With every footstep, she felt her breathing shorten until, by the time he was standing in front of her, she couldn’t seem to draw a full breath. It was almost embarrassing to feel this much.
He took her left hand in his, looked down at the strip of foil that was supposed to be a diamond ring. When he looked at her again, he was no longer smiling.
“Pathetic,” he whispered, and her heart ached for the shame she saw in his dark eyes. “Not every woman would accept a ring like this.”
“I love you, Bobby. That’s all that matters. I know it’s crazy, impossible even, but I love you.” The words freed something inside her. She could breathe again.
“I’m no prize, Claire. You know that. I’ve made mistakes in my life. Three of ’em, to be exact.”
Claire could practically hear Meg’s voice in the breeze. But the sound meant nothing when she saw how Bobby looked at her. No one had ever looked at her like that before, as if she were the most precious woman on earth. “I’m a single mother who never got married. I know about mistakes, Bobby.”
“I’ve never felt this way before,” he said softly, a catch in his voice. “Honest to God.”
“What way?”
“As if my heart doesn’t belong to me anymore, as if it can’t beat without you. You’re inside me, Claire, holding me up. You make me want to be more than I am.”
“I want us to grow old together,” she whispered the words. It was her deepest dream, her most treasured hope. All her life, she’d imagined herself alone in old age, one of those white-haired women who sat on the porch, waiting for the phone to ring or a car to drive up. Now, finally, she allowed herself to imagine a better future, one filled with love and laughter and family.
“I want to hear our kids fight about who’s touching who in the smelly backseat of a minivan.”
Claire laughed. It felt so good to dream with someone.
He pulled her into his arms, danced with her to the music of the river and the crickets.
Finally, Claire said, “My sister, Meghann, is coming up to meet you tomorrow.”
He drew back. Taking her hand, he led her to his porch. They sat down in the creaky oak swing and rocked gently. “I thought you said she’d boycott the wedding.”
“Wishful thinking.” She looked up at him. “She was predictably underwhelmed by our decision to get married.”
“This is the sister Gina called Cruella De Vil?”
“Jaws is really the preferred nickname.”
“Does her opinion matter?”
“It shouldn’t.”
“But it does.”
Claire felt like a fool. “It does.”
“Then I’ll win her over. Maybe I’ll write a song for her.”
“It better go platinum. Meg doesn’t like second best. She should be here by early evening tomorrow.”
“Should I go down to the army surplus and check out some Kevlar?”
“At the very least.”
Bobby’s smile faded after a moment. “She won’t be able to change your mind about me, will she?”
She was moved by his vulnerability. “She’s never been able to change my mind about anything. It’s what makes her foam at the mouth.”
“As long as you love me, I can take anything.”
“Well, Bobby Austin,” she put her arms around him and leaned over for a kiss. Just before their lips touched, she whispered, “Then you can take anything. Even my sister.”
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Claire stood at the kitchen sink, washing the breakfast dishes. It was a gray, not-quite-rainy day, the kind where the sky was so low it seemed to bump you in the forehead when you dared to venture outside. Perfect weather for a visit with Meghann.
The thought made her head pound. She dried her hands and reached for the bottle of Excedrin on the windowsill.
“Mary Kay Acheson gets to have Cap’n Crunch for breakfast.”
It was a common early-morning argument. “She’ll probably have false teeth in time for eighth grade. You don’t want to have to take your teeth out at bedtime, do you?”
Ali banged her feet rhythmically on the rungs at the base of her chair. “Willie has all his teeth and he’s gonna be in ninth grade. He’s practically a grown-up.”
“That’s because Karen feeds him Raisin Bran for breakfast. If he ate Cap’n Crunch, it’d be a different story.”
Ali frowned, thinking about that.
Claire washed down the aspirin.
“Do you have a headache again, Mommy?”
“Aunt Meg’s coming over tonight. She wants to meet Bobby.”
Ali’s frown deepened. Obviously, she was trying to understand the connection between Mom’s headache and Aunt Meg’s visit. “I thought she was too busy to breathe.”
Claire went to the table and sat down beside her daughter. “You know why Meghann wants to meet Bobby?”
Alison rolled her eyes. “Duh, Mommy.”
“Duh?” Claire bit back a smile. At some point, she’d have to address the issue of respectful responses, but she’d better wait until she could do it without cracking up. She held out her hand instead. “You know what this ring means?”
“It’s not a ring. It’s foil.”