Somehow Alvin's words took Sisse by surprise. She supposed she had never considered that a man might want the same thing she did. That they might also want a family and friends to surround them, a mess of loud children scampering through the halls of a home, friends visiting. And yet, how foolish it was to think a man might not want that either.

It took her a moment to realize he had spoken again but she met his eyes. "You will as well, Mr. Bixby." Her conviction in this belief had her standing up, taking his hand in her own and pressing it. "You will too." She found herself repeating as she kept his gaze. There were times in their letters, their conversations, the stories that Sloane had once flippantly told of her brothers, had made Sisse wonder if Alvin knew just how much he had to offer to the world. If he understood that he was worth something, that he had a future. For one evening, for one snow covered moment, she wanted him to see himself from someone else's eyes, to see his worth, to know that the future could be as bright for him as it was for her. It was why she didn't care if she was crossing boundaries, if she seemed like a foolish young girl instead of the woman she was, because it felt as if he needed to know, deep in his soul, that there was hope for him too. So she didn't back, didn't shy away, didn't do anything but act on her instinct to try and make someone else see just how admired they were.