This couple had been through misery, and they’d come out the other side. The woman laughed at her husband’s jokes. The husband looked at his wife with eyes full of love. Had they always been that way, or had they grown into it after the hardest of times?
But Jane hadn’t had that time with her husband—the chance to grow from their struggles instead of simply feeling consumed by them. She’d never had the chance to get to the sweet spot in her marriage, and looking at that couple with their ice cream, she felt the depth of all she’d lost.
Tears welled in Jane’s eyes and she blinked them back.
She’d been so afraid of marriage again because all she’d known was the hard part—the work, the feeling of failure, the heartbreak. But what if there were a man she loved enough to get over the tough times when they presented themselves and travel with toward that sweet spot?
What if she could have a chance at marriage again with a man like Colt? She’d be willing, she realized in a surprised rush. She’d be more than willing—her whole heart would be in it.
But Colt had his own heartache, and he wanted marriage even less than she had. Colt couldn’t be the man to grow old with, no matter how much she loved him. If there was one thing she’d learned from her marriage to Josh, it was that one person wasn’t enough to carry a relationship. It was too heavy, too tiring. A woman’s love couldn’t rescue a marriage if the man’s heart wasn’t in it. She wouldn’t try to be enough for two again.
No, it was better to go back to Minneapolis to start over again. It would take time to get over Colt, and very likely he’d be the guy she measured all the others against going forward. But the thought of marriage wasn’t quite so scary anymore. If she could find a love like that older couple, she’d stand by her guy.
She was doing the right thing in leaving Creekside.
Lord, provide for us, she prayed. And give me the strength to raise my girls right.
When she’d given Micha and Suzie their last bites, Jane pulled out some wet wipes and cleaned their sticky fingers and faces. Her girls were the center of her world, the center of her heart. They deserved all the love and energy that she had inside her. They were her most sacred duty.
“Time to drive,” Jane said, and she swallowed back the emotion that rose within her because she knew who she was leaving behind, and the image of that tall cowboy had slipped into her heart.
They’d start over, and God would provide for them. Maybe He’d even provide her another husband one of these years. Regardless, God was the One she could depend on.
Chapter Fifteen
Colt arrived at the house to see Jane’s car was gone. He pulled off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. He was too late, and his heart felt heavy and sodden inside him. He could text her later. He could call her even. That was something. But seeing her one last time—that would have been better.
“Oh, there you are,” Peg said, opening the side door. “High time, too! Jane and the girls left about half an hour ago.”
“Yeah...” Colt nodded. “I’d hoped to talk to her.”
“You might have hurried a little more then,” she retorted, then rolled her eyes. “I mentioned Creekside Creamery, by the way. I suggested the girls might like some ice cream before she headed out of town.”
“Oh yeah?” He perked up at that. There was a sliver of hope here...
“For what it’s worth,” Peg said, shooting him an annoyed look.
Peg didn’t hide her feelings well, and he’d managed to disappoint her. It would have to wait. He hopped back into this truck and started the engine.
“I’m going to town,” he called out his open window. “If anyone asks.”
Peg smiled at that. “I’d speed a little, too, if I were you.”
Colt did drive faster than usual as he navigated those familiar roads that led to town. He needed to lay eyes on Jane, see her face. It might not change anything—in fact it probably wouldn’t—and maybe this was just an indulgence on his part but he had to talk to her.
He focused on the road, tapping irritably on the steering wheel as he drove. The miles clicked by on the odometer, and when he finally entered Creekside’s town limits, he felt a little bit better.
Maybe she wouldn’t even have stopped at Creekside Creamery. Maybe she just drove on through, putting Creekside, the Marshall ranch and Colt all behind her. But then again, maybe she hadn’t...
Creekside Creamery was in the downtown, and as he stopped at each intersection, he wished he could just plow on through. But the ice cream shop finally came up, he turned into the little parking lot that was shared between it and the hardware store and he spotted her car.
The back door was open, and Jane was bent over, reaching inside.
“Thank You,” he breathed, in a quiet prayer. She wasn’t gone yet!
There was a spot next to hers, and he pulled in. He hopped out of his truck and slammed the door, then leaned against it as he waited for her to finish what appeared to be the buckling of car seats. She finally emerged, and her eyes looked red rimmed. She didn’t look up at him until he said, “Jane...”
And then she raised those teary eyes and blinked at him in surprise.
“Colt? What are you...” She shook her head. “I was just thinking of you.”
So those tears had been for him. He was going to say something—explain himself, maybe—but instead he found himself closing that distance between them and covering her lips with his. She leaned into his arms, and she felt perfect there, warm and soft. When he finally pulled back, she blinked up at him.
“I
