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Harriet woke up beside Theodore, tired and sore.
"Good morning," he whispered, wrapping his arms around her. She felt good to hold.
"Good morning," she replied, nuzzling against him. Her breath flowed evenly from her lips, hitting his chest with its warmth. It made him want to stay in bed with her forever. He wished that they could.
The sun was already up, though. They must already have slept late.
He brushed his lips gently over hers, forcing soft cooing noises from her throat. He wished she would do that more often; he must find new ways of making her. Her hand ran up and down his bare backside. His body responded with a rise in temperature. A thin film of sweat began to bead on his brow. He kissed her harder. He had already told her that he would never let her go again, especially now that she'd forgiven him for everything he'd done, but having her kisses upon his mouth reassured him.
He could not imagine loving a woman more than he loved Harriet. Her soft skin was spongy and warm against his body as he held her tighter to him. Her skin was as smooth as the tabletop in his office. Everything about her was polished and warm.
He kissed her neck, tasting her salty-sweet skin, allowing his tongue to run the length of it. He stopped at the nape of her neck, moving back to her mouth. If he could, he would spend hours studying those lips. But she would never allow that. There was too much to do, beginning with breakfast. Theodore was taking the day off, and he had promised to go picnic in the park with Harriet and his children for lunch.
"Theodore," she purred. Her head nestled against his chest. He dropped his hands to her hips and caressed each curve of her body. Her hips were just one of many. She shuddered as she said his name again. "Theodore."
"Yes?" His hand moved to her leg, softly strumming across her thigh like it was a guitar string. Harriet was his musical instrument and he was playing her.
"You told me that when I was calmer, you would explain what happened. It's been two days. I'd say that I'm much calmer now, wouldn't you agree?"
Theodore chuckled. She had held herself together admirably in front of the children after Abel had attacked them but the moment he'd gotten her in a room alone, she had collapsed in his arms and buried her head against his chest. The lies that he'd told her no longer mattered. He had come for her, he had saved her from Abel, and that was all she'd cared about.
"Quite right you are," he said, throwing back the sheets and flipping her around so that he might kiss the back of her knee. He began to kiss her toes, making her giggle. "When I finally opened my mind, as you'd instructed me so often to do, it was impossible to accept Fred's guilt. Everything pointed to Abel. I'm only sorry that it took me so long realize."
"I'm not," she said. He lifted his eyebrows at her. "I believe that God brought me to you for a reason. If you had not been so stubborn, then I might never have come to you." Harriet laughed. It was a delicious sound.
"I am lucky to have you," he said.
"Yes," she murmured dreamily. "But how did you and Fred know that Abel had me and the children?"
Theodore let out a sigh. He wished he could forget the whole night but it had brought Harriet and him together again, so at least some good had come from it.
"When I finally understood Abel to be Elizabeth's killer, I knew I had to find you. I'd seen Abel at the saloon when I was speaking with Detective Wolfe," Harriet shuddered at the mention of his name, "and deduced that he'd heard us. It only made sense that he would want to harm me. What better place to do so than my own home?"
He stroked her leg, the pads of his fingers inching up along her thigh as her breathing slowed. Her eyes fluttered shut. He kissed her ankle, her shin, her knee.
"You're trying to distract me, aren't you?" she asked.
"Yes," he said. He massaged the ball of her foot. It was as soft as a baby's. He kissed each toe, his hand resting gently against the back of her knee. It reminded him of something.
"I've never seen a pen used as a weapon before," he told her.
She giggled. "It was the only weapon I had. My personal weapon of choice."
"The perfect weapon for the perfect writer."
She grew serious for a moment. Her head lifted off the pillow and she bit her bottom lip. "Are you quite certain you're all right with my sending in that article? It is not too late."
"My dear wife, if you don't send it in, I shall send it in for you. It is too good not to be published."
She smiled and relaxed her head. He paused. "Are you quite certain that you forgive me for reading your diary? For telling your sister that you were ill? For... all the multitudes of things I have done to you since I've known you."
"Yes," she said.
"How is it possible you can be so kind as to forgive someone as selfish as I?"
