LITMIR.BIZ

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tiny thread of hope began unwinding in her heart, just like the string on their kite at the festival. He loved her. He’d admitted it. Wasn’t that enough?

      He reached into the bag at his feet and pulled out two small jewelers’ boxes. They were identical in every way. He held one out to her. “Open it.”

      Heart pounding, she took the box from him. Clicking up the lid, she found a heart-shaped ring nestled in a bed of gray velvet. “I don’t understand.”

      He took the box from her and unearthed the ring. “It’s a promise ring. A promise that I’ll stay, no matter how scared I am. No matter how tough the road ahead might seem. A promise that I’ll be there for you. And for Chloe. The second box has a ring just like this one. For her. Roxy gave me your sizes.”

      “But how...?”

      “She called your mom, who measured your fingers while you slept.”

      Maddy glanced at the door. “She knew you were coming. That’s why...”

      All that talk about unpacking suitcases had been just that. Talk. Her mom and her sister had known what she wanted before she did.

      She loved this man.

      But could she trust him? Could she believe he would be there for her and Chloe, no matter how hard it got? She took the ring from his hand and toyed with it. She caught a glint of something inside the band. She turned the ring to the light to make it out.

      My heart. My love. My life. No matter what.

      Her eyes prickled, moisture coming to them and then spilling over.

      Kaleb touched the second box. “Chloe’s ring says the same thing. But I wanted to talk to you alone before she saw it.”

      “Roxy was in on this?”

      He nodded. “I tracked her down when I couldn’t find you. For a week, she refused to return my calls, and when she finally did, I had to convince her that everything I just told you was the truth.” He smiled. “She put me through the wringer.”

      Maddy could well imagine. Was that why Roxy had told her he was a groveler? “What did she make you do?”

      “You’ll see in just a minute.” His fingers reached out for hers again, twining their hands together. “I asked Roxy to call your mom and have her take Chloe outside, in case you told me to get the hell out of here.”

      He lifted her hand and kissed it. “I’m hoping you’ll ask me to stay instead.”

      Maddy scrubbed her palm over her face before closing her fingers around the ring. “I’m not going to ask you to do that. I want you to go.”

      When he flinched, she hurried to cup his face in her hands. “You misunderstood. I want you to go, because I want to go with you.” She closed her eyes, love and relief pouring through her. “I want to go home to Seattle.”

      He didn’t move for a long second, and then he was crushing her to him, kissing her, murmuring words she didn’t understand with her ears, but felt with her heart.

      When he finally let her come up for air, he took her right hand and slid the ring over her finger. “So is this a yes?”

      “It is. Roxy promised me you were a good groveler, but that you were just a little rusty. She was right.”

      He smiled. “Ah, so that’s what she meant. She told me when the time was right I would understand.” He reached back into the bag and pulled out an old-fashioned oil can. “She told me I should take this can and apply the contents liberally.”

      “I bet she did.”

      Kaleb tunneled his fingers through her hair. “She was right. I’m a great groveler, and I plan to grovel for the rest of my life, if you’ll let me. I love you, Maddy.”

      “I love you too. But maybe we’ll keep the oil can around, just in case.” Wrapping her arms around his neck, she hugged him close. “Take us home.”

      “I need to tell you something that might make you change your mind.” The words were hesitant enough that they made her lean back to look at his face. “I had genetic counseling after Grace’s death and it confirmed I carry the gene for retinoblastoma. I promised myself I wouldn’t have any more children. If that makes you decide you don’t want me, I’ll understand.”

      Did he really think that made any difference at all? Maybe she wasn’t the only one who needed reassurance.

      “There are other ways to have children. Or not. Whatever we decide about that, it won’t change the way I feel. Ever. I want you. I always will.”

      He pressed his cheek against hers, the way her mom had done just moments earlier. Only this time she felt moisture on her skin. Tears. And just beneath the salty tang, she caught the faint medicinal scent carried by hospitals everywhere, and Kaleb’s musky aftershave.

      But most of all, he smelled like Home.

       EPILOGUE

      THE KITE HUNG suspended from the ceiling in Chloe’s room.

      Gone was the tiny twin bed in the revamped study of Maddy’s old place. A year’s worth of hard work and counseling on Kaleb’s part had brought him to the place where his heart no longer clamped tight in fear whenever Chloe got one of her headaches or Maddy’s asthma came out to play.

      Even before he finished therapy, though, Maddy had allowed him to put a simple gold band on her left hand, a sign of faith that she believed he was there to stay. And he was. He’d moved them into his apartment. Jetta was probably the hardest sell, but even the cat had decided the new digs weren’t all that bad. Especially with the catwalk Kaleb had installed on the veranda, which gave him a wonderful view of the city below.

      Chloe was at school until four o’clock. They’d taken full advantage of that time together, since time was in short supply these days. He tightened the towel around his waist and surveyed Maddy’s handiwork. She’d made his house a home. And not just for him.

      Right on cue, a sharp cry shattered the peaceful atmosphere. Making his way down the hallway, he intercepted Maddy, a bottle already in her hand.

      “We timed that just right, didn’t we?” Her grin was aimed at the towel.

      “I don’t know if it was our timing, or if she was just having mercy on us.”

      Together they went into the bedroom of another little girl. Rosa Jane. She wasn’t theirs, but she’d already won over their hearts.

      Kaleb wouldn’t have any more biological children, but that didn’t mean that he and Maddy couldn’t provide love...and a secure home for children in need. They’d become foster parents, and Rosa Jane was their very first charge. If things went the way they hoped, she might even become a permanent member of their family.

      Maddy picked the baby up from her crib and cuddled her in her arms. Trusting blue eyes blinked up at them as Kaleb put his arm around his wife’s waist.

      This was where he belonged. Here with Maddy, Chloe and whomever else fate might add to their home.

      He kissed the top of her head, his heart brimming with a happiness he’d never dreamed possible. But she made it possible.

      “Let me take her,” he murmured.

      “Are you sure?”

      “Yes.” He gathered the baby and her bottle and settled into the rocking chair in the corner. Maddy leaned against the door and watched as Rosa Jane greedily sucked at the milk.

      “I think we can throw away that oil can.”

      It took him a minute to realize what she was talking about. He’d placed Roxy’s oil can on a shelf in his office as a reminder to never let himself get rusty when it came to their relationship.

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