36. Chapter 36
Harley
Kingsley’s stiff posture as we walked across the gravel parking lot to the monastery’s entrance spoke volumes. Whether he was nervous because he was about to face the monastic community for the first time since he’d left, or something else—I would stick by him and help him through it.
I caught his hand and interlaced our fingers. “Why don’t we pray together before we go inside?”
He slowed, then stopped. “That’d be great.”
“Okay.” Facing him, I took his other hand and dipped my head. “Jesus, I ask that You would give Kingsley the right words when he talks to his brothers. Allow him to close this chapter, and give him peace. Amen.”
“Amen.” Kingsley tugged me against him and gave me a kiss. “Thank you.”
A throat cleared, drawing us apart. Father Cruz stood in the entrance with a kerosene lamp and a wide smile on his face.
“Father Cruz.” Kingsley rubbed the back of his neck. As if remembering himself, he took a step forward, hand extended. “Thank you for allowing us to come.”
The abbot gripped it and slapped Kingsley’s shoulder. “I would hug you, but with your back and all . . .”
“Excuses, excuses.” Kingsley grinned.
Warmth enveloped my heart. That they still had such a good relationship wasn’t to be taken for granted. Things could’ve ended on a sour note.
Father Cruz turned to me. “It’s good to see you again, Harley.”
“You, too.” I returned his smile and slight nod.
“Before we go inside,” he said to Kingsley, “I want you to know that Brother Matthew is no longer part of our community. He confessed everything. I can’t have monks or priests here who are confused about their feelings. Not when we have kids and teens around all the time.”
Kingsley nodded. “How did he take it?”
“He agreed, although I could tell it was hard on him.”
What had I missed? Clearly something big.
Father Cruz gestured at the monastery. “Let’s go inside. The others are eagerly awaiting you.”
Sensing Kingsley slipping back into his rigidness, I squeezed his hand as we followed Father Cruz through the monastery’s main entrance. He squeezed back.
Four monks plus Father Andrew stood outside the main building.
“What did Brother Matthew do?” I whispered to Kingsley as we approached them.
His jaw hardened. “He had feelings. For me.”
“Oh.”
“He . . . tried to kiss me.”
My jaw practically dropped to my chest. “Wow! Okay . . . I didn’t see that one coming.”
“Trust me, I didn’t either.”
What a loss for the community, though. I felt like Brother Matthew had brought a lot of joy and color into it.
The monks and Father Andrew gave us a warm welcome, some even cracking jokes. Kingsley’s posture relaxed as he exchanged a few words with them.
“It was good catching up with you guys,” he finally said. “Harley and I have something else to do.”
Father Cruz gave us a nod, then Kingsley escorted me out of the building.
“Where are we going?” I asked when he didn’t head to the entrance, but to the path leading through the field to the woods.
“Patience. C’mon.” He broke into a jog, tugging me with him. Although the moonlight allowed us to see where we were stepping, I struggled to keep up on my block heels.
I laughed. “Why can’t you just tell me?”
“Why can’t you just wait for another five minutes?”
“I’ve already been waiting for a whole hour.”
“Exactly. Waiting for another five minutes is easy-peasy.”
“No, it’s—” I clamped my mouth shut when Kingsley stopped—and gaped at the scenery presenting itself to us.
Serenity Lake stretched quietly along the lush mountains, the moonlight bathing everything in silver. Crickets chirped all around us, and the night air smelled of mangoes and pine.
“Breathtaking,” I whispered.
“It is.” Kingsley kissed the top of my head. “Take off your heels.” He slipped out of his leather shoes and slid the key fob and his wallet into one of them.
I’d just kicked my heels off and propped my clutch on them, when Kingsley snaked an arm around my waist and hoisted me onto his shoulder. I let out a yelp, which elicited a low chuckle from him.
“What are you doing?” An unnecessary question, considering I knew exactly what.
A moment later, water splashed in my face when Kingsley sprinted into the lake.
I squealed some more until he halted and slowly let me slide down his solid chest, right into his strong arms. Then he claimed my mouth with his in a deep, passionate kiss.
