Chapter 29 #2
Maggie tried to follow his advice. She really did, but she couldn’t play it cool when it came to Brayden. She went to the mudroom door to greet them.
When he saw her there, Brayden gave her a wink and a smile that filled her with relief.
He was okay. They were okay. It was going to be okay.
They brought the smell of fresh air and spring grass with them.
Brayden came directly to her, put his arm around her and pulled her in close to him. That he did that right in front of her dad said a lot about what’d been decided between them.
Jack glanced from Maggie to Brayden and back to Maggie again. “I’m happy for you, Mags.”
She stepped forward to hug her dad. “I’d say thanks for coming, but…”
“I’ll always come. That’s one of the few things in life you can absolutely count on.”
Maggie held on tight to the man who’d been her first love, her anchor and touchstone. “Love you, Dad.”
“Love you, too, sweetheart.”
Maggie wanted to take Brayden and get the hell out of there so they could be alone. But her dad had come so far, and Jill was making dinner, so they stuck around long enough to eat and be polite. The second the last dish was in the dishwasher, Maggie said, “We have to go.”
“You lasted about two hours longer than I would have,” Kate said. “Go. Be with your man. Recover from this day, and make some plans.”
“And invite him to my wedding,” Jill said.
“I will. In case I forget to tell you, I have no idea what I’d do without you guys.”
“Likewise,” Kate said. “Harrington sisters forever.”
“We need to start a hashtag,” Jill said.
Maggie enveloped them in a group hug. “Love you so much.”
“Love you more,” Kate said. “You were our first baby. Don’t ever forget that.”
“How could I when you’ll never let me forget?”
Brayden came into the kitchen and stopped short when he saw the three of them clinging to each other. “Oh, um, sorry to interrupt.”
“You’re not,” Maggie said. “We were just saying goodbye. You ready to go?”
“Whenever you are.”
“Brayden,” Jill said, “I was thinking that Ashton and I might be able to help you get your juvenile record expunged. We’d be happy to try if you think it would help.”
“I’ll take all the help I can get with that. I’ve been trying to do it on my own for years and getting nowhere.”
“We’ll see what we can do.”
“Thank you so much.”
They said their goodbyes and thank-yous and were on their way a few minutes later in Maggie’s car, which had been left at Kate’s the day before. Brayden offered to drive, and she happily handed him the keys.
“Are they talking about us back there?” he asked, holding her hand the way he always did in the car.
“What do you think?”
“We gave them enough for a year today.”
“It won’t last long. My dad has six children. Something else will knock us off the front page. He doesn’t know yet that Eric wants to go into the Peace Corps rather than go to college. That news is gonna drop any minute.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I think it’ll be great for him. He’s applied to teach English as a second language as well as American Sign Language to other Peace Corps volunteers. He’s heard there’s a bit of a demand for that.”
“But his parents will freak.”
“Probably. He got into Northwestern in Chicago, which is where Andi is from. Her mom and aunt would be nearby. Andi was happy with that plan.”
“And now he’s going to upend it.”
“Looks that way.” She glanced at him. “Will you please tell me what my dad had to say before I die from wanting to know?”
“It was fine. He told me about when Reid and Kate first got together and how he feels like he didn’t handle that as well as he could have. He’s trying to learn from his mistakes.”
“Wow. That’s highly evolved for him.”
“He did come right out and say, ‘You’re a convicted felon.’”
“Ugh.”
“He said he understood what I did and why, and I told him I’d do it again under the same circumstances. That led to him asking if he needed to be worried about me harming you.”
“No,” she said, aghast. “He did not ask that.”
“Of course he did, and I don’t blame him, Maggie. He was making sure his beautiful daughter would be safe with me. I assured him you will be. Always.”
“Always is an awfully long time.”
He brought their joined hands to his lips and kissed the back of hers. “Won’t be long enough for me.”
Maggie shivered from the promise she heard in the gruffly spoken words.
They got home just as the sun was heading for the tops of the trees in the distance.
“Let’s walk,” he said after parking her car behind the stables.
They set out in the direction they usually took to ride, but after having worked the horses hard earlier, they left them to rest.
Brayden put his arm around Maggie and matched his stride to hers. “What a day.”
“One we won’t forget. That’s for sure.”
“I’ll never forget the way you came after me, or how strong you were when I was falling apart.”
“I was falling apart on the inside.”
“I never would’ve guessed that.”
“Well, it’s true. I was so afraid you’d ride away, and I’d never see you again.”
“You made it impossible for me to leave, even if I still think that would’ve been the best thing for you.”
“No, it wouldn’t have.”
They walked into the woods, down the path to the clearing by the pond, where they sat on the grass to watch the sunset.
“There’s something I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier, but it’s something you should know.”
Maggie glanced at him warily. “I’m almost afraid to ask.”
“This is actually something good. The best thing ever, in fact.”
“What?”
“I love you, too. I have for a while now. I was dying to tell you, but I kept thinking it was too soon.”
They were among the best words Maggie had ever heard. “I was the same. Dying to tell you, but afraid to freak you out with too much too soon.”
“I could never have too much of you, sweet Maggie.” He kissed her then with hours of desperate need and desire coming together in an explosive burst of passion that left them both reeling when they finally came up for air. “Whoa.”
Maggie laughed at the astounded face he made.
“We should get married,” Brayden said.
“What?”
“You heard me. We should get married and live together and run this program of yours together and have beautiful dark-haired babies together. We should have everything. I love you. You love me. Your dad didn’t kill me. What else is there?”
“Nothing,” Maggie said, her heart so full of love and excitement, she feared it would burst. “That’s everything I’ve ever wanted.”
“Is that a yes?”
She couldn’t believe this was happening. “Are you really asking me?”
He got up on his knees and reached for her hand.
“Maggie Harrington, I love you. I’ll always love you, my dream girl, the one I thought I’d never find.
For the rest of my life, I’ll remember the way you chased after me, stared me down and forced me to fight for myself and for us.
Will you please marry me and live with me and let me help you change people’s lives in this incredible place and father your children and be part of your amazing if overly involved family? ”
Maggie laughed through her tears. “Yes, Brayden. That’s a yes. Yes to everything.”