Mark’s words came back to haunt Rita. She remembered in Nome when he told her, “Some day you’ll come to me and I’ll be there with open arms just for you.”
Here I am, Rita thought to herself. Now where is the open-armed welcome that he promised?
Mark had played his game long enough. When a grin spread across his face, he couldn’t help but fulfill his promise to Rita.
Rita ran across the yard and up the steps to where Mark’s open arms waited. “I’ve missed you so much!” she exclaimed as his arms tightened around her.
“You have no idea how hard it was for me to leave you in Anchorage and wait here,” Mark replied. “Thought you might have even headed off for Texas.”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t care anymore,” Rita said, lifting her face to Mark’s. She needed to see in his eyes that her fears were unfounded.
“I told you that I’m a very patient man,” Mark whispered. “Although you very nearly made me a liar. It’s a good thing your dad had this cabin project in mind, or I’d have never been able to get through the weeks.”
“Oh Mark,” Rita said, burying her face against his chest. “I love you and I’m so sorry for making you wait so long to hear me say it.”
Mark pressed his lips to the top of Rita’s head. Kissing her hair, he whispered, “The wait was worth it. All things in God’s timing are worth waiting for.”
Rita released Mark and stepped back. “The loneliness was incredible. I thought of you constantly and all I could imagine was that my foolishness had put you out of reach forever. I was truly afraid that I’d lost my dreams of happiness.”
“You’re the only dream that has ever mattered, Rita,” Mark said with a grin. “And let me tell you, my time up here alone has given me an awful lot of time to perfect that dream.”
Rita found Mark’s sense of humor contagious. “I did some dreaming of my own,” she admitted. “About a tall, broad-chested law officer, who saved my life and stole my heart. You’ve always been a part of my dreams, Mark. And you always will be.”
“Then you’ll marry me?” Mark asked for the second time.
Rita stepped forward and put her arms around his neck. “I would be most happy to marry you, Mr. Williams. Positively delighted!”
“Promise?” he said, raising a questioning brow. “You aren’t going to change your mind and replace me with another Iditarod dream, are you?”
Rita laughed out loud. “Not hardly, Mr. Williams. You are caught, hook, line, and harness. No Texas or race or cowboys or frozen wilderness is gonna stop me. You’re stuck with me, like it or not.”
“I like it,” Mark said, lowering his lips to Rita’s. “I like it very much.” He kissed her tenderly while Rita melted against him.
When he lifted his lips, Rita sighed. “I’m going to like this, too. I can tell.”
Mark surprised her by taking her hand and pulling her with him to sit on the porch step. “This is going to be new for both of us. We’ve both been used to independence and we’ve both lived our lives without real concern for the decisions we make. Now, however, we’ll have to consider each other in every choice we make.”
Rita nodded. “It won’t be easy to change our lifestyles overnight.”
“We’ll no doubt have our moments when we’re not very happy with one another,” Mark added.
“True,” Rita replied. “But if we’re honest with each other and careful to work through those times, maybe we won’t have to spend too much time in strife.”
“It’s going to be a lot of work,” Mark stated.
“You sound like you did when you were training me for the Iditarod.” Rita couldn’t help but laugh. She saw the amusement in Mark’s eyes.
“Marriage is going to be even more work than the race,” Mark answered. “And a whole lot more dangerous.”
Rita questioned his words. “Just what do you mean?”
“I hear you don’t cook too well,” he laughed. “I might be in for some strange cuisine. Then there’s mending and sewing.”
“Whoa!” Rita called out. “I’m a nurse, remember? I have a job that I hope to do and I enjoy working in medicine. You have the kennel and the dogs. I don’t see any reason why we can’t work together and trade off on the cooking and cleaning.”
Mark rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “All right,” he said in a teasing tone. “I suppose that’s fair enough. But I draw the line at mending clothes. I’m no good at it. I can mend harness and rigs with the best of them, but I can’t even sew on a button.”
Rita laughed. “Me neither. I can stitch up wounds though. Does that count?”
Mark put his arm around her. “Maybe your mom could sew on the buttons.”
“Maybe,” Rita mused, “she could give us sewing lessons.”
They fell silent, enjoying the brilliant sun and the warmth that filtered down to thaw the earth.
“What about dogsledding?” Mark asked suddenly.
“What about it?” Rita questioned.
“You plan to race anymore?” Mark’s question took Rita by surprise.
“It all depends,” Rita replied.
“On what?” Mark asked her. Now he held the puzzled look.
“On you,” Rita grinned.
“Me? What are you talking about?”
“You asked me back in Nome, ‘What makes you think I’ll let you come next year?’”
Mark laughed and squeezed Rita’s shoulders. “I guess I did at that. But, seriously, do you want to race again?”
Rita nodded. “I thought it was wonderful. It was everything I dreamed it would be.”
“You suppose marriage will be the same way?” Mark’s question caused Rita to think.
“I know it will, Mark. It’s the best of all possible dreams and even my goal of racing the Iditarod will never be as great as the goal of making you a good wife.”
“You’ll be a good wife, Texas Rita,” Mark said, dropping his arm to take her hand. “There may be other Iditarod dreams, there may even be other races, but there is only one you—”
“And one you,” Rita interjected.
“And together, we’ll make the dream a reality,” Mark whispered. “With God, we’ll work to make a good life together. A life founded on Him.”
Rita covered Mark’s hand with her free one. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing to give yourself over to another person, after all. Especially when that other person was God’s very best answer to all your fondest dreams.