Chapter 16 #4
Wow! Overwhelmed, Brogan briefly studied the plans.
One entire side of the house would be opened up to add two more bedrooms, with a bathroom between them.
Office space was also added, and the way it was drawn, the room had two desks—meaning he and Pixie would share.
Interior walls were shifted to expand the kitchen and sitting room.
They’d still be on the lake, Pixie would be even closer to her family, and there was room enough to raise two kids.
Never in his life had he received a gift—except Shayna. And then Pixie and Andy. And now this? He ran a hand over the back of his neck. “I don’t know what to say.”
“There’s a caveat,” Butler said, his tone lofty enough to tell one and all that he was in mayor-mode. “We have a lot of tradesmen in the area. Cort will be the contractor, and you’ll need to hire local guys and buy the supplies in Bramble.”
He’d been planning on buying a whole different house—so, of course, Brogan agreed.
“Everyone offered to pitch in their time,” Cort informed him.
“I’ll pay them,” Brogan immediately insisted. Accepting an act of friendship or a helping hand was one thing, but for a job that size, people deserved wages.
With a slight smile, Cort said, “I told them you would.”
Even after a deep breath, Brogan couldn’t take it in.
Pixie took his hand. “Breathe. And try to smile.”
He’d gone from being a loner, a man without family, to having the best family and friends, with roots in an incredible town. “I need a minute.”
Cort clapped him on the shoulder. “Butler has one more thing to say.”
Brogan pushed back his chair and stood.
Clearing his throat, Butler said, “This town could use a safety instructor. One day volunteered each month. A few hours in the afternoon with the school kids, then an evening here at the tavern for the adults.”
“I’d be honored.”
Cheers erupted.
Raising his hands, Butler said, “Bramble officially has two heroes. Let’s get this photo on the wall.”
Herman, owner of the tavern, surged forward with a hammer and nail. Once that was done, everyone looked at Brogan.
He wasn’t big on speeches, so he kept it super short.
“I’m honored. Each and every one of you has given me something I’ve never had before.
” He tugged Pixie up beside him, holding her close.
“Roots. A real home.” That suffocating weight was back on his chest, but this time in a good way.
He felt full … of happiness. “You’ve given me a community. ”
For the next fifteen minutes, he shook hands and accepted hugs from so many people, he couldn’t even see Pixie, much less Andy or Shayna, but he knew they were there. He could feel them, and he trusted the others to watch over them until the room finally settled down again.
That happened when Marlow shouted, “Let’s eat!”
Fortunately, food had a way of getting people back to their seats in a hurry.
There was some rearranging as Marlow and Cort, with the kids, joined their table. They shared pizza and colas, laughs, and plans.
He was a part of them, of their group, and that was something he’d never take for granted.
While Marlow gave Shayna a bottle, and Cort fed some soft vegetables to Andy, Brogan put his mouth to Pixie’s ear. “Will you marry me?”
Startled, she leaned back to stare at him, her beautiful eyes wide and happy. “When?”
“Now,” he said softly. “Or a month from now. A year. I don’t care. Actually, I do. I’d make it tonight if it was up to me, but I love you so much, I’m willing to wait as long as it takes.”
Pixie covered her mouth. Then she grabbed his face and kissed him. A short kiss because she quickly leaned across the table to say to Marlow and Cort, “We’re getting married.”
Marlow smiled. “When?”
It amused him that both women had asked the exact same question.
Pixie gave them all a beautiful smile. “Very soon.”
That night, after getting the kids settled in their beds, she and Brogan stepped out back to admire the fireflies blinking all along the shoreline.
The moon cast a glow on the surface of the water, and other than the chirping of crickets and the occasional melodic croaking of frogs, the air was quiet and still.
A new sense of peace had settled over Brogan. Pixie understood. After Dylan had died, she’d been so vulnerable, completely alone with no one to turn to.
Brogan had lived with that feeling all his life.
Never again, she vowed. She stepped in front of him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Hey.”
“Hmm?”
“I like the idea of marrying right away.”
“Good.” His hand coasted up and down her back. “How soon is right away?”
“Well, there’s no wait time for a marriage license in Kentucky. We could apply tomorrow and be married in the afternoon.”
She’d barely finished before he was kissing her.
When she could, Pixie laughed and said, “Or we could talk to Erin, see when she’ll be visiting, and include her.”
“If she’ll be here soon.”
She loved his impatience because she felt it, too. “I don’t need a fancy dress or ceremony. The very idea makes me itchy. Though I suppose I should let Andy’s grandparents know, so … why don’t we plan on two weeks?”
“I’ve waited a lifetime for you. I can wait fourteen more days.” He tilted up her chin. “You’ve given me so much, everything I always thought was impossible.”
“You gave me a lot, too.”
“Incredible sex?”
Laughing, she swatted his chest. “That definitely counts, but in the process, you gave me back my self-esteem, my sexiness.”
He growled against her throat. “You were always sexy. Never doubt it.”
“You also gave me a daughter.” Pixie rested against him. “I thought I could never have another child, and now I have a whole family.”
“There’s something magical about this town,” Brogan said. “I felt it as soon as I drove in.”
There was something magical about him. He’d brought love back into her life, and now they’d live together in their own lake house, near her closest friends—together. Her life had taken some twists and turns, but to end up here, with Brogan, Andy, and Shayna, she’d gladly go through it all again.
He put his arm around her. “Let’s go in. Tomorrow we have wedding plans to make.”