Tracy felt oddly sad all day Saturday without really understanding. Her life seemed great to her most of the time. She was finally close to opening the business she’d dreamed of for years. Heather was about to make her an aunt four times over. And . . . she was no longer certain of where she stood with Steve.

She hadn’t realized just how much she looked forward to his evening calls, and when there hadn’t been one, the let down was enormous. She was supposed to see him that evening, but no firm plans had been made. Maybe he had better things to do.

All day, she worked hard. She sold two cars, which was a very good day by anyone’s measure. When it was finally quitting time, she was relieved; because she’d been so mopey, she felt like she was letting the whole dealership down.

She left work and drove the short distance to her house, wondering if she should even bother to get ready for a date or if she should change into her pajamas and plan for an early night at home.

Tracy didn’t have to wonder long, because when she pulled into her driveway, Steve pulled in right behind her.

She got out of her car slowly and turned to him, feeling like she needed to walk on eggshells. He must be angry with her if he hadn’t called. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Steve looked at her, seeming puzzled by something. “Are you still planning on going out tonight?”

Tracy nodded. “Sure. I just need to change into some jeans. What are you planning?”

“Why don’t we do a picnic in the park? We can run by Taco Hut and get some tacos and just go for a walk and be alone.”

She looked down at her business suit. “I think I should change for that.”

He smiled, seeming distant to her. “Good idea.”

“Do you want to wait inside?”

He nodded, feeling like the whole conversation was stiff. Something was going through her mind, and he had no idea what it was. Why was she acting so standoffish?

Once Steve was settled on her couch, Tracy hurried into her bedroom to change for their date. She put on a pair of jean shorts and a tank top with a pair of tennis shoes. She quickly braided her hair into one long braid down her back and then headed into the living room. “Should I bring anything from home?”

He shook his head. “Nah, we’ll just eat off the paper, unless that offends you like the Hungry Man foil does.”

She made a face. “The Hungry Man foil doesn’t offend me. Just the fact that you eat so many TV dinners. You should eat something healthy once in a while.”

“But there are almost always vegetables included!” he protested.

“Yes, but do you eat them?”

“No, they’re usually gross.”

She laughed, feeling at ease with him all at once. “You make me laugh. I hope you never stop.”

He caught her hand and pulled her to him, kissing her softly. “I missed you this week.”

“I missed you, too. I was busy and felt like I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but I thought of you constantly.” She wondered for a moment if she should bring up the missed phone call of the night before, but she didn’t want to be upset about it, and she knew it was time. “I missed talking to you last night.”

“I called and called. You never answered.”

She stared at him for a moment, trying to understand. “Oh no! I was cleaning and wearing my Walkman! I was upset with you for never calling, and it was my fault!”

He grinned, glad he understood now. “No one’s fault.” Changing the subject would be smart, now that he understood what had happened. “Did you hear if Heather’s husband fainted when he found out about the quads?” he asked.

Tracy grinned, walking to the passenger side of his truck. “I talked to her last night. She said that he was incoherent for about an hour, but then he was all right.” She shook her head. “I didn’t tell you how Heather reacted, though. When Rebekah put her hand on her so she could tell her if the baby was a boy or a girl, she told Heather that the babies were fine. All four of them. And Heather freaked out. We were about to leave for Marti’s graduation, and we had to take her arms and guide her to the car. By the time we got to UT, she was talking about how wonderful it was going to be to be the mother of four beautiful little girls. Took her a good forty-five minutes before she stopped freaking out.”

“If I were her husband, I’d be freaking out at the idea of buying that many diapers. I’ve heard they’re expensive, and diapers for four? I don’t even want to think about it.”

“Well, I’m sure that thought has crossed Michael’s mind once or twice.” When he pulled up to the Taco Hut, they both got out to order their food. It was a walk-up restaurant with a little picnic area outside, but there was no drive-through. Once they’d ordered, they got back into the truck, and he drove to the park.

“I’ve been coming to this park since I was a little girl,” Tracy said softly. “I always help out at the fundraiser for the Boys’ Ranch.” Her uncle had run a boys’ ranch for as long as she could remember, and she knew her father had grown up on the same ranch. It had been run by the McClain family since shortly after the turn of the century.

“I think that’s awesome. I love that your whole family is involved in it. I bet it takes a lot of money to run. Those fundraisers have got to help.”

Tracy grinned. “The ranch is funded by lottery winnings. I know that sounds crazy, but Peter has been able to see the future since he was a little boy. He would see lottery numbers, and his dad would go get the ticket from whatever state he saw. But he’d always be sure to get one number off. That way big money was coming in, but not big enough to raise any flags anywhere.”

“That’s crazy. So what happens with the money from the fundraisers?” Steve had always helped out at the fundraisers when he could. It was odd to hear that the money didn’t really help run the ranch.

“It’s put into trust funds for each boy on the ranch. They will all receive them when they’re grown. Enough for college, or to start a business . . . or just a nice nest egg for the future. Whatever the boys want to do with it.”

“I had no idea. That’s fabulous. The boys, who came from such rough starts, will have solid futures. Do they know?”

