Cassidy (Big Sky Dreams 1) (36 page)

"Okay. Now right here," Trace told his blindfolded wife, "the ground dips down a little. Don't fall."

"Trace," Cassidy said on a laugh, "if you'll just tell me..." "Soon," Trace said, "very soon."

Cassidy continued to walk with him, her hands held in both of his, not able to see a thing and completely disoriented. Trace had taken her around the house once and even around the barn until she was totally turned around in her mind.

"Okay," he said, sounding like a kid on Christmas morning. "We're almost there."

"Almost where?"

"Step up," Trace ordered, having stopped her with her toes against a board.

"Is it the house?" Cassidy asked, doing as she was told.

"Go on now," Trace ordered, keeping her moving. Not until she had both feet where he wanted them did his kerchief come off of her eyes.

298"Oh, Trace!" Cassidy said, throwing her arms around him. She was standing on the far side of their new house. She had not asked for a big porch, but he'd given her one that covered two sides of the house. The far side was finished first and he'd been able to surprise her.

"You like it?"

Cassidy kissed him-then kissed him again, long and hard.

"Well, now," Trace said, his hands already reaching for her hair. "I'll take that as a yes." They kissed for a while, not noticing the cool spring temperatures or the cold wind that blew over them, before Cassidy began to look around.

"Two sides! I didn't know the porch would be on two sides." "And right here," Trace directed her, "is another door into the living room."

Cassidy did not know how he'd hidden this extra door from her.,

They had also planned on and built an extra bedroom with Rhonda Sinclair in mind. Edson was going to be in prison for a long time, and they wanted Cassidy's mother to have a place to live when she couldn't, or no longer wanted to, be on her own.

"How much longer before we can move in?" Cassidy asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement, her arms back around Trace's neck.

"I'd have to check with Chas to be certain. I'd guess a month, maybe a little less."

"I can hardly wait."

"Cass," Trace said, suddenly serious. "Let's commit to hospitality from the first moment. Let's share our home with others, so we never forget Who gave it to us."

"What a wonderful thing to remember right now," Cassidy said, "before we even move in."

"And to keep remembering for as long as we live in this house." They stood for a long time in the living room, making plans

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and talking about their dreams. They made a mental list of those they would invite.over and ran out of time before it was finished. Cassidy needed to start supper soon, and Trace had chores in the barn. Not that it mattered. Their hearts were in the right place, in love with each other and not forgetting to honor God with what He had given them.

Walking back toward the house, Cassidy thought the only missing part was a baby, and that little person would arrive before the year was out. Meg was due again, and even though Cassidy hadn't told anyone, she was fairly certain she was-expecting as well. A smile lit her face as she slipped through the kitchen door, looking forward to when and where she would tell Trace he was going to be a father.