“Trust me,” he said, cupping a hand to her cheek. “I want to. I love you, Rebecca. You and our children. More than anything.”
“I love you too,” she said.
And that was all he needed. He dropped his hand to the back of her head and leaned down to kiss her. She fell into him and he wrapped his other arm around her. He would never let this woman go, not as long as he lived. She was everything to him—she was the reason he looked forward to each and every day.
She pulled back, slightly out of breath, and looked up at him. “Levi.”
“Mmm?”
“I’m so happy.”
“Me too,” he said, laughing.
And then he kissed her again.
Epilogue
TWO YEARS LATER .. .
Rebecca hesitated in the doorway, not wanting to disturb the scene before her. Levi leaned back against the chair, baby Edward perched on his knee and babbling away. Levi nodded seriously at their son, interjecting a comment here and there as if they were having a conversation.
From behind her, the happy shouts of the other children echoed across the yard. One of the barn cats had a litter of kittens, and those babies were the highlight of the children’s days.
“Edward’s just informed me that he prefers carrots to mashed turnips,” Levi said.
Rebecca bit back a grin as she moved through the room. “Oh, is that so? Or is that his father speaking for him?”
Levi feigned offense. “His father would never say such a thing. He adores your mashed turnips.” But his slight grimace gave him away, and Rebecca laughed.
She reached down, scooped up her son, and held him against her chest. Edward immediately turned his head to stare at his father again.
Levi stood, beaming. “I believe he may be the smartest child I’ve ever met.”
Rebecca smoothed down the baby’s downy hair as he began babbling again. “He does love to talk. Perhaps he’ll become an attorney or a politician.”
Levi made a face. “Or a farmer?”
“Of course,” Rebecca said indulgently. Levi had taken to this farm like nothing she’d ever seen. Without another job weighing on his mind, he’d devoted himself to plowing and planting and dreaming up innovations to make the work better and more efficient. And Roger had been beside him all the way. If anyone might become a farmer, it was Roger. Although perhaps Edward would take to it also. Rebecca smiled at the thought of the two boys, grown up and working side by side.
“What would you think if he wanted to become a Marshal, like you were?” she asked as she handed the baby back to the eager arms of his father.
“I’d wish him well.” Levi grinned at the baby before looking up at her.
Rebecca laid a hand on his arm. “Do you ever miss it?” She’d never asked him that before, but she’d wondered about it now and then.
