It hadn't escaped Cori's attention that Fort had not returned her declaration of love by saying those special three words.

But actions speak louder than words, and she believed this sentiment with all her heart. The fact that he drove to Brewster to collect her. That he, literally, swept her off her feet to bring her home. Yeah, kinda caveman in nature, but sexy nonetheless.

And speaking of sexy. Well, secretly she dug getting it on in his truck. It was fun and awkward and rushed for fear of being caught, and the combination of those worked for her. So much that the normal two-day trip back to Wolf Creek took three. On the drive, he filled her in on what happened after she left. That he was running unopposed for sheriff with the town's support, including Deke's.

As they got closer to his home, the euphoria of being with him began to wear off, replaced by worry about what people would say about their future and how she'd be received. By the time Fort was slowing, preparing to turn toward the square, she was chewing her thumbnail.

He took her hand in his. “Relax,” he said. “No one is mad.”

“Right, they aren't going to be mad at you. You're part of the community, but I was an outsider who played them.”

Fort pulled up behind the gazebo and turned off the truck. “I'm gonna need you to trust me on this, okay?”

She shrugged as if she didn't have a choice.

“If by the end of the day you aren't happy, I'll make every last bit up to you. Redo the whole day.”

Cori knew she was giving him a weird look. Her nose was wrinkled in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“You'll see.” He opened his door, then slid out. “Stay put,” he said when she reached for her door.

If she didn't trust him so much, she'd be worried he had a nefarious plan. Fort came to her side, opened the door for her, and offered his hand to help her out.

“This is weird,” she told him. His only response was to laugh.

She continued, “Weird meaning I'm not sure I like it.”

“That's because you expect bad things to happen to you all the time. You won that photography contest and didn't breathe a word of it. Just let it pass by. We had a cattle rustler come to town before you did, but somehow you managed to take responsibility for that as well. Even though you had nothing to do with it.”

She stopped walking. “It feels like I did because my dad's involved.”

“You think he's involved. Just because Body went there, doesn't mean anything more than he's still in contact with your dad.” Fort took her hand in his.

“Did y'all catch Brody?” If they did, then maybe she would know for sure. It might not be important to them, but it was to her. She had thought if her dad was in prison, he'd be too removed to hurt others.

Fort shook his head. “He's in the wind. And your dad's not talking.”

There was no denying her deflated feelings.

Fort led her around the side of the gazebo and stopped. The setting sun was streaking colors of gold and slate blue across the sky. Twinkle lights beckoned from the gazebo and lined the shrubs that skirted the sidewalk. Crickets chirped.

Fort turned her so she faced him, the side of the gazebo in her direct line. He dropped to one knee, still holding her hand.

Cori's breath caught in her lungs.

“Short stuff, in the time that you've been here, we've been through some good and some bad, but through it all, we worked as a team. Until you ran off at the last part, but you're allowed a few missteps. Lord knows, I'm going to have plenty of my own. But one thing I realized through all this is that when I'm gonna face hard times, I want you there next to me. You give me hope for good times. When I face good times, I want you next to me. You give me hope for the unimaginable. Until you showed up, I was going along thinking life was fine. When you left, I realized life without you was empty. What I'm saying is that I love you. I want you with me for all the days. Every day. Forever. Will you marry me, Corinne Charlene Walters?”

Tears of joy rolled down her face. “How did you know my middle name?”

“Your mom used to yell it when she'd scream at you for not winning a pageant.” His smile was soft, his eyes without pity.

“And you remembered it after all this time?” Her mind was processing all that he said, all that he asked, and she was finding it hard to believe it to be true.

“Short stuff, you called me out about all my misdeeds. Used to piss me off something awful, but only because you were right and I knew it.”

She licked her lips as she sucked in a shaky breath and tasted the salt from her tears.

“Is it so hard to believe you are loved?” he asked, coming to his feet. Her hand still in his, he pulled her closer.

“Maybe,” she said in a shaky voice.

“You have to have a little faith, babe. Take a chance. Take one on me.” He squeezed her hand. “I mean what I say when I tell you I love you.”

