Tracie Peterson (31 page)

Cara let him pull her into his arms. “I suppose we’re scandalizing the office,” she murmured.

“After the last governor, you’ve got to be kidding.” Harry kissed her ever so gently on the lips, then abruptly let her
go. He reached into his dark blue slacks and pulled out a jeweler’s box.

Cara was unable to hide her sharp intake of breath. Harry opened the box to reveal a solitary diamond engagement ring. Tears came to her eyes, blurring her vision. Taking the ring from the box, Harry lifted her left hand and slipped it on.

Then holding her fingers to his lips, he asked, “Will you marry me, Cara Kessler?”

“Oh, Harry, it’s beautiful.”

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“I guess I’ve been avoiding this particular question for some time, huh?” Cara looked up into his face and saw the reflection of all the love she felt in her heart.

“Too long, as far as I’m concerned. Now how about an answer?”

“Are you sure you aren’t just asking me to be your wife so that you can be married to the governor of Kansas?” Cara teased.

Harry laughed and pulled her into his arms again. “You need me to keep you out of trouble.”

“Who, me?” she said, looking wide-eyed and innocent.

“Stop putting me off,” he said, tightening his hold on her. “I’m not letting you go until I get an answer.”

“Hmmm.” Cara snuggled against him. “I may have to think on it for a minute or maybe . . . an hour or two.”

Just then the door opened and Brianna burst in with Melissa and Peter not far behind.

The lively eleven-year-old danced around them chanting, “Harry’s going to be my new daddy.”

Cara eyed Harry with a questioning look. He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “I had to get her permission first, didn’t I?”

Melissa and Peter laughed, but Harry maintained a hold on Cara with one hand and motioned everyone else to quiet down. “She’s just about to answer an important question,” he said rather dramatically. All eyes turned to Cara in anticipation of her reply.

“What question did you ask her, Harry?” Brianna looked up intently.

“I asked if she’d marry me,” Harry said, putting his free arm around Brianna. “I’ve been asking her for ages and she always manages to avoid giving me an answer.”

“Oh, that,” Brianna said, as though Harry had said nothing of importance. “Of course she’ll marry you.”

Melissa and Peter broke out in laughter again, while Harry turned to Cara. “Smart kid. I’m going to like being her new dad.”

Cara shook her head. “I guess I don’t have a choice,” she said, feigning a pout.

“The only choice you have,” declared Harry with a firm grasp on her waist, “is the right to remain silent, only if you don’t love me enough to say yes.”

Cara nodded. “In that case, I love you, Harry Oberlin, and I will marry you.”

“Yea!” Brianna cheered and began to dance around again while Harry kissed Cara solidly on the mouth.

“Well, now that we have that settled,” Melissa said, sweeping back waves of auburn hair, “when is the big day?”

“Next week,” Harry said without batting an eye.

Cara looked up at him in stunned surprise. “Next week?”

“Sure. I’m not giving you room to get into trouble without having the ability to offer you twenty-four-hour protection.”

“No more sleeping down the hall, eh?” Cara teased.

“Nope.”

“It’s just as well. I feel the same way,” Cara replied. Growing serious, she looked at her friends and daughter. “You know, I’m really sorry I got you all into this mess. So many lives were affected by the deception of one man, and when I relive that night and see Danielle holding a gun to her father . . .” Her voice trailed off as she shuddered. “She just wanted to be loved,” Cara murmured and pulled Brianna close. She smiled down at her daughter. “She just wanted a father’s love.”

“She’s got us now, right, Mom?” Brianna asked enthusiastically.

“What’s that?” Melissa questioned.

Cara stroked her daughter’s hair. “Danielle has been given her freedom, on the condition that she perform community service and remain in counseling for a year. I suggested her community service be performed with HEARTBEAT Ministries.”

Melissa nodded. “Was she open to the idea?”

