Chapter 30
CHAPTER THIRTY
Several months later
“Today is the day,” Mack stated, sweeping into the kitchen with a small velvet box in his hand. He unceremoniously plopped it on the table and stepped back with a smile of glee on his face.
His mother gasped and lunged for the ring box, her eyes alight as she glanced at Mack. “You’re proposing ?”
After the dust had settled, Mack had insisted that Lacey get to know the rest of his family as well as she knew Sammie and Caleb. It didn’t take long for his mother to fall all over herself about Bridger and welcome Lacey into the fold with open arms.
Her concerns over him falling in love with a woman who already had a child had quickly evaporated.
Lacey fit in with his family far more easily than he could have hoped for. She already had a rapport with Sammie, so connecting with the others in his family was a piece of cake.
Tears brimmed in his mother’s eyes as she gazed up at him. “It’s beautiful, dear. She’s going to love it.”
His father leaned forward to get a look at the ring, and the expression of pride on his face only added to Mack’s excitement. “Where are you going to take her?”
Mack pulled a set of tickets from his back pocket and grinned. “We’re going to the zoo.”
Noah spat his water as he coughed from where he sat on the other side of the table. “You’re going to propose to the love of your life at the zoo ?” He wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. “Please tell me you’re joking. After everything the two of you have been through?—”
“Bridger loves the zoo, and Lacey loves Bridger. I do too. And he’s just as much a part of this decision as the two of us.” Mack hadn’t even needed to think about it twice. He wanted Bridger to know that he was loved, wanted, and that Mack would do anything to be part of his life.
His mother had that look on her face. One he’d been seeing more and more frequently—and it matched the one on his father’s.
Mack didn’t think he’d ever get sick of seeing the look of satisfaction they were giving him.
He’d finally found his place in the world, and while he didn’t need to put all his efforts into impressing his parents, it was nice that they appreciated all the changes that had occurred in his life.
He reached for the ring box and slipped it into his pocket before heading for the door, but his brother’s voice stopped him.
“Hey, this came in the mail for you yesterday.”
Mack turned and glanced toward Noah, who held out a long white envelope, a smile on his face.
“Looks official,” Noah murmured with a grin.
Taking the envelope in hand, Mack knew exactly what it was.
He’d applied for a business license. It had taken a few months to get all his ducks in a row when it came to starting his riding lessons venture.
He needed clients and a business plan. Thankfully, he had the funds needed to start it, and Bo was happy to let him set up shop on Reese property.
Mack whacked the envelope against his palm, noting the curious looks his parents were now giving him.
He gave them a nod. It was strange how much had changed since he’d met Lacey.
Back then, Mack only had eyes for the rodeo.
He’d viewed it as the ultimate dream, but that was before he’d opened his eyes.
Now, all he wanted was her. Lacey knew him inside and out. She had watched him with Bridger, and she’d known he had a higher purpose.
Noah gestured toward the envelope with the county’s logo near the sender’s address. “Does that mean you’re hanging up your rodeo boots? No more competitions?”
Mack glanced at his parents, but the concern they used to show when the rodeo came up was absent.
He shrugged. “I don’t think I’ll make it a career or anything, but I can’t just walk away from the rush it gives me.
” He smirked. “Besides, when the kid comes to see me compete, he acts like I’m this superhero, and I’m not giving up on that feeling any time soon. ”
No one said he couldn’t have it all, and that was exactly what he intended on doing.
He lifted the envelope to his head in a mock salute. “I’m heading out. I’ll catch up with you guys later.”
The drive to the zoo was excruciating. From the moment Mack had picked up Lacey and Bridger, he had wanted to whip out the ring and give it to her.
He wanted to tell her that he couldn’t live without the both of them, and he was looking forward to a life they could spend together. But that wasn’t the plan.
This needed to be special for all of them.
Bridger chattered excitedly. This wasn’t the first time they’d gone to the zoo together, and Mack knew it wasn’t going to be the last. He fully intended on taking Bridger as long as the kid would let him.
He was already growing up too fast, and Mack was grateful for every spare second he could have with the kid.
Lacey tossed him an adoring look, and he reached for her hand before pressing a kiss to her knuckles. This was what pure and utter happiness felt like. He couldn’t think of a single thing that would make it better.
Well, besides putting that ring on her finger.
Children hollered and giggled as they rushed from exhibit to exhibit. Parents chased after the young ones who managed to escape them. Bridger had a notebook in his hands, and one day, Mack could see him becoming a zoologist or some other kind of scientist.
“Do you know that there are some animals that mate for life?” Mack asked him. He shot a smoldering look toward Lacey. “They fall in love, and they stay with their mate until they die. Isn’t that interesting?”
Bridger didn’t miss a beat. “Yeah. Everyone knows that.”
“Oh, yeah? Then tell me what animals do, if you’re so smart,” Mack goaded.
He’d planned to stop by the penguins when he proposed so he could make a show of telling Lacey just how deeply in love he was.
