"Calm down for a minute and listen to me!" He shook his head at her, not believing that she was so angry with him when he was just trying to tell her that he loved her. What was her problem now?
"I don't want to calm down. Do you realize that every time you touch me, you end up rejecting me? I'm not letting that happen even one more time. I'm tired of you telling me I'm not good enough because you're still in love with your first wife. Do you hear me? No more!"
He sighed. "If you'll hear me out for a minute, I want to tell you that I love you, you irrational annoying woman!"
She glared at him for a moment at being called irrational, and then she slowly smiled. "What did you say?" Surely he couldn't have said he loved her and called her irrational all in one sentence. Even Jesse wouldn't do that.
"I said I love you. I've been trying to figure out how to tell you I love you for days, and you just kept turning away from me." He sighed, reaching out to stroke her cheek now that he had her full attention. "I've thought long and hard about what you said to me, and you were right. Deborah would hate it if she thought I wouldn't let myself love again just because I'd lost her. She would have loved you, everything about you. I think you would have been very close."
"And it's only how you think she would have felt about me that makes you love me?" she asked.
"Of course not! I've been falling in love with you since that day at the schoolhouse when I kissed you. Before that day, I'd kissed one woman in my life, and that was Deborah. Suddenly, I found myself wanting to kiss another woman constantly, and you were it."
Anna stared at him by the light of the moon streaming in through her curtained window. "I...I don't know what to say. I've felt like you didn't love me for so long that I have been angry with you for a while. Well, I've been angry since you started being nice. I was starting to feel as if you wanted me to fall in love with you just so you could tell me that my feelings were worthless."
His lips brushed against hers softly. "I never would have done that to you. I love you, Anna. Would you be my real wife and let me spend the rest of my life showing you how much I love you?"
Anna sighed and moved closer to him, her arms sliding around his back and hugging him to her. "I'd love to be your real wife. I...I love you too, Jesse."
He smiled, his face transformed by it. "Then why don't we get out of this tiny bed that was made for children and go down the hall to my bedroom? I have a nice big bed that's made for adults to share."
Anna blushed, but she followed him from the room. "I don't know what to do..."
He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "I will show you everything you need to know." He had a moment's worry about her getting pregnant, but he knew that what had happened to Deborah wasn't normal. She was a strong woman in many ways, and she would be a good wife for him. He would never let her go. He couldn't.
Epilogue
Anna patted the diapered bottom sticking high in the air and tiptoed from the room. It was so adorable how little Katie slept every night, and she couldn't help but pat her bottom. She hurried back down the stairs to the kitchen where Jesse waited for her.
"Is she finally asleep?" he asked.
Anna nodded. "Yes. She's such an easy baby when she's awake, which is a blessing, but I wish she was easier to get to sleep. I feel like I've only slept about three hours since she was born."
Jesse smiled, pulling her to his lap and holding her close. "Why don't you sleep in tomorrow morning, and I'll make us eggs before church?"
Anna wrinkled her nose. "I've eaten your eggs before. I think I'll get up early." She stood up and walked to the table where she'd placed her paper and pen. "I'm going to bed as soon as I finish this letter. Why don't you wait for me there?"
Jesse looked at the time and nodded. "I'll do that." He kissed the top of her head. "Don't keep me waiting long."
Anna grinned at him. "You know I won't!"
She watched him leave the room, enjoying the sight of his backside as he climbed the stairs. She wasn't certain what it was, but she'd always enjoyed the sight of his bottom in his work pants.
She looked back down at the paper in front of her, finally picking up her pen. "Dear Elizabeth, I've been in Texas for over a year now. I have to say, I love it here. The summer was hot, but I've been happier here than I've ever been anywhere else in my life. Katie is getting bigger every day. I swear, sometimes it seems as if she's growing before my very eyes. I've never seen anything like it. And Ernie! I've let out his clothes just as much as I can. He's very thin, but he's going to be tall. Much taller than his father is. I'm not certain where he gets his height. He loves being a big brother. I've never seen a boy take to a baby the way Ernie has to little Katie. He brings all of his friends over after church so they can see her. Oh, and remember the little girl I told you about? Susie, the one who told her parents she saw me kissing Jesse? Ernie asked her to marry him at recess one day. Ernie is only nine! Should he be obsessing about girls as much as he does? Is that normal? Well, whether it is or not, Susie agreed to marry him, and they're talking about what kind of wedding they'll have. Both know it can't happen for at least ten years, but they don't care. It's really very cute. I'm sure you're busy and don't want to read my prattle about daily life with children, but I did want to write to you and thank you. I know I didn't end up married to the man you matched me with, but without you, I'd never have made it to Wiggieville, and I'd never have met Jesse. I never imagined I could love so deeply. I wouldn't give up my life here for all the money in the world. It's a hard life, but it's a good one. Now that Katie's here, I can't imagine how I'll be able to love another just as much, but I'm sure if God sees fit to bless us with another, I'll love him or her just the same. Thanks again, Elizabeth. I'll never forget you and how you changed my life. Sincerely, Anna Hoover."
She folded the letter and set it on the work table to be mailed when she went into town the following day. She needed Elizabeth to know just what a wonderful thing she'd done for her.
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