Home Fires by Jana Richards

get used to it.”
    For a moment he stared at her. Then slowly a smile lifted the corners of his mouth.
    “I could think of worse things than being stuck with you.”
    “Me too.” She could no longer imagine living without Erik. “But I’m worried about you. Tell me about the surgery. Why don’t you want to have it?”
    The smile disappeared. “I just don’t want to go through all that pain again.”
    “Instead you’d rather let the pain get progressively worse until at some point you’re completely bedridden.”
    “That’s not going to happen.”
    “Maybe not, but is this how you want to live? At least with the surgery you have a chance of being free from pain.”
    He turned his face away, avoiding her gaze. “Or maybe the surgery will make things worse. I’m sure you don’t want to be married to a man with one leg.”
    Anne had nursed several people who’d lost limbs, and all of them had worried about how their spouses and sweethearts would react. Would they look at them with pity or recoil in disgust? Would they stop loving them?
    She put her finger under his chin and made him look at her. “Like I said, you’re stuck with me. In sickness and in health. Will you promise that you’ll talk to your doctor about the surgery and keep an open mind?”
    He raised an eyebrow. “Has anyone ever told you you’re very bossy?”
    “Many people. Will you do it?”
    He nodded. “Okay. I’ll talk to him. But I’m not promising anything.”
    “Good. That’s good.” She blinked back tears that caught her by surprise.
    He touched her cheek, his brow furrowed with worry. “What’s this? Why the tears?”
    She swallowed and brushed away a tear that escaped down her cheek. “I’m sorry. I just… I hate seeing you suffer so.”
    He opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it again, his eyes wide with shock. Finally he reached for her and pulled her against his chest.
    “I promise I’ll talk to my doctor the first chance I get. He’s in the city, so it might take me some time. But I promise I’ll listen to what he says.” He stroked her hair. “Don’t cry, sweetheart. Everything’s going to be all right.”
    She looked up into Erik’s face, into the startling blue of his eyes. In just a few short weeks his face had become very dear to her. She loved his strong chin, so often set at a stubborn, defiant angle. His long straight nose and the sculpted cheekbones spoke of his proud Norse heritage. Anne barely noticed the scar on his face anymore, and when she did it reminded her that her future husband was a survivor, someone tough enough to withstand all that life could throw at him. It only made her love him more.
    She loved him.
    She knew without a doubt that whatever she had felt for Anders, it wasn’t love. She’d never suffered his pain as if it were her own the way she did with Erik. She’d never wanted his happiness above all else. She’d never experienced this overwhelming need, this all-consuming desire, for any man before.
    What she felt for Erik was deeper and stronger than anything she’d ever experienced. She loved him. Her emotions whirled in a confusion of ecstasy and fear. Did he feel the same for her?
    Erik gently touched his lips to hers. They were soft and firm and sweet. He cupped the back of her head with his hand and brought her closer, deepening the kiss. Anne sighed against his mouth, her body trembling with need. No kiss had thrilled her like this before. Winding her arms around his neck, she molded herself against him. She loved his solidness, the strength she could feel in his body and in his spirit. Erik would always be there for her, just as she would be there for him.
    He broke the kiss and, with a trembling hand, traced the outline of her face. His gaze held hers captive. She had to believe he couldn’t kiss her the way he did, wouldn’t have agreed to marry her, without some affection on his part.
    “I can hardly wait for the wedding,” he said with a