“Is it too heavy? Maybe I can get Gil to help.”
“It’s not too heavy. It’s too far.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I know, and I don’t expect you to. But I can’t go. I am needed here.”
Jacob stared at her. “Are you saying you won’t marry me? That you are going to stay here?”
She nodded.
“Is Zach going to marry you?”
She shrugged. “I doubt it, but I love him. Even if he won’t marry me, I’ll stay. This is where I belong.”
“That’s for sure,” Kat said.
Amelia peered over the banister to see Kat, Pa, Gil, his ma, and Poppy grinning. “I’m sorry,” she said to Jacob.
“Me too, but I’m glad you’re honest with me. I want a wife who loves me and is true to me even in her heart. I’ll be on my way.”
They waved goodbye to him at the door, and Amelia returned upstairs. There was something she must do. She lifted the painting from her trunk and took it downstairs. She found a hammer and nail and hung it where it would greet everyone who stepped inside the house.
Zach reachedthe cowboys at the camp, where Morgan was giving orders. Morgan turned toward him. “I didn’t expect you to come. You belong with that gal. Did you ask her to stay?”
“I was informed the cows had been stampeded.”
“You’re choosing your cows over that young lady?”
Zach felt the stare of every man in the camp. Was it so obvious to everyone else?
Words circled in his head. Was he being stubborn, prideful, and childish in not asking her to consider staying?
You have not because you ask not.
The Scripture verse had nothing to do with him and Amelia. Yet the words hammered inside his head with an almost painful persistence.
Suddenly, he knew what he must do. If he let his circumstances dictate his choices, he’d regret it every day for the rest of his life. She’d proven she fit into his world, supported him, and met the challenges she must deal with. Why was he being so stubborn? Prideful? Stupid? “No, I’m not. You lot can handle the cows. I’ve got a girl to marry.”
As he rode away, a cheer rose from the camp.
He galloped all the way home. The yard was empty and silent. He jumped from his horse in front of the door and ran inside. “Is she gone?” he hollered.
No one answered. The house was strangely quiet.
Zach took a step, stopped. A painting of flowers hung on the wall facing him. “Where did that come from?”
Amelia moved into view. “I hung it there. It’s my mother’s picture.”
“You’re still here? I thought you’d be gone.”
“I belong here. That’s why I hung the picture. I know you’re afraid your life is too complicated to share with a woman, but I’m here to stay.”
“Why?”
She smiled, her eyes full of green gentleness. “I could say because you need my help. Or because I care about Pa and Kat. All of which would be true. But the biggest reason is because I love you.”
His heart pounded against his ribs, so hard it might break through. He searched her face for any trace of doubt. But there was none. Only love, unshaken and steadfast. “You’d stay and deal with my crazy life?”
