"How it was more of a business transaction than a celebration."
Eleanor's heartbeat quickened.
The wagons drew close enough for her to recognize faces.
Mrs. Murphy carrying a covered basket.
The Henderson family, despite past coldness.
Jake Morrison in his Sunday clothes, his shoulder fully recovered.
"Thomas..."
"I know we're already married."
He rushed on.
"Legally binding and all that."
Thomas smiled awkwardly.
"But I thought..."
He corrected himself.
"We thought..."
A pause.
"Maybe it was time to do it properly."
Eleanor stared.
"Flowers. Music."
Thomas looked at her.
"A celebration that matches what we've built."
Wagons stopped near the house.
Food.
Decorations.
Someone had brought a fiddle.
Reverend Morrison climbed from his buggy with infinitely more enthusiasm than he had displayed at the first ceremony.
"Mrs. Caldwell!"
He grinned.
"I hope you don't mind the intrusion, but your husband was quite insistent we mark today properly."
Eleanor looked from the preacher to Thomas.
"This day?"
"Our six-month anniversary."
Thomas's voice softened.
"The day our contract marriage became something real."
Samuel came running from the corral.
Daniel followed at a more dignified pace.
Both boys wore the unmistakable expressions of people delighted by a secret successfully kept.
"Surprise, Mama!"
Samuel launched himself into Eleanor.
"Papa planned a real wedding for you!"
Daniel arrived beside them.
"We helped."
His eyes shone.
"I picked flowers."
Samuel grinned.
"And I helped Papa practice his speech!"
Tears filled Eleanor's eyes.
She looked around at the people who had once treated her as a desperate stranger.
Now they had come to celebrate.
"I don't know what to say."
"Say yes," Thomas suggested.
His own voice was rough with emotion.
"Say you'll marry me again."
He stepped nearer.
"Properly this time."
A pause.
"Not because you need shelter."
"Not because I need somebody to run the house."
Thomas held her eyes.
"Because we choose each other."
Another pause.
"Because we love each other."
Eleanor threw her arms around his neck.
Laughing and crying at the same time.
"Yes."
She clung to him.
"Oh, yes."
The following hour became a whirlwind.