“They have no idea. Each boy is given the money when he turns twenty-one. If they go to college, they’re given a stipend every month from the fund, but the state of Texas sends them to college. They won’t pay for grad school or medical school, though, and the money is there for that if the boys want to use it.”

“That’s really amazing. Your family is something else.” Something he wanted to be part of. The ring was burning a hole in his pocket. He was asking tonight if he could gather up enough courage. She was so beautiful to him, something of a goal in his life. Someone he needed by his side for the rest of his days.

He pulled into the park, and she carried their carry-out drinks while he carried the bag with their tacos and burritos. They went to a picnic table and sat down, using the sacks for their plates. Children played on the swings behind them, but the park was growing quiet. It was late in the day, and the children would be going to bed soon. Thanks to the time of year, it was still light enough for them to stay out for a while.

He talked of casual things while they ate. He mentioned his plans for the ranch and that he wanted to do a major renovation on the house. His family had lived in the area just as long as hers had, and they’d always been in that house. Unlike the McClains, his miserly family hadn’t done renovations every generation. Instead, they’d fixed what needed to be fixed but hadn’t worried at all about how fashionable the house looked. The bright oranges of the seventies would look terribly modern in his house.

After they ate, he asked her to walk with him through the wooded area just behind the park. “I love this spot. It’s so peaceful.”

She smiled and nodded. “It’s my favorite. I think Zach proposed to Gaylynn here.”

Steve frowned. He couldn’t propose in the same place her brother-in-law had proposed to her sister. He had to think of something else.

They continued on their walk, but he felt as if his bubble had been burst. He wanted his marriage proposal to be something they told their children and grandchildren about, and who wanted to say, “Well, I proposed there, but Uncle Zach proposed to Aunt Gaylynn there first.” No, it had to be something better.

They walked through the area, and they talked softly about their hopes and dreams. Tracy spent a lot of time talking about specific things the contractors had done that week to ready the pub for opening. She mentioned that she’d sent the final menu off to a printer to have it readied for them.

Finally, they got back to his truck, and he drove them out to his ranch. He had a different idea, one that had to be better than Zach’s proposal to Gaylynn. Why he felt the need to outdo the other man, he didn’t know, but he couldn’t imitate him. It had to be more special than that to Tracy.

When they got to the ranch, he pulled into the driveway and led her to the porch swing, which was one of the few things his mother had changed about the house. He only knew that because his grandmother had told him when he was a boy, but it made it special to him.

Once they were both on the porch, Tracy turned to him, a frown on her face. “I wasn’t expecting you to bring me back here tonight. What’s going on?”

He pulled the ring from his pocket. “I want there to be changes in my house, just like the changes I’m making to this ranch. I want there to be children playing here and a woman who loves living here just as much as I do. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather have at my side for the rest of my life. Tracy, will you do me the honor of being my bride? Will you have babies with me? But only one at a time please!”

Tracy felt the tears in her eyes even as she laughed. “Yes, I’ll marry you, Steve. I can’t think of anyone I’d rather grow old with. And I only want one baby at a time as well. I really don’t know how Heather and Michael are going to manage . . .”

He grinned, slipping the ring on her finger. “This was my mother’s engagement ring, and I would really love it if you’d wear it. I’ll get you a new one, but it’s really my only connection to her. That ring and this old porch swing.”

“I’d love to wear something that was your mother’s.” She looked at the swing, feeling the sturdy wooden post that dangled from the beams of the roof. “What do you mean about this swing?”

“The only thing she ever changed about this house was the swing. She wanted a front porch swing to sit on in the evenings, and Dad added this for her. From what I’ve gathered, she was the love of his life, and he never got over losing her. He never stopped blaming me for her death.” He shook his head. “She died from complications of childbirth when I was three days old. My grandmother told me that she loved me more than anything else in life.”

“I’m so sorry. I had heard she died when you were young, and I thought it was in childbirth, but I never knew for sure.”

“When I was cleaning out Dad’s things after his death, I found lots of photo albums with pictures of the two of them. There were a few pictures of them while she was pregnant with me, and then nothing. There were a few loose pictures of her with me, and the three of us together, but they were never put into the album. It was like he wanted to forget that the three of us were ever a family.”

Tracy covered his hand with hers. “I hope you know that it wasn’t your fault she died. It just happened. It was more his than yours. He got her pregnant after all. You were just the result.”

Steve shrugged. “I’ve never really blamed myself. But I know he blamed me, and that made things weird.” He shook his head. “I’m done talking about dreary things. You said you’d marry me! Neither of us have time to plan a big wedding like your sisters had. How would you feel if we got married at the courthouse with just your family? Maybe next weekend?”

She shook her head. “I don’t mind a small wedding with just family, but I don’t want to get married in a courthouse. Let’s get married at church. We can still do it next weekend if the pastor is free.”

“You don’t mind doing it small?”

“I never had the dream of being a bride and wearing white for a big wedding. My dream was always having my own business. I can wear one of my sister’s dresses, and we’ll do it quick and easy.”

“Sounds good.” He leaned toward her and brushed her lips with his. “I can’t wait until we spend every day together for the rest of our lives.

“I can’t either.”