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“Oh, my goodness.” She had to dab at her eyes. “That must have meant so much to him. And it does to me, too. Thank you Cain…Dad.”
His smile was quick and bright. “Well, I won’t keep you. We have lots to do tonight after all. But um…I have a little gift for you first. Two, actually, but um—”
Caleb came in then, glanced at his father, then at Maya, and smiled warmly.
“Good, good, you’re here. You should be,” Cain said. “Would you kindly get the package I left outside the door there, son?”
Caleb frowned, but did as his father asked. He came back with a huge package wrapped in gleaming gold foil, with elaborate ribbons. “It’s for Maya,” Cain said.
Caleb brought the package to her and laid it across her lap on the bed.
“My goodness, it’s almost too beautiful to open.”
But she opened it anyway. She tore the paper aside and took the cover off the large box it had concealed.
And then she felt her mouth fall open and tears spring to her eyes as she stared down at the wedding gown of ivory satin and lace. She looked up at Cain, who hurried forward and took the dress from the box by its shoulders, holding it up so she could see it better. The full skirt spilled free, and Maya caught her breath. “I don’t know what to say. It’s…it’s beautiful. The most beautiful gown I could imagine.”
“I knew you were planning to have the ceremony before the birth,” Cain said. “So I thought you probably didn’t have a dress—at least, not one that would fit you now.”
“Well, you were right,” Maya said, still admiring the gown.
“This was…this was Caleb’s mother’s.”
Her gaze shifted to Cain. “Oh…oh, my….” Pushing aside her covers, sending the box and wrappings to the floor, Maya got to her feet, went to the older man and kissed him softly on the cheek. “Thank you. You don’t know how much this means to me.”
He grinned and handed Caleb the dress. “I’ll go now, so you can give her the other present.”
“Thanks, Dad. Or should I say Grandpa?”
“Grandpa is a title I’ll bear with great pride.” He winked at his son and limped out the door, with a decided bounce in his step.
Caleb opened the small closet and carefully arranged the dress on a hanger. Then he turned to where Maya was still standing.
“You should be lying down. Resting.”
“I’ve been lying down all day, Caleb. I’m fine, really.”
He smiled. “You sure are.”
Feeling her cheeks heat, she averted her face, walked to the chair beside the bed and sat down. Caleb went to the bed, sat on its edge. “I want to talk to you about our…um…our arrangement.”
Her head came up fast. “You do?” Worry gnawed at her. Had he changed his mind? Had he decided he didn’t want to marry a woman he didn’t love after all?
“Things have changed, Maya. And…well, I just don’t think it would be fair to let you go through with this marriage without being perfectly honest with you.”
Lifting her chin, bracing herself, Maya looked him in the eye. “All right. I’m listening.”
Drawing a breath, he took her hands in his. “First of all, I’ve decided not to run for the Senate. In fact, I’m pulling out of politics altogether.”
It was not what she’d expected to hear.
“I thought I’d go into private practice. Open a law office right here in Big Falls. How would you feel about that?”
She knew she was gaping, but she couldn’t seem to stop. Shaking herself, she finally let her relief show. “I’d feel…wonderful. God, Caleb, that’s almost everything I’ve been hoping for.”
“Really?” He smiled. “Why didn’t you say so?”
She shook her head. “I…I didn’t want to start making career decisions for you, Caleb. I don’t have the right to do that.”
