A gust of wind rushed over her, making the sweetgrass dance and sway.
Somehow the act seemed like a sign.
She felt that particular shiver cover her skin, the kind that came when Sarah was making her presence known. “Since it seems you might have visited Mom, I was planning on coming to your special place, but it seems we’re doing this here.”
Another gust of wind, one harder than the last, rushed over the land.
“Like I don’t know what you’ve wanted all along,” she said softly in the quiet. “Care to give me a sign?”
The sun came out from behind the clouds and lit the meadow with the most beautiful yellow rays. Vivid greens stole her breath. Looking up at the big blue sky, her breath caught. A shaft of what she liked to call heavenly light rained down from a puffy white cloud.
Awe filled her.
Her heart grew bigger in her chest until she was filled to the brim with peace and love and every good feeling a person could feel. She tipped her head up to the sky and closed her eyes until she heard that inner truth she’d been waiting for.
I want to stay.
No matter what might happen. Regardless of what came.She would stand her ground and stay. She would love her man and work among the community she cherished.
After adjusting the saddle, she swung ontoherhorse and set after the first person she wanted to tell, the one who’d always had her heart.
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Hannah was racing after him.
Ben looked behind him when he heard the ground tremble. She was riding Flame like she’d never stopped, her cowboy hat flying behind her, held in place only by its stampede string. The hope buoying his spirits continued to grow.
He pulled up, watching as she approached.
God, she was a sight to behold. Then again, she always had been. She and Flame seemed to fly across the earth. The blue sky and the mountains were behind them, and with his heart pumping faster, he could feel her exhilaration. Joined again with her mare, she looked…free.
He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but a bone-deep happiness was rising inside him.
She’s staying. Please, God, let her stay.
When she finally pulled up beside him, her face was lit with the kind of joy he wished for her every day of her life. “Tell me you’re not leaving,” he practically demanded.
She moved Flame nearer until she could reach out and grab his shirt. Tugging him closer, she gave him a full-tilt smile as she kicked free of her stirrups. “I’m sticking, cowboy.”
He pulled her off the saddle and onto his lap, crushing his mouth to hers. She angled her arms around his neck and kissed him back with all the love and joy she had to give. Inside him, more shadowed places lit up.
Her zest was back.Shewas back. And she was going to be with him for the rest of their lives if he had anything to say about it.
She pressed happy kisses to his jaw. “Oh, Ben! I want to stay with all my heart. Nothing surpasses being here.”
He caught her face gently in his hand. “Thank God, because I’m never going to let you go.”
She gave a hearty laugh. “Don’t threaten me, cowboy.”
Another old joke, and on the tails of so many good memories. “You wish, my little spitfire.”
“Oh, I so do.” She traced his brow line. “Know any vacant haylofts?”
His body surged with more desire. “I have a better idea. Follow me.”
He wouldn’t care that it wasn’t finished. She’d understand.
“Your wish is my command,” she smartly replied as he deposited her back on Flame.
