Chapter 49 Noah
NOAH
At The Sundown, the morning sun was well past its peak when I finally dragged myself out of bed. I’d slept through half the day, which was something I never did, but exhaustion had sunk its claws into me. Besides, it was winter.
An irritated groan flew out of my mouth as I headed to the bathroom.
I had plans today. Important ones.
I splashed water on my face, grabbed a half-wilted biscuit from the kitchen, and stepped outside, expecting to find Maya somewhere nearby.
Except she wasn’t.
Maya never just disappeared. She always said where she was going, especially after everything we’d been through.
“Maya!” I called out.
No answer.
My stomach clenched. Had she found out I’d visited her mother, and wasn’t okay with it?
I tugged my jacket tighter as I stepped outside.
The fence between The Sundown and The Lazy Moose wasn’t wired anymore. It was finished now with clean wood, a proper gate between neighbors. I still crossed it every day as I always had.
I hoped she was out there somewhere. Maybe chatting with Claire, maybe playing with Dylan. Though I started working through the words I would say if I were right, that she knew about Seattle.
At the barn, Hank was on his way out.
“You seen Maya?”
“Nope,” he said, brushing the dust of snow off his jeans. “She was around earlier, but I haven’t seen her since.”
I turned, already moving before I had a direction.
Then, Claire’s voice rang out, “She’s in Elia’s workshop.”
I ran.
There, the heater was going full blast, and Maya was hunched over my folding knife. The one I’d kept for years, rusted and useless, but never quite able to throw away.
She was polishing it. Bringing it back to life.
I cleared my throat. “You fixed it?”
She looked up, her hazel eyes shining, a smudge of metal polish on her cheek. “It wasn’t that bad. Just needed a little TLC.”
I tested the blade. It opened smoothly.
Something about that hit me so deep that I couldn’t speak for a second.
This woman.
The woman I’d nearly lost. The woman I wanted forever.
“Well,” I rasped, “as a matter of fact, I have something for you too.”
Her lips twitched. “Oh? My birthday isn’t until next month.”
“My bad. I never actually asked you.”
“Bad cowboy!”
I chuckled, then tilted my head toward the pasture. “Come with me.”
The ranch was breathtaking this time of year. Snow crunched beneath our boots, and the air hit the nose like mint. Icicles clung to the eaves, and the late sun spilled gold across the drifts, making everything shimmer.
We were retracing the same path we’d taken while pretending to look for that imaginary earring Maya had claimed she dropped.
Except this time, I circled back toward Big Joe on purpose.
“That oak tree…” Maya murmured.
“Kinda feels like that’s where it really started.”
“Not the tent?”
“Oh, Blue. That tent was lust and adrenaline. But under that tree?” I smiled. “That’s where it stopped being easy.”
Before she could reply, Reko dashed out of nowhere. He wasn’t even invited! But he carried on, sniffing the base of Big Joe, his ears perked, then started pawing around one of the roots.
“No, Reko! Reko, stop!” I lunged, but it was too late. He had already unearthed the tiny box I’d hidden in the middle of the night.
Maya laughed so hard that she nearly doubled over. “Will you look at that? Turns out he can sniff out more than mac and cheese.”
“I swear this was supposed to be more romantic,” I muttered, snatching the box from Reko’s slobbery grip and trying to wipe it clean with my shirt.
Maya stepped closer. “What is it?”
“Nothing,” I lied. Reko sat beside me, expecting praise.
I figured the drama came with the territory, so I dropped to one knee.
My heart knocked against my ribs, unwilling to believe the answer was certain. Ridiculous, sure, but that’s what hearts do sometimes. They sound the alarm, even when there’s no fire.
“You and me, Maya, we don’t do easy. We do bruises, courtroom brawls, and marriage licenses in strange buildings, and we love so damn real that it scares me sometimes.”
Her mouth parted, her tears building even as she grinned.
“I know we’re already married,” I went on, “but that was survival. This is me doing it the right way. You deserve that.” I reached for her hand. “Maya Lucas, will you marry me…again?”
She laughed and cried all at once. “Of course, I will, husband.”
I took the ring out of the box and slipped it on her finger. Finally. The blue diamond caught the light, framed by a circle of tiny rubies. It stood out against the snow around us. But it was nothing compared to the way her eyes lit up when she looked at it.
She hauled me up and kissed me, full of fire and grace. “Noah,” she breathed, staring at the ring now.
Of course, Maya would get the order right. Kiss first, then admire the jewel.
“Figured I’d stick with the blue theme,” I said. “And add a twist of red.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you.”
“Cliché!” she declared, and tackled me to the ground without warning.
We hit the snow hard, a spray of powder flying up around us. Her hair spilled across my chest, her smile wide and wicked and full of joy. She didn’t just say yes. She claimed it.
Then, she said against my mouth, “You just couldn’t help yourself.”
“A man’s gotta do what’s right by his woman.”
She kissed me again, this time like it was a full-contact sport. I barely got a breath in before she knocked me flat a second time, snow tumbling down the back of my collar.
Reko bounced around us, pouncing on drifts. He couldn’t tell if this was a celebration or an ambush.
“And now,” she said with mock sternness, “you’re giving me a proper wedding.”
“Already bribed Mrs. Appleby and booked the band.”