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“I want to marry you, Sydney.” He squeezed her hand. “You are what I’ve been waiting for all these years. Please. Marry me. You’ll make me the happiest man in the world.”
Her heart nearly leaped out of her chest. “Sam, are you sure? After all I’ve done? The lies?”
“I’ve never been more sure of anything. I love you.”
Joy bubbled through her. Could it be true? “Sam, I love you too. I love you so much.”
“Then you’ll marry me?”
Her mouth trembled as she brushed her lips over his. “Yes, Sam. I’ll marry you.”
Epilogue
“We catched seven Rocky Mountain trouts!” Duke beamed as he held up the fish.
“I catched one and Duke catched two,” Sean announced. “Daddy and Uncle Sam catched the rest.”
“They’re both born fishermen,” Zach said. “It’s enough for dinner, if you ladies are up to it. The boys can share one, and that leaves one each for you two and two each for Sam and me.”
“Ugh, trout?” Sydney rubbed her belly. At ten weeks into her pregnancy, morning sickness—rather, all-day sickness—was at its peak. The thought of putting anything fishy in her mouth made her want to retch.
“Make that two for you then, darlin’,” Zach said to Dusty. “Saltines for Sydney, I assume?”
“Sassy eats so many crackers,” Duke said. “That’s all she eats!”
“You’d rather have crackers than trout?” Sean shook his head.
“Leave Auntie Sydney alone,” Dusty said. “When there’s a baby inside you, sometimes certain foods make you feel icky.”
“Did you feel like that when I was inside you?” Sean asked.
“Goodness yes,” Dusty said. “I couldn’t eat beef. It darn near killed your daddy that I wouldn’t eat his genuine McCray beef.”
They all erupted in laughter.
Duke had been living with Sam and Sydney on the McCray ranch for nearly a year. He missed his parents, but Roy had taken Duke to the hospital twice to visit with Carrie. Sam and Sydney had gone along. Carrie was improving, but it was slow going.
Roy had sold the ranch in Carson City for a decent price and now lived on the McCray ranch as a ranch hand. It was the best way to stay near Duke and be able to see to Carrie's needs. None of them wanted to disrupt the little boy’s life.
“Will your mother be able to come home soon?” Dusty asked after the boys had run outside to play.
“Yes, Daddy thinks so. She’s chosen to stay longer and get further treatment. She feels terrible about everything and wants to make sure she won’t relapse.”
“What’s going to happen with Duke?”
“We’ve talked about it. Sam and I are willing to do whatever’s best for him. He can stay here with us, or he can move in with Mom and Daddy. Either way, we’ll see him often. He’s right here on the same ranch.”
“Will you ever tell him the truth?”
“Someday, when he’s older.”
After a dinner of saltines, eaten with a clothespin on her nose to avoid the fish stench, Sydney tucked Duke into bed and joined Sam in their own bedroom.
“I’m beat,” Sam said. “A day with those two critters can take it out of a man.”
“Hmm, that’s too bad.” Sydney smiled. “Those crackers settled my tummy, and now I’m feeling”—she reached over for his erection—“a little frisky.”
“Oh yeah?” He rolled toward her. “I think I can accommodate you.”
