Chapter 24
Farrah watched Darren sleep, his face the most handsome thing she’d ever seen. She gently traced her fingers along his hairline, her huge emotions for him engulfing her.
“I love you, Darren,” she whispered.
He didn’t twitch, and Farrah wanted many more days and evenings like this one with him. She’d been dreaming of a midnight New Year’s kiss with him, a way to start their new life together, the perfect beginning to a year she hoped would be spent with him.
But she couldn’t wait six more hours. She shifted on the couch, which caused him to move too. He groaned and his hand against her waist tightened as he pulled her closer to him, almost unconsciously.
“Darren?” she whispered.
He was sleepy and his eyes didn’t open when he said, “Mm?”
She touched her lips to his, the warmth from his body searing into hers. He woke, his kiss becoming firmer before softening again. He kissed her and kissed her in that slow, passionate way he had. But this time it was completely different.
It was like the first time all over again, because Farrah was a completely different person who needed to experience her first kiss with a beautiful man.
“That was the best way to wake up,” he murmured against her lips before claiming them again. He finally ended the kiss and his eyes drifted open. “Farrah, I know we have a long way to go still, but I lied to you earlier. I’m still in love with you. I can’t seem to stop loving you, even when I try.”
She smiled and placed a kiss on the corner of his eye. Left, then right. “I love you too, Darren.”
She’d never said those words out loud, and emotions streamed across his face. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She giggled and trailed her fingertips over his earlobe. “I want to be a Buttars. I’ve heard it means something, and I think I could be a pretty good one.”
“The best,” he whispered.
“You think so?”
“I think you’ve been working really hard at a lot of things.” He stroked his hand down her hair once, then twice. “Working hard at being the best person you know how to be. So yeah, I think you’d be a terrific Buttars.”
“When do you want to make that happen?”
“Are you askin’ me to marry you?”
She giggled and tucked her face into the crook of his neck. The scent of his skin, so much like musk and leather and fresh cotton, prompted her to draw in a deep breath. “No.” She snuggled closer though that was hard to do. “I’m asking when you’re going to ask me to marry you.”
His chest lifted and then went down as he exhaled. “Oh, I don’t know, Farrah. I don’t even have a ring yet.” He rubbed slow circles on her back with his fingers, making her whole body tingle.
“I’ll admit that I haven’t thought about my wedding much.”
“Good.” He sat up, pushing her gently off him as he did. “That way, you won’t be disappointed when it’s just me and you and Pastor Gray.”
She tucked her hair behind her ear and stared at him. “What about your brothers? That cute baby you go on and on about?”
He chuckled. So maybe baby Jackie had smitten him over Thanksgiving weekend. “Fine, they can all come too.” He lifted her fingers to his lips and kissed each one on her right hand.
“And my bunko friends? And my parents, of course. And I might meet some friends at school. And Tucker and Missy—”
“All right, all right.” Darren chuckled and pulled her to him for another kiss. “We can invite everyone.” He held her close, both hands around the back of her neck. “And I’ll ask you properly, okay? I don’t know how or when, but that’ll come.”
She nodded, a flush rising through her core and into her face. “So should we eat? The party was supposed to begin fifteen minutes ago.”
“I’m starving.” But he barely let her stand before taking her into his arms and kissing her again.
Several weeks later, Farrah finally felt like she’d found a rhythm to her life.
She got up early and did homework before class.
She rushed from her permaculture class to the salad shop to the boutique.
Her work there kept her busy, and though Audra had taken over all the delivery and sales of the produce they grew, Farrah still felt like she was constantly behind.
Darren arrived in the boutique by six-forty-five each evening and watched her work. Asked her questions about her classes, the strawberries, the varieties of lettuce. At seven o’clock, he led her back to his house with his hand in hers.
He always had dinner ready, or he’d driven to town to pick something up.
Rambo greeted her with a single bark and a quick lick on her hand.
She relaxed in their company, exclaiming over any new piece of furniture Darren had completed or started.
He had a way with wood, and by the time March dawned, he’d completed the new sign for his farm.
He took her out to his woodshop to see it, hanging back as she stepped over to the giant sign on the work table.
“Wow.” She traced her fingers along the top of the sign, where he’d carved big letters to spell out his last name. He’d painted them bright yellow, like sunflowers. The joyfulness of the color made her smile. “This is gorgeous.”
He’d carved in flowers and trees as well, all of them painted in bright colors. The words “Botanical Farm” sat in a single line beneath his last name, and the whole thing spanned a good six feet.
He came up beside her and gazed down at the sign. “Too bright?”
“No, it’s going to be perfect out on that road.” She glanced at him. “Just perfect.”
