He grinned and again reached for her arm. “You haven’t seen the best.”
“But surely there can’t be more.”
“Oh, but there is. There are two bedrooms and a room for bathing so that no one will ever walk in on you again. You can even do the laundry there.” He drew her to a door and opened it. “However, this is our room.”
Emily gasped and stepped inside the large bedroom. There were several pieces of furniture and a large oval rug on the floor. But in the center of the room sat an elegant four-poster bed, done up in the finest bedding and pillows.
Tears came to Emily’s eyes as she ran her fingers down the smooth footboard. “It’s . . . it’s . . . amazing.”
He turned her in his arms and reached out to catch a tear on his finger. “I don’t want you to ever have to sleep on the ground or on a cot again. Not unless you want to. When you marveled at that simple hotel bed, I was determined then and there to get you the most luxurious bed money could buy.”
Emily wrapped her arms around him. “Although that hotel bed was quite comfortable, it was very lonely, and you were ever on my mind.”
“Why, Mrs. Thibault, that’s positively scandalous.” He winked. “But rest assured, if I have anything to say about it, you’ll never again sleep alone.”
She sighed. “I wish my mother could have lived to see this. I thought about her during our ceremony and prayed that God would somehow tell her that she was right about you—all along.”
Caeden laughed. “Right about me? So your mother told you about our conversation, huh?”
Emily laughed. “Oh yes, and I was horrified that she should tell you such a thing! I never had any intention of proving her right, you know.”
“Your mother had no doubts about being right. It turns out we were the only ones who doubted that we belonged together.”
Emily reached up and touched his cheek. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t have doubts anymore.”
He pressed his hand against hers. “It’s a good thing you don’t, because it’s too late now.” He kissed her tenderly, then whispered, “You’re stuck with me.”
Tracie Peterson is the award-winning author of over one hundred novels, both historical and contemporary. Her avid research resonates in her stories, as seen in her bestselling HEIRS OF MONTANA and ALASKAN QUEST series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana. Visit Tracie’s website at www.traciepeterson.com.
Books by Tracie Peterson
www.traciepeterson.com
SAPPHIRE BRIDES
A Treasure Concealed
BRIDES OF SEATTLE
Steadfast Heart • Refining Fire • Love Everlasting
LONE STAR BRIDES
A Sensible Arrangement • A Moment in Time • A Matter of Heart
Lone Star Brides (3 in 1)
LAND OF SHINING WATER
The Icecutter’s Daughter • The Quarryman’s Bride • The Miner’s Lady
LAND OF THE LONE STAR
Chasing the Sun • Touching the Sky • Taming the Wind
BRIDAL VEIL ISLAND*
To Have and To Hold • To Love and Cherish • To Honor and Trust
STRIKING A MATCH
Embers of Love • Hearts Aglow • Hope Rekindled
SONG OF ALASKA
Dawn’s Prelude • Morning’s Refrain • Twilight’s Serenade
ALASKAN QUEST
Summer of the Midnight Sun
Under the Northern Lights • Whispers of Winter
BRIDES OF GALLATIN COUNTY
A Promise to Believe In • A Love to Last Forever • A Dream to Call My Own
THE BROADMOOR LEGACY *
A Daughter’s Inheritance • An Unexpected Love • A Surrendered Heart
BELLS OF LOWELL*
Daughter of the Loom • A Fragile Design • These Tangled Threads
LIGHTS OF LOWELL*
A Tapestry of Hope • A Love Woven True • The Pattern of Her Heart
DESERT ROSES
Shadows of the Canyon • Across the Years • Beneath a Harvest Sky
HEIRS OF MONTANA
Land of My Heart • The Coming Storm
To Dream Anew • The Hope Within
LADIES OF LIBERTY
A Lady of High Regard • A Lady of Hidden Intent • A Lady of Secret Devotion
RIBBONS OF STEEL**
Distant Dreams • A Hope Beyond • A Promise for Tomorrow
RIBBONS WEST**
Westward the Dream • Separate Roads • Ties That Bind
WESTWARD CHRONICLES
A Shelter of Hope • Hidden in a Whisper • A Veiled Reflection
YUKON QUEST
Treasures of the North • Ashes and Ice • Rivers of Gold
A Slender Thread • All Things Hidden*** • Beyond the Silence***
House of Secrets • What She Left for Me • Where My Heart Belongs
* with Judith Miller
** with Judith Pella
***with Kimberley Woodhouse
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