“I love you, too. That's what scares me so much.” She took a small step toward him, her chest nearly brushing his.

“I'm going to hold on to you and never let go,” he said. From his hip pocket he took out the ring Sabrina had sent with her. “This is real. It's the same stone my dad gave my mom. Sabrina's dad bought her ring from my dad after she left so he wouldn't hock it. Sabrina had it reset with you in mind. Just say yes.”

Cori nodded, overcome with love and family and belonging. “Yes,” she choked out. “Yes!” There wasn't much to life when one played it safe, and Cori had been doing that for years. Whether it was staying in Brewster, avoiding her parents, or never sticking up for herself. Whatever the reason stopped now. She was grabbing onto life with both hands and holding on for keeps.

She leapt into Forts arms and kissed him soundly.

Beside them, people cheered. Cori broke from the kiss and looked around. A large number of people had gathered near the gazebo and were watching them, many clapping. Everyone smiling.

“About this getting married thing,” Fort said. “How about we do it now?”

With her still in his arms, he walked around to the front of the gazebo where Cricket waited in her lavender dress, two bouquets of purple hydrangeas in her hands.

He let her slide to the ground. “What do you say?”

She looked at the faces of people she'd come to like, even love, and smiled. She met Saira's gaze and saw the love waiting for her there. “I say why not? Why waste time?”

Someone hooted. Saira stepped forward with arms open. “Welcome home, Cori,” she said.

Though the majority of the town was present, the wedding was small, quick, and full of laughter. It was intimate and personal and the people bearing witness were like family. Cori didn’t care that she wore a flowy skirt in a patchwork pattern and a white peasant top or that Fort was wearing jeans with a button-down plaid shirt. None of that mattered. She had the love of a great man and his family and the acceptance of a town.

Mrs. Z had given her something borrowed by tucking a soft linen handkerchief under the strap of Cori's bra, Saira placed an antique family necklace of pearls around Cori's neck, Fort gave her a brand-new key and left her guessing where it fit, and Mrs. Williams gave her a blue garter.

“Every girl should have a garter that needs to be removed,” she'd said in Cori's ear and followed it with a wink.

After the ceremony, they laughed and ate and celebrated the future, both the town and the people as well as Cori and Fort.

When the evening was gone and night heavy in the sky, Fort swept her up into his arms, thanked everyone, then dashed off to his truck, hooting and hollering echoing behind them.

“Still have that key?” he asked as he backed out his truck.

“Yeah, of course.” She had tucked it into her boot and went about retrieving it.

They drove in comfortable silence, her head on his shoulder. When he pulled off onto the dirt road that lead to the cabin, she sat up.

“What are we doing?” She knew the cabin had burned, and though she would pretty much spend anywhere with Fort so they could get their honeymoon on, the charred remains of what was lost didn't feel like a good idea.

He pulled around the tree and hit his brights. In their beams sat a new, partially built cabin. Exterior walls were up but no roof. Fort cut the engine but left the lights on.

“Come on,” he said and pulled her from the truck. He pushed her to the front door. “See if the key works.”

It was silly on some level because she didn't need the door to get inside. She could tell there was no back wall yet by looking through the cut-out that would become a window. But she slid the key in the new door and turned the lock. The heavy wood door released, and she pushed it open.

Fort came up behind her and wrapped one arm around her waist while gesturing with the other. “This is all ours, the cabin, the acres that surround it. I bought more from Mrs. Z. We officially have the foundation for our own ranch.”

Cori leaned back into him, her hands covering her mouth in disbelief, fresh tears on her cheeks.

“I had the crew leave the back of the house off because I thought maybe we'd want to extend it a little to add a few more rooms for future Besingames. Just need your input so we can move forward.”

“This is all yours?”

“All ours, babe. Our ranch. Our home. Our future. Together.”

Cori turned in his arms, then cupped his face in her hands, and said. “Can we call it Be-So-Lame Ranch?”

Fort tossed back his head and laughed.

They spent the first few hours of their honeymoon “christening” their ranch before heading into Elk's Pass to kick off the remaining portion of their celebration.

Hope.

One simple word brought so much in dreams, opportunity, and happiness.