RACHEL and Shane sat on the porch beneath a star-filled sky. Last time to do this, she thought. The house was finished. Tomorrow was the sale. But she didn’t want to think about that.
“They’re so beautiful. There are so many of them,” she said.
“I meant for you to have a chance to enjoy them that night we camped out. I’m sorry you didn’t get the chance.”
“I’m seeing them now. I suppose some people would find this mundane, but I’ve never really spent much time looking at stars. Most of the places I’ve lived have too much light pollution to see more than a few of the brightest ones.”
“My mother used to tell Eric and me that stars were a giant’s dandruff. Mostly, I think, because Eric had this amazingly contagious laughter. We used to think up things to make him laugh just to hear it.”
She smiled. “What a nice memory.”
“I’d almost forgotten it.”
“I’m glad you didn’t. Remembering your brother’s laughter is a good thing, isn’t it?”
“It was one of the best things about him. Are you sure you’re not cold? It’s a bit chilly tonight.”
She sighed and leaned back against the porch support. “I’m…just right. In fact, I could fall asleep right here in this very spot. Did you ever do that?”
“Sleep on the porch? Lots of times. Lots of mosquito bites in the morning.” He flicked an imaginary one away from her nose.
She leaned toward him, following his touch. “Shane, do you think we’ve done enough? I want tomorrow to be perfect,” she said. “Lots of people coming to look at your house. I want it to shine like silver. Nothing left undone.”
He laughed. “You’ve checked and double checked every thing.”
“As if you didn’t,” she teased.
“Yeah, but that’s what I do. I’m a numbers man, a checklist kind of guy.”
“And I’m a ‘try to make everything right’ woman.”
“Do you seriously want to look one more time?”
No. She seriously wanted him to lean closer and kiss her. She wanted them to slide to the porch wrapped in each other’s arms. She wanted to plunge her fingers into Shane’s thick, dark hair. And because she wanted those things so badly…
“I think one more look around wouldn’t hurt.” She got to her feet.
He groaned, but then he laughed. “The royal tour, then?”
“Nothing but the best for us.”
So they opened the door and stared at the wonders they had created. The living room was perfect. “I still love that green vase, even in lamplight,” she said. “Maybe especially in lamplight. I hope someone gives you bundles of money for it.”
They moved to the kitchen, redone in sunshine yellow and turquoise, with black and white tile on the floor. “If anyone makes one remark about tearing this place down, don’t tell me. This room is perfect as it is.”
The tour continued. The dining room, the enclosed porch. Finally they came to Eric’s room. Rachel had come in early and she and Shane had worked as long as they could.
“You were right about the very subtle cowboy theme, the hat on the shelf, the boots in the corner,” he said. “I thought it might be tacky, but done up in rust and brown and gold this place is Eric through and through. And I’m glad. It feels warm. It feels complete.”
“Thank you,” she said softly. “I tried not to change too much. And now…I guess there’s nowhere else to go, no more rooms to inspect. Everything is in its place.”
“Tomorrow we let the masses give it a yes vote or a no vote, I suppose.”
“They wouldn’t dare give it a no vote,” she said, making him laugh. She laughed, too, but there were tears in her heart. Because when tomorrow was over Shane would turn over anything that hadn’t sold to a company that would continue the sale online. And then she would leave him.
“And then we’ll both leave,” he said. “You’ll go to Maine.”
“You’ll go to Germany.”
“I’d like to know that you’re all right,” he said.
Her heart stalled. She’d experienced so many endings, but this one…she couldn’t drag out her goodbyes. Her heart was ripping in half already. “I’ll—I’ll send you a postcard,” she said.
He froze. “Damn you, Rachel. That’s cold.”
“Said the boy who was born to break hearts.”
“Not yours. I don’t want to break yours. Not that I could, but…I don’t want…”
“I want,” she said suddenly.
This whole situation, this polite farewell. Everything was so clean, so neat, so dry, so terrible. And she had always been a messy person.
“I want a souvenir,” she said. “Just one thing.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.
He kissed her back. Fervently. And then…more fervently.
“I don’t want to forget you,” she whispered.
“I want you to forget me,” he said. “I don’t want to be a regret for you.”
“You won’t. You’ll be a memory. A great memory. The kind I couldn’t possibly forget.”
