“Why?”
“Because the first time, I was afraid. I said what I thought a husband ought to say, but I didn’t tell you everything in my heart.”
Her eyes began to shine.
“And now?”
“Now I want to tell you.”
Clara looked between them.
“Are we getting married again?”
Jonah knelt beside her.
“Not exactly. We are reminding ourselves of the promise we made.”
Clara considered this.
“Will there be cake?”
Ruth laughed through her tears.
“If your father has planned properly, there will be cake.”
Jonah smiled.
“I have planned properly.”
The minister arrived from the neighboring house and led them through a simple ceremony. There were no guests this time, no elaborate gown, no nervous gathering in the churchyard. Ruth wore a blue dress, and Jonah wore his best dark suit.
Clara stood between them, holding Ruth’s hand.
When the minister asked Jonah whether he would continue to love, honor, and cherish his wife, Jonah answered without hesitation.
“I will.”
Then he turned to Ruth.
“I cannot promise that I will never be afraid,” he said. “I cannot promise that I will never make mistakes. But I promise I will not let fear decide our life for us. I promise to speak when silence would hurt you, to listen when you need me, and to remember that you are not here to fill the place of someone who came before. You are here because I love you. I choose you today, and I will choose you every day I am given.”
Ruth’s tears fell freely.
When it was her turn, she took both his hands.
“I promise to love you honestly,” she said. “I promise to respect the life you lived before me, and to help you build the life we share now. I promise to stand beside you when the work is hard, to laugh with you when the days are bright, and to remind you that you do not have to carry every burden alone. I choose you, Jonah. Not because I have nowhere else to go, but because you are the man I want beside me.”
The minister blessed them.
Jonah kissed her, and Clara clapped.
Then she looked up at the minister.
“Now can we have cake?”
The minister laughed.
“I believe that can be arranged.”
That evening, they returned to the ranch beneath a sky painted gold and rose.
Jonah drove the wagon slowly along the familiar road. Clara fell asleep against Ruth’s shoulder, her basket of apples tucked at her feet. The wind moved through the grass, and the cottonwoods along the creek shivered in the cool air.
When they reached the house, Jonah carried Clara inside while Ruth gathered the basket. The kitchen was warm, the lamps lit, and a small cake waited on the table.
They ate a piece each, then Jonah took Clara upstairs and tucked her into bed. Ruth lingered in the kitchen, washing the plates and listening to the familiar sounds of her husband moving through the house.
When he came downstairs, she was standing beside the sink, looking out at the dark yard.
He approached quietly and wrapped his arms around her waist.
“What are you thinking about?”
Ruth leaned back against him.
“The first night.”
Jonah’s arms tightened.
“I have thought about it, too.”
“I was so frightened.”
“I know.”