I clawed my fingers into the collar of his dress shirt.
Savored his tasted and touch. My heart nearly exploded with love for this man.
He was a gift from God—one I was finally allowed to keep and enjoy.
Almost, anyway.
Kingsley pulled back, breathing hard. “This isn’t it. You’re distracting me from my mission.”
“Oops, sorry not sorry.”
He chuckled, then turned his back to me. “You know the drill. Don’t let go. And don’t worry about my back. It’s fine.”
A thrill shot through me when I held onto his shoulders as he lowered himself into the water. He would once again take me to the glowworm cave. His hard strokes quickly brought us to the entrance.
“You ready?” he asked.
I was almost giddy with anticipation. “Yes.”
“Okay. Three, two, one . . .”
And under we went. Again, I marveled at how he found the way in the impenetrable darkness. His muscles worked under my hands as he propelled us forward. Just as my lungs started to burn, we broke through the surface.
Still clinging to Kingsley, I hauled in a greedy breath. “This time wasn’t as bad as last time,” I gasped, my voice echoing in the tunnel.
“No more drowning accusations?” He wasn’t one bit out of breath.
I laughed. “No.”
“Glad to hear that.”
As he pulled me through the tunnel, I once again got lost in the glowworms dotting the ceiling. It was just as breathtaking as the first time. I didn’t realize we had reached the sandbank until Kingsley said so. We climbed onto it, then faced each other.
“We need a bit more light for this.” He unearthed something from his slacks and bent it.
It made a cracking noise, then a soft green light came on.
A glow stick! He cracked two more, dropping them into the sand around us.
The soft light they emitted wasn’t as strong as to dim the glowworms, yet it allowed us to see each other better.
I tried not to think too hard about what we’d done in here the last time, after the dance. Over the past three weeks we’d done a great job at keeping our hands to ourselves. I didn’t want to destroy that.
Kingsley took my hands in his. “Sweetheart,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. He cleared his throat. “I spent a lot of time putting this speech together, and now I forgot it. So I’m just gonna wing it.” He let out a nervous chuckle.
I reached for his face and smoothed my fingers over his beard. “Words don’t matter. Just show me.”
“All right.” He went down on one knee.
I slapped my hands in front of my mouth. Started jumping up and down in the sand. “Yes! Yes, I do!”
Grinning, Kingsley held up a hand. “Easy there, Sweetheart. Let me do this right.”
“Oh. Yes, of course.” I stopped bouncing around and forced myself to stand still, which was pure torture with the explosion of emotions going on inside of me. Of course I’d seen it coming, but could this get any more romantic?
“Harley Summer Raines, the first night we met, you claimed a piece of my heart and never gave it back. Now I want to give you all of it—all of me—for the rest of our lives.” Kingsley extended a small velvet box and opened it. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes a thousand times!” It wasn’t that I didn’t care about the ring, but the urge to hug him dominated. So I dropped onto my knees and wrapped my arms around the back of his neck. I only allowed him to hold me briefly, then I pulled back, cupped his jaw, and pressed my lips to his.
Kingsley responded without hesitation. He drew me back against his solid body, slightly angling my head to deepen the kiss. He tasted like mint and devotion and healing.
He broke off and pressed his forehead to mine, breathing hard. “I have no idea about marriage, but I know it can get rough. You have my promise that I’ll do my best to always honor, respect, and love you.”
That I knew. The man did everything with devotion.
My eyes burned. “Unless you want me to cry, please stop talking.”
“Then let me put that ring on your finger.”
“Wait, I have conditions.”
He slowly drew back, his brows drawn low. “What’s that?”
“You need to grow your hair back.” I ran a hand over his buzz cut. “I need to be able to run my fingers through it.”
“Deal. Anything else?”
“Nope. I’m a simple woman.”
His chest rumbled with a low laugh. “Good, because I’m a simple man.” He lifted my left hand and slipped the ring on. It was a delicate silver band with a single diamond—pure perfection.
“It’s breathtaking,” I whispered. I once again wrapped my arms around Kingsley’s neck. “I can’t wait to do life with you.”
He held me close. “I can’t wait either.”