Chapter 15
Sabrina
One month later, Sabrina stood at the window of her Seattle office. So much had changed since that fateful day Walker had appeared in her home, turning her world upside down.
Kraslov's trial was making headlines across the country. The evidence they'd collected had proven irrefutable, exposing a network of corruption that reached into multiple government agencies.
Thomas had turned state's witness, trading information for a reduced sentence—revealing operatives and operations that might otherwise have remained hidden.
Justice for her father. For Walker's father. For all those who had died protecting the truth.
The door opened behind her, and she turned to see Walker enter, looking surprisingly comfortable in the business suit he now wore most days.
Reed had convinced him to join Star Enterprises as head of security operations—a position that kept him in Seattle, close to Sabrina as she rebuilt her family's company.
"Ready for the board meeting?" he asked, moving to stand beside her at the window.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for a board meeting again.”
He nodded, then took her hand into his. “I’ll be at your side.”
“Well, that helps.”
Sabrina allowed herself a moment to simply look at him.
The month since the helicopter crash had been intense for both of them—debriefings, testimonies, rebuilding their respective lives while carefully nurturing the relationship that had reignited between them.
The scratches on his face had healed, though he still moved with occasional stiffness from the injuries sustained in the crash.
"I can't believe it's finally over," she said softly.
Walker leaned forward, giving her a light kiss on the lips. "The criminal case is. The rest is just beginning."
She smiled, knowing he meant more than just the corporate restructuring and the long process of disentangling her company from Kraslov's shadow operations.
"Are we still on for dinner tonight?" she asked. "Reed and Michelle confirmed they can make it."
Walker looked surprised. “Oh, you talked them into a date, did you? My brother, the confirmed bachelor?”
She laughed. “Reed says he's only coming for my mother's cooking."
Walker laughed. “Your mother is an amazing cook.”
Warmth filled her. “Of course, Henry will be there, too.”
He nodded. “Of course.”
Her mother had insisted on weekly family dinners—and had immediately included Walker and Reed in that definition of family.
"We should head over," Walker said, glancing at his watch. "The board doesn't like to be kept waiting."
Sabrina agreed, though she made no move to release his hand. Instead, she stepped closer, into the circle of his arms, tilting her face up to his. "Have I mentioned today how glad I am that you showed up in my house that night and scared me to death?"
Walker's smile reached his eyes, softening the hard edges that his years of service had carved there. "Not in the last few hours, no."
"Well, I am," she whispered, rising on tiptoe to press her lips to his.
Walker responded immediately, his arms tightening around her waist, pulling her firmly against him. The kiss deepened quickly, as their kisses tended to do.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing faster, Walker rested his forehead against hers. "We better go.”
Sabrina sighed dramatically. "Fine.” She hesitated, studying Walker. "Wait a sec. Are you happy?"
The question seemed to surprise him. "Where did that come from?"
"I was just thinking about everything you left behind. The desert. Your solitude. For this—" she gestured vaguely around them, "—corporate life. Meetings. Bureaucracy."
He frowned. "Sabrina, I wasn't happy in the desert. I was hiding. From Ray's death, from my own failures, from life itself." His thumb traced her cheekbone. "Being with you—even in meetings, even in this corporate world—is the happiest I've been since we were teenagers at the lake."
The simple honesty in his words brought tears to her eyes. "When did you get so good at saying exactly the right thing?"
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Must be all those corporate communication seminars Reed's making me attend."
She laughed, the tension broken. “Good.”
Again, he kissed her. "After this meeting," Walker said in a lower voice, "I need to show you something."
"What kind of something?"
"A surprise. Trust me?"
"Always," she replied simply.
After the meeting, Sabrina moved to his side. "So, about that surprise?"
Walker's lips quirked in that half-smile she found so endearing. "This way."
He led her down the corridor to the executive garage, where a sleek black SUV waited.
Walker opened the passenger door for her, his hand brushing the small of her back as she slid into the seat.
"Where are we going?" she asked as he joined her in the vehicle.
"Patience," he replied, starting the engine. "You'll see."
They drove north out of the city, away from the dense urban landscape and toward the quieter suburban areas.
Sabrina watched the scenery change, curiosity building as Walker navigated through increasingly residential neighborhoods.
Finally, he turned onto a private road that wound through thick evergreens before opening onto a stunning view of Puget Sound. A modern house of glass and cedar stood on the bluff, positioned to maximize the panoramic vista of water and mountains beyond.
