A shooting star traveled across the sky. Instead of making a wish, Megan watched its smooth flight, wondering where it would land. "Why is my path not smooth? Where will I land?" she said to no one.
With the weary campers in the cabins, Megan moved to the corral. "Drumbeats fill every inch of me. The heat of the fire surrounds me. Why can't I see the dancer anymore? Who was he? Why does nothing make sense?"
"It's not supposed to." Colby's voice leapt into her heart. With his arms wrapped around her waist, Megan relaxed against him. Each beat of his heart helped bring relaxation and warmth. She sensed she would never tire of this-Colby holding her while she listened to him breathe and listen to his heartbeat.
He kissed the top of her head. "Sorry I've been missing. It had nothing to do with you, yet everything to do with you." "What?" she asked, stepping out of his arms, and turning to face him. "After we kissed," he said, smiling, "I knew I wanted you in my life. To share anything with you I had to discover myself first."
"And?" she asked, trying to hide her enthusiasm over his words.
"I'm getting there. Will you give me time?"
Megan nodded as a smile brightened her face. Colby's words evoked new emotions in her. She knew one day, love would enter the picture, but she never imagined it happening this summer. "To have a man say he wants to open his heart first before letting me in is the most romantic thing imaginable. Why was I chosen to meet this man?" she wondered. The words "soul mate" flashed in her mind.
His radiant smile filled Megan with inner peace. Here stood a man she would wait a lifetime for, but hoped it happened soon. Events of the summer flashed through her mind. "Who knew love and delivering a baby would be part of my summer? Events at the Circle M follow no timetable, and many things are not part of the plan. What does happen seems to be the best for those involved," she thought.
They sat underneath the open sky and watched the stars light the velvet background. Neither said anything until Megan heard a heartbeat. "Did you say something?" she asked.
"No. Are you all right?"
After a minute she shook her head and said, "I'm fine." A few seconds passed and a heartbeat sounded again. The man with the vest flashed before her eyes. Megan glanced at Colby. No. He can't be the man in the dream. The longer she looked, the louder the heartbeats. "If Colby was in my dream, why didn't he turn around?" After pondering it a few more minutes, Megan decided she was too much a romantic.