He already knew Bridger would get a kick out of learning something new about animals—but right about now, he was wondering if Bridger might know more than him.
The boy stopped and gave a sigh as if he were being forced to teach something far too simple to someone who didn’t know anything about animals. “Lots of animals do..”
Mack stilled. “Really?”
Bridger laughed. “Yeah,” he teased.
They stopped near the monkey enclosure, standing beneath a fenced tunnel where the creatures could cross over the spectators.
A few of them let out loud whooping sounds, and Bridger pointed to them.
“See those? They’re gibbons. They mate for life.
And so do geese, and the beaver and lots and lots of birds, too. ”
Lacey stifled a laugh at Mack’s shocked expression. He’d thought it was uncommon. Animals were… well, animals.
Bridger turned his innocent stare on Mack. “What animal were you thinking of?” He tilted his head. “Probably penguins, right?”
“Well… yeah…” Mack mumbled.
“Everyone knows that,” Bridger pointed out.
“You know what, kid? You’re too smart for your own good,” Mack muttered, though he was smiling wider than he had before.
Bridger beamed at him.
They continued on the path, getting closer and closer to the penguins when Mack’s heart ticked up, and the ring started to burn in his pocket. “You know why I was asking about them? The special kinds of animals that fall in love with only one other animal?”
Bridger glanced up at him, question in his eyes but remaining silent.
Mack tugged Lacey toward him so they stood side by side.
They’d made it to the exhibit, but he didn’t want to go inside just yet.
Right now, they were standing at a curve in the path, almost blocked by everyone else, surrounded by foliage and beautiful landscaping.
Mack held onto Lacey’s hand and Bridger’s as well.
He stared at them both, one then the other.
Something lit in Lacey’s eyes, and Mack could tell she knew what was about to happen. She’d always been a little too intuitive when it came to him.
Mack crouched down in front of Bridger, releasing Lacey’s hand before taking both of Bridger’s in his own. “Because I love your mom like that. There will never be anyone else who can steal my heart.”
Bridger smiled. “I know.”
“Ah, but did you know that I feel the same way about you?”
His grin fell from his face, and a different kind of emotion replaced it.
“You’re my everything, kid. You make me want to be a better man—one you can look up to, one you might want to be like one day.
” He swallowed stiffly and glanced up to find Lacey brushing at a tear from her cheek.
Mack turned his sights to Bridger again.
“One day, I’d like to adopt you, too, if that’s okay. ”
Bridger’s mouth fell open. “Really?” There was so much hope in his voice that it nearly shattered Mack and his resolve to do what he’d promised himself he would.
“Really, really,” Mack confirmed. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re already mine.”
The boy threw his arms around Mack’s neck and clung to him so tight that Mack nearly stopped breathing. He glanced up at Lacey, and this time, she didn’t wipe the tears that fell down her cheeks.
“I need to ask you something, buddy. Is that okay?” Mack’s eyes didn’t leave Lacey’s until Bridger pulled back and nodded. “Do you know how much I love your mother?”
The boy smiled. “A lot.”
“You’re absolutely right. I love her more than I’ve loved anyone.” Then he winked. “Except for you.”
Bridger snickered and shot his mother a look. She smiled right back.
“And because I love her so much, and I love you, I wanted to ask you if I could marry your mom. Then we could all be one big family. What do you think?”
“That’d be really cool,” Bridger agreed. He glanced once more to his mother. “Right, Mom?”
Lacey only nodded.
Mack shifted, his hands now shaking as he retrieved the most important part of this whole process. His fingers wrapped around the box, and he pulled it out. Lacey gasped, and Bridger whooped. The kid jumped up and down in his excitement and grabbed his mother’s hand.
“Look, Mom!”
Dropping down onto one knee, Mack stared up at the woman who had opened his eyes to everything he never knew he wanted out of life.
She was the woman who had made him believe in himself so he could have the courage to go after what truly made him happy.
She made him feel like he could take on the world and come out on top.
And that was all he’d ever wanted.
Mack took her hand in his. There was so much he wanted to say, and yet he couldn’t find the words for any of it. So he settled on what was the most potent feeling in his heart. “I love you, Lacey. Nothing would make me happier than to be part of your little family if you’ll have me.”
She nodded, no words spilling from her lips as she dropped lower to cradle his face in her hands and press a kiss to his lips.
“I love you, too,” she breathed out when she pulled back. “You’re all I’ve ever wanted and so much more.”
Bridger broke them apart as he jumped into the fray to give Mack another hug. “Me, too.”
“Good,” Mack chuckled. “Because I’ve been thinking about something.”
“What’s that?” Lacey asked, amused, as she pulled him to his feet.
He yanked her to his side, and his lips grazed hers. “That we’d look real cute topping a wedding cake together, wouldn’t you agree?”
Lacey gave him a playful shove, to which he brought her close again and pressed a searing kiss to her lips.