She looked beautiful. Perfect really. She was wearing a navy-blue dress. It was modest with a round neckline that hugged her neck. It fit her perfectly snugly down to the waist and then flared and fell to her knees. Her hair was pulled up in a neat knot on the top of her head. I glanced at the pearls that laid properly around her neck. She looked like she belonged here—this was where she was meant to be. It made me mad. I wanted to go over and take down her hair and let it fall around her shoulders. I wanted her to be wearing a plaid shirt from Smithfield’s, a pair of jeans, and her work boots. I wanted her to look out of place here. But she didn’t. She looked like she was home.

“Jack.” I heard her say for the second time. I swallowed hard. Dear god, I had to have her. I can’t mess this up. I walked into the conference room and shut the door behind me.

“Claire, I have questions about your report.”

Her eyes were wide. “You do?”

“Yes. I figure that I’m entitled to ask you about this, am I not?”

Her voice was barely audible. “Of course.”

“You didn’t return my calls or texts.”

“I’m sorry.”

I walked over to the table. My hands were shaking. “I’m not happy with it,” I said putting it on the table and sitting down next to her.

She cleared her throat. “Okay. Which part?”

“The last part. Section F. Page 232.” I pushed the report towards her.

She didn’t touch the report or pick it up. “That’s the section where I suggested that you hire a Chief Financial Officer?”

“Yes.”

“Jack, it’s impossible to keep doing everything yourself. You need help if you want to grow.”

“I know Claire—it wasn’t your suggestion that I hire a CFO that’s bothering me, it’s the list of candidates.”

“Jack—every one of them is qualified. I vetted every single one. They are all great. You just need to pick one and make him an offer.”

“I don’t want any of them, Claire. I want you.” I searched her eyes for a second and she looked down. “I want to make you an offer. Name your price.”

“Jack. I’m not qualified. I’m too inexperienced. You need somebody better than me.”

“Claire—I loved every single one of your ideas. I want to implement every one of them. You’re the person who should help do that.”

“I can’t do it. I’m not qualified.” I said, wishing more than anything that I could take him up on his offer.

“Can’t or won’t Claire?”

“Both.” She whispered keeping her eyes down on her lap.

“Why Claire? Claire look at me.”

She wouldn’t look at me.

“Is this about Tiffany? Because if it is Claire—”

She cut me off, “Jack don’t, you don’t need to explain. It’s okay. I get it. You two are working things out. But even if I was qualified, which I’m not, I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t be there on the farm watching you with her. I’m sorry Jack. I can’t.”

I wanted to shake her. “Claire stop. Look at me. Listen. Please Claire. Look at me.”

Her gaze finally met mine. Tears were welling in her eyes. I couldn’t stand to see her like that. “Listen Claire. I know you saw her the day you left. I have no idea what she told you, but I’m guessing it was all lies. There is nothing between Tiffany and me and there never will be. Please, Claire, you’re the only one I care about.”

She shook her head. “She said you were working things out—that you were back together. She was wearing an engagement ring, Jack. She said you spent the night with her in Nashville.”  

I turned her chair around and pulled mine up to hers so that our knees were touching. I grabbed both of her hands. “Claire, listen to me, please. I went to meet Todd for dinner in Nashville that night. She was there. I had no idea she worked there. She asked me to meet her after she got off work and I told her I couldn’t. Todd and I went out for a drink after dinner at a bar down the street. She showed up there. As soon as I saw her, I left and went back to the hotel. That’s it. I have no idea why she showed up the house the next day. But I told her then—we’d never be together, I asked her to leave and I told her not to come back. That’s the truth baby. I don’t know why she was wearing that damn ring. I never asked for it back—hell, I figured she would’ve sold it by now. Whatever she said you, she was lying. I’m so sorry.”

Her eyes were glued to her lap. She wouldn’t look at me and it was killing me. “Claire—please.” I would beg if I had to. “You have to know that I feel nothing for her. There hasn’t been anything between us in so long. What I feel for you—it is so much more than it was ever was with her. You are my everything. You must know that. I love you Claire. I’m so in love with you I can’t think straight. Please. You have to know how I feel about you. You feel it, don’t you?” 

Tears were still streaming down her face, but she wouldn’t look up at me. “You wanna know the moment I knew? It is so clear in my memory. I think I fell in love with you the second you stepped in that diner, but I didn’t realize it until that first day you and I worked on the farm together. We were sitting on that bale of hay watching the sunset. I knew then.” I chuckled a little. “You had horse shit all over your jeans, straw in your hair, and a smudge of dirt on your forehead and I looked over at you and I knew that I loved you—I knew that I never wanted to be away from you again. We barely knew each other, and I knew it then.” I rubbed my thumbs over her hands. I needed her to say something. Anything.

