Beatrice (The Tipton Hollow 2)

She watched him for a moment before she began to undo the long row of buttons on her shirt. By the time the last of her clothing fell to the floor, Ben was ready to sweep her off her feet. He carefully placed her onto the bed with all the loving tenderness that was in his heart. In one swift motion he climbed in beside her and drew the covers over them both before he gathered her into his arms.

“There is just one thing I want to say,” he announced softly when they settled into each other’s arms.

“I love you, Ben,” she whispered.

“Thank God for that,” he declared fervently. “I love you too. I thought I knew what it was to love; what it felt like to care about somebody, but I know now that I never really appreciated the emotion for what it is. It is what makes me stronger. It is what makes me whole. You make me whole. You make my life complete, and give me something to wake up for each morning. I suddenly find myself looking forward to each new day that I have you by my side, and I want that to continue for the rest of my days. I cannot live without you, darling. You are my everything. I adore you.”

“I love you so much,” Beatrice croaked. With each minute that passed it grew increasingly difficult to talk but she was determined to tell him what she wanted to say while she had the opportunity. “There is one thing I have learned from all of this mess with the plant and it is that we can never really take anything for granted. Time is precious. Life passes by so quickly, and matters can turn against you and ruin any change of happiness so suddenly, that it is foolish to take anything for granted. My world crumbled when Browning told me that Murray was waiting for you at your house, and you were his next victim.” She made no attempt to stop the tears from welling over and trickling down her cheeks.

Her words were choked but, now that she had started, nothing was going to stop her from saying what she needed to say. “My world came to an end. I didn’t even want to fight him. That is how important you have become to me in such a short space of time. I have sat opposite you in church every Sunday for months, and have gazed at you with a heart full of such hope that one day you might notice me. I didn’t think that having someone like you in my life was possible for a person like me, but you are here. You are real. What we have is so very real, so very right, that I want more of it. I need you in my life. Not because you have helped me, and supported me through one of the most horrible ordeals of my entire life, but because I adore everything about you.”

For a moment, Ben couldn’t speak. His throat closed and could do nothing more than draw her head toward him for a very thorough kiss.

“You are my reason or being Beatrice, and I love you with all of my heart.” He tipped her head up gently and eyed the horrible bruises on her throat darkly for a moment before he dipped his head and placed a very gentle kiss over the worst of the bruising.

“I don’t care what anybody thinks. I am not waiting for a normal period of courtship. While we will step out together, and will of course have a period of courtship, I am not going to be a patient man. I want you to marry me. Will you, Beatrice? Will you marry me?”

“I would love to,” she whispered fervently.

“There is a God, and he was listening when I asked him to smile down on me and find a way to reach you,” he murmured softly.

“Although I don’t like that plant, I am glad that it arrived,” she whispered after several long moments of loving silence.

Ben leaned back to look at her and frowned in consternation. “Really?”

Beatrice smiled beautifully at him. “Of course,” she replied gently. “Because you came with it.”

The End.