Chapter Seventeen #2
Her eyes widened on him, but she snapped it into place. He jumped behind the wheel and shot down the road leading from the training facility, tires whirring on the asphalt.
She twisted in the seat to watch the facility disappear at a fast rate behind them. “You’re going to tell me what’s going on, right?”
“Yeah.”
She waited.
Nothing. Not a word passed his hard, yet very kissable, lips.
“But it’s not scary?”
“No.” He took a hand off the wheel to rest it over hers.
“That’s all I get?” she pressed.
“For now.”
She leaned back by slow degrees and exhaled slowly. Definitely weird.
She was good at picking up vibes, especially from Church. If it were dangerous, she would feel it. After all that happened, her instincts were honed to the sharpness of a blade.
Still…her nerves were snapping as fast as the miles he was putting between them and the Black Heart Tactical Training Facility.
They drove in silence with the road stretching out ahead. The sun was going down, lighting the world in a glow that offered Zee a measure of calm in the storm going on inside the truck.
Then Church made a turn and she realized where they were going.
The movie set.
“Are they doing some last-minute filming?”
“Hm?” He darted a glance at her as if she pulled him out of some deep thought. “No, they’re wrapped now.”
As always when they drove this bit of road, her gaze lifted to the landscape. The sun dipping low, casting everything in that soft gold she adored.
This was where she’d scattered Matt’s ashes. Where all hell had broken loose.
Where she’d said goodbye to one chapter and walked straight into danger.
She dug her fingers into her thighs, waiting for the pain to grab her like it always did. Only this time it didn’t.
Surprise washed through her, and then more surprise when she realized there was no pain that had to flow away.
She turned her head to look out at the land. She’d always known this place would be special. But she’d expected it to leave her with a sharp pang every time she came near it. Instead it felt different. Not empty. Just…resolved.
She’d made the right choice for Matt. For herself, and she only felt peace.
Layered over that were memories she hadn’t expected to have here—of her and Church. Moments of laughter as they drove to and from the movie set. Silence that never felt heavy. And the times he’d parked along the road so they could watch the sky.
A lump of emotion bottled in her throat, and love, as bright and shining as the sun, filled her. She let out a small sigh, realizing that this place didn’t bring anything but happiness.
Church slowed the truck and turned off the main road. When he bumped into a patch of flattened grass, she gripped the seat. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.” His voice came out choked, and perspiration gleamed on his face.
“Are you having chest pains? Are you okay?”
He threw her a look like he was about to be sick. “I’m older than you but I’m not dying, Zee.”
“Well, I just have to…you know. Check on my dad.” She threw him a wobbly smile but her attempt at a joke was only met by Church’s slightly pinched look.
He pulled into the field and cut the engine. The sudden silence felt like a living thing.
She twisted to face him. “Okay. Now what’s going on?”
He didn’t answer. He just nodded toward her door. “Come on. Get out.”
Suspicion flickered through her, followed by curiosity. She stepped out and her boots hit the dirt.
She looked down and froze.
The grass had been marked with paint. White arrows stretched across the grass, pointing away from where she stood.
She blinked at Church. “What is this?”
He tipped his angular jaw toward the first arrow. “Follow it.”
She issued a huff of disbelief. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious.”
Weird didn’t begin to describe this anymore. But a lightness sparked in her chest as she stepped forward, following the first arrow. That turned into another, then another that curved gently across the clearing.
“I feel like Alice in Wonderland.”
He gave a light snort and watched her closely.
When she reached more arrows, she stopped. “What is this?” she called to him, half laughing.
She followed the arrows another few steps and then stopped.
“Oh.” She lifted a hand to her mouth, shaking her head at what she was staring at.
Painted onto the grass in front of her was a house—a simple stick structure like a child would draw, a rectangle with a triangle for a roof. Windows were depicted across the front, along with a door. There were also painted steps leading up to it.
“Church…” As she breathed out his name, her voice trembled.
She glanced around. “Is this what you had planned for all that ground paint?”
