about all of your ideas. I want to know about each and every single one of them.”
Clara beamed and started to rattle off dozens of ideas that she had for the farm. They were all really good ideas, too, ideas that would end up making the farm quite profitable in the long run and definitely a whole hell of a lot of fun to be on.
“So I was also thinking about some stuff for the kids in town to come and do,” she said. “It’s such a large farm, and well, when we have our child of our own, I thought it would be fun to have other kids around as well. We could have festivals for every season with fun things that families could bring their kids out to enjoy. In the fall, we could have hayrides, and corn mazes, and fresh apple picking in the orchards. And in the winter, we could let the children go into the stables and barns to brush and blanket the animals, and there could be hot cocoa and sled rides. Then in the springtime, we could have a planting festival where people could come help to plant things on the farm and in return, they could come back at the end of summer and they could self-pick some of the things that were grown—like fill up a bag for a flat fee.”
She paused and waited for my reaction.
“I think that I love all of those ideas,” I said with excitement.
“Really? Are you sure? You’re not just saying that to try to make me happy, are you?” she asked.
“No, I’m definitely not,” I answered. “I think that all of those things sound like a lot of fun that everyone will enjoy, including us. I think they all sound like they will be good for the farm and for the crops and the animals. And even from a business standpoint, I think it will generate enough revenue over the years to start to turn a very healthy profit for the farm. It might even make the farm be able to be financially self-sustaining after a while. Which, even though it has no need to be, I know, would make you happy.”
“It really would,” she said thoughtfully. “It would bring my parents’ legacy full circle.”
I hugged her close and was glad that I could help make this dream a reality. “And Clara,” I said before I forgot that I wanted to mention it. “You never need to worry about me trying to do things just to appease you and make you happy. You know that I always want you to be happy, but I won’t make the same mistake that your brother did. We all need to be happy—our whole family. That way, our child will see the love and happiness that we have created together, and that is what truly matters.”
“I agree,” she said. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For loving me enough to always be honest with me,” she said.
We lay there for the rest of the evening until the bright moonlight shone through the hotel windows and spilled out onto the bed as if it were soaking us in a radiant light. Everything about my life now felt radiant. I was completely on board with all of the things that Clara wanted to do, and I couldn’t wait to get started with it. I wanted to do all of it, and then some because she was my whole life now. I had never felt so fulfilled before.
I sat up before going to get us both a glass of water before we fell asleep, and I looked at her eyes, reflecting in the dim light. I stared at her and smiled, and then I reached down and cupped her stomach with my hand. It was barely even a little bit round yet, but soon it would swell with my child. I left my hand there as I bent down and kissed her in a long and lingering kiss that ended with our breath against each other.
“I love you, Clara Wiley,” I said.
She smiled. “I love you, too, DeShawn Groves,” she said.
I looked down at my hand before I got up. “I love our unborn child, too,” I said as I leaned down and kissed her stomach softly.
I went to get us a glass of water and returned to the bed to see Clara looking thoughtful as she rubbed her hand across her bare stomach. “What are you thinking about?” I asked.
“I was just thinking about names,”