How They Asked
We came out to California for an annual vacation we had planned to visit my aunt. It just so happens we came out during the wildfires were burning through Malibu and Calabasas. Kyle planned on proposing during our LA horseback riding adventure, but because of the fires being so close, it was supposed to be cancelled. The morning of we got ready to go, hoping for the best outcome. (I go on this horseback riding trip almost every time I’m in California, it’s an all-time favorite, the view is unbeatable; I had never taken kyle before so it was special to go with him to my favorite place). There were no cancellations, so we headed up to Malibu thinking we were free and clear. Halfway through the ride, the owner called and said when we reached the base of the mountain there would be a checkpoint that only let resident to the are through, but we could still come and try. We figured since we were halfway we’d go up and see what happened. Once we hit the checkpoint the cop asked what we were doing and we said going to help with the horses. He said “his hands were tied” and proceeded to let us “go to the nearest gas station”. Come to find out, they wouldn’t even let the owner through the checkpoint, but for some reason, we were able to get there. We saddled up for our ride, and inevitably on top of a mountain, there’s not much cell reception. On the way back, we stopped to take pictures of the overlook of calabasas, with the wildfires just a peak away. We got our horses close together for the pictures and that’s when Kyle turned to me and pulled out a box with a red bow, unwrapped and asked me to marry him. Chapped lips and winded hair, I said yes.
Once we got back to the ranch and after we took some pictures, we headed back down the mountain as fiancée and fiancé. The owner called me once I got some service, and told us it was meant to be that day, that every other rider called and cancelled (it was supposed to be a group ride), and no one was allowed up the mountain. The police went to the ranch and demanded them to get us to come back for a mandatory evacuation but it was too late. I think you definitely know when you’re with “the one”, but I think God was affirming it that day.
