Inside was a simple silver ring.
It had been made by Walter Boone, who had spent several evenings learning how to shape the metal into a smooth band. The ring contained a small engraved pattern of mountain pines along its edge.
Loretta stared.
For a moment, she couldn't breathe.
Elias knelt beside her bench.
His enormous hands trembled.
"I've thought about this for a long time."
Loretta's eyes filled.
He continued.
"I came to Red Dog to thank the woman who saved my life. Then I found a woman who makes me want to build a life worth sharing."
She covered her mouth.
Elias smiled gently.
"I'm not asking you to leave the Copper Pot. I'm not asking you to give up your work, your independence, or anything you've earned."
Her tears began falling.
He continued.
"I want to be your partner. I want to hear your laughter when the day has been difficult. I want to work beside you, grow old beside you, and love you in every season that comes."
For several seconds, he couldn't speak.
Then he whispered, "Loretta, will you marry me?"
She stared at him.
The enormous woman who had spent most of her life being told no decent man would want her couldn't find a single word.
Elias waited.
He didn't hurry her.
Finally, she began laughing through her tears.
"Yes."
His eyes widened.
She nodded.
"Yes, Elias. I will."
He smiled so broadly that his face seemed to change.
Then he laughed.
For a moment, he looked like the happiest man in the territory.
He slipped the ring carefully onto her finger.
Loretta stared at it.
Then she looked toward him.
"May I kiss you?"
Elias laughed softly.
"You never have to ask twice."
She smiled.
Then he leaned toward her.
Their kiss was gentle.
And when he stood, Loretta held his hand and looked around the kitchen.
She thought of the night he arrived.
The fifty miners.
The kicked stool.
The overturned tray.
And the enormous piece of elk he carried through the snow.
Then she looked at him.
"Do you know what the strangest part is?"
Elias smiled.
"What?"
She took a slow breath.
"I spent years believing that someone might love me only if I became smaller."
His expression softened.
Loretta looked toward the ring.
"But you never asked me to."
Elias knelt beside her again.
He held her hand.
Then he whispered, "Loretta, I didn't come here looking for a smaller woman."