CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Pictures Worth Keeping
Saturday morning arrived with bright sunshine and a cool spring breeze.
Emily walked into the kitchen carrying two mugs of coffee.
Luke looked up from feeding Oscar a tiny dog treat.
“Morning.”
“Morning.”
Emily smiled.
“You remember what today is?”
Luke thought for a moment.
“…Saturday?”
Emily laughed.
“Our engagement pictures.”
Luke snapped his fingers.
“I knew there was something.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I was beginning to wonder.”
? ? ?
After breakfast, they met the photographer at the farmhouse.
She looked around the property and smiled.
“This place is beautiful.”
Luke nodded.
“We’re lucky to call it home.”
The photographer looked toward the red barn.
“I think we’ll start there.”
? ? ?
Luke and Emily stood beside the old wooden fence while the horses grazed peacefully behind them.
“Just look at each other,” the photographer said.
Luke smiled at Emily.
Emily smiled back.
“Perfect,” the photographer said.
“You two make my job easy.”
Luke whispered,
“That’s because I’m naturally photogenic.”
Emily burst into laughter.
The photographer quickly snapped several pictures.
“That laugh,” she said.
“Don’t lose it.”
? ? ?
Next they moved to the wraparound porch.
Oscar decided he wasn’t about to be left out.
The little dachshund squeezed between Luke and Emily and looked directly at the camera.
Everyone laughed.
“I think he wants to be in the wedding,” the photographer said.
“I think he already assumes he is,” Luke replied.
A few moments later, Kira calmly joined them and sat proudly beside Emily.
Winston wandered over, looked at everyone for a moment, then flopped down across Luke’s boots with a heavy sigh.
The photographer laughed.
“I’ve never photographed such cooperative dogs.”
Luke looked down at Winston.
“I wouldn’t call him cooperative.”
“I’d call him sleepy.”
? ? ?
The final photos were taken in the pasture.
The setting sun cast a golden glow across the field.
Luke wrapped an arm around Emily as they watched their horses grazing nearby.
The photographer lowered her camera.
“Don’t move.”
The two of them stood quietly together.
No posing.
No talking.
Just enjoying the moment.
The shutter clicked several times.
“There,” she said softly.
“Those are the ones you’ll treasure.”
? ? ?
After the photographer left, Luke and Emily stayed in the pasture.
Emily leaned against the fence.
“That was actually fun.”
Luke smiled.
“I thought so too.”
She looked around at the farmhouse, the barn, the horses, and the dogs chasing each other across the yard.
“If someone had shown me this life years ago…”
She paused.
“I don’t think I would’ve believed it.”
Luke slipped his hand into hers.
“I would’ve.”
She smiled.
“You always believed we’d get here.”
“I always believed in us.”
Emily kissed him gently.
“And that’s why we’re here.”
As the last light of the day faded over the Oregon hills, Luke realized something.
Photographs captured smiles.
But they could never fully capture the journey.
The late nights.
The hard work.
The sacrifices.
The laughter.
The miles that had brought them home.
Those memories didn’t just live in pictures.
They lived in their hearts.
And they would carry them together for the rest of their lives.