An echo of that night in the barn when she had been terrified and desperate. Eli turned to look at her. He didn't flinch this time. He didn't pull away. He looked at her with eyes that were crinkled at the corners with love and sun.
Too big for what? He asked softly. Maggie smiled. Tears pricked her eyes, but they were not tears of sadness. They were tears of relief.
It is too big for the small stories, she said, her voice trembling. Too big for the whispers in town. Too big for the shame I carried for so long. Too big for Silas Crane's hate. She looked at him, her gaze locking onto his.
But it is finally big enough," she whispered. "It is big enough for us. Big enough for this love we fought so hard to keep. " Eli reached out. He wrapped his hand around the back of her neck, pulling her toward him. "It is just the right size," he murmured.
He kissed her. "It was a long, unhurried kiss. It tasted of the wind and the sage and the evening cool. Their bodies pressed together against the saddles. Two silhouettes outlined against the dying fire of the sun.
If anyone had looked up from the valley floor, they would have seen them. Two riders on the ridge merging into one shadow. The world had tried to separate them. The snow had tried to freeze them. The fire had tried to burn them.
A rich man had tried to buy them. But they were still here as the first stars began to prick the violet sky. Eli broke the kiss. He smiled at her, a look of pure unguarded happiness. "We should get back," he said.
"Toby will be hungry. " Maggie nodded, wiping her eyes. "And we have to check the new calves in the morning. " They turned their horses and began the slow ride down the slope back toward the lights of their home. They talked quietly as they rode. They talked of the harvest to come. They talked of teaching Toby to ride.
They talked of maybe next year filling the spare room with a crib. They rode into the darkness. But they were not afraid of it anymore.
They carried their own light. They were Eli and Maggie Mercer. And they had built a love that was finally truly bigger than their pain.