Homespun Bride

short. I don’t want to waste another moment in heartache. Take me skating, Thad.”
    She held out her mittened hands, and it felt as if she were offering him a second chance. They’d navigated the short way to the head of the little pond where mist curled over the ice like wishes. “Straight ahead a few steps. That’s right.”
    They toddled together the short distance to the pond’s edge. The surface was rippled and uneven. He took the first step and braced himself to help her onto the slick surface. “Easy now.”
    “Oh, I’m out of practice.” Her right blade slid forward, and she wobbled as if losing her sense of balance.
    He caught her by the elbows and muscled her around. Her gloved hands fisted in the fabric of his coat as he steadied her. “Are you okay?”
    “It’s going to take me a moment to get used to this.” Her hold on him was a trusting one. “Which way am I facing? So I can get a sense of direction.”
    “The house is in a straight line behind you. The orchard is to the left.”
    “That means we have the whole length of the pond ahead of us.”
    “Yes. Are you ready to take a spin?”
    “More ready than you know.” She moved to the inside, so she wouldn’t catch her blade on any stray branch or stem. She looked fearless.
    She was amazing. Thad couldn’t take his gaze from her as they took that first sweeping step. She was his perfection. She pushed off into the unknown as if she were not afraid of falling.
    “Look! Thad, I’m skating.”
    “Isn’t that stating the obvious?” Her happiness was catching and he wouldn’t stop the joy dawning within him even if he wanted to.
    She laughed, coming to a shaky stop. “Yes, but I can’t believe it. It’s just like I remembered it.”
    “How’s that?”
    “That it must be close to what a sparrow feels flying across the frozen ground.” Her touch on his arm was light. “How long do I have before I run out of pond?”
    “Don’t worry, I’ll turn you before you hit land. Ready?”
    “Ready.”
    They pushed off together, and he was drawn by her—by everything about her. Tiny silken wisps of hair had escaped her braid and curled around her face. Joy shone from her like light from a midnight star, and he felt touched by it. Joy shone into him and there was no stopping the power of it or the truth. They glided together in short sharp bursts, and he nudged her into a curving arc that had them circling to the far side of the pond.
    “We’re heading back toward the house,” he told her, so she could keep her sense of direction.
    “I can feel that.” She lifted her face into the air. “The wind is coming from the north. It’s starting to snow.”
    “Is it?” He hadn’t noticed. He could only see her. But now that she’d pointed it out to him, sure enough, there were the tiniest flakes glinting as they fell. They began to cling to her chestnut hair and the wool of her coat like tiny chips of diamonds.
    Maybe it was the love he felt for her seemingly turning the snow to jewels, the ordinary into the rare, but being with her again like this, at her side, taking care of her, did feel extraordinary.
    “I want to twirl.” She shakily nosed her blades into the ice, fighting to keep her balance.
    He braced his legs, tensed the muscles in his arms and made sure she stayed upright. “Twirl? I don’t see why you can’t.”
    “Me, either.” She flung her braid over her shoulder and inched away from him. “I don’t want to accidenlly smack you in the jaw.”
    “Don’t worry. I know how to duck.”
    “You have good reflexes, too, so I don’t know why I’m worrying.” She couldn’t help laughing, she felt so happy. Bliss bubbled out of her. “I should be able to spin and not fall down. That’s my theory.”
    “It’s worth testing out. I’ll watch over you.”
    “I know.” She held out her arms and glided in a small loop. Hoping she wasn’t heading straight into trouble, she hurled herself into the dark and let the skates slice a perfect circle.
    She knew when she hit the track of her first revoluon that she’d done it, just as she could feel the air crisping against her face and whispering through her hair. Their movements on the ice were like music; the melody of her quick, light blades and, in counterpoint, the heavier and deeper gait as Thad kept up with her.
    She kicked off and for one perfect moment, she was free, gliding into the unknown. She soared over ruts in the ice with the cold wind and tiny