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Beck looked into the fire. “But you know what?”
“What?”
“I’d give them all up to spend the rest of my days with you.”
“Beck…”
“I know. I know. This trip changes nothing, and you’re leaving when we get back. But you asked, and that’s the damn truth.”
I smiled sadly and leaned my head on Beck’s shoulder. “I hope you find someone, Beck.”
He leaned his head against mine. “Already did, sweetheart. Already did.”
A little while later, he climbed to his feet. “I want to see something.”
“What?”
“My grandparents wrote letters to each other the night they got engaged the first time. Gram read the one she’d written to my grandfather at his memorial service. They were hidden in the back of their wedding photo, which is hanging in the loft upstairs. I wonder if the one Gramps wrote is still there.”
Beck climbed up the ladder to the loft and came down with a dusty, framed black-and-white wedding photo.
I took it. I’d never seen a picture of Louise so young. “She was beautiful. And you look so much like your grandfather—the same masculine, square jaw.”
“Turn it over. Let’s see if it’s still back there.”
I flipped the frame and bent the prongs holding the wood backing in place. Sure enough, there was an envelope withLouisewritten on the front. I picked it up and ran my finger across it. “This was written sixty years ago.”
“Open it,” Beck said.
“Should we do that? It’s a private letter from a man to the woman he loves.”
“I think we should. Gram read hers to a hundred people at his memorial. She’d want someone to read it if she couldn’t.”
“You sure?”
He nodded. “I’m positive. She was proud of their love.”
“Okay.” I held the envelope out to Beck. “But you do it.”
He took a deep breath and nodded. Inside, the stationery was yellowed and the ink faded, but the letter was still legible.
Beck cleared his throat.
“My dearest Louise,
I tried to remember the exact moment I fell in love with you today. But looking back, I can’t. Because it didn’t happen just once. It happens every day, and I blissfully fall all over again. So rather than tell you when it happened, I’ll tell you why I love you. I love that the only thing that rivals your big mouth is the size of your heart. I love that you are fearless and don’t live life afraid of what might come next, but rather you look forward to conquering things that try to stand in your way. I love you because you’re beautiful, but forget to look in the mirror some days. I love you because wherever we are, you make it feel like home. My love for you is so great that it spills over onto me—I love you because you make me a better man.
You are, my dear, everything. And even that feels like too small a word.
Yours always,
Henry”
I covered my heart with my hand. “That is so romantic.”
“Yeah.” Beck shook his head. “Damn. That was beautiful.”
I looked up. “I hope Louise heard it.”
