Bonus Epilogue
Sheila
IT’S QUIET IN THE house. Josh has taken the boys on a climbing trip. It’s Gee’s last one before he leaves for Leicester. I still can’t believe he is starting university. As always, tears sting my eyes when I think about him leaving.
“Stop it!” I scold myself. Just then, the timer on the oven goes off, signalling that the cake is done, and I hurry to the kitchen. We moved into Josh’s farmhouse over a year ago. The boys love it because they both have massive bedrooms, and Josh set up a man cave for them in the garden where they watch football and rugby or practice their climbing grips. Josh has got them both obsessed with climbing, so much so that Gregory has only agreed to study business management if he can also take a climbing instructor course. He wants to set up his own climbing school.
I love that they enjoy spending time with Josh now, but I wish they’d chosen a hobby a little less dangerous like… stamp collecting, or model airplane building, or something. Josh keeps laughing at me every time I go off on one of my rants.
Once they convinced me to go with them. The trip ended with me holding on for dear life, refusing to abseil. Josh had to hook me to his harness and take me down with him.
I’m pulled from my thoughts by the noise of the door falling into the lock.
“Can you please put your dirty clothes in the utility room? I’m about to put the washing machine on,” I shout out. We’ve had heavy rain for the last two days so I’m sure they’re all covered in mud.
“Will do,” Josh shouts back. “The boys are with Nico and Peter.”
“Oh? Why?” My eyes fall on the calendar on the wall. Did I forget that we had agreed that?
“Because they want me to ask you something and they don’t want to be around for it.”
Immediately alarm bells ring in my head. If the boys are nervous to tell me something it can’t be good. Josh slides into the kitchen in his socks, boxer shorts and T-shirt, with his dirty climbing clothes in his arms.
“Hey, angel.” He captures my lips in a long kiss. Now I definitely know something is wrong because he’s trying to sweeten me up. But if he keeps kissing me like that I might let him.
“Do I need to be worried?” I ask as he heads towards the utility room.
“Nope,” comes a muffled reply.
“What is it?” I lean against the open door.
“Can I at least get dressed,” he points at his underwear, “or do you like this view?” He pulls me into his arms.
“Josh,” I giggle, “Please! What do the boys want?”
“They want you to marry me.” He stuffs his dirty clothes into the washing machine.
“Funny,” I giggle and playfully slap his firm arse he is so perfectly pointing in my direction.
“Hey,” he protests with a laugh as I walk back to the kitchen.
“Be serious,” I call out. The cake is still a little too warm to eat, but I cut a few slices and put them on a plate in the hope that they cool off quicker.
“I am serious,” Josh drops his phone on the kitchen counter and leans against it.
“Josh!”
“Angel, come here.” He holds out his arm. “I took the boys climbing to ask for their opinion on what they would think if I asked you to marry me and they agreed. So, here I am… in my underpants, asking you, the most wonderful woman in the world, to become my wife.”
I take a deep breath. My heart is racing. He did not just ask me that. This is… madness? No, it’s perfect.
“What if they boys had said no?”
“I would have bribed them,” he chuckles. I can’t help but laugh too.
“Come on, be serious.”
“Sheila, Kieran asked me six months ago if I’ll ever marry you and Gee told me that if I’m thinking about it he would be okay with it. Today was just my formal way of getting their blessing.”
I slide my arms around his neck. “So, what took you so long then?”
“I had to find the perfect ring.” He holds out a platinum band in the shape of a twig vine with a subtle but beautiful teardrop shaped green sprinkled stone.
I swallow hard. “Ask me properly Josh.”
“Sheila, will you marry me?” There is no hesitation, just firm conviction.
“Yes!” I laugh and pull him into a kiss. Not that we need a ceremony because I’m already his, his forever.