Chapter 20 #3
Ethan shook his head. “We can do it tomorrow.” He helped her out of the car, hugging her close, unable to get enough of her to reassure himself she was safe.
“I’m exhausted,” Chelsea said. “Who knew being kidnapped would be so tiring?”
His gut clenched. He was pleased she could joke about it but, “I keep seeing the empty bathroom and not knowing where you were.” The horror and helplessness.
She squeezed him. “You were being a badass with Darren.”
Not good enough. He shouldn’t have left her unprotected. “I told you to stay inside until I got back.”
“And I already told you, I didn’t hear you. I was worried you’d been attacked.”
Voices outside had him leading Chelsea away from the front steps and around the side of the house. Over in the garden underneath the gazebo were his team, Mila and Lauren.
Chelsea gasped and pointed at the group of plants that had been sorted by type near the cottages.
Ethan grinned. Someone must have stopped by the nursery to get them.
“You remembered the plants,” Chelsea said as they reached the group. “Thank you.”
“That was Lauren,” Rhys said. “She was unloading her ute when we arrived back.”
“Josh called me,” Lauren said. “I figured you’d be too busy with questions to go back for them. I watered them but wasn’t sure where you wanted them planted.”
“The plan will be somewhere on her phone.” Heath grinned.
Chelsea tapped her pocket. “That’s right, but we all deserve the evening off.”
“We helped ourselves,” Dobby said, gesturing to the biscuits and drinks on the table.
“I told them you wouldn’t mind,” Lauren added. “Aunt Maggie always had an open cupboard.”
Ethan felt a pang of sorrow as Chelsea nodded with a sad smile. “My house is your house. I appreciate you coming to my rescue so fast.”
There was only one chair left, so Ethan pulled Chelsea down on his lap, circling her with his arms. She passed him a Father’s Favourite.
So casual. So right.
“Did you learn anything from Josh?” Dobby asked.
“It sounds as if Johann had got himself in a bind,” Ethan said when he’d swallowed the treat. “His employer thought he’d bought Lilydale and construction was starting next month. They’re willing to pay back the money Darren stole, plus damages if Chelsea agrees to keep their name out of the press.”
“Are you going to accept it?” Mila asked.
Chelsea nodded. “I’ll never know for sure if they knew about Johann’s methods, but I’m hoping Mum will let me keep the money to repair Lilydale and to honour Aunt Maggie’s memory.”
Ethan loved that she was practical about it. Some might consider it a bribe, but Chelsea was right. They could do so much with the money and he suspected Sabine would be happy for Chelsea to keep it.
He imagined the garden full of people helping Chelsea achieve her dream.
And he was right by her side.
“What about Darren?” Mila asked.
“He and Leyton have been charged for their part in the whole fiasco and are looking at gaol time,” Ethan said. “And Chelsea recorded Johann confessing to killing Aunt Maggie, so he’ll be charged with that as well.”
Aunt Maggie’s goodness and vitality had been cut short. It would be good to pay tribute to her. She deserved so much more than that.
Chelsea curled into him. “I should call my mother.”
Sabine would be equally devastated.
“I’ll go with you.” He wanted to support her and needed to talk to her about the future. This afternoon had highlighted the future wasn’t guaranteed. Anything could happen, and he wanted to be with her.
He pulled Chelsea into the cool house, taking a moment to hold her in his arms and breathe.
“I’m safe, Ethan.” She clung to him.
He nodded against her head. “I know. Humour me.”
“I knew you would come after me,” she whispered. “I just needed to stall Johann long enough. I don’t think even he had decided what he was going to do after I signed the contract.”
He rubbed her back and shuddered at the memory of the butcher’s knife. “I’m glad we didn’t find out.”
“I can’t believe you got to me so quickly,” she said.
“There weren’t many options. Rhys found the development, and we figured that’s where he would have gone.” He pulled her over to the sofa.
Before sitting, she hesitated. “Can we talk?”
His muscles tightened, and he nodded. “Of course.”
“I’ve been thinking.” She let go of his hand and walked to the window, looking at the garden.
Part of him screamed to distract her, to stop her from saying whatever she wanted to say, because it didn’t sound great. He stepped forward, and she turned with a shy smile on her face.
He kept his mouth closed and waited.
“The money from the company is more than enough to see me through the first year at Lilydale.”
Ethan’s breath caught in his throat, but he didn’t dare move as hope blossomed.
“I love it here. It’s the only place that ever felt like home.”
He managed to nod.
“I’m going to stay here and build a business and a home.” She stepped towards him. “If you’re still interested, I’d like to do it with you.”
His muscles unfroze, and he swept her into his arms, relief and happiness making him dizzy. “Yes.”
She laughed and the sound filled his heart.
“I love you, Ethan.”
“I love you too, Chelsea.” He kissed her, tasting the sweetness of her lips, capturing this moment in his memory.
When they broke apart, she was trying to be stern and it looked so cute that he bent to kiss her again. She held up a hand to ward him off.
“But I have one condition.”
“Anything.”
She frowned. “You shouldn’t promise before you know what it is.”
“I’ll do anything if it means I get to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Her frowned morphed into a smile. “No more doing things for my own good without discussing them with me first.” Her gaze hit him and he couldn’t look away. “I might not agree with you, but that’s my prerogative. I want to be fully informed.”
He sighed. “OK. I’m sorry, it’s part of wanting to protect you.”
“Being informed is a type of protection.”
She was right. “Yeah. I can’t guarantee I’ll always be able to tell you about work, though. In the army it was classified and depending on how Dobby sets up his new security firm, some of that might be classified too.”
“All right.” A mischievous look crossed her face. “So, how does marrying me in a spring wedding in the gardens of Lilydale sound?”
His heart felt like it would burst. “It sounds like a dream come true.”
And he kissed her to seal the deal.