emulate the honeybees she loved so much? She felt his arms loosen around her.
“You have to look at the wedding ring, Cari. I hope you like it.” He peered down at her, worry banked in his gaze.
She took the thick, wide gold ring out of the box and looked at it closely. “Oh, my,” she whispered, awed. “Chase! Those are honeybees etched in the metal! They’re so beautiful!” She just looked at him in disbelief that he would do something like this, something that meant the world to her, and have it created just for her.
“You like it, then?” he asked, sounding worried.
“Oh! This is truly a work of art! And there’s four honeybees on it! I just love this!” And once again, she threw her arms around his shoulders, hugging him for all she was worth. He held her tightly against him, their heads next to one another. “This is just the best, happiest day of my life, Chase Bishop! You are so thoughtful! I’m sure no other woman in the world has a honeybee wedding ring set!” She laughed, stepping away from him, meeting his relieved smile. In some ways, men were so fragile, and that is what made her love this man even more.
“There’s only one of you, Cari,” he began, becoming serious. “I . . . well, I wanted something special for you because truly, I’ve never met a woman like you.”
“What? You call me fey, like I’m more myth than real.” She laughed, shaking her head, absorbing the beauty of the engagement ring, how much it meant to her.
“Well,” he stumbled, “you’re not a myth, but you are magical to me. Sometimes, when I look at you, I wonder if I’m making you up. Or, if you’re really a fairy in disguise, and someday will disappear and go back home, leaving me alone.”
“Ohhhh,” Cari said, cupping his cheek, kissing him swiftly, “I’m not magical . . . well . . . the bees share their magic with me, but I can assure you, I’m going nowhere. I love it here, Chase.” She looked around at the beauty, inhaling the woodsy scent of the fallen leaves, the sweetness of green grass and the clean, pure air of the valley.
He came and placed his arm around her shoulders, drawing her against him as he looked out over the land cared for by generations of his family. “We’re the next generation for this land we’re standing on,” he rasped, kissing her mussed, shining black hair. “And I can’t think of any other woman than you, standing at my side with me, to caretake it.”
She looked up, seeing the love of the land reflected in his softened features. “It will be our children, someday, that inherit it from us, Chase. And what a wonderful gift that we’ll work hard to give them.” She felt his hand tighten around her shoulder, saw the tears glistening in his eyes, realizing just how deeply this moment was touching him . . . and touching her.
“Family,” he managed, rasping, “means everything to me. It always has.”
“To me, also.” She sighed, resting against his tall, strong body. “I love you for a thousand reasons, Chase. Every day since we almost died out in that California desert, I think of one of those reasons why I do.” Her voice softened, and she gave him a tender look. “Can you imagine two or three children helping me and you when we’re out here on the land? How much fun it’s going to be to show them how beautiful Mother Earth really is, how to love her and respect her in return?”
Nodding, he swallowed hard. “Lately, I’ve had some dreams I’ve never had before, Cari.”
“Oh? What kind?” She knew that about once a week he’d have a nightmare from his time spent in the Sandbox. He’d wake up sweating, shaking, and she would, once he was awake, ask him if he wanted to be held by her. He always said yes. And then, as she held him with her woman’s strength and love, the shaking and trembling would stop, and eventually, Chase would fall asleep on her shoulder, holding her and she, holding him. “Not another nightmare?”
“No . . . no, nothing like that. I’ve never had dreams like this before . . .”
“Tell me about them?”
“I’d dream of babies, and little kids, running around with us. We were laughing and having lots of fun.”
“Hmmm, are you given to precognitive dreams, I wonder?” she teased him gently.
“My