You could remain as Cook, keep your independence. Jake Caldwell, she interrupted firmly. I've been married to a man who tried to protect me from every harsh reality. I don't need protection. I need partnership.
I need you. She reached up to touch his face. Are you having second thoughts? Never. His arms tightened around her.
I just want you to be certain. This life, this place, it's not easy. Easy is overrated. Margaret said, "I've had easy. It left me unprepared for hardship.
This life, our life, has meaning, purpose, joy mixed with struggle. It's real in a way my Philadelphia existence never was. He kissed her then, slow and sweet, tasting of stolen cookies and promises. When they parted, both were breathless. "Tomorrow can't come soon enough, " he murmured.
"Tomorrow will come exactly when it should. " Margaret replied practically, though her heart raced. "Now go. I have pies to finish, and you're distracting me. " Christmas morning dawned crystal clear, the snow sparkling like diamonds under a brilliant sun.
Margaret woke in her small room off the kitchen for the last time, hearing the ranch stirring to life around her. Today, she would move into the main house, into the room Jake had quietly prepared for them, not the one he'd shared with Sarah, but a different space honoring both past and future. Tom knocked on her door early, bearing a package. "From the boys, " he said, grinning. We all chipped in.
Inside was a silver hand mirror and brush set engraved with MC. Margaret's eyes misted. It's beautiful. Too fine for for the finest lady in Texas. I don't think so.
Tom's young face was earnest. You saved my arm. Mrs. Sullivan saved Will's life, made this place a home again. That's worth more than silver. The morning flew by in preparations.
Mrs. Morrison and Mrs. Patterson arrived early to help, shooing Margaret away from her own kitchen with good-natured bossiness. A bride doesn't cook on her wedding day. Mrs. Patterson declared, "Now go get ready. The preacher will be here by noon. " Margaret bathed and dressed carefully in the blue wool dress Jake had given her, altered now to fit perfectly, pressed with loving care, she pinned her hair up simply, adding a sprig of dried lavender from the bunches hanging in the kitchen.
In the mirror, she saw not the desperate widow who'd arrived in October, but a woman transformed by work and purpose and unexpected love. A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. Margaret, may I come in? " Jake entered, stopping short when he saw her. "You're beautiful, " he said simply.