“Very much so, especially now that she’s interested in learning more about God,” Cara replied. “She has a great deal to work through, but she’s a strong sweet-spirited girl. It took the evil of Kerns to push her to the edge of destruction, but I know the love of God will bring her back. When I think of how tragically it could have ended, I can only thank God for the protection He offered each of us.”

“Me too,” Melissa said as Peter put his arm around her shoulder. “It made us both think more about what life had to offer and what we want out of it. I can’t say that I understand everything about this faith stuff, but I do know that I plan to investigate it in more detail.”

“And she’s going to have plenty of time on her hands for personal investigation,” Peter joined in. “At least when she isn’t busy running after a very lively one-year-old.”

“What?” Cara’s eyes widened in surprise. “What are you talking about?”

“We’re adopting Jamie Davis,” Melissa announced with a glowing expression that left no one in doubt of her happiness.

“Congratulations!” Harry and Cara exclaimed in unison.

“I guess everything really does happen for a purpose,” Melissa said, glancing at Peter.

“This calls for a celebration,” Harry stated. “We’ll celebrate our engagement and your adoption.”

“Don’t forget me,” Brianna said, taking Harry’s big hand in hers.

“Never in a million years!” Harry declared and reached down to lift Brianna into the air.

Cara watched the scene with a great deal of satisfaction. So many lives had been demaged by the actions of one man. She thought sadly of Teri and of the baby who would never know her birth mother. Then seeing the joy on Melissa’s face, Cara knew that Jamie would never want for love. Feeling her heart swell with happiness, she studied Harry and Brianna as if seeing the hand of God in motion. The past was clearly settled, and the future held a great deal of promise. They were caught up together in love, and to Cara it seemed the very best way to be.

TRACIE PETERSON is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 80 novels. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Belgrade, Montana.

Visit Tracie’s Web site at:
www.traciepeterson.com

Books by Tracie Peterson

www.traciepeterson.com

House of Secrets • A Slender Thread • Where My Heart Belongs

LAND OF THE LONE STAR

Chasing the Sun • Touching the Sky • Taming the Wind

B
RIDAL
V
EIL
I
SLAND
*

To Have and To Hold • To Love and Cherish • To Honor and Trust

S
ONG OF
A
LASKA

Dawn’s Prelude • Morning’s Refrain • Twilight’s Serenade

S
TRIKING A
M
ATCH

Embers of Love • Hearts Aglow • Hope Rekindled

A
LASKAN
Q
UEST

Summer of the Midnight Sun

Under the Northern Lights • Whispers of Winter

Alaskan Quest (3 in 1)

B
RIDES OF
G
ALLATIN
C
OUNTY

A Promise to Believe In • A Love to Last Forever

A Dream to Call My Own

T
HE
B
ROADMOOR
L
EGACY
*

A Daughter’s Inheritance • An Unexpected Love

A Surrendered Heart

B
ELLS OF
L
OWELL
*

Daughter of the Loom • A Fragile Design • These Tangled Threads

L
IGHTS OF
L
OWELL
*

A Tapestry of Hope • A Love Woven True • The Pattern of Her Heart

D
ESERT
R
OSES

Shadows of the Canyon • Across the Years • Beneath a Harvest Sky

H
EIRS OF
M
ONTANA

Land of My Heart • The Coming Storm

To Dream Anew • The Hope Within

L
ADIES OF
L
IBERTY

A Lady of High Regard • A Lady of Hidden Intent

A Lady of Secret Devotion

R
IBBONS OF
S
TEEL
**

Distant Dreams • A Hope Beyond • A Promise for Tomorrow

R
IBBONS
W
EST
**

Westward the Dream • Separate Roads • Ties that Bind

W
ESTWARD
C
HRONICLES

A Shelter of Hope • Hidden in a Whisper • A Veiled Reflection

Y
UKON
Q
UEST

Treasures of the North • Ashes and Ice • Rivers of Gold

* with Judith Miller     ** with Judith Pella