"Because God preaches love, and it is something which I wish to instill in my children. All my children. Issie, Minnie, Edward... and whoever the newest one shall be."
Theodore stopped with his mouth on Harriet's knee. "The... newest one?" he asked. His heart began to bang like a drum. "You don't mean..."
She sat up in bed, laughing and smiling and nodding her head.
"Oh, my word," he said, taking her into his arms. He kissed her as though he would never let her go again. Never let her leave this very bed.
"We must begin planning the nursery immediately." He jumped from the bed and dressed quickly. "I must speak with a decorator at once. We must transform this entire home."
Harriet giggled. "I'm not sure that a baby needs an entire home to play in. One room will suffice, I should think."
She rose from the bed and began to dress. He watched her, mystified that she was his despite everything that had happened.
"Harriet," he said, "there's something I've been wanting to tell you but I guess I've been waiting for the right time." He shook his head. "No, that's not it. I was afraid to say it. I said it once before, and... I never thought I'd say it again. Never thought I'd want to."
"Theodore," Harriet murmured softly, taking his hand.
"Harriet, I—"
Minnie and Edward came running into the room just then. Mrs. O'Sullivan ran in after them. "I'm sorry," she said. "The children are running wild this morning. They woke me up hours ago."
Minnie grabbed ahold of Harriet's hand. "Breakfast!" she cried.
Edward grabbed Theodore's hand. "Breakfast!" he cried.
The children led them downstairs, where Sarah, John, Fred, and Carrie sat around the dining table.
"Surprise!" the children cried. Sarah and John's children, David and Emma, joined Minnie and Edward in chasing each other around the room.
"What is this?" Harriet asked, her face going pink.
Theodore was astonished to see Fred slicing ham on a tray. He was still getting used to the idea that he did not hate the man. Fred was still a criminal but given that he'd helped save the lives of Harriet and his children, he no longer held any desire to see him in jail, let alone hanged. The Bowmans and Carrie all declared that Fred was a reformed criminal, and Theodore had decided to accept Fred at his word.
Abel, on the other hand, he would make sure sat in a jail cell for the rest of his life. Sheriff Hardy was holding him for now, and his trial would start soon enough. He would never again see the light of day.
"We wanted to do something nice for you," Fred said.
"It was Minnie and Edward's idea," said Sarah.
"That we all make a big breakfast to surprise you with," Carrie said.
"And share it together," finished Mrs. O'Sullivan. She was smiling at the scene before her.
"You and Harriet don't have to lift a finger this morning," Sarah said, pushing Harriet and Theodore into their seats.
"Issie," Harriet said.
"Issie is fine," Carrie told her. "She's in her bassinet and I've already given her a bottle."
"Well," Harriet laughed, looking at Theodore, "I suppose there's nothing more to do then."
Fred and John served the meats, while Carrie and Sarah dished out fresh fruits and breads. It was a feast for the eyes. There were sweet corn muffins and raisin biscuits, pancakes with syrup, waffles with honey, bacon, eggs, and ham.
When everyone's plates were full, Theodore stood up and raised his glass. It was not champagne, as he might have imagined it would be, it was fresh orange juice, and he'd decided it was perfect. He would not keep making excuses to prevent him from saying what he wanted to say. What he had wanted to say for quite some time now.
"I'm glad you're all here," he said, as silence fell across the room. His throat was dry but all he had to do was look into Harriet's eyes and all was well again. "I suspect most of you here know how much I care for this woman beside me." The children giggled. Sarah and Carrie looked sweetly at their sister.
"Well," Theodore continued, "I think that I have only recently come to understand what so many of you already knew." He turned to Harriet and drew her up so that she was standing beside him. He took a deep breath. "In front of all these people here, our friends and our children... I love you." The words were like a melody on his tongue. "I love you," he repeated. "And I shall never stop loving you."
She squeezed his hand. His palms were sweating. His heart raced. "I love you, too," she said as tears sprang to her eyes.
He wiped them away with the pad of his thumb and kissed her tenderly in front of everyone. For the first since Elizabeth had died, he had no vendettas, he had no worries, he only had Harriet and his children and his love for them, and it was all he needed to be happy.
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