“Avalene.”
“I need to clean.”
“No.”
She picked up a plate.
Wyatt took it gently from her hand.
She froze.
“Look at me.”
She did.
Her eyes were wet.
Wyatt had never seen her cry.
He hated Cecilia for becoming the first cause.
“She was wrong.”
Avalene swallowed.
“About which part?”
He understood.
“I did marry you because of my mother.”
Avalene nodded.
“That part.”
“Yes.”
“And I didn't love you when I did.”
Another nod.
Wyatt stepped closer.
“But those facts don't mean she knows what this is now.”
Avalene looked at him.
“What is it now?”
Again.
The question he had avoided.
This time silence felt cowardly.
Wyatt removed his hat.
Set it aside.
“I don't know the right word.”
Avalene almost looked disappointed.
He continued quickly.
“But I know I look for you when I enter a room.”
Her breath changed.
“I know when I ride home, I wonder what you're cooking.”
A faint smile.
“That's food.”
“No.”
Wyatt moved closer.
“I wonder whether you're laughing with Higgins.”
“Whether Halfpint has annoyed you.”
“Whether you bought that blue fabric you kept looking at in Hobbs.”
Avalene stared.
“You noticed?”
“Yes.”
“I didn't buy it.”
“Why?”
“Too expensive.”
“Buy it.”
She almost laughed.
“That isn't the point.”
“I know.”
Wyatt swallowed.
“I notice things.”
He looked directly into her eyes.
“That’s new.”
Avalene’s expression softened.
He continued.
“I slept fine in that study for a year before you came.”
Her cheeks warmed.
Wyatt looked embarrassed now.
“I don't anymore.”
“Why?”
He almost smiled.
“You know why.”
Avalene’s heart began pounding.
Wyatt raised one hand.
Stopped before touching her.
“Can I?”
She looked at his hand.
Then nodded.
His fingers touched her cheek.
So lightly that it felt more intimate than a kiss might have.
Avalene closed her eyes.
Wyatt brushed one loose curl back.
“You're my wife.”
She opened her eyes.
“And I would like…”
He stopped.
She waited.
“What?”
“To become your husband.”
Avalene frowned.
“You already are.”
“On paper.”
He looked toward the courthouse certificate framed in the hall.
“I mean properly.”
Her eyes filled again.
“What does properly mean?”
Wyatt smiled awkwardly.
“I was hoping you knew.”
Avalene laughed through tears.
That saved him.
He leaned closer.
Then stopped again.
“May I kiss you?”
She stared.
Their courthouse wedding had included no kiss.
The judge forgot to suggest one.
Neither objected.
Now the question felt enormous.
Avalene whispered:
“Yes.”
Wyatt kissed her.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Nothing dramatic.
One hand remained against her cheek.
The other rested at her waist.
Avalene’s fingers caught the front of his work shirt.
For several seconds the entire ranch disappeared.
No Cecilia.