by Brenda Mott
Bailey slid her arms around his neck. “Do you know why I was able to move on?” she asked. “Because I had no choice. Not any viable one. My parents were gone, and nothing could change that. I spent my life being shuffled from one foster home to another, always hoping someone would love me for who I was. I decided that if no one wanted me, then I would grow up to be my own person. I would make my dreams come true one day, and have a home of my own and children to love.”
“And as I got older, I hoped to find a special man to share it all with. To be my life’s partner.” She gave a dry laugh. “I never found him in the city, and when I moved here and met you, I certainly didn’t plan to take on a stubborn cowboy with a ton of emotional baggage. But I haven’t been able to keep my distance from you, Trent. One thing after another seems to always draw us together. I can’t help but think there’s a reason behind all of it.”
He caught hold of her arms and pulled her close. “There’s a reason, all right, Bailey. It just took me a while to figure out what it was.” He took a deep breath. “You were sent to me, Bailey, to show me how to live and love again. And maybe I was sent to you, as well, to help you take that final step away from your past, into the life you’ve always wanted. I don’t claim to have all the answers. I’ll never understand why I had to lose my little girl, or why the world is often filled with so much sadness. But I do know one thing.”
He pressed a kiss against her lips. “There’s a lot of joy to be had, also, and if you’ll have me, I’d like to share that joy with you. I love you, Bailey, with all my heart and soul. I’ve never felt for any woman what I feel for you, and tonight, when I saw Wade with Macy, I realized how much I’d been missing out on, not having a family of my own. I finally understood that the things you’d been trying to show me, and the things my dad told me were right. There are no guarantees in life. But I can’t crawl into a hole and hide, and I definitely can’t go on living my life without you.”
He rose from the couch and knelt on the floor at her feet. “Marry me, Bailey. Say you’ll be my wife and spend the rest of your life with me.”
She clutched her hand to her mouth, smiling through the tears that filled her eyes. “I love you so much, Trent. Yes, I’ll marry you.” She stood and tugged him to his feet. “Just try to change your mind, cowboy, and you’ll see how wicked this mean old city banker woman can truly be.”
Laughing, he held her. “I’ll never change my mind about you, city girl. And you can take that to the bank.”
Never again would he be afraid to love the woman who’d grown to mean so much to him.
Never again would he be afraid of what life had to offer. He hoped and prayed it offered many happy years with Bailey.
He had a very good feeling that it would.
EPILOGUE
BAILEY MURDOCK SLOWED her Ford Mustang as she reached the entrance to the cemetery. The Christmas tree stood in the late-afternoon sun, its blue-green branches cloaked in a wet spring snow.
Bailey parked and got out of the car. Kneeling beside the tree, she ran her hand over the carved marble headstone. “You’ll always live on in our memories, sweetie,” she whispered.
And in the children she and Trent would one day have. The children who would be Sarah’s brothers and sisters.
She hung the silver wedding bells on the tree, one pair of many that had decorated the church pews a week ago when she and Trent had become husband and wife.
But this pair was special. Engraved on one bell was Trent’s name and hers, with the date of their wedding. And on the other bell were the words We love you, Sarah.
“What are you doing?”
Bailey swung around and rose to her feet. This time, the voice behind her was not gruff. This time, the look in Trent’s gray eyes was warm and loving.
“She’s my daughter now, too.” Bailey folded herself into his arms. “I wanted her to have our wedding bells.”
He held her for a long moment, then placed a tender kiss on her lips. “I think she would’ve liked that.” He gazed up at the heavens, and Bailey followed his line of sight.
A bald eagle soared high in the sky, its cry ringing across the mountains. For a minute, the bird seemed to look right at them. Then it sailed away on the wind and disappeared above the distant trees.
“Come on,” Trent said softly, taking Bailey by the hand. “Let’s go home.”
ISBN: 978-1-4592-4357-6
SARAH’S LEGACY
Copyright © 2002 by Brenda Mott.
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