“More what?
I don’t know what I can give you.
I don’t have a lot of worldly possessions.
I have some money saved and….”
“Stop, Sam.
Just stop.”
“Not until you agree to marry me.
I’ll never stop.
I love you and I’ll never stop until….”
“What did you say?”
“That I’m not going to stop….”
“No before that.”
Sam smiled.
“I love you.
I thought you knew.
I love you with all my heart.”
Cassie walked over to where he was standing and wrapped her arms around his waist.
“I love you too, Sam.
I couldn’t marry you if it was just one sided.
Because I love you so much it would kill me to be with you and not have you love me too.”
Sam enveloped her in his arms.
“I’ve loved you since the first day I laid eyes on you.
Couldn’t you tell?”
Tears ran down her cheeks.
She didn’t care.
She had to get it all out.
“I’m sort of naïve when it comes to matters of the heart.
I thought Michael loved me.
What he loved was the horses and the land I brought to the marriage.
He never loved me.
And now I know, because I love you so much, that I never loved him either.
I think I was looking for a protector after John died.
I didn’t know anything about running a ranch.
I didn’t know how to care for the animals or muck stalls.
I ran the house.
I could cook and clean.
But that was all.”
Sam wiped the tears from her cheeks with his thumbs.
“Your husband was a fool.
You’re the most amazing woman I’ve ever met and the most beautiful.
You’re raising two wonderful children, you own a prosperous ranch, you escaped from your kidnapper and you know more about horses than anyone I’ve ever met.
You’ve done all this on your own.
Please Cassie.
Marry me.
I love you more than life itself.”
“Yes.
Oh yes.”
She turned her tear stained face up to his, wrapped her arms around his neck and caught his lips with hers.
The kiss seared her.
Scorched her all the way to her toes.
She couldn’t get enough of him.
“Mama.
Why you biting Sam?”
Sarah’s precious little voice came from the now open door.
“Hi Sweetie, what are you doing up?”
“
I’s
thirsty.
Why you biting Sam?”
“I wasn’t biting him, I was kissing him.”
“Sure looked liked you bite him.”
“No Sweet.
Your mama was kissing me and I like it very much when she kisses me.”
“Sarah,” Cassie went to her daughter and knelt in front of her.
“Would you like for Sam to be your daddy and live with us forever?”
She turned her sweet little face back and forth looking at Sam and Cassie.
“Can I call him papa?
That’s was Lizzie calls her daddy.”
Sam gathered her up in his arms.
“Sweet, you can call me anything you want.
I think papa sounds really good.”
Cassie saw the tears gather in Sam’s eyes as he held their daughter.
It was the most precious thing she’d ever seen.
“Mama.
Sam.
Have you seen Sarah?”
Sarah peeped over Sam’s shoulder.
“Hi RJ.
Guess what?”
Sam turned with her to face RJ.
“Why’d you get up?” asked RJ coming into the room.
“
I’s
thirsty.”
She scrambled out of Sam’s arms and ran to RJ.
“Guess what?
Sam’s my papa.”
“Sam’s not your papa.”
Cassie spoke up.
“He’s going to be.
Sam and I are getting married.
What do you think about that, Son?”
RJ thought about it for a minute.
“Well?” asked Sam.
“Will you give your mama to me?”
“I guess that’s okay.
Sarah’s happy with it so I guess it’s okay.”
Sam and Cassie held each other by the waists and put their other arms out to RJ.
He ran to them and they gathered him into the circle of their arms.
Sarah wasn’t about to be left out.
“Me, too” she cried, tugging on Sam’s pant leg.
He bent down and picked up his new daughter and they all hugged each other.
One big happy family.
EPILOGUE
Sam paced back and forth in the office.
Duncan sat with his booted feet propped up on the desk.
“You’re going to wear a hole in the carpet and Cassie won’t be happy with you.”
“What the hell is taking so long?
She should have had the baby by now.”
“Some babies take longer than others.
She’s fine.
I….”
A cry sounded from upstairs.
Sam lit out from the office, took the stairs two at a time and ran down the hall to their bedroom.
He flung open the door.
Cassie sat up in bed holding their new baby.
Sam went to her and kissed her on the forehead.
“What variety did we get?” he asked.
“It’s a boy,” said Cassie unwrapping him so his daddy could get a look.
Sam plucked the babe out of Cassie’s arms and into his own.
He held him tight with one arm.
He had blonde hair like Cassie and Sam’s emerald eyes.
Sarah came running in, RJ close behind her.
“I tried to keep her out, but you know how squirmy she is,” said RJ.
“It’s all right, Son,” said Sam.
“You both come here and meet your new brother Duncan Samuel Colter.”
“He’s so little,” said Sarah.
“And wrinkly”
“Babies are always wrinkly, remember what Connor looked like?
He’ll grow into his skin and be all chubby and cute in no time.”
This from RJ who sounded like an authority on babies.
Sam and Cassie laughed.
Sam went over to the bed and put little Duncan back into his mama’s arms.
“Duncan, huh?
I’m honored.” said Duncan McKenzie from the doorway.
He came in and went to Cassie.
“You did good.”
He kissed her on the forehead.
Little Duncan started to fuss.
“Okay, everybody out except Sam.” said Catherine.
“The baby needs to be fed.
Come on, out.
You can come back later and see your little brother.”
Catherine shooed everyone out of the room.
Cassie opened her nightgown and took out one breast.
Little Duncan latched on to the nipple and began to suckle.
Sam sat next to Cassie on the bed with his arm around her shoulders and watched the baby nurse.
“He’s a greedy little thing.”
“No more so than his daddy.”
Sam laughed.
He had a wife who loved him and three wonderful children.
Life couldn’t get any better.
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Books written by Cynthia Woolf can be obtained either through the author’s official website:
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Above all others, this book is for my husband Jim, without his support I could never have written this book.
I would also like to thank my critique partners, without whom this book would never have gotten off the ground.
Thank you – Kally Surbeck, Michele Chambers, Jan Snyder, Karen Docter, Jennifer Zigrino.