Page 125 of Always to Remember
“Yes, I do. I need you, my brother, and everyone in this town to know that whatever … whatever you decided regarding Daniel … I’m standing beside you.”
Slowly, he nodded. “All right.”
Daniel had just carried a piece of lumber to the side of the barn by the time Clay arrived with Meg beside him. Daniel placed the board against the frame before meeting Clay’s gaze. “Heard they were gonna build you a bam,” he said quietly. “Thought I ought to help.”
“I’d like to help, too, but I can’t hold a nail.” Clay jerked Daniel’s hammer out of his grasp. “But I can hold a hammer. I just need to find someone willing to hold the nail for me.”
Daniel’s gaze darted over to Meg, then came back to Clay. “Reckon I could hold the nail for you.”
“I was hoping you’d say that,” Clay said. “You realize, of course, that years of pounding on rocks has given me a powerful swing. I miss the nail, I’ll break your hand.”
Daniel’s Adam’s apple slowly slid up and down. “Reckon you know I’m the one who put the knife through your hand so I won’t hold it against you if you do end up hitting my hand,” he said in a quivering voice.
Clay smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.” He tilted his head toward the unfinished barn. “Shall we?”
Daniel took a nail out of his pocket, knelt beside the board, and positioned the nail.
“Hold the nail tight and don’t move your hand,” Clay said.
“Clay,” Meg said quietly.
He glanced at her. “Don’t distract me, Meg. I need to keep my attention focused on my task because I know exactly how much courage it took for your brother to come here today.”
Clay brought his arm back. Daniel took a deep breath, turned his head toward the board, and closed his eyes. Meg balled her fists and pressed her lips tightly together to keep from crying out. Clay swung the hammer, and the frame rattled as he drove the nail home.
Daniel stared at the nail that was now halfway embedded in the wood. In disbelief, he looked at Clay. “I thought …”
“You thought what?” Clay asked.
“I thought you’d hit my hand.”
“Why would I do that? I love Meg. I’d like to marry her, but I won’t unless you and your father give us your blessing. Think you could talk your father into giving us his blessing?”
Nodding, Daniel wiped the back of his hand across his moist eyes.
Stepping away from the wall, Clay staggered. Meg and Daniel reached for him at the same time, grabbing his arms to steady him.
“You tore down your wall,” Meg said with tears in her eyes. “Now, let Daniel finish building this one. You need to rest.”
“Not yet. I have one more thing to do,” Clay said.
Daniel released his hold on Clay, but Meg kept her fingers wrapped around Clay’s arm. Clay lifted his brown gaze to the blue heavens. Then he lowered his gaze to the cornflower blue eyes of the woman he loved.
“Will you marry me?” he asked.
She smiled tenderly. “I’ll marry you in the center of town with everyone watching.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him long and deeply.
In front of her brother.
In front of her friends.
Her mouth was hot and moist, and he drank of her sweetness.
He felt her breath, as gentle as the wind, caress his face.
He heard her quiet sigh as soft as the leaves rustling in the nearby trees.
And the promise of a night filled with the scent of honeysuckle wafted around him.
