“Can You Make Me Come Tonight — The Mail Order Bride Asked… The Virgin Mountain Man Whispered, ‘I…’”

Chapter 12

The first snow of the next winter came in late October.

Margaret stood at the window, watching the fat white flakes drift down from a leaden sky. She had a cup of coffee in her hands, warm and bitter, and a sense of peace in her chest that she had spent her whole life searching for.

Elias came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He rested his chin on her shoulder, and she leaned back into his warmth.

“It’s starting,” she said.

“First snow.”

“Are you ready for winter?”

“I’ve been ready for winter my whole life.” He pressed a kiss to her temple. “This is the first year I’m looking forward to it.”

“Why?”

“Because I won’t be alone in it.”

She turned in his arms, looking up at him. His beard had more gray in it now. The lines around his eyes had deepened from smiling. He was still the biggest man she had ever seen, still scarred and rough and built for survival in a world that killed the weak.

But he was also the gentlest. The kindest. The most careful.

“Elias,” she said.

“Margaret.”

“I’m glad I got off that wagon.”

He smiled, that slow, hesitant smile that had cracked her armor open on the first night. “I’m glad you did too.”

She rose on her tiptoes and kissed him. Outside, the snow began to fall in earnest, blanketing the world in white. The cabin was warm, the fire was crackling, and the dogs were curled up in their corner, dreaming of summer.

Margaret pulled back and looked at him. “I love you, Elias Thorne.”

“I love you too, Margaret.”

She smiled. “Now fry me some bacon. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long winter.”

He laughed, and the sound filled the cabin, warm and bright and full of life.

THE END