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  Neil grinned at her. “I certainly plan to keep her, Preacher.”

  “I’ll see you at church.”

  “And me too, I hope,” Beatrice said.

  “The more, the merrier,” he agreed.

  “Can we go home now?” Emily asked.

  “After I buy back Sarah’s necklace,” Neil replied.

  “Mrs. Donner,” Neil’s mother began as she patted Beatrice on the arm, “did you ever check out the tablecloths at the mercantile?”

  “I’ve never been in there,” Mrs. Donner admitted.

  “Well, I should give you a tour.”

  “Can I come too?” Emily asked.

  Neil’s mother smiled. “You sure can.”

  He set Emily to her feet so she could join them.

  As the two women and Emily walked ahead of them and approached Willow and Luke, Neil shook his head in wonder. “It’s strange to see them together, getting along so well.”

  “It’s good though. Jim’s mother needs something more than a grandson to keep her occupied. She was lonely.”

  “I was too, you know. Before you came along,” Neil confided.

  “You weren’t the only one,” Sarah whispered.

  He hugged her and felt the baby in her womb kick at him. He chuckled. “I don’t think he likes it when I hold you too close.”

  “He? Emily’s determined this is going to be a girl.”

  “We’ll see if she’s right when July comes.”

  He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her across the street, feeling as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders.

  ***

  It was in the middle of the night on July 20 when Sarah went into labor. Neil got the doctor and by midday, he, Emily, and Luke sat in the barn while the doctor and Neil’s mother tended to the birth.

  When his mother came out, he picked up Luke. Emily ran ahead to talk to her grandmother. As soon as Neil caught up to them, he already knew the baby’s gender by the wide smile on his daughter’s face.

  “Thank you, Pa! You gave me a sister!” She ran into the house.

  Neil’s mother laughed. “I thought she might like the news. Sarah said her name is Elizabeth.”

  “Yes. That’s the name we agreed on,” he proudly stated. He put his arm around her shoulders and walked with her to the house where he could hear his second daughter crying.

  The doctor came down the steps. “It’s a girl!”

  “I beat you to it,” Neil’s mother replied.

  The doctor grinned. “Well, mother and child are doing just fine. It was a good birth, the kind every doctor wants to see. I’ll send you the bill,” he told Neil.

  “Ah, the painful part of having a baby,” Neil joked.

  “I think Sarah might argue that one with you. Congratulations, Neil.” He ruffled Luke’s blond hair. “Don’t let the girls bully you.”

  After he left, his mother said, “I’ll make something to eat. Why don’t you go up and see your wife and daughters?”

  She didn’t have to tell him twice. He hastened up the steps and strode into their bedroom where Sarah and Emily sat next to each other on the bed.

  Emily held the now sleeping infant. She touched the baby’s cheek. “She’s so tiny,” she whispered.

  “Is there room for two more?” Neil asked.

  Sarah beamed up at him. “Oh Neil, she looks like you, except for the blond hair.”

  He sat on the bed and set an impatient Luke on the floor. Luke ran to the bassinet and rocked it. Shaking his head, he said, “I think he’s too young to appreciate the moment.”

  “He wants a brother,” Emily replied. “Next time, you need to have a boy. Then he’ll be interested.”

  Sarah laughed. “We’ll give it our best try, Emily.”

  The girl seemed satisfied with Sarah’s promise. Looking up, she asked, “You want to hold her, Pa?”

  He held his hands out and gently took the swaddled newborn in his arms, marveling that he had a part in creating a new life. Sarah was right. He could see himself in the tiny round face, and he detected some of Sarah in her as well. His heart swelled to the point he thought it would burst.

  He smiled at Sarah. “Isn’t she amazing?”

  She nodded, wiping away a tear that fell down her cheek. “It’s better than I imagined. Last time I gave birth, and all I had was Luke. Now I have you, Emily,” she hugged the girl, “Luke, and Elizabeth. I can’t think of anything better to ask for.”

  “Me neither.”

  “Oh, I know what will make it better.” Emily jumped off the bed. “I have a doll that Grandma and I made for her.”

  As she ran out of the room, Sarah giggled. “You have to admire her determination that this baby was going to be a girl.”

  “Do you think she had a talk with the man upstairs about this?”

  “I wouldn’t doubt it.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her, letting his lips linger for a moment before he pulled away. “You’ve given me more joy than I thought was possible. I love you, Sarah.”

  “I love you too, Neil.”

  He moved so he was sitting next to her. Emily and Luke climbed on the bed, and Emily showed Elizabeth the doll while Luke sat between him and Sarah. This was what he longed for. A happy family. And now that he had it, his life was complete.

  Other Romances by Ruth Ann Nordin

  Regency Collection

  The Earl’s Inconvenient Wife

  Her Counterfeit Husband

  A Most Unsuitable Earl

  His Reluctant Lady

  Nebraska Romance Collection (historical westerns)

  Her Heart’s Desire

  A Bride for Tom (a novella)

  A Husband for Margaret (a novella)

  Eye of the Beholder

  The Wrong Husband

  Shotgun Groom

  To Have and To Hold

  His Redeeming Bride

  Isaac’s Decision

  South Dakota Romance Collection (historical westerns)

  Loving Eliza

  Bid for a Bride

  Bride of Second Chances

  Montana Romance Collection (historical westerns)

  Mitch’s Win

  Native American Romance Series (historical westerns)

  Restoring Hope

  A Chance in Time (novella)

  Brave Beginnings

  Bound by Honor Bound by Love

  Virginia Historical Romance Series (historicals)

  An Unlikely Place for Love

  The Cold Wife

  An Inconvenient Marriage

  Romancing Adrienne (a novella)

  Other Historical Western Romances

  Meant To Be

  Falling In Love With Her Husband

  Omaha Contemporary Romances

  With This Ring I Thee Dread

  What Nathan Wants

  Florida Contemporary Romances

  Substitute Bride (a novella)

  Across the Stars Series (contemporary)

  Suddenly a Bride

  Runaway Bride

  His Abducted Bride