26. Chapter 26
Today, Carlee and I finished our day early at Oakside. There”s a lot of work to do to get my new department set up, but I”m loving every minute of it. Noah actually listens to what I have to say, and takes my ideas and runs with them.
Did you notice Noah was a bit more cranky than normal today? I ask Carlee.
We”re lying in the backyard in the grass enjoying the warmth of the sun. When I made an offhanded comment about how I miss our times sitting in the grass getting to know each other, she dragged me out here and we have been cuddling under the cloudless Georgia sky.
I did, and I asked Lexi about it. Apparently, he found out that his sister Lucy is dating someone, but she refuses to tell him who it is. She told Lexi that she met him at Oakside. Any idea who it is? I ask.
No, and neither do Noah or Lexi, which has caused Noah to go around all day giving the evil eye to any single male on the property. It”s actually been kind of funny, she says.
How old is his sister? I ask.
She”s twenty and going to school down in Savannah. But she”s staying with Lexi and Noah and doing some volunteer work at Oakside on the side.
So, his sister technically is an adult, but I do get that protective side of him. Though it did not really come out in me until I met Liz. If the situation was reversed and it was Liz with some guy, I would probably be acting the same way Noah was.
You can”t blame the poor guy, though. He just wants to make sure that whoever it is doesn”t hurt his sister.
Oh, I don”t blame him. I just think it”s hilarious the lengths that Lucy has gone to keep the identity from them. Other people are talking about it, and no one has seen her with anyone. Obviously, she”s really good at keeping it a secret. The whole staff is kind of impressed, she says, smiling.
We lay there for a bit more and my thoughts keep going back to those first few days of us sitting in the grass together.
Thank you for sitting out here with me. I really missed our times of just being, sitting beside you and getting to know you, I say.
It has been a while since we”ve been out on the grass hasn”t it? Things have changed a lot too,she says.
Well, the biggest change is now I can wrap my arms around you and hold you anytime I want. Even on that first day, I wanted to do that so badly it hurt. Fighting not to touch you is one of the hardest parts of being around you.I admit.
I agree. I think the next biggest change is I”m completely okay with not having any more kids because I feel like I was meant to raise Liz. She’s my family. Even though I may not have given birth to her, I know that she”s the child I”m meant to have. Of course, I”d give anything for my sister to be here, but she did give me the greatest gift of trusting me with her daughter.
Well, the biggest change for me is that you and Liz have given me the family I never dared to dream of and the one that now I could never imagine my life without. You two have accepted me for who I truly am, and I”ve never fit more into a family than I have with the both of you. Rolling over to my side, I look down at her so she can see exactly how much I mean every word I say.
Her eyes study mine for a moment before I sit up and pull the black velvet box from my pocket. My nerves are certainly in full force because I”ve been thinking about this moment over and over again for the last week or more.
I want you and this family more than I”ve ever wanted anything. I want to be your husband, the person that you lean on when you need someone. I want many more days like this just soaking in the sun. I want all the days of working beside you at Oakside or wherever life takes us. I want to be there for Liz, to be the one helping with her homework and making breakfast every day. I want to be the one going around glaring at all the single guys when she tells me that she”s dating someone. And if you both have me, I want to adopt her. I already talked to her, and she”s more than excited and praying that you”ll say yes to my next question. Will you marry me?
Holding my breath, I wait anxiously. Last night, when I asked Liz how she would feel if I asked Carlee to marry me, I was nervous. Liz was so beyond excited that I feared Carlee would notice. I knew that I had to ask soon because Liz would not be able to keep that secret much longer. Maybe that was the push that I needed to ask her today.
I”m hoping she”ll say yes and the tears in her eyes are happy ones. When she sits up, my heart jumps to my throat.
Yes,she says, nodding her head right before throwing her arms around my neck and holding me tight.
She just agreed to marry me, and it takes a moment for it to set in. We are going to make this family official. I’m going to be part of a family, something I didn’t realize I wanted or needed so badly.