He hadn’t asked her to marry him yet, and she had no indication that he’d even thought about it again. He hadn’t mentioned it, or brought up a wedding ring, nothing. Farrah had followed his lead and kept her mouth shut.
She was enjoying college, and she had just gotten settled enough to consider adding something else to her to-do list. Maybe that was how he felt too.
“How are things on the farm?” she asked as he laced his fingers through hers.
“Going great. Our sugar maples aren’t going to sap this year, but they’re on track for next April.”
“Are you going to hang tea lights in them?” She went with him as he took her to the couch in the corner and sat down.
“Should I?” He lifted his arm over her shoulders.
“There’s a big sugar maple park in Montpelier,” she said. “That’s what they do. It’s very romantic.”
“I’ll look into that.”
But he didn’t need to. Darren was romantic in dozens of ways, from how he sometimes texted her to say, I was in town and bought you a berry nut salad so you don’t need to stop after class today.
He put it on the desk in the boutique so it was waiting for her. He saddled her a horse when she wanted to go riding. He provided dinner and company for her every evening. He let her talk as much or as little as she wanted.
“My bathroom sink is still leaking,” she said with a sigh as she leaned into him.
“I’ll come on Saturday.” His voice sounded sleepy, and sure enough, a few moments later, he yawned. “Oh, hey, I have something for you in the kitchen.”
“You do?” They’d just finished dinner, and they’d cleaned up in the kitchen together. She hadn’t seen anything out of the ordinary.
His eyes glittered like dark diamonds as he nodded. “I’m, well, it’s…. Maybe we should just go see.” He rose to his feet, and she went with him.
Once in the kitchen, her eyes swept the familiar space. He hadn’t done anything to remodel, but the dark cabinets were beautiful. The countertops were in good shape. The floor had been replaced recently, but Darren hadn’t done it.
Everything looked as it had a half an hour ago. Clean. Wiped down. Everything put in its place. Quintessential Darren.
“I don’t get it,” she said, glancing around, her heartbeat increasing like maybe something would pop out at her and startle her.
“Rambo probably ran off with it. Just a sec.” Darren released her hand and stepped to the doorway that led into the dining room. He whistled and called, “Rambo! C’mon boy. Where you at?”
The dog’s claws clicked on the hardwood as he came trotting over to Darren. “There you are. Did you take Farrah’s present?” He scrubbed the dog’s ears affectionately. “Go on. Go give it to her.”
Rambo came over, and Farrah caught sight of something in his mouth. It looked black, and she stooped to try to get it out from between his teeth.
Darren leaned against the counter and said, “Drop it, Rambo.”
The dog dropped a black jewelry box on the floor. Before Farrah could even move, Darren retrieved it. He cracked the box open to reveal a bright, shiny diamond, and she straightened slowly, her eyes never leaving the gem.
“You said you wanted to be a Buttars,” he said.
Farrah lifted her eyes to his, her breath frozen in her lungs. “I do.”
A smile graced his face. “And I’d like to spend my life with you. I’ve got this great big house, and it needs to be filled with more than me. So? What do you think? Will you marry me?”
He didn’t even need to ask, but Farrah loved that he did, almost like she might say no. Warmth glowed in her chest, and she returned his smile. “Yes, Darren. I’ll marry you.”
He removed the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. She giggled and he laughed, and then he sobered long enough to kiss her like he was her fiancé.
“When do you think you’d like to get married?” he asked. “Like, maybe next weekend?”
Her sigh turned into a choke. “Next weekend?”
“I’m dying here alone.” He brushed his lips against her temple, down her cheek, and along her jawline. “This place needs a feminine touch, and I’m tired of watching you drive away at night.”
She tipped her head back and let him trail a line of kisses up to her ear. “So…next weekend?”
She giggled and pushed fruitlessly against his chest. “What about June?” she asked. ‘That gives me three months, and time to finish my semester, and I love Steeple Ridge in the summer.”
He pulled back at the mention of his old farm. “Steeple Ridge?”
“I want to get married at Steeple Ridge. I think it would be like coming home.”
“But this is our farm now.” He watched her with a wary expression, and Farrah searched for the right explanation.
“The one time I thought about my wedding,” she started. “I saw myself out at my favorite place—Steeple Ridge.” She shrugged. “So if you don’t care where we get married, I want to do it at Steeple Ridge.”
“Steeple Ridge is fine with me, sweetheart.” He inched his way toward her mouth. “Three months? June is a firm date for you?”
“Yes, June is firm,” she whispered, her breath mingling with his just before he claimed her mouth in another kiss. Farrah kissed him back, her happiness shooting toward the stars at the very idea of becoming his wife in only three short months.