The night before had gone even better than he had expected.  He had planned to have a ring for her before making the proposal but with Heidi there and how it felt, it was just perfect, at least he felt so.  He had taken Karen back to her cottage and kissed her goodnight with a fight inside him to stay the night with her, but he had promised himself to give her the best of himself and make sure there would be nothing she would have a need to feel shame or regret in their relationship.  He wanted her to be able to hold her head up high when they went together, knowing he had chosen her and had only love and respect for her.

He had done the morning tasks there at the stables and gone back to the house to clean up.  Peeking in to visit with Heidi, he then went down to make sure one of the small two-person carriages was ready for him to go to town.  He wore a nice suit, but nothing fancy.  This was a business trip after all, but professional looking.  It was brown and his cowboy hat and boots were black.  The shirt was white with a blue tie.  He was checking the rig as he waited for Karen to arrive for the trip.