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“Perhaps this will help,” she said, handing it to him. Logan looked at the drawing and then back to the house several times. His smile widened, as he was once again stunned by her talent and her vision. At the bottom of the page, he saw what she had inscribed.
Haven — A Safe Place for Love — Proprietors Elizabeth Adams and Logan Dietrich.
“Schatzlein,” he said softly, his heart full, “that is not necessary. I—”
She placed her fingertips against his lips, something he did often to her own. “Logan, this is no longer my dream alone. I could not and do not want to build Haven without you. You’ve become as much a part of this dream as you are a part of me. Please, don’t ask me to change what my heart desires.”
Logan nodded gently, and she removed her fingertips, to go up onto her tiptoes and replace them with her lips. Logan pulled her close, and she could feel his heart beating rapidly against her. When he stepped back, she watched as he slowly went to one knee before her, and her heart stopped. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. Tears began to run down her cheeks, her hands pressed to her lips as he looked up at her.
“Elizabeth, you are my life and my love,” he said. “You are my heart and my soul. I can’t imagine life without you,schatzlein, please let me serve you, protect you, love you and treasure you for the rest of your life.” His voice was shaking as he opened the box and she saw the ring inside. “Please, Elizabeth, do me the honor of becoming my wife.”
Elizabeth found her voice. She sobbed and then screamed her answer as she flung herself into his arms. Logan caught her, held her cradled against his chest as she tried to laugh, cry and speak at the same time.
He pulled her away only far enough to see her face. “Clarity, remember?” he said, a smile on his lips.
“Yes!” she screamed. When Logan slipped the ring onto her finger, she knew she would never remove it. Turning her hand one way and then the other, watching the diamond sparkle, she looked up at him, her eyes soft and full of love. “I’m going to be your wife.”
He lifted her hand and kissed the ring, and then kissed her lips gently. “I’m going to be your husband.”
They sat on the grass together, Logan leaning back against an old oak tree, his fiancée on his lap. Elizabeth found the drawing and smiled as she reached for her purse, digging through it for a pencil. Drawing a line through their names, she wrote new ones in their place.
Mr. and Mrs. Logan Dietrich.
Logan shook his head and took the pencil from her. He drew a line through what she had written and wrote beneath it,Elizabeth and Logan Dietrich.
“You will be my equal as my partner,” Logan said, as he put the pencil back into her purse. He looked down and then spoke softly. “You’ll be beside me as my wife,” he paused, bending to kiss her again, “And,schatzlein, you will be under me as my submissive.”
Elizabeth had never been so perfectly content in her life. She realized she had everything she could ever dream of.
Logan shifted her from his lap and then helped her to stand. “Ready?”
She turned her face to his, her eyes filled with tears, but these were from the all-encompassing joy she felt. Not trusting her voice, she nodded. Logan bent to kiss her and then took her hand. Their fingers linked automatically.
They would soon be surrounded by dozens of people. The quiet would be broken with the sound of hammers, saws, shouted directions, laughter and conversation. Their friends and family were coming tomorrow to start building the dream. Elizabeth could have easily told them that they weren’t needed. She had the financing in place to hire the contractors and laborers who would be needed to physically transform the building. However, she knew she needed them here almost as much as they needed to help. Their love and support would help breathe life into the new lumber, shingles and paint that would make an old house into a living dream. But not today. Today was for only two.
Logan led her carefully up the steps, keeping his eye on the areas of rot that would require immediate repair before someone broke through the porch. They reached the entrance and found the screen door whose duty was to protect the main door from the ravages of nature hanging crooked from its frame. When he attempted to open it, it came free in his hand. Elizabeth laughed at the look on his face, his eyebrow raised, as if questioning whether she had made the proper choice but graciously accepting that she had.
“Add a new screen door to your list,” he said as he leaned the broken one against the wall.
“Good idea,” she said with a smile, accepting the key they had received at closing. “This is real,” she whispered, feeling the weight of the key in her hand.
Logan smiled and bent down to kiss her cheek. “Yes,schatzlein, this is Haven, your dream,” he said, his own voice thickening with the emotion. “I know what it’s like to realize a dream. I thought building Tastsinn was the best thing I’d ever experience,” he said, cupping her face in his hands. “I was mistaken. Watching the woman I love realizing her own dream, far outshines mine.”
Elizabeth slid the key into the lock. She looked up at him, tears running down her cheeks, a smile of wonder on her face. “Our dream,” she whispered, and saw Logan’s eyes well.
Stepping inside for the first time as the owner, Elizabeth was overcome with emotion. She began to shake, her tears falling faster.
Logan picked her up, twirling her around until she was laughing. When he set her down, he cupped her face again, kissing her in a way that soon had her moaning as her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.
They held hands as they walked from room to room. Logan listened to her as she shared her vision. He actually winced when they entered the kitchen. It was not only old; it was as if it were ashamed of itself. Cabinet doors were missing or hanging from a single hinge. Countertops were split. The old linoleum was buckled and cracked. Seeing his expression, Elizabeth giggled and spread her arms out.
“Can’t you just see it?” she said, her smile wide and confident. “All new cabinets, commercial appliances, great lighting, smooth granite countertops. A large, beautiful island where people can gather, and food can be prepared. A wine refrigerator over in that area,” she said, pointing to a dark corner. “New flooring. Oh, Logan, it will be fantastic!”
“I know that if anyone can transform this place, it’s you,” Logan offered.
“You’ll see,” Elizabeth said, patting the wall and absentmindedly waving away the cloud of dust that rose as a section of wallpaper lost its fragile grip and fell to the floor, bringing a good section of plaster with it.
The second floor contained bedrooms and outdated baths. Walls would be demolished, new baths built. As they climbed the stairs to the third floor, Logan stepped on a tread and an eerie squeal sounded, he turned to her. “So much for silence,” he said, and she playfully slapped his arm.
