Chapter Thirty-Nine
Nora
Firebrook Valley
Evan had left for New York that morning.
Bella needed him for some urgent transfer papers, and I liked that he was willing and able to be both in Firebrook Valley and with his family.
He had kissed me at the door, a slow, lingering promise that he would be back by dinner tomorrow, but the silence he left behind was too loud.
I didn’t stay home. Instead, I drove to Mabel’s house as the sun dipped behind the ridge. I had a small velvet box tucked into my purse like contraband, a weight that made my heart hammer against my ribs.
Mabel met me at the door exactly as she had probably met so many other lost souls over the years. “Come on in,” she said, ushering me into the warmth of her kitchen. “Why do I have a feeling you have something you want to tell me?”
“I do.”
We sat at her kitchen table. She poured me a tea. When she was seated across from me, I reached into my purse and pulled out the two boxes, setting them side by side. My engagement ring, a sapphire the color of the mountain sky, and a wide, brushed gold band for Evan.
“I’m going to ask Evan to marry me,” I said. Saying it out loud made it feel real.
Mabel’s brows lifted, but her expression remained remarkably calm. “I figured one of you would find your nerve eventually.”
“I want everyone there,” I said, the words tumbling out in a rush. “Drew, Bella, the whole crew from the shop. And our fathers. I want it to be a celebration, Mabel. No more battlefields. Just joy.”
I told her about how Evan’s family was now inviting Drew and me to family dinners. If they could do that, I could do this. I was done waiting for the storm to pass. I wanted to walk into it with the ring in my hand and the whole valley at my back.
Mabel sipped her tea, her eyes unreadable. “Are you sure you don’t want to wait for the billionaire to drop to a knee? They usually like the grand gesture.”
“No.” My voice was steady. “I’ve spent my whole life letting things happen to me. This time, I am the one stepping forward. I want to be the one who says it first.” I paused, my voice dropping to a whisper. “But he cannot know. Not a word. I want it to be a total surprise.”
Mabel set her mug down with a soft thud.
“Well it just so happens I’ve been thinking about throwing a little festival.
The Harvest Glow. String lights, cider, music in the street.
We will light up the gazebo. It will be big enough to feel like an event, but small enough that it is just Firebrook Valley showing up for Firebrook Valley.
Also, we were planning to invite both Gabe and Cody and potentially give them an award. ”
“For finally being civil?” I joked.
“For whatever reason we can think of,” Mabel murmured. “They’ve actually done a lot for the town.”
My heart did a somersault. “The gazebo. Mabel, that would be perfect.”
“You get Evan there at the right moment,” Mabel said, her smile widening. “I’ll make sure the town knows to keep their mouths shut. Your dad will come if I tell him he’ll be receiving an award, he doesn’t need to know Gabe will as well. And then you just pop the question, I guess.”
I laughed, a shaky, delighted sound. “You’re a genius. A meddling, beautiful genius.”
I lunged across the table and hugged her. Mabel hugged me back, her hand patting my shoulder the way my mother used to when I was small.
Evan had already started building the bridge with his father. Now I could build one as well.
“I really want this to work, Mabel,” I whispered into her shoulder. “And I hope it’s what Evan wants.”
She pulled back and touched my cheek, her gaze full of a gentle, hopeful wisdom. “You know what, Nora? I have a really strong feeling this is exactly what Evan wants.”