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Selina smiled back and gave a quick wave.
Abby and her friend Betsy stood next to Sadie. Next to them were Jesse and Hannah. Jake and Leah were teamed up, too. Those two made a mighty fine-looking couple, too. She wondered why the two of them didn’t get hitched.
“Ready?” Haydon hollered from the end of the finish line. “On the count of three.” Pistol raised, he counted. “One. Two. Three.”
Bang!
Selina struggled to keep up with Michael, but she did. As they got closer to the finish line, only three couples were left. Tom and Sadie, Jake and Leah and Selina and Michael.
Yards away from the finish line, they were lagging behind, so Michael picked her up. Her legs dangled as he rushed toward the rope stretched between Haydon and Smokey.
Tom and Sadie were ahead of Jake and Leah and she and Michael by inches.
From the corner of her eye she watched Leah and Jake tumble to the ground.
Only feet left to go.
Strain and determination wrinkled Tom and Sadie’s red faces as they struggled forward, stretching their necks out as far as they could just as she and Michael tumbled to the ground.
“The winners. Tom and Sadie!”
Cheers filled the yard.
Michael stood and reached his hand toward Selina, helping her up. “That was so much fun. Thank you, love.” He kissed her cheek, then led her over to where the crowd stood.
“Time to give out the prizes,” Michael shouted.
“Be right back.” Selina rushed inside Katherine’s house, snatched the quilt from the trunk and ran back to Michael’s side, puffing.
Michael called out each winner’s name. Men who didn’t win moaned, saying they wished they’d a won a nice halter, too. “Now for the winners of the gunnysack race… Tom and Sadie.” Selina handed Michael the quilt she’d made. Her very first one.
“Oh, Tom. Look. A quilt.” Sadie beamed. “We sure needed one,” Sadie gushed.
Selina’s heart grew to bursting.
It was getting late, so everyone pitched in and cleaned up the yard, putting tables away, loading their wagons and thanking Selina and Michael for providing such a wonderful fun-filled day with the games. Finally, the last wagon pulled out of the yard.
“I don’t know about you, love, but I’m ready to head home.”
“Could we do somethin’ first?”
“What’s that?”
“Can we take the buggy up the hill and watch the sun set?”
“Sounds nice.” He gazed down at her, smiling.
They said their good-nights to the family, and Michael offered her his hand to help her into the buggy.
Up the trail they headed until they reached the top. Michael reined Bobcat to a stop.
For a few moments, neither said a word.
Michael slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to him. Selina rested her head on his shoulder.
They sat back to watch God’s masterpiece at work.
Above the shadowed rolling hills an orange sky with yellow clouds outlined the fading sun.
A perfect setting to a perfect day.
“I know why you tripped me.”
“What do you mean?” Selina whispered.
“You know what I mean.” His soft voice melted her into him further. “You knew Sadie and Tom needed blankets for the winter so you tripped me so they would win.”
“Are ya mad?” she whispered again.
“Mad?” He tilted her head. Their eyes connected and held. “How could I be mad at one of the sweetest gestures I’ve ever seen? Where’d the quilt come from, anyway?”
“From me. It was the first one I ever made.”
“You’re kidding?”
“I’m not.”
“You really are something. You know that?”
“You keep tellin’ me that. Still not sure if being somethin’ is a good thing or a bad thing.”
“Trust me. It’s good.” With those words, his lips found hers and held them for a long time.
Now, that was an even more perfect ending. The only thing that would make it better was if Michael would whisper those three little words against her lips.
Chapter Seventeen
“Yesterday was great,” Michael told Selina over breakfast. “I don’t know when I’ve had a better time.”
“Me, too.” She refilled his coffee cup.
“What are your plans for today?”
“Well, I need to go to town and pick up some supplies.”
“Me, too. You want to go together?”
“Sure. I’d love to.”
“Can you be ready in about,” he glanced at the clock, “ten minutes?”
“I’m ready now.”
Michael looked over her new black trousers. Before he’d gotten to know Selina, it would have bothered him to be seen with her wearing men’s trousers, but not anymore. Now that was just Selina.
