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No one in her whole life had ever given her such a promise, but she knew it to be true. Jake loved her, and she loved him.
The future was as bright as the sky above them.
“I do,” she said, and the tears flowed freely, but she didn’t care. She was marrying the best man in the whole world.
Jake pulled her into his arms and they kissed, long and sweet, with a dip for the crowd. Everyone stood, clapping and cheering. The thirty or so people hollered so loud that it echoed through the valley. Speeches came before dinner, and dancing came after that.
The first to leave were Ted and Elaine.
“How about you all come on the river with us next weekend?” Ted asked, but directing the question to Hannah.
“Sounds nice, thanks,” Hannah answered before Jake could respond.
“Have Emma bring a friend, and we can put the tubes on the back.”
Hannah smiled at Ted. She could see him trying, and she was willing to give him credit for that. Jake, on the other hand, still needed time. It would take a lot more effort on Ted’s part to bridge that gap. She understood, but she truly believed Ted was willing to change. He had even spoken highly of Jake’s choice to start his own construction company.
“He’ll do great with renos and personalized jobs,” he’d said to the Gundersons, when Jesse talked about the remodel.
By the time the celebrations ended, it was well past midnight. The kids were dropping, and soon, so were the parents.
Olivia, however, was ready to dance into the morning. “Mae’s with Maggie! Let’s keep dancing!”
Hannah laughed as Jesse tried to convince her to go to bed. “Jess! We don’t often get nights like this anymore.”
“But we also never getsleep, either,” he said.
Olivia kept dancing, but closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest. “Alright, I guess it’s time.”
With hugs all around, and Emma running up to her new room with Millie, Jake and Hannah were alone for the first time as husband and wife.
“How long do you think it’ll take her to go to sleep?” he whispered in her ear, swaying her to the crickets and the frogs.
She laughed. She had been thinking the same thing. “She’ll be out soon enough.”
Jake looked up to the sky. “Let’s go for a walk around the ranch.”
He called up to Emma’s open window. “Hey, Em!”
“Yeah?” she said, poking her head out the window.
“Your mom and I are going for a walk around the yard. You okay for a little bit?”
“Sure, Dad.”
She left the window as if it was no big deal, but Hannah saw his face change. He looked at Hannah and smiled. “Did she…?”
Hannah took his hand. “Yes.”
He smiled again and tucked her arm into his. “We should grab a blanket,” he said, as he led her toward the barn.
“Mr. Malloy, you are a devil,” she teased, but suddenly she was the one leading him, still in her white lace wedding dress. She had made a joke about his having to peel it off her, and Jake took it as a challenge.
He grabbed a lantern off the wall, and a quilt from the tack room.
“Where did you get that quilt?” she asked.
“Don’t you think Maggie would be honored that her gift was the first used?” he said, pulling her toward the back of the barn, past Trigger, out the door to the pastures. The trail curved through the field to their favorite spot, a hill overlooking the whole ranch.
The silver glow from the full moon illuminated the prairie below. Groans came from the cows every once in a while as they walked the trail, holding hands.
When they reached the top, Jake put the lantern on the ground and took her into his arms.
“I love you, Hannah.” He kissed her.
“I love you, too,” Hannah said. “Always and forever.”
* * *
