Her heart began to race when she saw that it was him.
Foolish little heart! It clearly knew nothing of this man, who came barreling toward them in a huge cloud of kicked-up snow. His quarter horse was significantly larger and stronger than Tinsel, and it covered the ground much faster.
Not to show any weakness, Madelaine defiantly raised her chin when he was close enough to slow down. Tinsel seemed happy to see Chester, but Madelaine couldn’t say the same about Luke.
Although, admittedly, he looked very handsome in this particular moment. His eyes were brighter than when she’d seen him in the house earlier this morning, and he’d obviously freshened up a bit. His beard had been groomed, and she could see from the collar of his shirt that he had changed his clothes.
She kept her face as emotionless as she could.
“Madelaine, I…” he began, but didn’t finish. She could see in his face that he was searching for the right words. At least, that was what she guessed while she patiently waited. Meanwhile, her silly little heart stumbled over itself at the cuteness of his shy behavior—a vast difference from his previous demeanor. If he wasn’t so darn good-looking…
“Look!” he said as he pulled off one of his gloves to rummage around in his inside pocket. He pulled out a folded piece of paper, spread it to its full size, and held it in front of her face. “The Christmas Dance!” he announced enthusiastically as she glanced at it.
She didn’t speak, only raised a single eyebrow, and his enthusiasm faded a little. His hand sank, he lowered his head, and heaved a sigh.
“Madelaine, I am so very sorry.” When he looked back up at her, his eyes showed genuine remorse. “I am so, so sorry about the way I’ve treated you and the children over these last few days. You did not deserve it. I…” He paused, but only for asecond. “None of you deserved it. Not my bad behavior, not my drinking, not my absence, not my disregard… I treated you so badly, and I was such a bad husband to you. Please, forgive me. Please allow me to make it better.”
Madelaine had expected some kind of apology, but she had the feeling that this was much more. This was an admission. It was clearly visible in his eyes.
She sat there staring at him with an open mouth, utterly surprised. Once again, her silly little heart hammered against her ribcage, as if it wanted to burst out of her chest. Was she hallucinating, or had he really said all those things? And why couldn’t she shake the feeling that she had yearned to hear him say all this?
When she didn’t react, he cleared his throat and held up the pamphlet again. “I want to prove to you that I can be a good husband. I want to take you to the dance with me. Please. If you’re willing to forgive me.”
She lifted her gloved hand to her mouth. “You want to takeme?”
Luke steered his horse a little closer to hers, which forced her to lift her head a little. He took off his Stetson, combed his strong fingers through his unruly brown hair, and looked deep into her eyes, which made her nervous.
“I would like to formally introduce you as my wife, Madelaine,” he said, and his voice sounded solemn. “I would like to take you out to this dance, to show you to the world. I want to do right by you, and that means that I don’t want to hide you any longer.”
“You weren’t hiding me,” the words burst out of Madelaine’s mouth before she could stop them. “I was… never mind.” She shrugged because she didn’t know what else to do. She didn’t know how to feel or what to do about the flutters she was feeling in her stomach right now.
The corners of his mouth tilted upwards into a soft smile, and Madelaine felt a tingle roll down her spine. What was happening here?
“Will you forgive me?” he asked as he reached over, taking her gloved hand with his ungloved one. His grip was gentle, yet strong, and she almost wanted to pull her hand back. His touch seemed so intimate, but it felt comforting, so she didn’t. All she could do was nod and stare up at him with wide eyes. All her fighting spirit had drained from her bones the second he’d touched her.
“Would you like to come to this dance with me? So, I may introduce you as my wife?”
Again, all she could do was nod while her body tried to fight against this onslaught of unknown emotions and feelingsof hope, excitement, and also a little wariness. Madelaine had never been this confused in her life.
“Marvelous!” His smile widened, revealing his perfect white teeth, and his hazel eyes seemed to be glowing, so full of warmth. Truthfully, it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. Her body wanted to lean toward him, but she pushed the unfamiliar urge aside.
What was wrong with her?
What was wrong withhim?
“There is one more thing. And I truly apologize for taking this away from you and the children. I want us all to go to church tomorrow…”
Madelaine escaped a choked gasp. “What?”
“I would love to take Belle and Simon there. Have they seen it? It’s very beautiful, and I want them to have a healthy relationship with the Lord. I might not have it, but they should at least get the chance to experience it so they can make up their own mind. Would you allow me to bring you all there?”
Whatever it was, something cracked inside of her. A huge boulder-sized weight fell off her shoulders. “You’ll take us to church?” She needed confirmation, or else all of this would be a dream.
He nodded and squeezed her hand gently. Madelaine was overcome with so much joy she thought she might fall off her horse.
She stared up at his handsome face and couldn’t hold back tears of happiness welling in her eyes while he watched her expression very closely.
“Thank you, Luke! This is all I ever wanted,” she said in a breathless whisper. He exhaled a sharp breath when one tear rolled down her cheek, and he leaned a little closer. His ungloved hand came up to her face, and he carefully brushed away the tear with his thumb. Then he kept it there. His touch was as light as a whisper. Madelaine had to fight the urge to lean into the warmth of his hand.
