“Did you enjoy your outing?” Thomas asked her that evening, fighting to keep his voice neutral. He should have been happy that his plan to get Valerie and Wesley together was working, but he regretted it more than he could say.

“Oh, more than I could have imagined,” she replied, her eyes sparkling. “I had the best time. I haven't laughed like that in ages.”

Grunting a little, he frowned at the floor. “So, can we be expecting a happy announcement any time soon?”

She threw her head back and laughed. The sound surprised him. Rarely had he seen her laugh so loudly, but he found it oddly attractive. “Oh, Thomas. Is that what you want? Me married to a man like that living within a stone's throw of you?”

Shocked by her honest reply, he wasn't sure what to say, but then decided that she deserved an equally honest answer. “Not really,” he admitted.

“So, what do you want?” She looked at him with soft eyes, and for the first time, he thought perhaps he could try to speak the truth. The question hung in the air for several moments before he could work up the nerve to answer.

“I suppose I want... Well, I want...”

“Just say it,” she urged softly. “What's the worst that could happen?”

He took a deep breath and blurted, “I want to stay in the West, own land, and have a wife that will stay and work alongside me.”

A slow grin spread across her face. “Now then, that wasn't so hard, was it? What took you so long?”

Blinking in shock, Thomas shook his head. “Why are you smiling? I thought you were angry. You said all I cared about was myself and doing what I wanted.”

Valerie shook her head a little. “Maybe, but what you didn't know was that I would travel across the country to be with you. It's true that I thought I could convince you to come back to New York with me at first, but now I realize that perhaps I'd rather stay here with you. Money is nice to have, and hard to live without, but it’s not everything. In fact, maybe it’s nothing. My life has been restricted long enough. Out here, I finally feel free.”

He looked at her as though she were slightly unhinged. “Are you joking? Valerie, do you hear what you're saying? I'm a ranch hand. It's not just that I don't have a lot of money. I have no money! Whatever I make is usually gone in less time than it takes to earn it. This isn't a lifestyle I would bring any decent woman into.”

She gave him a confused look. “But you said your dream...”

“A dream. Yes, that's exactly what it is, a dream, a fantasy. I don't think it will ever happen, or if it does, it won't be for years and years. What are you going to do in the meantime, be a servant for Kate and Elise? You'll wait here for ten years while I try to save up the scraps of money I make to put together enough for a tiny shack on a bit of land?”

Her grin was completely gone and the truth of what he was saying finally appeared to sink in. “But if you tell your father that this is what you want...”

“What, he'll send me my inheritance with his blessing? I don't think so, Val. This is who I am, and this is who'll I'll be for a long time to come. I'm sorry, but it's not going to happen.”

Suddenly, the worried look faded from her eyes, and she squared her shoulders. A determined look came over her face. “Well, fine then. We'll be poor together. I'd rather be poor with you than rich with that old Mister Bainbridge.” She shuddered visibly. “Do you even remember him? He was an old man ten years ago. Imagine my father trying to marry me off to him now.”

He couldn't let himself believe what she was saying. “Val, you don't mean it. This isn't something that you can put down when you get bored. It would be for life.”

“I know. And haven't I been living it for the past week? I understand it well enough.”

Her stubborn streak used to bother him, but in that moment, he thought he might be grateful for it. A door opened in his heart and he allowed hope to enter. Time would tell for sure if this was real, but for the moment, he wanted to let himself believe.

Taking a step forward, he wrapped his hands around her upper arms.

“Are you sure? You think you can really do this?” He slid his hands down and took hold of her hands, turning them palm up. “These blisters and calluses will become a permanent part of you.”

She looked down at her hands and then up at him. “I think they look nice,” she said lightly. “Not too many girls I know have them. I'll be special.”

With a groan, he pulled her into his arms and practically swallowed her whole. His mouth clamped on hers, and he allowed himself to get lost in her.

When her response equaled his, he thanked God in Heaven.

* * *

Valerie closed her eyes and tried to let herself be swept away. Wasn't this what she'd been dreaming about? And yet, something felt…wrong. She'd told him what he wanted to hear, but even as the words left her mouth, as she promised to live in poverty with him, doubt snuck in.

