by Pat Dale
“Now I know there’s no way I could ever hope to meddle,” she gave them a wink, “but it would still be better if I lived here. At least for a while.
“Heaven knows, I’m not opposed to moving. I’ve hoarded so much junk it’d take a month of Sundays to get it all sorted out. Or thrown out. Farmville isn’t that far away. And I’m sure I can count on seeing both of you regularly. So, if you don’t mind...”
Brad went to his mom and pulled her into his arms. “I have a brilliant mother, don’t you think, Hattie?”
“Brilliant, yes. And wonderful. Oh, Amelia, I love you so much!” She joined in the embrace.
After Amelia went in to start dinner, Brad pulled Hattie close and kissed her ear. She turned so their lips met. For long moments, they kissed. Then he took her shoulders and held her away from him. “Your dad would be proud.”
“He would? Why?”
He kissed her on the forehead. “You’ve learned to follow your heart.”
She went wide-eyed. “You mean, about us?”
“Not just that. Oh, he’d be pleased about us. Don’t get me wrong. Our being together is something Harry always wanted. But that’s not what I’m talking about.”
Hattie stared at him, once again that famous inscrutable expression fascinated and puzzled her. “So, if it’s not us, what are you getting at?”
“Sweetheart, you’ve been following your heart all along in your business dealing. Look at how you just turned Goodnow every way but loose.”
A high-pitched giggle escaped from her, working its way up from deep within as she hugged him tight. “I have to admit, that was fun. But I didn’t know it was my heart telling me what to do.”
“Sure it was, love of my life. It couldn’t have been anything else, could it? Hattie, you know next to nothing about retail, but you still made all the right decisions.”
“I guess I never thought about it that way. But why was it so hard for me to come to my senses about you?”
He smiled the smile that always melted her heart. “You had to get to the point where you quit relying on your head and your senses. What you saw made you think things that weren’t true. It was when you gave up on that that your heart led you true. And I can tell you, you’ve got a good heart, Hattie McCall.”
“That’s what Dad used to tell me.”
“And now it belongs to me. Because of that, I’d say I’m the richest man in the whole world.” He pulled her close and kissed her soundly.
He said, “I can’t wait to show you how much I love you.”
“I know, sweetheart. I feel the same way. We’ve waited this long, though, so a little bit more won’t hurt. I want our wedding night to be perfect.”
Hattie gave Brad a heart-stopping smile. “It will, I promise you.” Her big blue eyes blinked wide as she added, “I know now what love truly means. Love is a four-letter word for perfect. And that’s what our life will be. Perfect.”
The End
Other books by this author from Books We Love
Longview Romances Series
Storm’s Refuge Book 1
Come Hell or High Water Book 2
A Longview Wedding Book 3
A Longview Christmas ~ Seasonal Novella
The Cornwall Adventures
Laurel’s Quest Book 1
A Step Beyond Book 2
Go Gently Book 3
Arabella’s Secret
The Selkie’s Song Book 1
Arabella Dreams Book 2
Historical Fiction
No Absolution by N.M. Bell
With Pat Dale
The Teddy Dialogues
She’s Driving Me Crazy
The Last Cowboy
Henrietta’s Heart
Nancy M Bell has publishing credits in poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Nancy has presented at the Surrey International Writers Conference and the Writers Guild of Alberta Conference. She loves writing fiction and poetry and following wherever her muse takes her.
Please visit her webpage www.nancymbell.ca
You can find her on Facebook at Author Nancy M Bell
Follow on twitter @emilypikkasso
Books We Love Ltd.