Chapter 26
Bayne
She’s agreed to meet me outside of the lodge. Our first time seeing one another since the morning I left. I’m sure Carol Ann’s and Fiona’s noses are pressed against the glass, watching our reunion.
I don’t mind.
She stands there, dark hair over her shoulders, pink sweater wrapped around her, looking every bit as lovely as she always has.
“Congratulations.” Nerves take over and I spew out every detail I’ve heard over the past few days. “Word on the island is that the professor has hired you on full-time. You got your visa. And you can finish your senior year at college online, making your grandparents proud.”
I offer her the congratulatory bouquet of flowers I’ve brought for her. For all she’s pulled off in such a short amount of time, it’s not enough. She looks pleased enough.
“Thank you.” She takes the flowers, inspecting the strawberry-shaped flowers. “These are beautiful. Are they from here? I’ve never seen them.”
She’s walked by them a thousand times on our nightly walk, just never noticed them.
“Strawberry Grass,” I say.
They look like a simple brown grass with a wheat-like top growing where the sandy soil of the shore meets the fertile earth. They only bloom one day every summer. A little red strawberry-like flower at their tops. I couldn’t believe when I woke this morning to find that today was their special day. I went down to the shore and picked this bouquet for her.
“They only bloom one day a year. You never know when that day will be. It just happened to be today.” I reach back, pulling the stem of the rose from my back pocket. “And this, for memories’ sake.”
Her cheeks go as rosy as the flower I’m handing her, us both thinking of that first night.
She twirls the stem, playing at admiring the rose. “I’m going to be your boss. Not really. But we’re going to have to work together. You, the head of the clans, me the head liaison between the center and the people, overseeing all the fishing regulations here on the island.”
“And you’ll be able to see gray area where there was once black and white?” I ask.
She gently taps the rose against my chest. “Let’s just say that with a baby on the way, someone like Hammer might be able to get a few extra nets past inspection.”
All the warmth and admiration I feel for her erupts to the surface. “I love you,” I say, my voice breaking with emotion. “Come back to the house.”
“The lodge is closing for the season, and now, me with a job and a work visa, but nowhere to live…”
“Is that a yes?”
“Aye,” she says, a laughing light in her eyes as she tries on the word for the first time. It sounds lovely coming from her lips.
“And do you love me too?”
“Aye. I do.”
A welling in my chest makes it hard to speak. “Does this mean you’ll finally sleep in my room instead of retreating back to yours every night?”
“I’d like to keep the room for bit. If that’s okay. A girl can get used to having her own private bathroom and I’d like a little space sometimes.”
“You can have anything you want.”
“I’d like Eamon to move back in. I don’t want him thinking for a second that I’m pushing him out of your life, out of his house.” I shrug. “Besides, I really like him being around.”
“Aye, me too.”
“So did you really leave to sell a horse, or could you just not bear to see me pack?” she asks.
I drop down onto one knee. I take the Strawberry Grass and the rose from her hands, placing them carefully on the ground at her feet. I grab both her hands in mine.
I stare up into those lovely brown eyes I fell in love with the moment I saw them. “I did have a horse to sell. And I used the money to buy a ring.”
I slip the simple solitaire diamond ring from the breast pocket of my shirt.
“Catherine Townsend. My Kitty Cat. Will you marry me?”
She holds out her shaking left hand to let me slip the ring on her finger. “Oh my gosh. It’s so beautiful.” She tilts her finger, watching the diamond sparkle under the sunlight.
“It that a yes?”
“Aye! Of course it is. Now get up here so I can kiss you.” She tugs on my hands, pulling me to my feet.
I wrap my arms around her, giving her the kiss she desires. I pull away, warm and happy. “So now that I’m going to be your husband, I’m going to be your boss.”
“Fat chance.” Her eyes shine. “It’s just the games we play. Any real man knows it’s the woman who’s in charge.”