“That’s what I want, too,” he said. “Wait here.” And he took off as if the house was on fire.
In a few seconds she heard the sound of banging and clanging. She started toward the bedroom.
“Don’t come in here,” he warned. “In fact, go into the living room and close the door.”
“I don’t think—”
“Good. I don’t want you to think right now. Just feel.” And then he was gone again. Ten minutes later he came to get her. His hair was disheveled. His shirt was half untucked. “Come on, my little astronomer.”
“Astronomer?”
“You wanted to sleep beneath the stars. Well, I can’t promise you sleep, but I can promise you something better than the porch.” He led her out of the house into the yard, and there beside the garden, with the fragrance of night roses wafting over them, was a bed fully assembled.
“We’re having a sleepover?” she asked, and her heart started pounding.
“I hadn’t gotten that far yet. I just wanted you to finally have your wish, your souvenir. A night beneath Montana skies.”
He held a hand out toward the bed, and she saw that he had piled up pillows. A person could lie back and easily, comfortably look up at the heavens. If looking up was what they wanted to do.
“I can see now what all those women saw, why so many of them cried when you left. You’re a master of the gallant gesture.”
He chuckled as he sat on the side of the bed, took her hand and drew her down beside him. “Believe me, this is a first for me. Beds aren’t made to be dragged out into the night.”
“But you did it. Thank you. It was a heroic effort, and I—”
“Rachel?”
She looked up at him. He smiled down at her.
“Shh,” he said, and he slipped his hands into her hair and kissed her.
He drew her down so that they were lying on the bed. And he kissed her some more. Deeply. His mouth driving her slowly crazy, his hands wandering over her body, slipping beneath her blouse, leaving trails of fire burning within her.
She clutched at him, unbuttoned his shirt with more speed than skill, popping a button as she revealed his chest. She slid her palms up over his naked skin and loved the sound of his breath catching in his throat.
“Rachel,” he said on a groan.
“Yes.”
“No. I shouldn’t have started this. We’re not doing this.” He reached out and began to rearrange her clothing where he had left her skin exposed.
Her heart went cold, like a rock in winter. “We’re not?”
“No. And not because I’m not dying to. I’m burning up for you. My hands are shaking with the need to touch you. But tomorrow…”
“Tomorrow it ends.”
“I want it to end right for you. With no regrets. I don’t want you to hate me afterward.”
She would never hate him. But the fact that he cared… She leaned forward and kissed him on the chest. He visibly swallowed. His breathing became more shallow.
“And I also don’t want you to have to worry about falling asleep and having Hank find us this way,” he said in a raspy voice.
She shrieked. “Hank? I hadn’t even thought of Hank.”
“Neither had I when I came up with the not so bright idea of dragging the bed out here. Still, Hank isn’t the main reason we’re just going to lie here and stare at the stars while I hold you. I want…I want you to be different. I don’t want you to be the topic of gossip. You’re so strong and beautiful and proud. I would hate to have anyone use that sympathetic, sorrowful tone when they talked about you.”
“Shane, that’s so…nice.” But she didn’t think she could bear it if he didn’t at least kiss her some more. She placed her palm low on his stomach and leaned closer.
A shudder ripped through his body. He placed his hand over hers, stopping her. “Damn it, Rachel. For once I’m trying to do the right thing, and I’m not sure I’ve ever done anything that tested me so much in my life. Now…the stars…please.”
She gave a tight nod, kissed his arm and lay back in his arms. “Show me your stars, Shane.” He was trying to make her different from all his other women. Despite the pain in her heart, the knowledge that she would never spend a night in his arms, Rachel intended to help him do—or not do—this thing.
So she lay beside him as they whispered about the constellations and he showed her the sky he’d grown up with. He showed her Sagittarius and Hercules and Corona Borealis. As he spoke, his deep voice echoed through her body. His left arm tightened around her as he pointed out the stars with his right. Gradually, she began to relax, to appreciate the beauty and the wonder of simply lying here with him, sharing this with him.
She felt…special…and as his voice died away she looked up at him to tell him so.
He smiled down at her, and then a curse word left his lips. Rachel blinked, then learned the reason why as fast-moving clouds started blotting out some of the stars and a few drops of rain fell on her face.
