Chapter 14 #2
"Yes, you idiot." She drops to her knees too, right there in the dirt in her nice dress, grabbing my face between her hands. "Yes, of course yes. It's always been yes."
I barely get the ring on her finger before she's kissing me, and the crowd erupts. Cheering, whistling, Mrs. Henderson definitely crying, and someone—probably June—screaming "FINALLY!" at a volume that shouldn't be humanly possible.
When we break apart, we're both covered in dirt, Harper's makeup is destroyed, and we're grinning like idiots.
Harper stares at the ring on her finger like she can't quite believe it's real. "Your Gran’s ring?"
"Yes, I've kept it in the family safe. Waiting."
"Waiting for what?"
"For you. Only you. Dad knew it. Hell, even the bank teller who let me into the deposit box when I fetched it knew it."
"I thought about it often. In California, I'd picture it on your hand. When I came back, I knew someday I'd get to put it there."
Harper traces the sapphire with her finger. "Your grandmother's ring. The one from all the family photos."
"She wore it. Mom after her. Now it's yours."
"Only mine?"
"It's only ever been yours, Harper. Even when we were apart."
Mayor Davidson clears his throat into the microphone. "Well, that was... unexpected. But I think we can all agree this groundbreaking just became a lot more memorable."
Lucas helps us both stand, clapping me on the back hard enough to bruise. "In front of the whole town, man. That takes balls."
"Or stupidity," I counter, but I'm watching Harper show the ring to Maya and June, all three of them doing that high-pitched squealing thing that probably only dogs can fully hear.
"Nate?" Harper’s voice cuts through the celebration, soft and wondering. "Your grandmother’s inscription?"
I'd forgotten about that. "Forever starts now," I quote.
She's crying again, but laughing too. "Elizabeth Wilder was a smart woman."
"She would have loved you," I tell her.
She kisses me again, softer this time, mindful of our audience.
Mrs. Morrison pushes through the crowd with her phone. "I already called The Willow Tap. Lucas needs to get back and make ready."
"We literally just got engaged," Harper protests.
"And the party starts in an hour. This is Willowbridge, honey. We've been preparing for this moment since you two walked into June's bakery together."
Harper looks at me, dirt-streaked and glowing. "We’re getting an engagement party whether we want one or not, aren’t we?"
"You should be used to our over-the-top small town by now, future Mrs. Wilder."
Harper beams up at me. This strong, beautiful woman is going to be my wife.
The crowd starts dispersing, everyone heading off to prepare for the impromptu celebration. But Harper and I stand there in the future education center, her hand in mine, the ring catching light, both of us emotionally wrung out and perfectly happy.
"Worth the wait?" I ask.
"Worth everything," she confirms.
***
We're sitting on the tailgate of my truck in The Willow Tap parking lot, hiding from our own engagement party that's somehow already in full swing inside. Harper's cleaned most of the dirt off her face, but there's still some in her hair, and she keeps staring at the ring like it might disappear.
"Your dad knew," she says quietly. "Before he died. He knew you'd give this to me."
"He asked about you near the end. Called you 'his future daughter-in-law.'" I pull her closer. "I didn't have the heart to tell him we'd broken up."
"I know. You told me that during the storm." She spins the ring so the sapphire catches the afternoon light. "I knew him, Nate. I saw medications, watched him getting thinner every time I visited. I should have realized—"
"You couldn't have known I'd use it as an excuse to push you away."
"Your dad would've knocked sense into you if he'd known and been well enough."
I nod. "He left Gran's ring in the safe with a note that just said 'For Harper.' He must have known you were it for me."
She's crying again, but smiling too. "We should probably head inside before Lucas sends out a search team."
She hops off the tailgate, smoothing her still-dirty dress. "How do I look?"
"Like you've been rolling in dirt."
"Perfect. Exactly the look I was going for at my surprise engagement party."
I pull her back for one more kiss before we face the crowd. "Hey, Harps?"
"Yeah?"
"You said yes."
She grins, that sunshine smile that first knocked me sideways all those years ago. "Did you doubt I would?"
"For about three seconds when you dropped to your knees, I thought you might be having a medical emergency."
"I was. It's called 'my idiot finally proposed' syndrome. Very serious condition."
"Is it treatable?"
"Yes. With wedding planning and a lifetime of marriage."
"Sounds like a pretty good treatment plan."
She takes my hand, the ring pressing between our palms. "The best."
Through the Tap's windows, we can see the party in full swing—June behind the bar helping Lucas serve drinks, Maya directing decorations that seemingly appeared from nowhere.
"Ready?" I ask.
"With you? Always."
We walk in together, dirt-covered and grinning, to face our town and what's definitely going to be an overwhelming amount of unsolicited wedding planning advice.
The Willow Tap erupts when we walk in. Lucas has somehow strung lights across the ceiling in the twenty minutes we were outside, and June's behind the bar with him, slicing a cake that definitely didn't exist an hour ago.
"About damn time!" Lucas shouts over the noise, pulling me into a back-slapping hug that nearly knocks me over. "I was starting to think you'd chicken out."
"He almost proposed during breakfast four different times this week," Harper tells everyone, and the crowd laughs.
"This cake—" I start.
"I made three this week," June admits, wiping her eyes with her apron. "Just in case. This one's lemon with raspberry filling—Harper's favorite."
"You made three cakes just in case I proposed?"
"We've been waiting years," she says simply. "I was prepared."
Harper's phone buzzes with a text. I almost ignore it, but I see Harper's face when she checks it.
"Who's texting during our engagement party?"
"My brother."
I freeze. "Adam?"
She shows me the message:
Maya told me the news. Congrats to you and Nate! I'm really happy for you both. You better save your big brother a dance at the wedding! - Adam
"He's happy for us," Harper says softly, something loosening in her shoulders. Her brother's approval matters more than she'd admit.
"He wants a dance at the wedding," I add.
"Maybe he can walk me down the aisle," she says quietly. "Since Dad can't." Her eyes glisten. "God, I wish they were here."
June appears with shots of something that smells dangerous. "They are here," she says firmly. "Maybe not physically, but they're here."
We toast—to the engagement, to the future, to Harper's late parents and mine, to the town that's made this celebration happen in record time.
"Speech!" someone yells, and suddenly I'm being pushed onto the small stage where local bands play on weekends.
"I'm not good at speeches," I protest.
"Lie!" Harper shouts. "You just proposed in front of the entire town!"
"That was different. That was just truth." I look at all these faces—our community, our chosen family. "But okay. Here's the truth: Harper Lane made me wait eight years to put this ring on her finger—"
"You left!" she interjects, laughing.
"—and it was worth every second. Even the six years we were apart, because it brought us here. Back to this town, these people, this life we're building together."
Lucas raises his beer. "To Harper and Nate! May their kids be less stubborn than they are!"
"Impossible!" Maya calls out.
Everyone drinks, laughs, celebrates. Harper makes her way to me through the crowd, wrapping her arms around my waist.
"Good speech."
"I meant every word."
"I know." She stretches up to kiss me, tasting like cake and champagne and forever. "Ready for the rest of our lives?"
"With you? Nothing would make me happier."
The party continues around us—our friends, our town, our future all here in one room, celebrating something that should have happened years ago but couldn't have happened any other way.