“I love you,” he whispered. “If you marry me, I promise I’ll do everything I can to make you happy.” His eyes shone with delight and a kind of humility that touched Kate’s very soul. Gone was the remoteness he’d displayed so often these past few weeks.
“Oh, Luke, I can hardly wait to be your wife,” she said. “Didn’t you say something about a December wedding?”
“Kate, that’s only a few weeks from now.”
“Yes, I know. But Christmas is such a lovely time of year for a wedding. We’ll decorate the church with holly, and all the bridesmaids will wear long red dresses…”
“Kate, you mean it, don’t you?” His voice was low and husky.
“I’ve never meant anything more. I love you, Luke Rivers. We’re going to have a wonderful life together.”
He kissed her then, with a hunger that spoke of his years of longing. Dragging his mouth from hers, he buried it in the curve of her neck.
“I want children, Kate. I want to fill this home with so much love that the walls threaten to burst with it.”
For a breathless moment, they did nothing more than gaze at each other as they shared that dream.
Kate smiled up at him, and as her hands mapped his face, loving each strong feature, she was astonished at how easily this happiness had come to her once she’d let go of her pride.
Luke’s mouth settled on hers, his kiss almost reverent, as though he couldn’t yet believe she was in his home and eager to be his wife.
As Kate wrapped her arms around his neck, her glance fell on the calendar. She seemed to recall that Pastor Wilkins had placed a sizeable wager on the fifteenth of December. That sounded good to Kate.
Very good indeed.
Epilogue
The sun shone clear and bright in the late-July afternoon, two years after Rorie Campbell’s car had broken down near Nightingale. Kate was making a fresh pitcher of iced tea when Rorie knocked on the back door.
“Come on in,” Kate called. “The screen door’s unlocked.”
A moment later Rorie entered the kitchen, looking slightly frazzled. “How did your afternoon at the library go?” Kate asked, as she added ice cubes to the tall pitcher.
“Very well, thanks.”
“Katherine’s still sleeping,” Kate told her.
Rorie’s eyes softened as she gazed out at the newly constructed patio where her baby slept under the shade of the huge oak tree.
“It was such a lovely afternoon I kept her outside.” Kate wiped her hands dry. She poured them each a glass of iced tea, and carried a tray of tea and cookies onto the patio.
The nine-month-old infant stirred when Rorie stood over the portable crib and protectively placed her hand on the sleeping baby’s back. When she turned, her eyes fell on Kate’s protruding abdomen. “How are you feeling?”
“Like a blimp.” Kate’s hands rested on her swollen stomach. “The doctor told me it’ll probably be another two weeks.”
“Two weeks!” Rorie said sympathetically.
“I know, and I was hoping Junior would choose this week to arrive. I swear to you, Rorie, when you were pregnant with Katherine you positively glowed. You made everything seem so easy.”
Rorie laughed. “I did?”
“I feel miserable. My legs are swollen, my hands and feet look like they’ve been inflated. There isn’t a single part of my body that’s normal-sized anymore.”
Rorie laughed again. “The last few weeks are always like that. I think the main difference is that Katherine was born in October, when the weather was much cooler.”
With some difficulty Kate crossed her legs. “I only hope our baby will be as good-natured as Katherine. She barely fussed the whole time she was here.”
“Her uncle Skip thinks she’s going to start walking soon.”
“I think he’s right.” Pressing a hand to her ribs, Kate shifted her position. She was finding it difficult to sit comfortably for longer than a few minutes at a time.
“Oh—” Rorie set her iced tea aside “—I almost forgot.” She hurried back to the kitchen and returned with a hardbound children’s book. “I received my first copies of Nightsong’s Adventures in the mail yesterday. Kate, I can’t even begin to tell you how thrilled I was when I held this book in my hands.”
Kate laid the book on her lap and slowly turned the pages. “The illustrations are fantastic. They really fit the story.”
“The reviews have been excellent. One critic said he expected it to become a children’s classic, which I realize is ridiculous, but I couldn’t help feeling excited about it.”