Madison
EPILOGUE
Arms akimbo with my fists planted on my hips, I tilted my head back, looking up. “Are you sure this is okay?”
Graham called down. “Of course it’s okay.”
Graham—“my firefighter” as I’d come to call him—was high in a tree fetching the kitten we’d gotten for Allie. She was at school, and the kitten had escaped. I had to call him to come home.
Another voice reached me. “He’ll be fine,” Beck offered.
I glanced over at him. “Easy for you to say when you’re not the one up in the tree.”
Beck flashed an easy grin. I’d learned he’d once been known as the town’s most shameless flirt. He was such a dedicated family man that it was hard to imagine, but I saw flashes of it.
He shook the rope in his hand. “I’ve got him.”
“How does that even work?” I asked, dropping my arms and walking closer to Beck.
He quickly explained how rappelling worked to me. “I promise, if he falls, I’ll just catch him on the rope. It won’t break.”
“When I called you all, I thought you were going to bring the truck with the bucket and everything.”
Beck shrugged. “Sometimes we do, but I thought this would be more fun.”
I rolled my eyes just as another truck appeared in the driveway, this one with a bucket. “It’s right there,” I said, gesturing over Beck’s shoulders.
“Too late,” Graham called out. “I’ve got her.”
I watched as Graham came down slowly, bouncing his feet on the tree and appearing completely comfortable with the situation. Beck expertly handled the rope as he came down. Meanwhile, Paisley climbed out of the truck and crossed over to me. “I guess they didn’t need this.”
“That’s what I thought was happening.”
Paisley shrugged. “Sorry. I was on the other side of town when Maisie called.”
Graham landed on the ground, calling over, “Here she is!”
“Is she okay?” I asked as I approached him.
He had Allie’s kitten, Patches, nestled in the crook of his elbow. “Right as rain,” he offered.
Patches was purring up a storm. I stroked my fingers down her back. She looked all too satisfied with her situation. I held her while Graham worked with Beck to unhook himself from the ropes and get the gear put away. “Isn’t she cute?” I asked as I looked over at Paisley.
She grinned. “Of course. I don’t think there’s ever been a kitten that wasn’t cute.” She cooed over Patches before stepping back. “I’ll head back to town.”
“Thanks for coming.”
I kept a good hold on Patches, waving while Paisley drove away with Beck following a few minutes later. After they left, Graham glanced down at me, a slow smile stretching across his face.
“She likes trees,” he commented.
“I noticed,” I replied dryly.
He slipped his arm around my waist, tucking his hand in the back pocket of my jeans, a habit I adored. It was a small gesture, but it made me feel like we belonged together.
It had been a full year since I moved to Alaska, and so much had happened.
I couldn’t even believe it had only been a year.
My job was going well. My father’s court case was finished, which was kind of a miracle.
My father had decided to take a plea agreement rather than take his chances with going to trial.
My mother was speaking to me, but that was about it. I was at peace with that for now.
I had a life here with friends, with Graham and with Allie. He startled me again and again and again. For a man who had plenty of reasons to avoid commitment, once he made his decision, he was all in.
A teeny, tiny corner of my heart wanted a ring, a formal commitment.
I craved it in a strange way. Maybe because my life had blown up so spectacularly before I got here.
I told myself I could be patient and wait for the right moment because we shouldn’t hurry.
There was Allie to consider. After I set Patches on the floor, she danced across the room, immediately aiming for this little toy that she loved bouncing around.
I rubbed my hands up and down my arms as I slipped out of my shoes.
When I looked up, Graham startled me. He was waiting for me right there. “Hey,” he murmured, placing his palms on the wall behind me and caging me between his arms.
“Hey.”
His lips curled in that slow, sexy grin that never failed to send my belly into a swoop and a spin. Fire slid through my veins. As he looked at me, his gaze sobered.
“What?” I pressed, getting unaccountably nervous.
He lifted a hand, smoothing my hair away from my face. “I remember the first time I saw you.” His voice was low and gravelly.
I was feeling all breathless as I replied, “Hard to forget. Silly girl on the highway letting her dog loose when there was a moose.” I snorted. “I accidentally rhymed.”
Graham chuckled and dipped his head, giving me a lingering kiss. By the time he drew away, I was near to melting like hot butter. “Thanks for rescuing Patches.”
He pressed away from the wall, catching my hand in his and tugging me into the living room. We were at his house today or their house. Although we spent every night together, I technically still lived in my grandfather’s old place. We hadn’t had that conversation yet.
He stopped by the windows, looking into the trees toward the path that led to my house. “I had a whole plan,” he said thoughtfully as he turned back to face me and reached for my other hand.
“Plan for what?” I prompted.
“I was going to take you out to dinner in Anchorage and ask you to marry me.”
I was so startled my eyes must have practically bugged out of my head. I gasped loudly enough that Wilbur was roused from his sleep. He lifted his head from his bed, letting out a soft woof.
“Is that so surprising?” Graham teased.
“Well, um, yes,” I sputtered.
He released one of my hands and reached over my shoulder to the bookshelf behind me. In another moment, he opened a small box between us. “I even got a ring.”
When I looked into his eyes, I realized he was nervous. This man—this strong, tough, alpha man—looked so vulnerable, my heart felt pierced with joy and protectiveness.
“I didn’t really know what to get you. I’m guessing when you were engaged before, you had something really fancy and expensive. I’m just a firefighter.”
I looked up at him. “You’re my firefighter, and I don’t need something fancy and expensive.” My throat was thick with emotion, and I didn’t even realize I was crying until I felt his thumb brushing away a tear.
“What do you think?” he asked.
I finally looked at the ring. It was a platinum band. “It’s perfect,” I whispered.
It had a lovely pattern carved along its edge. When I looked closer, I saw that it was an infinity symbol.
“Allie helped me pick it out.” His voice was gruff. “She said no diamonds because—”
I finished his sentence. “Conflict diamonds. I love that.”
“I asked them to carve the infinity symbol because you’re stuck with me forever.”
When I looked up at him, I knew my eyes were shining with tears. “Well, that makes two of us then. I’m not going anywhere, and I love you.”
Graham folded me into his arms just as the front door burst open and Allie came flying through. “Is Patches okay?”
Her words came to a stuttering stop, and then she gasped. We both looked toward her as she slapped her hand over her mouth. She started to turn away, but she spun back quickly. “What did she say?” she asked, her eyes on her father.
“I’m right here, you know,” I said, laughing through my tears. “I said yes.”
Allie dashed across the room, squealing as she threw her arms around us together. I was exactly where I belonged.