One of her hands let go of mine. She wiped away her tears. “Jack—I can’t. I don’t—you don’t know everything. I’m sorry.” She wasn’t making sense. I was trying to be patient. But I needed to know that she believed me.

I whispered. “Claire why are you sorry?” I was lost. I just poured my heart out to her and I was terrified that she didn’t feel the same way. I felt a lump in my throat as I watched her shake her head. She didn’t want to answer. My heart was breaking. I had to ask her. I had to know.

“Freckles?”

She finally looked up at me. But she didn’t say anything.

“Are you having a baby?”

Her faced turned white. “How did you?” She was shaking. “I’m sorry.”

“I saw the tests in the bathroom before I left today. Is it true?”

She nodded her head. “I’m so sorry Jack. It wasn’t on purpose. I promise.”

“I know baby—of course it wasn’t. I watched you take those pills every single day. Why are you sorry? I’m not.” I pressed my forehead against hers. God, I wish I knew what she was thinking.

“You’re not?”

I shook my head. “I love you Freckles.  Listen—if you’re not interested in the job—if you want to stay here and work for your Dad, I understand. But I want us to be together, the three of us, Claire. I can move here. I can hire someone to run the farm. I can travel back and forth. I’ll do anything. Just tell me you want to be with me. Please.”

Her face turned red. “No! That’s not going to happen Jack.”

I felt tears stinging behind my eyes. She didn’t want me. It hurt. I put my hand up to my face. My finger and thumb on pressed against either side of my nose to stop the tears. Why was I such a pussy?

She put her hand on my arm. “Jack. I could never ask you to leave the farm—I would never—”

I interrupted her. “Claire—that house—it was just a house until you came. Now it’s our home. The fishing cabin—it’s our cabin. The same with the farm—it’s our farm. Without you, none of it matters.”

She let out a deep breath, “Jack. Stop. I want to be there with you more than I’ve ever wanted anything my whole life.”

I looked up at her and wiped a tear on my shoulder. “You do?”

“Yes.”

I think I smiled for the first time in a week. “Can we go home now?”

She smiled back at me with tears streaming down her face and nodded her head.

I let go of her hand and placed it gently on her flat stomach. “I can’t believe we’re havin’ a baby.” I chuckled, “I must have some super powerful sperm.”

She rolled her eyes and laughed. “I can’t believe it either. Are you really okay with all of this? Is it really what you want?”

I looked her straight in the eye. “Freckles these last few days without you have been miserable. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my whole life. Yeah, I was shocked when I saw the pregnancy tests. Neither of us planned for this and I know it has all happened really fast—but I’m happy about this. I thought about it the whole way here. This feels like a gift to me—starting a family with you, it’s the best thing that has ever happened to me.” I gently rubbed her stomach. “What about you, Claire? How do you feel about it?”

She wrapped her arms around my neck. Our foreheads touched again. “When I found out about the baby—I’m not gonna lie, I was a little freaked out. I think I still am a little. But at some point, even after I thought we couldn’t be together, it made me happy to know that I would always have a part of you. I already love this little guy.” She said putting her hand on the top of mine. She smiled at me. “I love you, Jack. I’ve wanted to tell you for so long. I was scared that you didn’t feel the same way.”

I smiled at her. “I was scared too. I wish I’d have told you sooner. I’m so sorry that you had to doubt, for even a second, how I feel about you. I love you too Freckles. Seriously, can I take you home now? I don’t want you to change your mind.”

She giggled, and I kissed her gently on the lips. She pulled back. “Can we leave tomorrow? I have a doctor appointment in the morning.”

“For the baby?” I asked suddenly feeling nervous. “Is everything okay? Can I go with you?”

She laughed. “Of course, you can. It’s fine. I just haven’t had an official test, although I called my doctor in New York and she said that if I took three at home and they were all positive, it was pretty much a certainty.”

“You think it’s a boy?” I asked smiling at her.

“I don’t know, why?”

“You said ‘little guy’ earlier.”

She grinned. “I guess so. I don’t know why. Do you have a preference?”

I shook my head smiling at my own thoughts. “No, but somehow I picture a little Claire-clone running around the farm with blonde curls and beautiful freckles demanding to feed the chickens.”

She pushed me back playfully. “I have never demanded to feed the chickens, Jack.”

I laughed. “Okay Freckles. You just keep telling yourself that. I’m pretty sure Luke has been worried about his job ever since you showed up.”