`` the drive back should n't be too bad . the exchange had ended on a strange note . with real regret , morgan turned his own horse toward the gates . she blinked and on the second rise of her eyelids she saw him . but he could n't quite allow himself to feel relief , not until he saw her with his own eyes . every line of her body cried out her grief all the same . that deer herd has us cut off . `` i could marry you , '' he said softly . 