Dreamwalker's Bride - Chapter 452

Chapter 452: Looking for love
Mia frowned. Ford was acting very strangely tonight.

“I’m fine, thank you for asking. You… you look nice.” She told him.

Had he taken extra care with his appearance for a particular reason? The holiday?

“Thank you,” Ford stuttered with a smile.

Mia’s brow knit together in concentration. Perhaps he was tired from working his farm. He’d labored so hard on making it into a home, into a living, that she wondered at times if he’d forgotten about her entirely.

Although he accepted the help she brought, and often came to dinner, his attention to her had been… polite. Respectful.

Very much so.

It hurt her heart a little, especially with the significant glances her family had been trying not to make during dinner. They obviously thought he still cared for her, but she was beginning to doubt.

Maybe, he thought of her as just a friend, but the secondary pull of her magic was a constant reminder that she never would, never could, think of him as less than the man she wanted.

“You seem distracted,” She prompted, and he came to a stop, facing her. Suddenly, she grew nervous. He looked very serious indeed.

“I don’t mean to be!” He urged. “I just wanted to remember everything, and that’s difficult.”

“Remember everything?” She repeated curiously.

“Right there,” He pointed, and her eyes followed to a familiar tree at the edge of the drive. “Right there is where I sat when you first found me. Took me in, with nothing. Being nothing, and having the worst attitude anyone could imagine.”

“You were never nothing,” Mia’s voice turned soft as she remembered how he’d looked back then. Bedraggled and hunched, dirty and starving.

“I was. Even I knew that I was. But you never acted like it,” He reached forward and took her hand, and her heart started to beat a little quicker. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to make something of myself. But I did it, even without magic… just like you said I could.”

Mia smiled a little at that. “You’re admitting I was right?”

“You’re usually right,” Ford agreed.

“I’ve had some good examples,” Mia lowered her eyes. “Aunt Annie did so much work on the treaty, and figuring out what everyone needed to hear to get things done.”

Ford glanced towards the house, and cleared his throat. “I didn’t want to talk about my sister just now… I wanted to talk about you.”

“Me?” Mia trembled, and Ford squeezed her hand with a slight grimace.

“Please, I worked really hard on this, so if you would try not to interrupt until I’m done?” He scratched the back of his head with his free hand.

Confused and nervous, Mia nodded. Silence was something she could probably manage.

“We met right there,” He glanced at the ground again. “I didn’t deserve the scraps from the pig pen back then, but you offered me a place at the table. I’ve worked hard to become more than I was, to follow the lessons I’ve been taught. I still have a lot to learn…”

Mia swallowed, having an inkling of where this speech was headed but terrified to get her hopes up.

“I could never deserve you, no matter how much I tried. But, you have this beautiful habit of offering me things I don’t deserve,” He smiled at her and reached into his pocket. Suddenly, his face went slack.

Then his eyes widened in alarm.

“No!”

“What? What is it?” Mia was suddenly on high alert, looking around. What could have happened?

“I dropped it! I must have lost it,” Ford released her hand and began to look around frantically. The sun was beginning to set, leaving the ground with deep shadows.

“Dropped what?” Mia asked calmly. “Whatever it is, you know I can find it for you…”

Ford looked at her helplessly. “That’ll ruin everything!”

“What? Why?” Mia blinked.

“The ring, I dropped the ring!” He dragged a frustrated hand through his well-combed hair, mussing it thoroughly.

“Your mother’s ring?” Mia searched for the wooden trinket. The pull was in the general direction of Ford’s farmhouse, not towards the ground nearby.

“No! No, I saved up…” He closed his eyes and sighed deeply. “Mia, would you please look for the gold ring I lost?”

Mia’s heart thudded as she quickly complied. The pull was almost directly down, and she knelt to reveal where it had apparently rolled under a raised tree root.

It was slender and shining as she brushed the bit of dirt from it.

“This?” She asked timidly, holding the jewelry out to the man she loved.

“Yes. That,” He nodded, taking it from her. “I’m so sorry, I’ve messed everything up. I tried so hard to do this properly, perfectly…”

“Ford,” Mia interrupted. “I would very much like it if you stopped apologizing and got to the point before I die from suspense.”

Ford hesitated, then nodded. He dropped to one knee and took her hand.

“Mia, I love you more deeply than I imagined was possible. I’m not perfect. I’m more than what I was. I’ll keep striving to be more than I am, but I’ll never be perfect. If you can accept me, flaws and all, I would be honored if you would consent to be my wife.”

Mia splayed her fingers excitedly, her heart thudding so loudly in her ears she thought it might explode.

“I didn’t need a gold ring, Ford. You could have asked me months ago and I’d still have said yes!”

Ford smiled at her as he slipped the band onto her finger.

“You deserve far more than I could give, but I thought this, and a home for you to live in with food for you to eat, would be at least a start.” He said a bit sheepishly as he stood.

Mia threw her arms around his neck as a cheer rose from behind her.

The couple turned to see that the entire family had snuck out to watch. Mia colored, but Ford grinned ear to ear.

“She said yes!”

“You think we’d cheer if she had said no?” Anaisa asked, laughing. “Welcome to the family… again.”