He hiked up the other side of his mouth, giving her a full-fledged smile. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.” Then he grew more serious. “But in all honesty, I’ve been toying for a while with the idea of selling the house. There are too many memories there, and if I keep clinging to the past, I won’t ever have a future. What I thought I’d do is rent an apartment as close to Cape as I can without leaving the county. The commute will still be a challenge after you go back, but it will be much more manageable than from my house. And fair warning—I plan to do alotof commuting.”
Joy bubbled up in her heart. Spilled over.
But before she got carried away, there was another issue they had to address.
“I like the sound of that. But what happens if we get more serious? That commute wouldn’t be tenable for either of us long term.”
He stroked his thumb over the back of her hand, causing a major disruption in her concentration. “Like I told you once, there are other jobs in law enforcement.”
“It doesn’t seem fair to ask you to give up your position as sheriff.”
“Law enforcement is law enforcement, and my career is more portable than yours. I’d rather be married to a beautiful, intelligent, articulate, kind, generous, and loving woman than to a job any day—no pressure intended.” He tapped the edge of her mousse goblet as his eyes began to smolder. “Are you going to finish that?”
She picked up her spoon and dug into the sweet confection, the electricity in the air setting off a tingle in her fingertips. “Yes, but I’m a fast eater.”
“I’ll get the check.” He signaled to the waiter. “I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to proceed to the second dessert course.”
Cara made short work of her remaining mousse, and minutes later they were walking hand-in-hand out of the restaurant and into the chilly November night.
“The temperature’s dropped.” She angled sideways as a gust of wind whipped by.
“I have a fix for that.” He positioned himself to block the breeze, pulled her close, and wrapped her in his arms. “Warmer?”
“Much. Now only my lips are cold.” She lifted her head and rose on her tiptoes.
“I think I can fix that too.”
And so he did.
In a way that was far sweeter and much more delicious than her delectable chocolate mousse.
Epilogue
AMAZING.
As Cara wrapped up her presentation about the paper she’d written on the Missouri settlement time forgot and its fast-disappearing language, Brad surveyed the audience in the university auditorium.
Everyone’s attention was riveted on the woman he loved—rightly so—as she spoke from behind a microphone in the center of the stage. Cara had taken a specialized subject that could have been dry and tedious and injected it with life and vitality by masterfully weaving in snippets from Marie’s journal and the woman’s history to put a face on the subject matter.
She’d done the same with her more scholarly-style paper, which may have been why it had garnered national attention in academic circles and prompted an invitation for her to present it during a prestigious spring conference at a prominent East Coast university.
Now, two weeks later, she was repeating the presentation at her own university in a session that had been widely publicized. And both the media and the public had come out in force.
He glanced around again at the rapt audience.
Impressive.
Even more impressive, though?
Her hard-won self-confidence, on full display as she spoke with poise and authority to the large crowd.
Incredible, after all she’d had to overcome.
He couldn’t be prouder of her if she’d won the Nobel Prize.
Nor could he love her more.
Brad’s lips curved up as he shifted his attention back to the woman who’d staked a claim on his heart over the past seven months with her kindness and grace and generous, loving nature.
