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Finn lifted his phone. “Okay, so let’s pick a date so Alex doesn’t ruin everything for us.”

She really liked that he said “us” and not “you,” and she wrapped her arm through his and leaned into his strength as he tapped and swiped to get to a calendar.

“April thirteenth?” he asked.

“Be serious, Ramses.”

“Ramses?” He burst out laughing again, and Edith sure did love the sound of it. She loved this tender time between them despite a very busy, tension-filled, and stressful day.

“We can’t get married on the thirteenth,” she said. “Every few years, our anniversary will be on Friday, the thirteenth.” She shook her head, dead serious. “No. Not happening.”

“The sixth?” Finn tilted his phone toward her. “Is that too early?”

“Could be windy.” Edith worried through a few thoughts. “Or rainy. Later might be better.”

“Sunday, the fourteenth?” he asked. “Or Saturday the twentieth. I think those are your best choices, my love.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I agree.” She looked at the little boxes on his phone, a clear answer emerging. “I want to get married on Sunday, Finn. Levi wasn’t super religious, and we were going to get married on a Saturday.”

“Sunday, April fourteenth,” Finn said as he started typing into his phone. “Finn and Edith get married.” He spoke slowly so his voice matched his fingers, and then he turned it toward her. Right there, in a blue bar on April fourteenth, Edith read the words

Finn and Edith get married.

Nothing could’ve made her smile bigger or for more joy to wind through her system.

“I love you, cowboy,” she whispered.

“And I love you, Edith.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Finn left through the back door of his house and headed across the deck. To his left, the leaves in the pumpkin patch had started to dry and wither, and the orange squashes had started to show their faces.

Something as simple as a pumpkin made him smile, brought him such joy. Of course, it would not be replanted next spring, because Edith’s she-shed would go in that spot. He’d been talking to Alex about what he needed to make the transition of the shed from where it currently rested to its new home here, and Edith needed electricity.

She didn’t need water or sewer, as she came back into the house to use the bathroom, and if she got too messy eating her ice cream while writing, she’d have to make the trek inside as well. Finn found himself smiling over that image too, and he fought a river of impatience at having her living with her brother for another six months.

Of course, he couldn’t expect her to get married immediately, as they’d really only been dating for a few months as it was. “The extra time will be good,” he told himself. He’d get through birthing season, and by the time they were ready for branding, Edith would be here to hold the calves.

This morning, he entered the stable, which had been swept and sprayed clean before Finn had moved in two horses—one for him and one for Edith. She didn’t know that he’d asked Uncle Pete for Cocoa, but she did know that his daddy had given him a good sturdy working horse from Three Rivers—a bay named Apollo.

And today, Apollo and Cocoa were taking a little ride from this ranch, through the newly installed gate, and onto Three Rivers. Edith would be there, working with Reagan, and Finn wanted to surprise her with a horse…and a diamond ring.

Panicking, he patted his shirt pocket for the ring and thankfully, felt the hardness of the gold band and the round-cut gem. A sigh slipped from his lips, and Finn set about saddling Apollo.

Uncle Pete would have Cocoa’s gear ready at Courage Reins, so she just had to walk alongside Apollo until Edith was ready to ride her back. Once he had everything ready, he texted his mother. Leaving now. Don’t let her see you, okay?

You’ve told me that five thousand times, Momma sent back.

Edith is observant, Finn said. If she sees you and Aunt Chelsea hovering around with your phones up, she’ll know something’s up.

I won’t ruin this for you, Momma promised.

Reassured, Finn tucked his phone away and faced the horizon to the north. “Come on, guys,” he said. “This is why we bought this place. So we could be close to home, but not home. So that we could have our own home.”

He hadn’t refused his parents’ gift, and he wasn’t going to refuse any of the gifts of God either. Finn had had to humble himself that day at the lender, when his father had written out a check for two hundred thousand dollars. Finn didn’t have to do anything to earn it besides be important to Squire Ackerman, and that bond had strengthened and cemented because of the monetary gift.

“Ah, look how pretty this place is,” he mused out loud to his horses. He hoped to add more equines to his stable, but for now, he’d be just fine with the two he had. He’d done well on market day, and by the sweat of his brow—and the help of a half-dozen cowboys from Three Rivers, he’d gotten his crops in too.