Chapter Eight
The waters of the TrinityRiver shimmered under the waning sun as Jack and Jane stepped onto the steamboat’s deck.Fort Worth’s banks dissolved into the horizon.
“Quite the sight,” Jack said, the churning water echoing his voice.
“I can’t imagine a more beautiful place to watch the sunset.”Jane hugged her shawl tighter against the river breeze.Seeing her shiver, Jack placed his coat over her shoulders.
“Thank you,” she replied, cheeks flushed from more than just the cold.His coat was warm from his skin, and it felt so good she wanted to lose herself in it.
Onward they journeyed, hands intertwined.“Jane, there’s something I need to ask.”He revealed a ring—old, adorned with intricate engravings and a star-like stone.“This belonged to my mother.Now I want it to be yours.”
Heart racing, Jane sought confirmation in his eyes.Could he really mean...
“Jane,” he said, “will you marry me?”
Overwhelmed by a whirlwind of emotions, Jane’s fingers trembled as they grazed the ring.
“You can take your time,” he assured her, sensing hesitation.
“Thank you,” she whispered.As twilight painted the sky, Jane pondered his proposal and the priceless heirloom in her hand.Uncertainties lingered like shadows at her thoughts’ edge, but one revelation emerged crystal clear:
Her answer was yes.
The steamboat’s paddlewheel churned the Trinity waters, ripples gliding like dancers.Jane watched Jack, his silhouette framed by fading light.Their uncertain future stretched before her, akin to the untamed Texas frontier.
“Jane?”Jack’s hopeful voice tugged at her resolve.
Inhaling crisp air, she found courage.“Yes,” she whispered over the river’s rush.“I will marry you.”
Jack’s radiant smile dissolved Jane’s concerns momentarily.As they made their way back to the Dailey’s home, however, uncertainty rekindled within her chest.
That evening, with children asleep, Susan knit in the parlor.The needles’ clicks filled the silence.
“Jack asked me to marry him today,” Jane murmured.
Susan paused her knitting and looked up.“And?”
“We’re to be married,” said Jane, a mix of sweetness and bitterness.She’d always told herself she wouldn’t marry a man who didn’t own his own house and have a way to earn a living, but she felt too much for Jack to hold herself to it.
“Why look so somber?”Susan asked gently.
“I’m happy but afraid of the unknown.”
Susan nodded slowly.“A new chapter can be frightening.But love often guides us through uncertainty.”
Jane smiled faintly, comforted yet adrift in a sea of what-ifs.As night deepened and Susan resumed knitting, Jane clung to the rhythmic sound—an anchor amidst her turbulent thoughts.
Jane fidgeted with the locket at her throat, a relic from her orphanage days.Susan watched her, silently encouraging.
“Jack is...a cowboy,” Jane said hesitantly.“I fear we might not have enough to live comfortably.”
Susan chuckled softly and set her knitting aside.“Did you not know?Once you’re married, Jack’s father plans to move back East.Their ranch will be yours.Unless there is some major catastrophe, you and Jack will never have to worry about money.”
“The ranch?”Jane’s eyes widened at the thought of vast pastures and security.
“Yes.”Susan’s smile was reassuring.“You’ll have your home, your land, and your cowboy.It’s one of the largest ranches in this part of Texas.”
“Why wouldn’t he tell me himself?”Jane wondered aloud, imagining cattle grazing and fences reaching toward the horizon.