"Walker," Sabrina breathed as he parked in the circular drive. "What is this place?"
"Let's find out," he suggested, coming around to open her door.
A realtor waited on the front porch, greeting them with professional enthusiasm. Walker had clearly arranged this in advance, Sabrina realized as the woman led them through the house—a spacious, open-concept design with floor-to-ceiling windows that captured the magnificent views from every room.
The tour concluded on a back deck that overlooked the Sound, where the realtor discreetly withdrew, leaving them alone with the breathtaking vista.
"What do you think?" Walker asked, watching her face closely.
Sabrina turned to him, understanding dawning. "Are you... house hunting?"
He nodded, moving closer to stand beside her at the railing. "Reed's guest room has been great for the transition, but—"
"But it's Reed's guest room," she finished for him.
"Exactly." Walker hesitated, then took both her hands in his. "I've been thinking about roots. About building something permanent."
Sabrina's heart quickened. "Here in Seattle?"
"Here with you," he corrected softly. "Look, I know it's fast. After everything that's happened, after all these years apart. But I don't want to waste any more time, Sabrina."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, worn velvet box—not new, but carefully preserved. "I kept it," he explained, opening the box to reveal a simple diamond ring. "All this time."
Emotion crossed Sabrina's face as she recognized the ring he'd offered her at nineteen. "How?" she whispered.
"My father saved it. Left it with a note—'for when the time is right.'"
Silence fell between them and tears misted into her eyes.
Walker swallowed, a smile on his lips. “Dear old dad.” He took the ring from its box, holding it between them. "I'm not that impulsive boy anymore, Sabrina. And you're not that uncertain girl. We've lived. We've learned. We've earned this second chance."
He took her left hand in his. "Sabrina Clark, will you marry me? Not because we're young and in love, though I do love you more than I did even then. But because we know exactly what we're choosing. Because we've seen the worst the world has to offer and still chosen each other."
Tears spilled down Sabrina's cheeks as she nodded. "Yes," she managed through the emotion. "Yes, Walker. Now and always."
He slid the ring onto her finger—a perfect fit, as if it had been waiting all these years for this exact moment. Then he drew her close, kissing her.
When they broke apart, Sabrina laughed through her tears. "We're going to have to tell everyone at dinner."
Walker grinned. "Reed already knows. So does your mother. And Henry."
"So I was the last to know?" she asked, pretending outrage.
"I needed their blessing," he explained, his expression growing more serious. "For our fathers' sake."
Understanding softened Sabrina's face. She reached up to touch his cheek, her ring catching the last rays of sunset. "They're here with us, you know. In their own way."
“Yes.”
She sighed. “It was like our fathers had this all figured out from the start.”
“Well, I think they didn’t want to die,” he said.
She gave him an annoyed looked. “You know what I mean.”
“Yes, I do.”
“They were just so … planned. Strategic.”
“Tactical.” He filled in for her.
A grin filled her face. “Tactical love. Yes, I like that.”
He grinned back. “Me, too.”
Unrest filled her. "Walker?"
"Yeah?"
“I just want to make sure you know that I can’t—”
"Sabrina—" he cut her off.
"Let me say this," she insisted gently. "I don't know if I can have children. The doctors were never certain why Rob and I couldn't conceive.”
“It’s fine.”
She persisted. “But I need you to be sure you’ve thought that through.” She couldn’t do that again; face a man who doesn’t want her because she couldn’t have a child.
Walker drew her close, his hands framing her face. "Sabrina Clark, soon-to-be Star, the only future I need is one with you in it. Everything else is just details."
Relief washed over her face. "Rob said—"
"I'm not Rob," Walker interrupted firmly. "And what he said to you was cruel and wrong. Family comes in many forms. However ours takes shape, it will be perfect because it's ours."
Sabrina rose on tiptoe, pressing her lips to his in a kiss of gratitude and love.
"Now," Walker said, taking her hand again, "let's go share our news. I suspect Reed has already opened the champagne and probably already called James and Terrel and told them the news.”
Sabrina grinned. “Didn’t you say both of them were supposed to come home for the fourth of July?”
He nodded.
“Then let’s do it then.”
He hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“I want your brothers there and if they can be there for the fourth, let’s do it then.”
Walker pulled her into him again, kissing her again.
She giggled and pulled back.
“What?”
“I appreciate you.”
“I appreciate you, too.”
“Now, should we go tell our family.”
He kissed her again. “On second thought, let’s kiss, they already know.”