Epilogue
HAVEN
“Come on, I know you want to sing, you know you want to sing … so sing already!” I say, reaching over the center console to give Dallas’s rock-hard abdomen a pat through his shirt. “Deep down, you love Miley Cyrus. I know it.”
“No,” he answers flatly, not even willing to entertain me. “I really don’t.”
“I take offense to that,” I mutter with a gasp. “She’s Miley Cyrus. How could you, like … not love her? Her vibes are elite, her voice … magnificent, and her lyrics? Perfection because she’s usually singing about being a mess.” I sigh. “Which, obviously you know I connect with.”
“Whatever you say, babe.” He keeps his eyes on the road, but a small grin tugs at his lips. “You’re pretty happy today. You excited to be going home for a few days?”
“Yes,” I say quickly. “My mom promised me lasagna tonight too.” I glance over, waiting for his reaction. Lasagna may be one of my favorite meals, but Dallas, let’s just say he doesn’t exactly feel the same way.
“Yippee,” he grumbles. “Can’t wait.”
Despite his grumpiness when it comes to lasagna, he’d sit at the table tonight and eat it with a smile on his face out of respect for my mom.
Lucky for him, my mom knows he doesn’t like lasagna, so she already planned to have a steak waiting for him.
But I kind of like watching him pout, so I’m not going to tell him that.
I crane my neck to look in the back seat, smiling when Boston senses my movement and looks at me, wagging his tail.
Of course, my mom will get something special for him tonight too.
She always does. The woman sends him toys in the mail weekly, and Dallas and I joke that our moms may be best friends, but they compete to see who Boston loves more by constantly sending him things.
We are both living in South Carolina, and we are blessed that the Cyclones’ stadium is only about forty-five minutes from the Carolina Thunder AUSL stadium where I’m currently playing.
But life gets busy, and neither of us has been back to Massachusetts in nearly three months.
Our parents have come out and visited us, but I’m a little homesick, so a few days back in New England? Hell yes, I’ll take it.
I turn my head to look out the window. The airport we flew into isn’t our usual one, and because of that, we’re driving a way we normally wouldn’t be. Which means, it’s a nice scenic route filled with things I’ve only seen a few times as a kid.
A sense of familiarity washes over me when I see a large, paved parking lot coming up on my right. I narrow my eyes, looking at it before I reach over and punch his arm.
“It’s that park!” I practically scream. “The one where our moms made us meet for the first time.” I look out the window again. “Pull in!”
“Jesus, calm down, I will!” He chuckles.
Slamming his brakes, he turns the truck into the empty lot, pulling into a spot.
“Can we get out?” I say, practically bouncing in my seat. I’m not sure why we didn’t come to this park more as kids. Maybe because it’s a bit out of the way, but being here right now, it’s kind of making my chest all warm and fuzzy.
This is the first place I ever saw Dallas.
“Fine,” he says, pushing his door open. “It’s windy as hell, but I’ll take a walk down memory lane with you, Short.”
Excitedly, I open my door and practically leap out as he lets Boston out of the back. That day seems both forever ago and like it was yesterday, even though I know that doesn’t make an ounce of sense.
“That’s new,” I say, pointing to the playground. “And those benches? Definitely nicer than the ones that were here when we were kids.”
Our hands find each other, and his fingers lace with mine.
I didn’t know much about Dallas when he got out of Memphis’s car that day, and I certainly didn’t know the darkness he had gone through not long before.
If I had, I would have been nicer to him.
Not that I was rude, but I would have been more understanding. I would have tried to be … softer.
“You could have worn that black Nike softball T-shirt and those cheerleading-type shorts today,” he says, glancing over at me as we walk. “We could have relived the whole day.”
I stop in my tracks, Boston halting beside me as my lip pokes out. “You remember what I was wearing from that long ago?”
He eyes me over, the corner of his mouth tilting up. “I remember thinking, wow … this girl likes to talk,” he deadpans, and when I roll my eyes and start walking again, he stops me. “I’m kidding, Short.”
He reaches a hand to my cheek, holding it with two fingers. “I told you; I remember everything when it comes to you. I meant that.”
“Oh yeah?” I narrow my eyes, cocking my head to the side. “What else do you remember then?”
“I remember the way you were with me when our moms introduced us. I could tell you were a no-bullshitter type of person. You couldn’t be fake if you wanted to.
But that day, it’s like you knew I needed your softer side, so you showed it to me.
No questions asked.” His hand continues to cup my cheek.
“I remember the sunshine had lightened some pieces of your hair, and you had a tan line on your shoulders.” He grins.
“Your arm was better than your brother’s when it came to throwing a spiral.
You were showing off for me, but I didn’t mind. ”
“Was not,” I lie, knowing I totally was.
His expression grows serious, and he closes the gap between us, looking down at me.
“Most of all, I remember that, even though I hardly knew you, from the second you were near, I somehow felt safer—more at ease. I wondered if maybe you were sent to me, like a gift after everything that had happened. You were something warm and bright when I needed it.” He swallows.
“I told myself it was crazy to think that way about someone I just met, but … everything inside me felt lighter from the first time I saw you.” He grins.
“And you annoyed me that day too. But more than that, you made me feel like a normal kid.”
His neck bobbles as he swallows. “You didn’t look at me like I was a sad, poor kid, even though I’m sure you knew I was. You looked at me the way you’re looking at me right now. And from that moment on, you were the only girl I could see.”
Dallas isn’t one to dive headfirst into his feelings, though he will say sweet things and is loving. Right now, he’s so raw and open, and his words alone have tears welling in my eyes.
“Thank you,” I whisper, my lip quivering.
Before I get the chance to say something about him, he drops his hand from my face and takes my hands again.
My heart flutters from the pure sweetness of it, but when he begins to drop to one knee, I can’t help the gasp that comes from my throat as my eyes grow wide with both excitement and shock.
Boston sits beside him, almost like they’ve rehearsed this or something.
“What … are you—” I stop, looking at him, forcing myself not to get ahead of myself here.
“Haven King, you’ve been there for my best days, and you’ve helped me survive my worst by helping me escape them.
You are my person,” he says, looking up at me from his knee.
“You know every part of me. The good ones and the ones I didn’t think anyone could ever love.
And yet, you do. You love me. You chose me.
And you keep choosing me.” He reaches into his pocket.
“I choose you for the rest of my life, Short. I’d choose you a million times over if I could.
” He holds a beautiful ring up. “Will you marry me, Haven King? Will you be my person for the rest of our lives?”
“Yes!” I blurt out, before he can even say anything else.
Tears pour from my eyes and down my cheeks. He slides the ring onto my finger, but he isn’t standing up fast enough, so I pull him upward toward me as Boston wiggles beside us.
“Oh my gosh,” I sob. “Was this the plan all along? Or were you going to do it tonight in front of our families?”
He hugs me tightly, keeping one arm around my body and the other on the back of my neck before he kisses me.
“I knew if I drove by slow enough, you’d notice it and ask to stop,” he murmurs against my lips.
“I’ve had the ring for months, but I wanted it to be the three of us when I asked you, and I wanted it to be somewhere that meant something.
” He kisses me, this time deepening it. “After the first time I saw you, I was never the same. So when I tried to imagine where to do this … my mind kept coming back to this spot. Right here.”
“It was perfect.” I sniffle. “I love you.”
“I love you,” he rasps. “I love us.”
I throw my arms around his neck and hold onto him tightly.
He is my person.
He is my family.
He is my forever.
And in sickness and health, bad days, good days, and everything in between … I will be the same for him. Always.
This is my happily ever after, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life making sure Dallas never has to question just how loved he is ever again.
The End.