Epilogue
One year later…
JW LEANED AGAINST the wall, staring at Kitty while she talked to her brother. She had removed her cap and gown, but the smile on her face when the dean handed her her degree probably would remain forever. He’d beamed with pride when they called her name and she walked across the stage. The last year had been tough and long. He’d flown out to Baltimore every chance he could, but it was never often enough. She’d only been to the ranch twice in the last year. Once during the holidays and once shortly after for an interview at the university. Teaching jobs were scarce in his community, but he knew how much teaching meant to her and how much taking care of his employees meant to him.
She could create whatever educational program she wanted on the farm. He hoped she’d say yes to the offer.
Now, all he had to do was ask her.
And not just about the job.
He dug his hand into his pocket, fingering his mother’s engagement ring, second guessing whether he should give it to her or not. The last woman had refused because it wasn’t glitzy enough.
“You look like a man who’s terrified of what he’s about to do,” Patrick said as he handed JW a drink.
“I’m afraid she’ll say no,” JW admitted.
“She’s moving to Idaho, I doubt she’ll say no.”
“There is room at the ranch for everyone.” JW had offered it before, and her family knew they were always welcome, even if they wanted to make it permanent.
“Trust me, we’ll be visiting on a regular basis.” Patrick slapped JW on the shoulder. “Now tell me what is bugging you, son.”
Over the course of the last year, her father had become more than possibly a future father-in-law, but a man JW valued and looked up to. Patrick had worked hard his entire life to support his family. He was a proud man.
A good man.
The kind of man, husband, and father, JW aspired to be.
“I’m honestly afraid she’ll hate the ring.” His mother’s elegant, but small diamond was nothing like the extravagant ring set he’d seen in pictures from when she’d been married to Preston. Sure, JW could more than afford to buy her whatever she wanted, and he would, but having the woman he loved wear his mother’s ring meant the world to him.
“You’re overthinking this.” Patrick gave him a nudge. “Now get over there and ask my daughter to marry you before my wife lets the cat out of the bag. Twice today, she’s taken Kitty by the hand, looking at her finger, then frowning when there is nothing there to scream over.”
“What, here? Now?” JW swallowed the thick lump that had formed in his throat earlier that day, making it impossible to propose anytime they had been alone. What made her father think he could do it in front of her family?
“Yes. Hey, Kitty.” Patrick waved. “JW needs a word with you.”
“I can’t believe you just tossed me under the bus,” he muttered.
“Break my little girl’s heart, and I’ll drive the bus over you.”
“Not helping.” JW sucked in a deep breath as Kitty glided across the room like an angel floating down from heaven. Everything about her made him want to be a better person. Her smile filled the room and his heart with love.
“Hey there, Cowboy,” she mused, gliding her fingers up his one and only sport coat. “You dress up real nice.”
“I feel naked without my hat, which by the way, I’ve finally broken in.”
“I was thinking that one might look better—”
He pressed his index finger to her moist, plump lips. “Break in your own and before I lose my nerve.” He cleared his throat. “I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you.” With a shaky hand, he held up the ring.
She gasped. “Is that an engagement ring?”
Butterflies filled his stomach. Kitty was his life. His future. Nothing made sense without her. But the memory of his mother was equally important in a different way. He wanted to honor her in a way that would have made her proud. “It was my mother’s.” He slid it onto her finger.
“Oh my God, JW.” She covered her mouth. “It’s beautiful.”
“You like it?”
“I love it, and it’s that much more special that it was your mother’s. Are you sure your siblings won’t mind you giving it to me?”
“They approve. The only question now is will you marry me?” The words tumbled out of his mouth like a summer breeze jostling the flowers in the meadow. This didn’t just feel right, it was right.
A single tear pooled at the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek.
He wiped it away with his thumb.
“Yes. Yes. A million times yes.” She nodded, tossing her arms around his shoulders, smacking her lips against his.
“Finally,” her mother exclaimed. “Now, when can I except a grandbaby?”
“You know,” he whispered in her ear, “I’m not opposed to starting a family right away.”
“Neither am I,” she said.
“Heaven is right here with you.”
THE END