Loving Miss Libby (21 page)

“You want to be friends?” she asked numbly.

“Libby, I think you’re the kindest, sweetest, most
wonderful woman I’ve met in years.  And yes, in answer to your question, I want
to be friends.  I want to be your best friend, but I want more than that.”

She watched him uncertainly.  Was she imagining this
conversation?  Was it a side effect of her having been concussed?  She reached
out to touch him, skimming her hand across his jaw.

He gave her a questioning look. 

“Just assuring I’m not dreaming, and you’re not a
figment of my damaged brain,” she said.  “Go on.”

“Okay, I will.  Libby, I love you.  I hope and pray
that you love me too.”  He grinned.  “You know, I sensed you might have
feelings for me several times over the past months, but you always pulled
back.”

“I felt the same thing from you,” she told him. 
“But I figured it was because you were unsure about the status of your
relationship with Cherise.”  She pinned him with a look.  “I felt awful, caring
about you when you might possibly have feelings for someone else.”

He winced.  “And then I kissed you.”

“Yes!” 

“Actually, I did pull back a bit during the final
month you did daycare for me” he confessed.  “I wanted some distance between
the period of time you did daycare for the kids and me declaring my love for
you.”

“Afraid I might see it as gratitude rather than
genuine love and affection?”

“Exactly.”

She smiled softly.  “I love your kids, by the way.”

“Despite the fact that you’ve discovered they’re
little sneaks who can weave a tale?” 

She chuckled.  “I have to give it to them.  They
lured me into their web.”  She smiled softly.  “I adore them and I miss them so
much it hurts.  And I can’t bear that they’re having to go to school so early
and stay so late.  Dan…  Please don’t make them.”

“If you’ll marry me, we’ll all probably get a bit
more sleep,” he said reasonably.  “Well, the kids and I anyway…” he said wanly.

She gave him a suspicious glance, and he leaned
forward and claimed her lips in a kiss so sweet and lovely she collapsed
against the pillow after.

“Honey, you rest,” he told her.  “You rest all you
need to.  I need you rested and strong for…”

“Babysitting?”

He made a dispirited face.  “No, honey.  For our
wedding!”

“Wedding?”

“Exactly,” he said, kissing her lightly on the
cheek.  “Libby, will you marry me?”  He pulled a tiny box from his jacket
pocket.

Her eyes widened in surprise.  “You have been
thinking about this,” she teased.

“Every moment since I met you,” he told her.  “And I
promise, if you accept this ring, I’ll love you for every moment after.”

Two years later

“Mom!
 
Are you ready to go?” Kate called.

“Yes, honey.  I’m ready.”

Libby charged down the stairs.  Dan and Marky were
standing side by side at the foot of the stairs.  Kate was waiting patiently at
the front door, but moved to stand by her father and brothers.  The baby, in
Dan’s arms, was squirming, as if sensing a change in his routine.

“Timothy’s raring to go,” Dan said, struggling to
hold on to his bouncing baby boy.

“Do we have everything?” Libby asked, glancing
around as if trying to remember if they’d forgotten anything.  She reached for
the baby’s chubby hand and gave it a kiss, and then resumed her visual search
of the living room.

“What are you looking for, Mom?” Marky asked.

She grinned his way.  “I don’t know, sweetie.  I
just feel like I’ve forgotten something.”

“I think we have everything we need,” Dan said,
gesturing at the children surrounding him.  They all brought their heads
together and grinned at her.

Libby paused, taking in the scene of her children
and her husband.  Suddenly, she felt less frantic.  A silent communication
passed between her and Dan.  “You’re so right, honey.  We have everything we
need.”  She smiled.  “God is good.”

“That he is,” Dan said, hefting his seven-month-old
son onto his shoulder. 

“Grandma and Grandpa are waiting,” Kate reminded
them.

“Let’s roll,” Dan said.

Libby grabbed both Kate’s and Marky’s hands and they
hurried to the car.  “I can’t wait to get to the lake,” Libby said. 

“Will you help me hunt for rocks, Mom?” Marky asked.

“And go swimming with me?” Kate asked.

“I … can’t … wait,” she told them, grinning eagerly.

“I’m glad you took the summer off, Mom,” Kate said.

“Me too,” Marky enthused.  “‘Cause we’re gonna make
some memories!”

Libby paused and wrapped him in a hug.  “Yes, we
are!”  She reached for Kate and gave her a quick hug too. 

Dan came up behind them.  He carefully put the baby
into his car seat, and then turned and gathered Libby into his arms.  “I love
you, you know.”

“I know,” she said, looking up and into his eyes. 
“And I love you.”  She sent a teasing glance at the older children.  “And we
love them.”  She eyed them speculatively.  “Just think, if it hadn’t been for
these two little matchmakers, we might not be about to drive off for a family
vacation.”

“I wish we were going to Hu-waii with Aunt Amanda,”
Marky groused.

“Hey,” Libby scolded, and pinched his cheek.

“It was God that brought us all together,” Kate said
softly, knowingly.  “We just helped Him out a little.”

Libby smiled at her daughter.  Her precious girl had
always been wise beyond her years.

The
End