Without even talking, they leaped from the bed. Rachel grabbed the bedding, Shane muscled the mattress up on the porch, then came back for the frame. By the time they were done the clouds had obliterated all of the stars and both of them were wearing wet clothes.
“I can’t believe I did that to you,” he said, but he was laughing. “I can’t believe I didn’t know there was rain in the forecast.”
“Well, you’re a numbers man, not a weatherman,” she told him, laughing up at him. “Shane?”
He looked at her.
“I’m really wet. I’m going inside to take my clothes off.”
“Rachel?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to follow you, and I hope you’ll understand when I tell you that I think I used up my last drop of willpower back in that bed. If you take your clothes off, I’m going to want to look.”
“I’m so glad to hear that.” She didn’t even wait to get inside. She shucked her boots, pulled her blouse over her head and tossed it aside, then removed her pants until all that remained was her candy-apple-red bra and panties.
Shane came at her like a madman, wrapping her in his arms, crushing her to him and kissing her crazy. “Tell me to stop,” he told her. “I’m not even close to being in control.”
“Don’t stop,” she begged. “I love all your fancy constellation talk, but…don’t stop.” She rose on her toes. She kissed whatever parts of him she could reach.
Somewhere along the line his shirt and pants and…everything came off. He removed the remaining scraps of red silk from her body and dropped with her onto the bare mattress lying on the porch.
They kissed, they clutched and finally they created some new constellations of their own as the rain came down and the darkness enfolded them. He loved her long and well throughout the night. And as the sun came up he kissed her throat.
He stared down at her, a worried look in his beautiful blue eyes. “I don’t want you to ever be sorry for this, to regret this summer,” he told her.
She tried out a shaky smile. Because she knew that what he was asking her just wasn’t completely possible. She would love him forever. She would regret the pain that would follow her all her days. Still, this…
“This was wonderful,” she told him. “Thank you for everything.” And that was all she was going to say.
He didn’t look happy.
She didn’t feel happy. Because the night was over. The auction was today. The words “the end” loomed large in her mind.
When she came out of the shower, where she had retreated, she knew that something was wrong. Different. Shane was staring at the phone.
She moved to his side.
“I’ve already had an offer on the ranch. On everything in it. A group of local investors saw it on the internet, pooled their funds and want the whole thing. Now. No auction.”
His voice sounded… She didn’t know how it sounded. Her heart had fallen out of her body, or maybe it was simply being squeezed by a giant fist, because all she could think was, It’s over. Too soon. This is goodbye, the last conversation, the last anything. She wasn’t even sure she could speak without her voice catching. And if she didn’t speak he would know just how much she was hurting. That would hurt him. Again. It just wasn’t happening. She wasn’t letting it.
Rachel cleared her throat. “Are you accepting the offer?”
He looked at her, but she couldn’t read his expression. “It’s what I came to do.”
She nodded, even tried a smile. “All right. Good. That will save you a lot of trouble. Do you need me to…?”
She looked around, trying to seem cheerful. Here was where he’d kissed her. There was the vase she loved, Cynthia’s curtains, the rooms Shane had walked in and grown up in and where she’d learned to love him heart and soul. It was going, going, gone…and not even an auction in sight.
“I think…we should both leave today,” he said. “Now. It’s what we planned, anyway. Just earlier than expected. I’ll make some calls, take you to the airport, get you on an early flight and…”
“No.” She touched his hand. “Don’t drive me.” She couldn’t bear a public goodbye at an airport. “I’ll leave now. Hank can pick up the car. Ruby will make sure I have transportation. I think this is the way we should end. Here at the ranch. Maybe…this minute.” Because if they didn’t end right now, she was surely going to let her tears fall.
“If you like.”
No. There was no like about it. She wanted the impossible. She wanted Shane. However she could have him. She had become one of those women Ruby comforted.
Without another second of hesitation, Rachel looped one arm around his neck and kissed him quickly. “This was the best summer ever,” she said fiercely. “Kiss Lizzie goodbye for me and give her some extra oats. Make sure the new people aren’t mean to her. And—”
“Rachel—” Shane’s voice broke. He pulled her hard against his chest and his lips met hers. She leaned into him as tears threatened.
Just a few seconds more, she pleaded. Don’t cry now. Don’t, Rachel. She ran for the car, climbed in and hit the gas. Shane disappeared from her rearview mirror.
And the tears fell.
