers.

Penn melted into that soft kiss, cherishing her as he returned it lovingly. His now free hand moved to her side against her ribs and the hand on her back moved from her shoulder to the small of her back and back up to her neck where his fingers entangled with her hair and he kissed her more deeply. The beauty of the song somehow filled the spaces in the room and made the moment all the more intimate.

The hand on her ribs moved to wrap around her waist and his fingers in her hair pulled her closer as he started to lose himself in her kiss. Just like the night of the maze he held her snugly and securely and very very gently lifted her up. Her toes just barely leaving the floor. He was experimenting.