“Why?” she asked, shaking her head.
“I miss you already?” He smiled faintly. “I just... Jane, something’s changed. And I don’t know if it will mean anything to you, but I had to tell you.”
“What?” she whispered, those tear-filled eyes searching his.
“I was out in the field helping this steer that was stuck in a fence. That’s why I couldn’t come back for breakfast and to see you. Anyway, I was praying that God would empty me out of this love I felt for you, and... It was one of those God moments when I suddenly realized that maybe the love I’ve been trying to shake was God’s intention all along. I am in love with you, and I’ve been so scared that marriage and family would be doomed to failure, but I’ve been looking to myself to be wise enough, strong enough, emotionally intelligent enough...and I’m not! I’ve never seen a functional marriage up close before. But if God has been guiding me to you, then I’ll trust God to guide me the rest of the way, too.”
“The rest of the way...where?” Jane asked, frowning slightly.
“I’m not trying to pressure you,” he said quickly. “Oh, Jane. That’s the last thing I want to do. I know you don’t want another husband. I get it. I respect that! I guess, I just felt like you would be the only one to understand this, and...and maybe you’d see what I saw. Maybe you’d be willing to reconsider.”
His words evaporated, and he looked at her helplessly. And he didn’t want to say goodbye. Even now.
“I was praying for the same thing,” Jane said softly. “And I’ve come to a realization of my own. There was this old couple in the ice cream shop—the kind that looks so happy, you know? The kind you wish you could be one day. I was married for such a short time, and when Josh died, we were still in the middle of a rocky patch that seemed to start right after the honeymoon. It was so hard. It was so painful, and I’ve never felt so lonely. But if he’d lived...if he’d come home injured instead of dying, I’d have taken care of him and felt blessed to do it!”
“I know,” Colt said. She’d been a good wife to Josh. There was no doubt about that.
“But listen.” She put a hand on his arm. “I’ve been so tired, and I figured that marriage was just too much work to interest me again. Except I forgot about the sweet spot. When a couple really love each other, when they get past the patches of hard work, they get to this place where they understand each other, and they’ve stopped accidentally hurting each other. And it’s beautiful. Josh and I never got there. But I think I’d like to try to get there. I would.”
Colt’s heart hammered in his chest, and he caught her hand in his. “Wait... Jane, are you saying you’d be open to marriage again?”
Jane smiled, then shrugged faintly. “With a guy I loved so much he’d be worth the work, yes.”
He slid his other hand behind her neck, tugging her closer. “Do you love me enough? Because I love you heart and soul. And if you’d be open to it, I’d propose right now.”
“You would? But you said it was just a piece of paper.” A smile curved up those beautiful lips.
“And that piece of paper wouldn’t hold us together,” he said earnestly. “God would. Jane, marry me. I mean it. I’m in love with you, and I really believe God brought us together. And I don’t want to say goodbye ever again. I want to be all yours, and I want to be a dad to Micha and Suzie. I want to take care of the three of you, and I promise you, Jane, I’ll do everything in my power to make sure it isn’t work for you. I’ll listen. I’ll adjust. I’ll take your advice. We can even build a little cottage for a bed and breakfast for you to run. You don’t have to give up anything to be with me—I promise you that. I’ll make it my life’s work to make our relationship as sweet as possible for you every single day. If you’ll just marry me.”
“A bed and breakfast, too?” she asked, shaking her head.
“Why not? It would be our start—together. What do you say? Marry me?”
“Yes!” she said, and tears misted her eyes. He pulled her close again into a kiss, until they were interrupted by the babbling voices of the toddlers in the car.
“Mama? Mama? Mama?”
Colt broke off the kiss and rested his forehead against hers.
“Come home with me,” he breathed. “You can stay in Beau’s place upstairs, and I’ll stay in my place downstairs until we can arrange a wedding. I’m pretty sure Peg would lend a hand there, too.”
“That sounds really nice,” Jane said, nodding quickly.
“Let’s go home, then,” he said.
He didn’t want her to leave ever again. And he’d meant what he’d said about making sure their marriage was sweet and soft and tender. He wouldn’t make things hard for her—how could he? He loved this woman with all his heart! He’d talk. He’d open up. He’d listen when she told him about her feelings.
Marriage didn’t have to be hard on a woman, not when a man was making it his choice every single day to love her well. Jane deserved the best of him, and she’d get it. So would her little girls. He’d never put much stock in marriage before, but suddenly he couldn’t wait to say those vows and get that piece of paper that reflected what his heart was doing this very moment—claiming them as his.
Epilogue
On a warm August Saturday, Jane and Colt stood in the minister’s office of Creekside Country Church. Jane’s heart was light in her chest,