Shane kicked the wall. He kicked a few other things, too. She was gone. Gone forever. And the look in her eyes…
Something was wrong. And he was pretty sure that he knew what it was. Rachel wasn’t a jump-into-bed kind of woman. She wouldn’t do that lightly. But when that call had come this morning it had caught him by surprise. So much so that the sense of loss at ending things so quickly and finally had hit him sledgehammer hard, and he had just wanted to get past it. He’d been callous in his suggestion that they end it now. Hell, he hadn’t said any of the things he’d wanted to say. Things like, Thank you for being you, thank you for bringing light into my life, thank you for saving me from myself.
And then there had been all the things he never could say. Things like, I love you. I love you. I love you.
He kicked the bedpost, the one he had still not put back together, and it fell over with a bang.
She was gone. Get used to it, Merritt.
But that was never going to happen. Slowly, he began to gather his things, getting ready to leave. Rachel would soon be living her dream life, and he owed it to her not to be a pathetic lovesick guy. He could never call her. If he did, she would know something was wrong and she would worry.
He just couldn’t do that to her. And yet…something was flat out wrong ending things this way. She’d had so many aborted stays in her life, being dragged here and there with no fanfare at all. And here was another aborted ending.
Just once in her life she should have a joyful farewell, with people saying all the right things.
“She’s already gone,” he said. “It’s too late.”
Yes. Most people would think that way. But Rachel had never been like most people, and she had taught him a thing or two.
He picked up the telephone.
Rachel couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Ruby. The woman wasn’t herself at all.
“I’ll see about getting you a ride, but I think there may be some problem at the airport. I heard something on the news earlier. This could take a while,” Ruby said.
“What kind of problem?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Some holdup. Planes stacked in. They’re telling people not to show up yet.”
Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I should call and get an update.”
“Oh. No. There are lots of flights today. You need some breakfast. You didn’t even eat breakfast.”
She hadn’t, but…
“How do you know that?”
“I just…I think I know you a little bit by now, Rachel Everly. I just know it. Are you calling me a liar?”
Rachel didn’t have time to say no. The phone rang, and Ruby jumped up and ran into the next room to answer it. “Sorry, got to take this. A businesswoman has to always be available, you know.”
Apparently there was a lot of business today. The phone kept ringing. Ruby kept talking in low, fervent whispers. Was she having problems with her business? Rachel would make sure that Ruby at least was okay before she left today.
The thought made Rachel sad. So many friends she would never see again, never know what had happened to them. An image of Shane reared up in her consciousness. Rachel closed her eyes.
“Honey, are you sure you’re all right?”
She opened her eyes to find Ruby frowning down at her.
Lie. Lie, she told herself. What purpose would it serve to worry your friend? “I’m just fine,” she tried to say, but her voice came out garbled and thick. “I really need to leave,” she finally managed. “I have to call the airport, and if there’s a problem there call Shane and let him know.” She couldn’t get trapped in an airport with him. Not after she’d managed to make it this far without letting him see that she’d been stupid enough to love a man who had told her from day one that he couldn’t love, couldn’t promise.
“Sweetie, he knows,” Ruby said, and she enfolded Rachel in her arms.
Panic erupted in Rachel like a volcano. “He knows what?” That she loved him? No, no, no. Don’t let him know that.
Ruby looked panicked, as if she’d made a mistake herself. “He knows about the airport, I’m sure. He has people to do those things for him, and I’m—I think—”
The sound of sirens blaring interrupted her. Both women looked up. There was yelling, screaming, something that sounded like a drum and a fiddle and—
Rachel raced Ruby to the window.
“Thank goodness. I thought I was going to have to tie you down,” Ruby said. “Come on, sweetie. Shane knows you need something better than a handshake and a peck on the cheek goodbye.”
Fear gripped Rachel’s heart. “I don’t understand.”
“You will. Come on.”
A part of Rachel wanted to dig in her heels. She was pretty darn sure that if this had something to do with Shane she should back away. If she saw him again, or had to talk about him to anyone, she was definitely going to make a fool of herself. But the part of her that was desperately, pathetically in love with him didn’t have the strength to run away again. She followed Ruby out onto the lawn of the boarding house.
A group of people had gathered there. Len and some men were in the back of a pickup truck with musical instruments.
