“I loved you almost from the moment we met.” The words were nearly identical to what he’d spoken to her when he’d proposed that wintery day back in January.
A thrill whispered through him. Was she doing what he thought she was?
She nodded as though answering his unasked question. “I let my fears control me for too long. But I want you to know that I am choosing to move beyond all my fears, and I’m choosing you today and always…if you’ll still have me.”
A strange heat pricked the backs of his eyes. She was trying to move past all that had once controlled her, and he was proud of her for having the courage to do so.
She extended the ring further, this time without wavering. “I love you, Sterling. Will you marry me?”
The thrill was no longer just whispering inside him. It had escalated into a clamor that was pulsing through his whole body.
Behind him, Beckett stepped into the cabin and closed the door. Everything began to make sense. Violet had planned this whole event, had arranged to come out to the cabin, and had wrangled Beckett into helping.
“Marry me, today,” Violet said again, holding his gaze and letting him see the sincerity in hers. “Today. Here. Now.”
Holy sweet heaven. Was this really happening? Or was he only dreaming?
With his pulse racing, his feet carried him across the room to her. As he reached her, he lowered himself to his knees, then captured her outstretched hand. Without breaking her gaze, he brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss into her palm.
Then he took the ring and slid it on his finger. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Today. Here. Now.”
She smiled, her shoulders sagging just a little, her relief easing the worry in her face.
“But only if you’re sure.” His heart welled with all the love that he’d tried to keep at bay, so full that his chest hurt with the pressure of it.
“I’m sure, Sterling.” Her smile inched higher. “I’ve learned that love isn’t always perfect. But I want to spend my life learning to love you better.”
He stared for a long moment at his hand and the gold band that signified her willingness to love him. He’d never dreamed this would be possible with her. But what if everything had happened for a reason? What if their failed engagement and wedding had actually been a blessing that had pushed them both to mature in their love for each other?
He gently cupped her cheek. “I vow to learn to love you better too. With every passing day and year, I will love you until my dying breath.”
Her eyes were wide and filled with something he’d wanted to see there but never had. Love.
He bent in and touched his lips to hers, pledging himself to her forever.
23
She was actually getting married. She was really doing it this time.
Violet stood beside Sterling at the center of the cabin, in front of Reverend Livingston. Compared to the burly cowboys in the room, the reverend seemed so small of stature. But he was kind and had been the first time she’d met him. Thankfully, he’d been willing to go along with her scheme and had accompanied Beckett on the ride from town to the cabin.
Next to her, Hyacinth acted as a witness, and Beckett was beside Sterling as a second witness. Beckett wasn’t wearing his usual scowl, but he didn’t seem happy about the union.
Violet didn’t blame him for still having doubts about her intentions. Maybe it would take time to prove to him that she was a changed woman. Maybe it would take time to prove to herself that she was changing. She would likely still battle her fears at times. Like now…
She’d clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking, but beneath her voluminous skirt, her legs wobbled. Even so, she tried to focus on what the reverend was saying.
“Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband,” he said, “to live together after God’s ordinance in the holy estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou obey him and serve him, love, honor, and keep him, in sickness and in health? And forsaking all others, keep thee only to him, so long as you both shall live?”
The anxiety in her chest was swirling and rising and starting to choke off the air in her lungs. She tried to draw in a breath, but she felt suddenly like she was drowning.
Sterling had already spoken his vows with certainty and strength. Why couldn’t she do the same?
She closed her eyes and forced herself to remember all the qualities about Sterling she loved, all the many things that were so different from her father. Sterling was reliable and had roots and didn’t run away from commitment. He loved her more than himself.
In the next instant, his arm gently circled behind her back, holding her up and being there for her in this moment of her past creeping back out to torment her.
Sterling was not her father. His presence was stable and his love steadfast. She couldn’t forget that.
