Samantha lay wide-awake within the
bed. Oh, how she wished she wasn’t
alone.
Why had he left? Why hadn’t he
stayed the night with her?
Sure, he was honorable, but…… she needed him!
Getting up as she forsook all thought
of sleep, she took the revolver lying by
the bedside table with her. Going to the
front of the cabin she gazed out into the
moonlit darkness.
Things looked as still as one would
expect them to look at 2 AM in the
morning. Her eyes coasted over the dim,
shadowy trees, imagining far too many
things.
Her breathing abruptly hitched into
stillness. The glow of the moon was
glinting off of something in the shade of
some trees.
No car was parked there normally,
but there was one parked there now, of that she was sure. Who…… She knew
who.
Her spirit warmed within her and
tears came to her eyes. She stifled a sob
with a hand to her lips.
He hadn’t left her alone. He was
sitting out there in the dark waiting to
catch the one that had threatened her.
Looking around the darkened kitchen
and then upward Samantha spoke, “I don’t
know if You’re listening to anything I
have to say God, but if You are I just
want to thank You that there is a man like
Stephen left on this earth.”
Hugging her arms about herself, then
she allowed herself to openly cry out, “I
want him, but I don’t deserve him. She
hurried to the door and threw the locks
open and thrusting the door wide open
she hurried barefoot across the parking
lot towards the trees where she’d seen
the glint of metal in the forest.
As she drew close she confirmed it
was Stephen and she could also tell that he
wasn’t happy at seeing her here. He
rolled his window down and bluntly
said, “What are you doing! You didn’t
even bring the gun with you! What if it
wasn’t me out here but him?”
Samantha looked him steadily in the
eye and said, “But it is you and I knew it
would be you. I know you’re angry with
me, but please don’t be. I…. uh….had to come His expression abruptly changed and
nodding, he said, “Get in the truck.”
With barely suppressed eagerness
Samantha did just that.
*********
“You don’t even have shoes on
Honey!” I groused out softly. She looked
completely shaken, but in a different way
than she had earlier in the evening.
A long moment passed by and finally
I asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
She was quiet for another moment
and then looking at me with complete
sincerity she said, “I want to come home with you.”
I sighed and looked forward out into
the moonlit darkness. She had no idea
how badly I wanted to do just that, but I
didn’t trust myself.
Everything within me stilled even as
joy came into my soul.
I looked over at her and spoke,
“Samantha I don’t want a live-in
girlfriend.”
She shook her head and said, “I don’t
want to be that either. Steph…… I very
much want to have the honor of being
your wife.”
Breath taken away, I stared at her, even as the moment of divine planning
shook its way through to my core.
Gathering my courage I held up the ring I
had been fiddling with in my hand for
several hours and said, “Well, it just so
happens that I’ve been meaning to ask
you something. Samantha would you
please marry me?”
It was a bit of a rhetorical question
given that in a way she had already
proposed, but I felt the need for tradition
anyway. She gasped at the sight of the
ring and then she was on me breathing
out excitedly, “Yes! Yes! Oh God, yes!”,
in between kissing my face off.
Chuckling, I did my best to kiss her
back, but she was already pulling back
all eyes on the ring. I took her hand and slid my mother’s ring onto it.
It was a perfect fit. The diamonds
glistened in the moonlight and the
moment was golden and then of all
things she began to cry.
“What’s wrong Honey?” I asked with
concern.
Gazing at me she jerked out,
“Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Stephen
Haynes I love you!”
Serious faced I said, “I love you too
Samantha Haynes. How about we go wake
up the pastor?”
“Yes!” She breathed out and then for
the first moment she seemed to
remember that she was wearing pajamas and completely barefoot.