Something in Mr. Sinclair’s expression softened at the raw honesty in Enoch’s voice. “Then you have my blessing.” He extended his weathered hand, and Enoch clasped it. “Though I reserve the right to shoot you if you ever make her cry.”
A startled laugh escaped Mandie’s throat. “Papa!”
“What? A man’s got to look after his little girl.” Mr. Sinclair’s gruff tone couldn’t hide the moisture gathering in his eyes.
Mrs. Sinclair dabbed at her own eyes with a lace handkerchief. “Well then, we have a wedding to plan. Amanda, you’ll need a proper dress, and we’ll have to see about flowers and?—”
“Mama.” Mandie raised a hand, stilling her planning. “I don’t need all that. I just need him.” Her gaze found Enoch’s again, and the simple truth in her words made his chest tighten.
“But darling, it’s your wedding day. Surely you want?—”
“I want to be his wife.” The quiet certainty in Mandie’s voice silenced any further protests. “Everything else is just…decoration.”
CHAPTER 28
The soft murmur of her parents’ voices drifted from behind her as Mandie stepped onto the porch, breathing in the crisp mountain air that had become as essential to her as prayer itself.
“They’ve finally settled in?” Enoch’s voice came from the shadows near the porch rail, and her heart did that familiar skip that always came when he spoke.
“Mama’s making lists for tomorrow, and Papa’s questioning Robert about the economics of a ranch business.” She moved toward him, letting herself take in the way the lamplight from the great room windows caught the strong line of his jaw. “I think they’re still adjusting to the idea that their daughter lives in what Mama callsthe untamed wilderness.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “And what do you call it?”
“Home.” The word slipped out before she could catch it, carrying more weight than she’d intended. Heat crept up her neck, but Enoch’s expression softened in a way that made her chest flutter.
The mountains were home, but what about England? Should she have said something to her parents? Asked Enoch about it?They’d spoken little about it of late, but eventually, they would both need to travel there. Even live there?
Before she could decide whether to mention it, Enoch nodded toward the pasture. “Willow and the foal need to come in for the night. Want to walk with me?”
“Yes.” The answer came without hesitation, and she fell into step beside him as they made their way down the porch steps and across the yard.
They’d had almost no time alone since his very public proposal earlier, and it would be wonderful just to be with him. In this place, with these animals they both loved.
The evening air carried the scent of pine and the distant sound of the creek bubbling over stones. Above them, the first stars were beginning to pierce the deepening sky. This felt so different from the carefully orchestrated evening strolls of her Richmond days.
This was real. Unguarded. True.
Willow lifted her head as they approached and nickered in greeting.
“There’s my girl.” Mandie reached out to stroke the mare’s velvet nose. The foal pressed close to Willow’s side, still cautious but no longer skittish around them.
Enoch slipped a rope around the mare’s neck, then opened the gate and led her toward the barn.
The foal’s legs still seemed too long for her body, but she moved with increasing confidence, her coat gleaming silver in the moonlight.
“She’s grown so much already,” Mandie murmured as they secured the horses in their stall. She couldn’t resist running her hand along the foal’s neck one more time before Enoch latched the gate.
“Growing fast.”
They stood at the stall gate, watching the mare nuzzle her offspring. The familiar ache of longing tightened in her chest—by spring, she would have her own baby to nurture and protect. Would she know instinctively how to care for her baby as Willow had?
A new thought slipped in, sending a surge of panic through her. England…would she have to give birth in a strange country?
“What’s wrong?” Somehow Enoch must have felt her fear.
She couldn’t quite make herself meet his gaze, especially with the furrows shadowing his brow. “I was just…wondering. You haven’t said much about England, though I know we’ll need to travel there. I wasn’t sure if it would be before…”
He must have understood her meaning, for he reached out to touch the back of her arm. His thumb stroked up and down that sensitive skin, and her sleeve did nothing to stop a tingle sliding over her skin. “I plan to tell my father it will be at least a year before we can come, perhaps longer. That way, you can choose where you’d like to have the baby. And you’ll both have as much time as you want to recover. To grow strong and healthy.”
