Texas Rose, a short love story

Our story was no different.A tale of love looked down upon.We didn't care.We broke boundaries we shared kisses that hot Texas summer when the sun beat down.I was the owner of a huge cattle ranch and he was a traveling soul seeker with a guitar in hand.He did odd jobs to get himself from place to place but mostly he just wandered looking for work.He said he had inquired about work at the one gas station and they told him to go see Rose at Double M ranch.He had hitched a ride from town in the back of Old Man Jenkins beat down 54 Chevy.

  He definitely stole my breath the minute he came strolling up my broken sidewalk clutching his guitar case with just a knapsack flung over his shoulder.A ruggedly handsome chap in his 20's,it looked like he had not bathed in weeks.It was hard to tell his exact skin tone because of all the dirt.
He knocked quietly and asked in such a southern way if he could speak to Rose. When I quietly mentioned you are looking at her he seemed to stiffen a bit.I held out my hand to shake it and was greeted by a hearty handshake.He said my name is Paul and I heard you are in need of a ranch hand.
I can do anything but rounding up cattle is my speciality.Most men were afraid to come seeking work being thrown off by the fact the owner was a woman.I had inherited the ranch where I ran 2000 head of cattle  from my father.I had always known hard work accomplishing any task just about as well as any man.I had been married many many years ago to a ranch hand that had come to work on papa's land.Ours was a whirlwind courtship we married  after knowing each other just 2 months.Papa approved and that was all that mattered. A month later and barely 18 I found myself pregnant.Nine months later I gave birth to the most precious baby girl we named Miranda but like many children she got sick and died while still very young.My heart forever broken by the fact that my firstborn lay in a childhood grave.The kindly doctor had worned us that another pregnancy could kill me so I made a heartwrenching decision to have a tubal ligation. Like many other young men his age my hubby was soon drafted for the war.Duty to his country called and just when I thought there would be a happy ending after months of being apart, that man you never want to visit did.He brought a flag and condolenses.My heart again shattered and I vowed never to open my heart again because just a month before I had lost my daddy .No I would run the ranch it would be my love.The horses and cattle and dust would be my friend. That is until one day when Paul appeared.
   Rust colored curls framed his handsome face,he only stood 5'10'' or so.His eyes a gorgeous hazel and my heart couldn't think I wonder if somewhere a mama is aching to know where her boy is.
When I asked him how old he was he said 24 ma'am but I am a real hard worker I will prove it.
"Do you have a place to stay?" I inquired
"No ma'am " came a solemn answer
"Will you please stop calling me ma'am make me feel as if I am a heap older than 40"
"Please call me Rose"
"You can stay in the extra room right there ,I think  I might have some clothes left by the last hand I think will fit ,you must be tired from your travels I will run you a bath."
"Thank you Rose"
That even he came alive after a bath I could tell how handsome he was ,I couldn't help but think why hadn't some beautiful girl caught his attention. As we sat around the outdoor fire I listened to him strum his guitar and then he pulled a harmonica out of his pocket.Reminded me of the way my Peter used to play.We talked for hours  and realized how much we had in common.I'll never forget the night he kissed me under the beautiful Texan night sky.I had wished upon a star that somehow my heart could learn to love a young cowboy.Seems my dreams were coming true.
That fateful day came a war had started and with it the dreaded draft.He was young and strong and was quickly picked to go .My heart sank for I knew how he would come back to me but to my surprise he did return.His mind greatly changed from the trauma he saw and holding a deep dark secret.He had met a young nurse ,she had stolen his heart  and he needed to go.They had a baby on the way and he intended to make himself an honest man."I am sorry Rose it hurts me as much as it hurts you but I am obligated now,besides people would not approve of our age difference."
"Who the hell gives a damn Paul it never seemed to matter before why do you care what people think?"
"I figured out what I want to do with my life  and I been talking to people.I want to follow my dream of being a singer,songwriter,actor and I am moving out to California to have a shot at my dream"
"We both know that I would be given that look if I showed up with a much older woman at my side"
"Don't hold me back just let me go please Rose I am beggin let me go".
My heart screamed no and just as everybody important I had ever loved Paul was now gone it seemed I was destined to run this ranch and die an old maid."He sang as he walked down the driveway disappearing into the hot dusky fall. "You'll always be my Texas Rose"
That night I lay quietly sobbing in the bed I had shared with Paul so many times.I had dreamed of my young soldier coming home and of us quietly being wed down at the courthouse in town now that dream would be locked away in a vault in my heart.My heart had been ripped and stolen away by some young war nurse no doubt beautiful and seeking her own adventures.My heart knew what no one else could tell me.That Paul had been mine and that the war had stolen him from me by duty and obligation I knew he didn't really love the nurse he was just doing what he thought was right.His heart would never truely be happy because he had such a wandering soul never happy in one place.
His heart would forever belong to his Texas Rose.