Once their eyes opened, you could name them. The children crowded onto the porch, all talking at once about potential names for the five barn kittens. As Faith watched Colton patiently listening to each suggestion, negotiating compromises between the siblings with the diplomatic skill he brought to all family matters. She felt a profound sense of gratitude. Life had taken an unexpected turn that rainy April day at the cemetery when a kind cowboy had held an umbrella over a grieving widow and her baby.
What had begun as a simple act of decency had grown into a love that sustained and nourished them all, a love that had given Faith the strength to begin again, when she thought all hope was lost. That evening, after the children were tucked into bed with stories of brave cowboys and adventurous pioneers, Faith and Colton sat on their porch swing, watching the sunset paint the Montana sky in brilliant oranges and pinks. Colton's arm was around her shoulders, and Faith's head rested comfortably against him, their bodies fitting together with the easy familiarity of years together. I got a letter from Mrs. Abernathy today.
Faith mentioned she says Silver Gulch is changing. The railroads coming through next year. Progress. Colton mused. Good for business, I suppose, though it'll change the character of the place.
Faith nodded. She asked if we ever regret moving out here away from town. And what did you tell her? That I wouldn't trade this life for all the conveniences in the world. Faith said simply, "That this is where we belong." Colton pressed a kiss to her temple.
"Smart woman, my wife." They fell silent, content to watch the day fade into evening, the first stars beginning to appear in the darkening sky. Somewhere in the distance, a coyote called, answered by another farther away. The familiar sounds of their ranch at night surrounded them, cattle lowing softly. The gentle creek of the windmill, the rustling of leaves in the evening breeze. "Colleton," Faith said after a while.
"Home, thank you for never walking away." Colton's arm tightened around her, and when he spoke, his voice was thick with emotion. "Walking away was never an option, Faith. Not from the moment I saw you standing in that cemetery. Something in me knew this is where I belong, with you and Emma.
Faith turned in his embrace to look at him, this man who had become the center of her world. "I love you, Colton Reed, more with each passing day." "And I love you, Faith Reed," he replied, bending to kiss her softly. Yesterday, today, and all our tomorrows. As the last light faded from the sky, they remained on the porch, wrapped in each other's arms, and in the life they had built together, a life that had begun with an act of kindness on the saddest of days, and had blossomed into a love story as vast and enduring as the Montana sky above them.