Chapter 1: The Quiet Proposal
Chapter One — The Quiet Proposal
Walnut Grove woke that spring morning slowly, the kind of dawn where the sky blushed before the sun dared rise. Eliza Jane Wilder stood on the porch of the small house she rented, her shawl wrapped tight, watching the mist lift off the fields. She’d always loved mornings—quiet, orderly, predictable.
Which is why Harve Miller’s arrival unsettled her.
He came walking up the path with his hat in his hands, his hair still damp from the creek. Harve was a gentle man, steady as a fence post, but today he looked nervous.
“Eliza Jane,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’ve been thinking.”
She stiffened. Harve thinking often led to Harve deciding, and Harve deciding often led to Harve doing something bold.
“About us,” he added.
Her breath caught.
Harve stepped closer. “I know you’ve had your share of disappointments. And I know I ain’t a fancy man. But I’m a loyal one. And I’d like to build a life with you. If you’ll have me.”
Eliza Jane felt the world tilt. She’d spent years believing she was meant to be alone—too strict, too proper, too much of everything men didn’t want.
But Harve looked at her like she was enough.
“Harve,” she whispered, “are you asking me to marry you?”
“I am.”
She didn’t faint. She didn’t cry. She simply nodded, once, sharply—like a schoolteacher accepting a well-written essay.
“Yes,” she said. “I will.”
Harve’s smile broke like sunlight.
