Adam smiled against her lips. He broke away to finger the a delicate gold band with a beautiful white, fiery stone in the center that he’d given her.
"It's an opal. It was my grandmother's."
"I love you," she whispered, because she hadn't said it yet, and it needed to be said. She was humbled when his eyes got conspicuously wet.
He kissed her again, and then they were surrounded by her family, receiving hugs for her and slaps on the back for him.
Pa shook Adam's hand as Breanna met Ma's gaze above Velma's head. Ma smiled a secret, warm smile.
And she knew, no matter where she and Adam ended up, that she'd bring her family with them. Maybe only in spirit, but she'd always be Jonas and Penny's daughter. Always have the strength they'd instilled in her by their constant love and devotion.
The same love and devotion she and Adam would pass on to their children someday.
She was passed around again for more hugs and then intercepted by Adam, who kept his arm around her.
Looking up into his dear face, she couldn't wait for whatever adventures God had in store for them. Together.
Epilogue
Breanna stood outside the stall watching a mare of almost pure white as it paced the small space.
Agitation was a sure sign of impending delivery. She'd been waiting to meet this colt for weeks.
She'd been back and forth to the barn numerous times today. Barn? Maybe she should be calling it a stable. It was much bigger than any barn she'd seen back home in Converse County.
The barn door opened, and snow swirled in. Her husband blew in with it.
Husband.
After two months of marriage, it was still difficult to believe. Her, married.
"I thought I'd find you out here. I brought your supper."
She met Adam with a smile. Instead of taking the plate he held, she slipped her arms beneath his open coat and embraced him. He obliged her with a kiss, his lips and nose a cold press against her skin.
She stepped back and accepted the plate he'd covered with a towel. "Thank you."
Adam peeked in the stall. "She seems fine."
"It's getting close." She perched on a hay bale and dug into the meal of roasted chicken and vegetables.
He shot a wry glance at her. "I think you're more nervous than she is."
Breanna gave him a baleful glare as she cut another slice of chicken.
She couldn't help her excitement. Adam had introduced her to his friend Frank soon after they'd arrived in Philadelphia, and the three of them got along like pups in a basket. Frank had notified them of a mare coming up for sale, one that had been bred from a cup-winning stallion whose owner was having a bit of a financial crisis and needed to sell. Breanna had taken one look at the mare and bought her outright, spending a large chunk of her race winnings. She'd never made so large a purchase before.
And she intended to make the foal Adam's Christmas gift. As it was Christmas Eve, it would be ideal if the mare foaled oh... right about now.
"How are your father and Reggie?" Adam had made the short trek to the Cartwright's mansion in Philadelphia proper earlier in the day.
After they'd married, they'd purchased a property just outside of town. An estate really. The house was two stories and fine and had an expansive lawn and this crazy barn. And it was near enough to Frank and his racing track that they could ride over in less than an hour.
And it was close enough that Adam could check in on his father and Reggie when he needed to.
"Reggie is excelling as editor-in-chief. I never thought..." Adam shook his head.
Breanna knew there’d been tension between the brothers as Reggie had taken over the paper these past weeks. After nearly fifteen years of seeing Reggie as helpless—and Reggie doing nothing but perpetuating that image—Adam had still tried to coddle his younger brother.