“Have to have music at a going away party,” he said, smiling and tipping his hat to her as they began to play some soft, lonely tune that pulled at Rachel’s heart.
Other people held homemade signs that read, “We’ll miss you, Rachel,” and “Good luck in Maine,” and “Don’t forget us, Rachel.” Some of the signs had been painted, and the paint was clearly still wet.
“Rachel, we wish we’d had more time, but we brought food. You can’t say goodbye without cake,” Angie said, and she and Cynthia and some of the other men and women began to set out folding tables and chairs and bring out food.
There was chatter, and people began to hug her. She hugged them back, thanked them and turned to Ruby. “You did this so fast!” A lump nearly choked her, but she got the words out and hugged her friend, kissing her cheek.
“Not me,” Ruby said. “I told you. I’m thrilled this is happening, but this was all Shane.”
But Shane wasn’t here. Rachel knew then that he had wanted her to have a goodbye party, but they had already said their goodbyes. She tried to accept that and smile at her friends. They had gone to so much trouble for her.
There were even games of several types, and someone gave Rachel a horseshoe. When she turned to throw it in the wrong direction a cry rang out. “I’m just getting my bearings,” she said, a bit sheepishly. “I wasn’t going to throw it yet.”
But apparently it wasn’t her lack of skill with a horseshoe that was causing the uproar. People were pointing and calling out Shane’s name, and Rachel looked up to see him flying down the road in his pickup truck, the dust curling in a low cloud behind him.
Her heart began to thump wildly, erratically. Her throat felt thick with tears. For the first time in her life she thought she might actually faint. Somehow she didn’t.
Shane drove close to the crowd, jumped out of the truck and walked right up to her. “Hello again, sunshine. I’m sorry. I know you wanted it to be a short goodbye, but…I just couldn’t do it. It had to be right. You need to know how important you are, how much you’ll be missed, that this wasn’t just an ordinary summer. It was different, better. It was special because of you.”
Oh, no. The first teardrop slipped down her cheek. She just couldn’t stop it.
“Don’t,” Shane whispered. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.” He stepped forward, took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the tear away gently.
“They’re tears of joy,” she said, and that was partly true and partly very much a lie. “Thank you. For this.” She gestured to the crowd. This was so wonderful. People had obviously stopped their busy lives to make this happen for her. She was not going to ruin it for them by crying. If only she could stop.
“She’s crying.” Jarrod stated the obvious. “I— Rachel, I think those are presents Shane has in his truck.”
That Jarrod was trying so hard to cheer her up only made the tears flow faster. She swiped them away.
The crowd turned to look at the back of the truck, which appeared to be crammed full. There was a log cabin quilt covering whatever was inside. “I’m sorry I didn’t have time to do this right,” Shane said. “You should have had everything wrapped in gold ribbons and silver star paper. This isn’t all I hoped it would be.”
She looked at him, hoping her heart wasn’t in her eyes. “I don’t need silver paper. But I don’t understand. What are you giving me?”
“A home. Or at least some of the things from the ranch you’ve grown to treasure.” He handed her the green glass vase that had gotten her eyes glowing so many times, her favorite mug, a small and exquisite oak table. Slowly he revealed the secrets beneath the quilt.
“Not your mother’s favorite china? Shane, I love it. You know that. But you can’t give that to me.”
“Why not? You’re building a dream life. You’ll need things, and you should have things you love.”
“But they’re yours.”
“And I was going to sell them,” he said. “You treasured them the way I should have.”
Suddenly, something wasn’t right. “You said the buyers wanted the house and all its contents. Shane, you can’t do that. You can’t let me have these things. That would be stealing.”
His fierce, steady gaze suddenly flickered. “No, it wouldn’t. I—I decided not to sell the ranch.”
“Just like that?”
“Quicker than that.”
“Why?”
“I’d rather not say.”
She shook her head. “But Shane—”
“Because that house is a home now. It wasn’t before you came. You loved it up and changed it. You changed me. And now…things are different.”
“Will you rent it out?”
He took her hands. “It doesn’t matter, does it? What matters is that you’re going to have what you want and need. I’m glad of that. But I want you to know, if you ever pass this way again, we’ll be here for you. You have family here. You have a permanent place to come to.”
“You’re staying?” The words came out on a whisper, on a breath.
