Abigail’s laughter slowly faded. Nathan had come to the depot looking for her, but—
“Is it true?”
Nathan licked his lips and said nothing.
Hester Jane stepped forward. “Lizzie, I think these two need a moment alone, don’t you? Why don’t we run across to that general store and see about getting you a piece of candy?”
She didn’t wait for an answer but clasped Lizzie’s hand and led her across the street, Vivian trailing behind. She cast a glance over her shoulder every so often, right up until they disappeared inside the store.
Her heart thumping, Abigail turned to Nathan. “I—”
She got no further. Before she could blink, he’d taken hold of her shoulders and pressed a kiss to her mouth. When at last he let her go, she almost couldn’t stand for the trembling in her legs.
“I’ve wanted to do that from the moment you said ‘I do,’” Nathan said. Then he shook his head. “No, I take that back. I’ve wanted to kiss you much longer than that.”
“Wh–what?” she stammered.
He nodded. “It’s true, Abigail. What Lizzie said? It’s true. I love you. I think I’ve always loved you. I just couldn’t tell you because—”
“Because you still loved Charlotte.”
He hesitated and then shook his head once more. “Because I thought I’d failed Charlotte. I didn’t want to fail you too. I didn’t think I deserved to love you—or to have you love me.”
Of course! Why hadn’t she seen the truth before? His words from the mine came rushing back.
“I was so afraid for you, sweetheart. I thought I’d lost you both. That I’d failed again, and that I wouldn’t get to you in time.”
Tears gathered in Abigail’s eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “Oh, Nathan, you didn’t fail Charlotte.”
Smiling, he traced the path of her tears with his finger. “I know that now. It was only my own grief and pain that made me think so.”
Her hand trembled as she pressed it to his cheek. “I love you too.”
He stilled beneath her touch, his dear face flushed and his eyes damp with the tears he refused to let fall. Such a man. Just like Papa.
Her fingers slid to the back of his neck. Slowly she pulled his head down, and then, rising on her tiptoes, she copied his action of pressing a kiss to his lips. “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time too,” she whispered, dropping back to her feet.
Eyes closed, he laid his forehead gently against hers. For the span of several heartbeats, they stood that way, drinking in the touch, smell, and feel of the other. Finally, Nathan lifted his head and looked her in the eyes.
“You’re not leaving Calico, you know. Not without me.”
“Or Lizzie.”
“Or Lizzie,” he repeated.
“So you’ll come to Virginia?”
He didn’t even hesitate. “If that’s what you want.”
She smiled coyly. “But what if I want to stay in Calico? What if I want to be your wife and raise a family with you forever here?”
Nathan’s eyes sparkled as he threw back his head and laughed. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he swept her off her feet and swung her in a circle. “Even better, my dear wife. Even better.”