Page 83 of Montana Bride By Christmas
“How could I not?”
At that moment, he believed her with everything within him.
“The question is whether or not you love me.” Her eyes begged for his confession.
He wrapped his arms around her without crushing her to his chest. He wanted to see her face as he told her the truth. “Annie, I loved you from the moment I saw you the Sunday I preached my first sermon in Bella Creek. I saw how you treated your brothers, your father, and your grandfather. I saw how you greeted friends and neighbors. Always with kindness, gentleness, and affection. My love grew when you came here demanding to marry me. I loved you even more when you wereso tender and understanding with Evan. And when you kissed me before the fireplace, I thought my love would explode like sparks from one of those logs.”
“You certainly hid it well.”
“I couldn’t believe you could love me.”
She pressed her fingertips to his lips. “I know you heard many unkind things from your mother and perhaps even from your wife, but I promise I will never say that you aren’t good enough, even when I get angry. Because you are better than good; you are everything I could ever dream of.” She trailed her fingers from his mouth, leaving his lips strangely hungry. “Do I make myself clear?”
“Maybe.”
“How could I make myself any clearer?”
“I don’t know. Maybe a kiss would help.”
She chuckled and pulled his head down to claim his lips, her arms warm about his neck, holding him close.
He breathed in the pure sweet scent of her. He lifted his head. “I will never grow tired of kissing you, holding you, encouraging you.”
“Nor will I of you.”
They kissed again. He leaned back against the desk and kept her in his arms. “So when, fair lady, did you know you loved me?”
“You know, I think it might have been the first Sunday of the first time you preached here. Though I didn’t know it was love. After all, I was still insisting I didn’t want it.”
He thought of how she’d lost her mother to death. “Annie, I can’t promise that bad things won’t come into our lives. I can’t guess how long either of us will live. I can’t say you won’t be hurt by loving me.”
“But you can promise to love me ’til death parts us. I’ll trust God for the rest. I can thank you for teaching me that.” He heldher close as she told how his words had encouraged her on that Sunday she’d slipped in with Evan hanging on to her hand for dear life.
“I have only one regret,” she murmured.
“Already?” He tried to sound teasing but managed to hint at his worry.
“Not about us, silly. My regret is that Pa is not back yet, and we promised to wait until he came to get married. What if he’s delayed? He has to cross the mountains in winter conditions. Not that I would want him to do anything foolish like hurry home without regard for the weather.”
“We’ll trust God and honor our promise.”
A little later, they returned to the kitchen where supper waited on the stove.
“About time. I thought I was going to have to make my way to Daisy’s to get food.” Grandfather gave them a jaundiced look, and then his eyes widened. He laughed loudly and slapped his leg. “I see you’ve come to your senses. About time, too, I’d say.”
“I don’t know what you mean,” Annie protested, though the look she gave Hugh suggested a bit of knowing guilt.
“I think you two were the last to realize you were madly in love. I was beginning to think I might have to write it in big plain letters across the table before you saw it.” He grinned at each of them. “Glad to see you managed to figure it out without too much help from me.”
“Not that he’ll remember it that way when he tells others,” Annie whispered to Hugh, her voice just loud enough for her grandfather to hear. “Nope. He’ll make it sound like he was entirely responsible.”
Grandfather chuckled. “I like a good story, but I never say anything that isn’t true.”
Annie rolled her eyes.
It wasn’t until Evan went to bed and Grandfather fell asleep in his chair, saying he wouldn’t go to bed until they did, that Hugh got a chance to hold Annie again and tell her how much he loved her.
He knew he would never grow weary of hearing her say the words back to him.
