All the Blue of Heaven (26 page)

           
“Do you mean that, Allie?”

           
She opened her eyes and smiled at him. “I think you’re mad for taking us on, but
I do.”

           
He looked at her, running a finger across her cheek. “Remember what I said in
your mother’s hallway?”

           
She felt her cheeks burn but kept her gaze steady. “You said you never stopped
wanting me.”

           
“Yes. I know that I want a family with you. I want Janey to be mine, and I want
to fill our house with children, the kind who bring canvases to life and speak
to horses.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, a question and a
promise in one electric gesture.

           
“Aunt Allie?” Janey asked from the other side. Allie jumped, embarrassed that
she had been so lost in Thomas’s words that she’d forgotten her little
eye-witness.

           
“Yes, sweetie?” She turned and gave Janey a squeeze, never feeling as complete
as at that moment.

           
“Do I get to be in your wedding?”

           
Thomas let out a laugh and nodded his head. “That’s my girl! You know we
couldn’t have it without you.”

           
“Oh, good. I’m going to sing a song, and wear this lovely long fur stole that I
saw up in Grandmother Leeds’ attic. I should sing it right in the middle of the
wedding, so everyone is paying attention.”

           
Allie leaned her head on Thomas’s shoulder and let Janey’s voice wash over her.
There was no chance her mother would allow Janey to sing in her wedding, but
she would not waste an ounce of energy worrying over it. Because if she had
learned anything at all in the past year, it was that God had a perfect plan. Allie
felt a deep sense of peace.

           
“I should get down on one knee, propose properly, like a gentleman,” Thomas
said. “But you would have to let go of Janey, and I would have to let go of
you.” His words were soft, just for her. “Will you marry me, Allie? I promise
to support your painting, to honor your calling the way I honor my own. I’ll be
a father to Janey, and we can give her a real home together.”

           
Allie struggled to speak past the lump in her throat. “To everything there is a
season, and to every time a purpose under heaven.”

           
His leaned forward, touching his forehead to hers. She could feel the heat of
his skin, she could smell straw and dust. It was so familiar it made her ache. She
touched his face, feeling the rough stubble under her sensitive fingers.

           
“And this is our season, Thomas. I will marry you.” She touched her lips
lightly to his, struggling to not get lost, then turned back to Janey, who
dreamed out loud of putting on a cabaret show during the wedding.

            Allie smiled, filled
with awe that her wedding was in God’s plan from the beginning. She’d heard it
was true, but now she believed it: God’s plan for her was always to prosper and
not to harm. 
                            

                                    
THE END

This is
the first book in the Colors of Faith, a Christian historical romance series by
Virginia Carmichael. The next, Purple Like the West, will be released in September
2013.
Virginia was born near the Rocky Mountains and although she has traveled around
the world, the wilds of Colorado run in her veins. A big fan of the wide open
sky and all four seasons, she believes in embracing the small moments of everyday
life. A home schooling mom of six young children who rarely wear shoes, those
moments usually involve a lot of noise, a lot of mess, or a whole bunch of warm
cookies. Virginia holds degrees in Linguistics and Religious Studies from the
University of Oregon. She lives with her habanero-eating husband, Crusberto,
who is her polar opposite in all things except faith. They've learned to speak
in short-hand code and look forward to the day they can actually finish a
sentence. In the meantime, Virginia thanks God for the laughter and abundance
of hugs that fill her day as she plots her next book.

If you enjoyed this book, please
feel free to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads! You can find me on my
facebook author page Virginia Carmichael or at Yankee Belle Café, a cooperative
cooking blog where we make food and talk about books.