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It was cold, but they had warm coats on and gloves. They held hands as they walked along a snowy path through the tall pines. Cody stopped and turned Abby to him, his dark eyes soft and hungry on her rosy-cheeked face.
“We get along good together,” he began.
She smiled. “We do.”
“We like the same things, we’re both Methodist, we agree on politics...” He hesitated. It was a big step. In many ways, it was the biggest step he’d taken in his life. It was like walking off a cliff.
She put a gloved hand on his chest, over the shepherd’s coat. “We can go along like this for a while,” she said. She smiled. “There’s no rush. We have all the time in the world.”
He drew in a long breath. It was a life-changing event. But he was wary of Lassiter, regardless of the man’s assurances that he had no romantic interest in Abby. He was also concerned that his cousin Bart was trying to take Abby on dates. If he hesitated too long, he’d lose her. And there wasn’t another woman on earth like Abby. Not a single one.
He framed her face in his gloved hands and looked deeply into her eyes before he bent and touched his mouth to hers in the most tender kiss she’d ever had in her life. It was like a declaration of love in and of itself, even without his whispered “I love you, Abby,” just before the kiss became passionate and insistent. He groaned.
She felt the hunger in him and smiled under the crush of his mouth, going on tiptoe to return the kiss.
He wrapped her up tight and just held her, rocked her in his arms. “I’m chock-full of senseless worry and apprehension,” he confessed. “But I’m not going to risk losing you to another man! I can’t make it without you, Abby,” he whispered gruffly. He took a deep breath. “So, will you think about...marrying me?”
She shivered with the delight of her feelings and pressed closer. “How long?”
“Hmmm?”
“How long do you want me to think about it?” she persisted.
“Well...a few days maybe?”
“How about a few seconds?” she whispered and pushed up to rub her lips against his. “I will.”
He held her tighter and lifted his head to look into her eyes. His twinkled. “You will, what?” he teased, all his worries about the future suddenly gone, like fog in sunlight.
She laughed. “I’ll marry you.”
He drew in a long breath and kissed her hungrily. “Say it,” he whispered.
“I did...”
“No. Say the other thing.”
It took her a minute to realize what he meant. She beamed as she lifted her face. “I love you,” she said softly. “I always will. As long as I live. Longer.”
He ground down on the pincushion in his throat. He’d never had much from Debby, no words of love, no promises, no tenderness. But this woman in his arms gave him all those things and a promise of happiness that made him soar like a sky bird.
“As long as I live,” he echoed the words back to her. “Longer.” He found her mouth again and they stood there a long time together in the snow until a loud voice asked them if they were auditioning to be snowpeople.
They lifted their heads and there was Hannah in an old coat and boots, pointing at them and laughing.
Then they realized what she meant. There was half an inch of snow on Cody’s hat and the shoulders of his coat and an equal amount on top of Abby’s knitted cap and jacket. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.
“Coffee’s hot!” Hannah called, grinning. “Come on inside. You can lock yourselves in the living room and do that in comfort.”
“I always knew I loved you, Hannah!” Cody called.
She waved a hand at him and led the way back in.
ABBYTRIEDTOconvince her friends that a nice white suit would be fine for the wedding. Nobody listened. Horace Whatley chartered a plane to fly Abby down to Neiman Marcus in Dallas and brought Julia along to buy her own trousseau at the same time. There was a store in Denver, but Mr. Whatley was fond of a particular store in Dallas, so there they went, by appointment, to buy Abby a designer wedding gown, Mr. Whatley’s wedding present to the couple.
Carried away by the selection, Abby finally chose one with mutton sleeves and a keyhole neckline, white satin with an overlay of imported lace, which was echoed in the fingertip veil. The dress had a long train, and it was fit for a princess. Not only was she encouraged to buy the dress, but Julia, at Mr. Whatley’s urging, took her to buy fine silk gowns and negligees and delicate slippers, and also undies, hose and satin shoes to go with the dress. And a garter to throw.
“How can I ever thank you both for this?” Abby asked them.
