Chapter 28 #2
The woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
But just before I could lose it completely, I caught sight of a silhouette standing in the field, long hair whipping in the breeze as she stared at the burning barn.
I pulled up beside her in a flash before slamming on the brakes. Throwing the truck into park, I shot out, her name a shout bursting past my lips.
Her head came around, those beautiful eyes slamming into me like a Mack truck. “Hunter,” she breathed as soon as I reached her.
“I thought I lost you,” I rasped as I clasped her face in my hands and crouched down to inspect as much of her as I could in the light of the blazing inferno. “God, I thought I lost you.”
“I-I’m okay,” she said with a croak before burying her face in my chest and bursting into tears. Her arms came around me, squeezing so tight it was hard to breathe, but I didn’t care. She was alive and in my arms, where she was safe.
I let her absorb all the warmth and comfort I had to give, wrapping her safely in my embrace as her body trembled while Leo and Micah, Linc, Bryce, the rest of my family and the police from the Hope Valley department surrounded us like they were creating a protective bubble.
We stayed like that until I felt her trembling stop and her tears dried up. “Baby, what happened? Where’s Cyrus?”
She tilted her chin at the barn. “He’s in there.
I-I tried to go back for him.” She shook her head like it was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard.
“I hated him so much, but I couldn’t leave him to burn up like that.
” A single tear tracked down her cheek. “But it was too late. I couldn’t get him out, not without getting trapped myself. ”
“Hey.” I clasped her chin between my fingers and tipped her face to mine.
Even with streaks of black smoke dusting her face, I didn’t think she’d ever been more beautiful.
“I don’t want you to give that fucker another thought, you hear me?
You made the right decision, saving yourself, and I don’t want you to ever doubt that.
That man was pure evil, and the world is better off without him in it. ”
She sniffled and nodded her head before lowering her forehead against my chest and fisting the front of my shirt in her hands.
“What can I do, baby? Tell me what I need to do to make you feel better.”
“Take me home,” she replied without missing a beat.
She didn’t have to ask twice.
The first rays of early morning sunlight started pouring through my front window just as the last of our family and friends left, confident I’d be able to give Serenity whatever she needed to get her past this nightmare.
Once the fire department showed up on the scene and put the fire out, the barn was little more than rubble. I hadn’t stuck around to see it, of course, because the moment Serenity asked me to take her home, I had her loaded in my truck and we were driving the hell out of that field.
Leo and Micah showed up a couple hours later to get Serenity’s statement so they could put the case to bed. Sure enough, the bastard’s body had been found among the charred rubble, but I couldn’t find it in myself to care.
Turned out, my Wildcat had lived up to her title, saving herself before we’d even known where to look.
She’d managed to free herself and fought back, fought for her life.
The fire was nothing more than an accident that couldn’t have been avoided. I knew she’d be haunted by what went down in that barn for a while, but there wasn’t anything I wouldn’t do to guide her out of the shadows and into the light. After all, she’d done the very same for me.
After she recounted everything in vivid detail, she’d climbed in the shower to wash the smoke and dirt off, and then proceeded to pass out in my bed.
I’d left her to it, knowing sleep was exactly what she needed at the time.
Her family hung around for hours, as well as every brother from Alpha Omega and their wives. They needed to be in her space, to know she was okay, and I didn’t mind one damn bit giving them that.
Halfway through the night, a knock sounded on the door, and Stella opened it to reveal Fletcher standing on my front porch, looking ravaged.
“Is she okay?” he’d asked, his voice breaking.
He didn’t ask about his father, not once.
I took him back to see her, knowing that was what it was going to take for him to be certain she was safe. Together, we’d watched her sleep for a couple minutes before heading back into the living room.
He’d tried leaving, but the women, sensing he was blaming himself for everything that had gone down, refused to let him hold on to the guilt that wasn’t his to carry.
Instead of letting him leave, they’d dragged him into the kitchen and coddled him like a bunch of momma hens, giving him exactly what he needed until the shadows in his eyes faded away.
Now, as Serenity slept in our bed, Fletcher was crashed out on the couch, sleeping soundly with the knowledge that his favorite person in the world was going to be all right.
I stood at the front window, eyeing the trees surrounding my property, searching for a bit of peace. I didn’t know how long I’d remained there when I felt Serenity’s delicate hand come to rest on my forearm before sliding down and twining her fingers between mine.
“I’d ask what’s got you thinking so hard, but I’m pretty sure I already know the answer to that.”
I turned to her, pulling her against me and locking her in my embrace as I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with the scent of jasmine.
“All I could think was that I lost you.”
“But you didn’t,” she whispered, tilting her head back to look at me as she rested her palms on my chest. “I’m right here, and I’m not going anywhere.”
“Promise me that,” I demanded.
“What?”
“Promise you’re not going anyway. Marry me, Sere. Be my wife.”
“I—”
“It’s what I need. It’s the only thing that’s going to make me feel better after driving up and seeing that goddamn barn burning. I need you to promise you’ll be mine forever, so marry me.”
As far as proposals went, I was sure it wasn’t the most romantic one out there, but it was the truth.
Her hazel eyes swam with unshed tears. “You want to marry me?”
I trailed my fingers down her hair in a gentle caress. “Wildcat, it’s the only thing I’ll ever want, because as long as I have you, I’ve got everything I need. You’re it, baby.”
For the first time in hours, she smiled that heart-stopping smile, and just like that, I knew we were going to be all right.
“Well, when you put it like that, how could I possibly turn you down?”
I felt a chuckle rumble up my chest as she chased away the last of the shadows and filled my world with sunlight. “You could try, but I’m nothing if not determined.”
She laughed, full and happy.
“Yes, Hunter. I’ll marry you. It’s all I ever want.”
And with that, she made everything better.