Some things were just meant to be.
Tamara
They didn’t seem to be going anywhere rapidly, but that was fine with Tamara. She sat on Stormy’s back, swaying comfortably as their small group ambled forward at a relaxed pace. Sasha rode beside her, chatting endlessly about all the plans she had for the summer.
“And there’s only ten more days of school, and after that we can help you with the garden more. And Daddy says that when I’m home from school for the summer, I can ride Firecracker every day.”
“As long as you’re with one of us, or one of your uncles, yes.” It had been said before, but Tamara figured, with Sasha, it didn’t hurt to repeat the reminder. “And you’re not allowed to go into the arenas after the horses by yourself.”
“Kelli can’t take me? Kelli says riding horses is like freedom on four legs.”
Tamara chuckled. “Kelli’s very poetic for a ranch hand. But for now, no. You’ll have plenty of chances to ride this summer with family supervising.”
Sasha’s pout couldn’t last very long, not with the beautiful first-day-of-summer air and the sunshine heating the ground around them. Up ahead, Caleb was listening to Emma tell a story, the little girl speaking too faintly for Tamara to hear the individual words. But even that soft, steady murmur caused a little bit of a springtime-growing sensation in Tamara’s heart.
Emma hadn’t up and started speaking in full sentences overnight, but over the past months, she’d grown by leaps and bounds. Confident in the fact that she was loved. That she had people who chose to love her unconditionally.
Something inside Tamara’s heart did another jiggly motion, almost like the Grinch’s heart growing three sizes at once. Yes, she had pretty much fallen into a wonderful place. It wasn’t what she’d expected nine months ago, but to go from losing her job to finding a family—
Life was pretty good.
It was clear by now where Caleb was leading them, turning off the trail onto the shortest route to Heart Falls. The trees closed around them, the rich scent of new growth turning the passage into a tunnel to Shangri-La.
They broke through the trees into sunshine. Ahead of them lay the sparkling pool at the base of the falls. The familiar rocks where she and Caleb had shared a fairly spectacular second meeting, and where she’d subsequently proposed to him, were to the right.
Caleb pulled to a stop and slid from his horse, ground-tethering her before reaching to lift Emma from the saddle. Tamara helped Sasha dismount, and the four of them wandered lazily along the edge of the pool, throwing rocks and skimming stones.
A soft, gentle moment of peace and quiet in the middle of what were hectic days for them all. The girls got busy, competing to see who could make their rocks plunk into the water with the biggest splash.
Tamara slid next to Caleb, leaning against him as he looped an arm around her waist. “Thanks for taking time out of your day to make this happen. It’s nice to go for a ride with you in the sunshine.”
Caleb pressed a kiss to her temple, squeezing her tight. “We’ll do it more often.” Then he pointed at the rocky lookout. “Go ahead. We’ll meet you at the top.”
“Bootstomp Point? Are you sure it’s safe? You know big adventures always start there,” she teased, dancing out of reach before he could smack his hand on her butt.
The girls caught the laughter, racing to catch up as Tamara led them onto the rocks to the peak where they had the best view of the pond. From that spot, when they glanced toward the waterfall, a perfect heart shape became clear.
Emma leaned against her, slipping her fingers into Tamara’s. “It’s like the heart gets love poured into it, and then it slips out at this end and runs all over Silver Stone.”
Tamara smiled. That was not only a lot of words—it was a profound idea from the little girl. “There is a lot of love that runs all through Silver Stone.”
Behind them Caleb cleared his throat. “Right. There’s a lot of love in Silver Stone, but there’s one thing missing.”
Tamara turned to ask what he was talking about, momentarily distracted by the sight of someone walking the trail on the opposite side of the pond. A tall, dark-skinned gentleman paced his way around the edge of the pool, seemingly intent on joining them.
“What are we missing, Daddy?” Sasha asked. For some reason the words came out as if she’d practiced them a few times. Tamara glanced at her in confusion then back at Caleb, who was grinning widely.
“It’s more of a technicality than anything else. Your mama and I said that we loved each other, and that we’re going to get married, and I’ve been thinking about it. We could do things up real fancy, but that’s kind of not our way. So I wondered if you all would be okay if we just did the wedding thing, right here and now.”
Married? Shock struck.
Not everyone, though. Emma made her opinion very clear as she let out a squeal of delight, bounced a couple of times, then stopped with a frown. “But I want to be a flower girl.”
Caleb dipped his chin. “Thought of that.”
He turned to greet the man who had made it to their side. The stranger was now recognizable as the father of some of Tamara’s new friends in Heart Falls.
Malachi Fields offered a hand to Tamara and Caleb then passed a bag to Sasha. “Sorry I’m late. Are you ready to go?”
“Nearly.” Caleb patted Sasha on the shoulder.
His oldest daughter grabbed Emma by the hand and scurried to a spot a little way off, dropping to her knees to dig in the bag for whatever Malachi had brought.
Tamara’s brain was whirling. “We’re getting married. Right now?”
Caleb pointed to Malachi. “Minister of the peace. And over there we have two flower girls who will be ready in about ten seconds.”
Malachi grinned. Sasha and Emma had already bounced to their feet, flowery tiaras on their heads, and their hands full of something white and red.
While Caleb hadn’t told her he planned this, they had talked about not doing anything fancy. His one sister was out of the country and wouldn’t be back until late summer. His foster sister was having a big wedding in August. Tamara’s sisters and the rest of the Coleman family couldn’t get away from the ranch anytime soon, and it seemed rather than have part of the family there and not the rest—
Private and special was the way to go.
“We’re getting married. Right now,” Tamara repeated, no question in her voice this time as she watched happiness bloom in Caleb’s eyes. “You’re in charge. Tell me where I need to go.”
“Over here, Mama.”
Emma waved. Sasha held aloft a third flower circlet.
Tamara went willingly, dropping to one knee and leaning her head forward so her daughters—oh my word, her daughters—could arrange the red and white flowers.
Emma kissed her cheek and offered her a bouquet: daisies and teeny rosebuds.
“They match your glasses,” Emma told her seriously.
Caleb had been tricky and artful. “I guess these are my wedding glasses,” Tamara responded with a smile.
She stood to discover Sasha had crossed the distance to Caleb, slipping a rose into his front pocket. That’s when it struck Tamara that his black shirt was a little fancy for going horseback riding, but then again, she wasn’t past the thrilling part of staring at him no matter what he wore.