“I don’t think I can do anything other than stay. You made me see the ranch through your eyes. You taught me to let people in, not shut them out. This place feels like family now. It’s where I belong.”
She bit her lip. She nodded. “I’m glad.”
As if no one else but the two of them were there, he cupped her face with his palms. “I want you to be happy. Supremely happy. To have all the things you’ve ever dreamed of.”
But of course that was no longer possible. She gazed up at him with her heart in her eyes.
“What if my dream changes? What if I’ve realized that a home isn’t one never-changing place?”
“Rachel.” He said her name on a breath. Somewhere someone sighed. “What are you saying?”
She set down the vase she was still holding. “All those other times when I had to leave a place I didn’t fight back. I went because there was no one on my side, no one I could trust. But…I trust you. You’ve opened up my world, inspired me to take risks and make better choices. I’d like to make one of those choices right now.”
“Do it,” he said. “If it’s that you don’t want my mother’s dishes, I can find you something you’ll like better.”
She bopped him on the arm. “I love your mother’s dishes. I don’t want to talk about dishes. I want to talk about you. About me. About how I want to stay here and how I don’t want to be another woman who ends up crying on Ruby’s bosom. I want you to love me, but if you can’t—”
Rachel never got the chance to say the words. Shane tugged her to him and she tumbled into his arms. “I’ve been in love with you for weeks.” His voice was a fierce, dark whisper.
“And you didn’t tell me?”
“You had things to do. In Maine. Without me. I wanted you to have your dream.”
“You are my dream. Every night. Every day.”
“Good,” he said. “Because I’m never leaving you. Not now. Not ever.”
“Can you afford to keep the ranch?”
“If I want to, I can afford never to work again in my life. I’m rich, Rachel, but I think I’d like to ranch even though I’m not a cattleman. I’ll be a horse rancher.”
“And I’ll be a horse rancher’s wife. If you’ll have me.”
Shane laughed out loud. He kissed her hard. “That’s my beautiful, exciting, exhilarating Rachel. Impatient. Mouthy.”
“Shane, you didn’t answer my question. Everyone is waiting. I’m—I confess that I’m a little nervous. I didn’t mean to blurt that out.”
And then her wonderful rancher went down on one knee. “I’ll have you. I’d never have any other. And I’ll love you until the stars turn their lights out.”
“Shane, there’s still something in that truck, isn’t there?” Jarrod asked. “Something big. What is it?”
“It’s a secret,” he said. “It’s just for Rachel.”
She looked at him with a question in her eyes, but she was willing to wait for the answer. She had what she wanted, after all. Her rancher.
“I always knew he was a rancher,” Ruby said, and everyone laughed. “More importantly, I knew he was Rachel’s rancher. She flipped him over and found all the hidden parts none of us had ever looked for. She found his heart.”
“And she owns it,” Shane whispered against Rachel’s hair. “I don’t need to move around anymore. There’s no longer anything to run from, and what I’ve spent my life searching for is right here.”
Hours later, as they pulled up at the ranch and climbed out of the truck, Rachel started to go inside.
“I’ll be right there,” Shane said. “There’s something in the truck that we need.”
“Dishes?” she asked. “Shane, I don’t think so. We’ve been eating all afternoon.”
“I know, and I’m not hungry for food. But we might need a bed. It’s in here somewhere.”
Rachel shrieked. She ran to him and put her arms around his waist. “You were giving me your bed? The one we made love on?”
“It wasn’t my bed, it was ours after that,” he said stubbornly. “I kept the pillows that still carry the scent of your perfume and gave you the rest. I wanted to feel that you were with me when I slept. I wanted you to remember the man who loved you on that bed. It was selfish, I guess. A better man wouldn’t have tried to remind you of our last night together.”
She slid in front of him, rose on her toes and kissed him. “There isn’t a better man than you, Shane.”
“I hope you always feel that way,” he said. And he lifted her into his arms and started toward the barn.
“Shane, where are you taking me? What about the bed?”
“I’ll get to that in just a minute, my love,” he said. “For now I’m taking you to tell the kids that their mother’s home. And this time she’s staying forever. She’s ours.”
Rachel laughed. “I do love Lizzie and Rambler and all the others,” she said.
“And I love you, Rachel. No more endings. No more moving. Just you and me, beginning the rest of our life together. Every single morning.”