“What does it say?” Kevin demanded.
Faith held it out to him. It was simple and to the point. Typically Reese.
STAY WHERE YOU ARE. STOP. I LOVE YOU. STOP. HAVE COME TO MY SENSES. STOP. I NEED YOU. STOP. YOUR DAUGHTER, HOPE, NEEDS YOU. STOP. AM BRINGING DAVID, GRANDFATHER, AND THE PREACHER. STOP. YOU PICK THE CHURCH. STOP. ACCORDING TO OUR CONTRACT, YOU STILL OWE ME A SON. STOP. WILL YOU MARRY ME SO WE CAN BEGIN NEGOTIATIONS ON THE TERMS? STOP. LOVE, REESE. STOP. P.S. DID I MENTION THAT I LOVE YOU?
Epilogue
Faith stayed at the Pine Bluffs Station. She was pacing the length of the platform as the train from Cheyenne rolled to a stop. She hurried forward.
Reese was the first person off the train. He held out his arms as soon as his boots hit the solid floor beneath him.
Faith rushed into his embrace. Joy grasped him around the knee.
“I love you!” he whispered into her hair. “I love you. I love you.” Reese pulled her into his arms, smothering her face with kisses, before his warm mouth located her lips. “Let’s get married. Now. Today.”
“Oh, Reese.” Faith was overwhelmed by the rush of emotions she felt for this man. “I thought David was going back to start the divorce proceedings. I thought you wanted to be rid of me. You never…”
He kissed her again to stop the flow of words. “I was afraid,” he admitted. “Afraid you wanted to leave me. I was trying to find the courage to tell you how much…” He pulled her tighter into his arms. “Promise me you’ll never leave me again. Stay with me. With us.” Reese looked around for the first time. Kevin and Tempy stood watching them. David and Duncan were exiting the train. David held Hope against his chest. Reese reached for his baby daughter, taking her from David, handing her to Faith. “We love you. We need you. We missed you. Say you’ll marry me again.”
“I will.” Faith cuddled Hope close and smiled up at Reese.
“Today?” He was hopeful.
“Oh, Reese.” Tears formed in Faith’s eyes. “I can’t. Not like this.”
“What?” Reese took a step backward, staring at Faith as if he’d never seen her before.
Faith stood on tiptoe, tilted her face up for another kiss.
“I love you, Reese, more than anything on earth, but I don’t want another haphazard, spur-of-the moment ceremony. I deserve more than that this time. You deserve more.” She smiled at him, then kissed him again to show him how much she did love him. “Thank you for bringing a preacher. But we won’t be needing him today.”
Reese’s stomach seemed to sink. He understood, all too well, what she wanted. He cleared his throat. “I suppose you want a big wedding.”
“Uh huh.” She kissed the scar on the underside of his chin.
“With lots of guests.”
“Uh huh.” Faith stood on tiptoe, straining to reach his lips.
Reese bent over slightly to accommodate her. The baby wiggled in her arms. “And I suppose you want me to wait at the altar while Kevin escorts you down the aisle?” There wasn’t an ounce of enthusiasm in his voice.
“Something like that,” Faith agreed.
“All right.” Reese sighed, heavily. “But there is one thing you must do for me.”
“What’s that?”
“Tell me again how much you love me,” he ordered.
“My darling Reese, I love you,” Faith told him. “I’ll love you until the day I die.”
“That’s all I wanted to know.” He reached down for Joy, then opened his arms for Faith and Hope. He couldn’t stop smiling. His fondest dream had come true.
They were a family.
* * *
The wedding took place two weeks later at the Roman Catholic Church in Cheyenne. The priest who had married Temperance and Kevin officiated.