Always Dakota by Debbie Macomber

around his neck, but not so absorbed that she didn’t notice how quiet the bank had become. When Heath broke off the kiss, he gently disengaged her and hurried to his door. Flinging it wide-open, he called out, “We’re engaged!”
    His announcement was instantly followed by a chorus of congratulations and applause from staff and customers alike. Just as quickly the questions came.
    “When’s the wedding?”
    “Does Lily know?”
    “You aren’t closing down The Pizza Parlor, are you?”
    “You’re going to live in Buffalo Valley, right?”
    Rachel and Heath glanced at each other, but they didn’t seem to have any ready answers. At least Rachel didn’t.
    “The wedding’s soon. Very soon,” Heath insisted, his arm around Rachel’s slim waist. “Right?”
    Rachel blushed and nodded.
    “We’ll tell Lily this evening,” Heath continued, and once more looked to her for confirmation.
    “I won’t be closing the restaurant,” she added. This had been the subject of repeated arguments between her and Heath. He didn’t want her to work, but the restaurant was hers and she wasn’t willing to give it up simply because she was marrying a wealthy man, although she did plan on hiring extra help.
    “You won’t?” Heath sounded surprised.
    “No,” she returned and elbowed him in the ribs.
    “They aren’t even married yet,” Steve Baylor cried, “and they’re already arguing.”
    “Every couple has issues they need to settle,” Joanie Wyatt said calmly. Joanie should know; she’d recently reconciled with her husband after a yearlong separation. She and her husband, Brandon, were a good example of a couple who’d worked through the problems in their marriage.
    “Rachel wants to stay right here in Buffalo Valley,” Heath told everyone.
    “I do,” she concurred. She hadn’t said anything to Heath yet, but she could see several needs arising in the community, prime business opportunities. With the success of her restaurant and Sarah’s quilting company, Buffalo Valley was badly in need of a day-care center. Now that she had five full-time employees sewing for her, Sarah was expecting more women to come into town—some to buy quilts and some, eventually, to work for her. All of this meant the bank’s, and therefore Heath’s, increasing involvement with the town.
    “You gonna kiss her again?” Steve asked.
    Heath laughed. “I plan to do a lot more than kiss her. Come on,” he said to Rachel, reaching for her hand. “If there was ever a time for a celebration lunch, this is it.”
    Rachel couldn’t agree more.

     
    Matt Eilers had kissed her. Even a week later, Margaret could hardly believe it had actually happened. In bed at night, she closed her eyes and relived the kiss. Nothing in the world could be more wonderful than Matt’s wanting her.
    Sure, she’d been kissed before. Well…once. By a ranch hand employed by her father. Briefly employed. She’d been sixteen, physically underdeveloped, and as naive as they come. She was an adult now and eager to have Matt introduce her to adult experience. To show her what being a woman really meant.
    For seven days she’d kept the kissing incident to herself, afraid that if she shared it with anyone else, something would be lost. But when she didn’t hear from Matt again, Margaret knew she needed help in sorting out the significance of what had happened. Since Matt had kissed her once, surely that meant he’d be interested in doing it again—didn’t it? But she hadn’t seen her neighbor since. The only person she could ask about such things was Maddy Washburn McKenna.
    Taking the truck, Margaret drove over to Maddy and Jeb’s, hoping to catch Maddy when she wasn’t busy with the baby. Margaret had been present when Julianne Marjorie McKenna was born, and she still considered it one of the most exciting days of her life. Over the years she’d helped a lot of calves into this world, but she’d never witnessed a human birth. Julianne’s was