Still, she wouldn't say anything to diminish the joy on his face. This was the man she'd come West for, the man she'd loved for years. Finally, he wanted to be with her.

“Should we keep it a secret or tell the others right away?” he whispered when they finally broke apart.

“I'm quite sure they'll notice the difference the minute we walk through the door.”

He released a long sigh. “Val, I can't tell you what a relief it is to stop pretending. I've been holding back practically since you showed up.”

She quirked an eyebrow at him. “Really? You hid it well. All I got from you was scorn and irritation. Except for that brief encounter in the barn, I could have sworn that you wished me miles away.”

Pulling her close and resting his head on top of hers, he released a soft sigh. “I was fighting it. Even before I left, I had feelings for you. You were only fourteen, but I thought you were the most amazing woman ever. Of course, had I known you were going to turn into such a looker, I might have never left.”

Forcing a laugh, she slapped him lightly on the shoulder. “Don't joke,” she whispered. “I'm not quite ready for that.”

Chuckling, and not at all sensing her doubt, he agreed. “Yeah, okay. That was insensitive, but in time, it might seem funny. After fifty years of marriage, we'll be telling this story to our grandchildren and making them laugh.”

Her breath caught in her throat. What was wrong with her? In the span of a few minutes, he’d given her everything she’d been praying for over the past five years…well, almost everything.

The years suddenly appeared before her in a series of pictures, each one revolving around them in a tiny shack somewhere on the edges of the Triple Range property. “Yes,” she murmured against his chest. “I’m sure they will.”

“When do you want to be married?” he asked, pulling her away and looking into her eyes. “It can be any time. The preacher in town is used to being asked to marry people on the spot.”

Like a soft warm blanket that was slowly suffocating her, Thomas’s enthusiasm cut off her breath, and she had to gulp to get air down to her lungs. “I—I don't know,” she finally gasped. “Let me talk to the other ladies first. I know I agreed to give up all the trimmings, but I'd like a little ceremony if possible.”

“Of course!” he exclaimed, embracing her once again. “I think they can be talked into making a cake and a fine dinner for us. We could even spend the weekend in town as a kind of honeymoon.”

At the mention of the word honeymoon, a thought occurred to her, and she was ashamed to say that it gave her an excuse to tamp down his joy.

“Thomas, you must know that I'm beyond thrilled, but let’s be realistic for a moment. Where will we live? Sleep even? I know that you are in a hurry, but let's take our time. We need to plan a few things.”

She hated to crush his fervor, but there was no help for it. He wanted everything now, and she found she wasn't prepared.

“Alright,” he conceded with a small frown. “I see your point. “I'll talk to Luke about building a place to the south. There's a great view and the house gets a lot of light. It'll be hot in the summer, but you'll be glad of it in the winter when we can't go out much. It’s not pleasant to sit in a dark house for four or five months of the year.”

Winter. She hadn't really given much thought to what happened on a ranch during that season.

“Is it very cold here in winter?” she asked, working to control the tremor in her voice. “With a lot of snow?”

“Oh, yeah! It's cold alright. The snow is beautiful though, not mucked up by people and horses the way it is in New York.”

Another image rose in her mind. It was of her and countless children huddled together in a small shack, shivering and waiting for Thomas to come home. Was this the life she’d agreed to? Was this what it was going to cost her to have Thomas? Was she strong enough to survive it?

But she could voice none of these concerns. All she said was, “Well, that's good.”

His embrace suddenly felt constricting. However, she couldn't very well pull away. Instead, she laid her head against his chest and focused on his heartbeat. It was the one she'd dreamed of all these years, the one she'd hoped to hear in the exact way she was now. Would it be enough?

“You can tell the women,” he murmured into her hair. “I'll tell Luke and John first. Then the other fellas at dinner.”

In and out. In and out. Valerie forced herself to breathe and relax. Finally, her own heart stopped racing with anxiety. She turned her face up to his, and he bent down to place the softest kiss on her lips. For the moment, all else was forgotten and she believed she could do it after all.

“Thank you,” he whispered when he pulled back a fraction of an inch. “Thank you for not giving up, for making me see who you really are.”

Her head was spinning so fast that she nearly fainted as she asked herself the same question. Who was she?