by Lisa Gregory
"Oh, Luke." Sarah squeezed him tightly, choked with emotion.
"I thought about it all the way into town and back. There's danger in your getting pregnant; I could lose you, and I don't know what I'd do if that happened. But you are willing to risk it, and it's your decision to make. You're a fighter, Sarah. You aren't ruled by fear; you meet life head-on," He chuckled. "I bet if you'd been in the same situation as Dovie yesterday, you'd have jumped up on that horse behind me, same as she did."
"Of course I would!" Sarah exclaimed, jerking away to glare at him indignantly. "How could you think I'd do anything else?"
"I know. I know. You're the fiercest woman anywhere. Come back here, lioness." He pulled her back into his arms. "I used to be like that, ready to face whatever danger there was. But the past few years, since I've been married to you, I've gotten scared. I've been so happy that I was more and more scared of losing it. Since you lost the baby, I've been run by my fear. All I could think about was how I couldn't stand to lose you. No matter if it made us both miserable, no matter if it made you hate me, I had to do anything I could to keep from losing you. But when I finally realized that I can't control it, I knew I had to put away my fear. All I can do is face it, no matter what comes, like you do, and enjoy the good and fight the bad,"
Sarah rubbed her cheek against his chest. "I love you so. I don't ever want to be parted from you again, in any way."
"We won't be. No matter what, we'll be together. I could die tomorrow, or you could, and we'd still be a part of each other." He kissed her, and they drew apart, smiling. "You know, I was standing at the window this morning, thinking about a long time ago when I finally admitted I loved you. Then the rain came and saved our crop. And we looked out and saw a rainbow,"
Sarah nodded, "I remember."
"You always believed in that rainbow. But deep down I didn't. I couldn't. I didn't think I was good enough. That I didn't deserve you. You were too fine for me. I was rough and crude and poor and uneducated."
"Oh, Luke!"
"I felt better about myself than before—because of you. I got to where I thought maybe I was as good as other people. But when you lost the baby and almost died, I knew it was because of me. Because I wasn't worthy of you. I had never really believed in my soul that the good things would remain, that I had really changed. But last night, you said you loved me and would always love me, no matter what. And I thought to myself—Turner, if a woman like Sarah loves you that much, if she believes you're worth something, how can you say that's wrong? A woman like you doesn't give her love to somebody worthless. I realized the rainbow was there for me, too, and it was just me that was keeping me from seeing it."
Tears ran down Sarah's cheeks. She reached up and kissed him all over his face—brief, hard kisses that spoke of her love and determination. "You're the best man in the world, and I love you to death."
She kissed him hard, and their lips opened, tongues meeting and twining. When at last they pulled away, Sarah said breathlessly, "We're going to have a fine life. We have a home and each other and two lovely children and maybe someday more. That's all I'll ever want in life."
Luke kissed her again, pulling her back flat onto the bed. He raised up on his elbow and gazed down at her, his hand trailing over her bare skin. Sarah giggled. "Luke! It's late. What about the children?"
He grinned. "Why, you just said what wonderful kids they are. Cal'll take care of Emily. They'll be all right. Right now you are exactly where you belong."
Sarah smiled up at him and curled her arms around his neck. "You're exactly right."
She pulled him down to her.