He stepped up beside her and clasped her hand, his big, warm one enveloping hers.
She drank in the lines he’d created. “I hope whoever owns this land isn’t going to be mad you painted on it.”
“I own it.”
Her head snapped around, and she fixed him in her gaze. “You—what?”
He stepped closer. “I bought it.”
Before she could process that revelation, the man dropped to one knee.
Everything inside her went still while the world outside her body sharpened to a million blades of grass lit up by the fading sun and the pounding of her own heartbeat in her ears.
He pulled out a small box, and her eyes widened. “I don’t do anything without a plan.”
A laugh broke out of her, tangled up with tears. “I know.” He was anything but reckless—especially when it came to her.
He popped open the box to reveal a glorious diamond ringed by smaller ones, each facet catching the rays of sunset. Their sunset.
“I plan to love you the rest of my days. I want a life with you, Zee.”
Her heart squeezed so hard it hurt, and she issued a soft cry.
He glanced over his shoulder at the painted house. “This place is ours. If you want it. If you’ll have me.”
She was shaking.
“Marry me, Zee.”
The tears spilled over. “Yes!” She said it again, stronger. “Yes!”
He slipped the rock onto her finger, and she didn’t even glance down before he stood and she threw herself into his arms. Their lips met through her tears and when they pulled apart, they were both laughing because it was perfect.
He buried his face into her hair. “You’re unbelievable,” he roughed out against her neck.
“Me? You painted a whole house!”
He drew back, searching her eyes, his own lit by the orange and yellow streaks of sunlight. He looked at her with total wonder. “You said yes.”
“There was never any other answer. I love you, Grant.”
He pulled her into another kiss that stretched for long moments while the sun dropped even lower in the sky.
When they withdrew again, she blinked down at her engagement ring. “It’s a perfect fit. How—”
“I wrapped a bread twist tie around your finger while you were asleep.”
She burst out laughing. “You’re serious?”
“You were out.”
“That is so creepy.”
His grin only widened at her teasing. “You mean efficient.”
She shook her head, smiling through her tears. “It’s perfect.”
They kissed again, slower, as if this chapter of their life only came with peace and contentment.
Finally, they pulled apart and she let out a happy sigh. “This feels like a movie moment.”
“Very cinematic.” He nodded.
The drive back to the ranch felt unreal. She would always remember the way her hand felt in his and how she kept staring at the ring like it might disappear.
When they pulled up to the lodge, he cut the engine and looked over at her.
“Why are we stopping here?” she asked.
He smiled, and this time he didn’t look green around the gills. “Come on.”
She followed him inside to the dining hall. When they walked in and she saw the place was full of people clustered in the middle of the room, waiting for them, she slapped a hand over her mouth.
“Oh my god! This is amazing. Church, you planned a party too? When did you decorate?”
“Um. I wasn’t that confident. This all happened in… When did we leave the office?”
She blinked. “About forty-five minutes ago?”
Everyone was here. Gabe and Felicity, Willow and Honor and Rhae. Little Navy sat on the floor playing with toy animals. And there were a few men she hadn’t met yet, at least not in person. Some of the Malone brothers were home.
Everyone crowded in, clapping Church on the back and hugging her. She showed off her ring so many times she lost count.
When she circled back to her fiancé, he was waiting with his smile and that special forehead kiss steeped in so much meaning.
She drank in the impromptu party decorations and all the joy swelling in this room. They’d done this for her and Church.
They weren’t just a team. They were a family. One she was part of now.
Church pulled her into his arms, holding her tight.
Their kiss was tender and filled with emotion. “Look at what we have together,” she whispered when they parted.
His eyes twinkled as he stared into hers. “Look at all we’ve accomplished. What we’ve already done.”
She knew he was talking about more than their good times. And it was the worst ones in their pasts that had brought them even closer together.
“Together we’re completely unstoppable.” She looked around at the people who had become her family, then back into the eyes of the man she loved—and knew, without a doubt, it was true.