“Faith. And a lot of prayer.” Carsten slipped the ring on her left ring finger.
Madison couldn’t believe it. She held up her hand. The diamond glittered in the fading sun like a flame. She felt the same fire start from her toes and begin burning up into her heart.
With a saucy grin, she lowered her hand. “There’s just one problem left to solve.”
Carsten raised an eyebrow.
Madison burrowed into the folds of his denim jacket, wrapping her arms around his waist. “Will we have the wedding here, or in Germany?”
“I take it your answer is yes.” Carsten grinned appreciatively.
“Yes.” Madison looked up into his face.
“Then I say we get married wherever your heart desires.”
Madison bit her lower lip. “I want to get married at home.”
“And where is your home, mein angel?”
“With you.” She sealed the deal with another kiss.
Carsten lifted her up in his arms, and spun in a tight circle. Madison laughed, pounding her fists against his chest. “Let me go!” She shrieked.
“Never.” He kissed her again.
Madison snuggled up against his chest and relaxed. For the first time, she felt at peace. She felt safe.
He pulled back slightly.“ I think there is someone who wants to see you.”
“Oh?”
“Someone with a gray coat and messy hair.”
“Unless you have a great aunt I don’t know about, I’m assuming it’s Sasha.”
“I meant Rita, but Sasha will want to see you too, I’m sure.” He dodged the punch Madison aimed at his arm.
Carsten picked up Samson’s reins. “How about a ride to the house?”
She looked up into his eyes and knew she couldn’t deny him anything.
His gaze grew serious. “You’ll be safe with me.”
“I know. I always am.” She watched as Carsten mounted and reached down for her. With his help, she slid onto Samson’s broad back and wrapped her arms firmly around Carsten’s waist.
As they rode slowly to the ranch, she marveled at how far she had come in the last few months. There was no limit to the goodness of God. He had taken her, molded her, and given her the gift of forgiveness. Not just for herself, but enough to pass on to her father.
Madison rested her cheek against Carsten’s shoulder. The future wasn’t certain. She wasn’t sure where they would live, or where they would get married, or what would happen to her design business. But she knew those details would work themselves out. God had brought her this far, and He wouldn’t fail her now.
She was finally home.
Epilogue
“Greta! Lukas! Get back here!” Madison laughed as her two blonde-headed children climbed onto the wall of the fountain and reached over to splash water at each other.
“You heard your mother.” Carsten’s firm voice did the trick, and the kids stepped carefully off the wall.
Madison grabbed each one by the hand and knelt down to their level. “Do you know what happened right here, at this very fountain?” Her tone lowered mysteriously, and both kids leaned in with eyes wide.
“This is where I met your father for the first time.” Madison couldn’t help but glance into Carsten’s eyes at that moment, and she felt as if it were yesterday, rather than almost fifteen years ago.
The air sparked with the intensity of their gaze, and for a minute, Madison forgot where she was. A tugging of her shirtsleeve brought her back into the present.
“I wanna play in the water.” Greta’s eyes, blue like her dad’s, were pleading. Madison laughed and swung her daughter up on her hip. “Not today. It’s too cold.” She tugged the child’s hat down farther over her ears. “We’ll come back in the summer.”
“We’ll come back often.” Carsten promised as Lukas turned the same pout on his father.
Carsten took Lukas by the hand and wrapped his other arm around his wife. “Germany is special.” His gaze caught Madison’s again, and he winked. She flushed red. He laughed. It was an old routine. He never got tired of making her blush, and she loved the fact that he could do it.
“Do you think Rita is ready to watch the kids for a while back at the hotel?” Carsten whispered in her ear. A grin tugged at the corner of Madison’s lips and she turned her gaze to meet her husband’s. “I hope so.”
As she walked back to the hotel down the streets of the foreign city, Madison couldn’t help but thank God for the abundant blessings he had bestowed on her life. She took a deep breath of the fresh air and smiled at her husband and children at her side.
The clock tower chimed above them, and she closed her eyes, listening to the familiar sound. Her life was no fairytale. It was real.
And it was better.
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