Chapter 35
THIRTY-FIVE
The postponed book club finally happened on a Saturday about a month later. But this one was different.
All the guys came along.
Not to the book club itself. That would have been uncalled for.
Outrageous, even. The women would have revolted, and honestly, Maren wouldn’t have blamed them.
Instead, the men slid in under the radar, claiming they hadn’t all gotten together in too long and wanted to have a barbecue.
They would cook dinner and then the women could settle in for their book club that night while the men were more than happy to keep an eye on the kids, the dogs, the fire, and the beer.
In other words, controlled chaos.
Joyful chaos, but chaos all the same.
Maren had been to barbecues like this before, courtesy of her older brothers. There was nothing quite like getting a bunch of military guys together. You could cut the testosterone in the air with a knife and fork.
Reid and Beckett were both there. They’d decided to spend their leave in Colorado with their little sister and niece before their next deployments, and Maren was so happy to have them nearby she tried not to think about how temporary it was.
“You’d better warn them,” Colin told her as they got ready to head over. “Kyle is definitely going to try and recruit them for Watchdog.”
“Good luck with that.” Maren slipped an earring in and looked at his reflection in the bedroom mirror. “They’re both career military. I think it’s going to be a while before they retire. At least that’s their plan.”
Colin’s mouth curved.
Maren pointed at him. “Don’t say it.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“You absolutely were.”
His smile widened. “Every plan is perfect until—”
“It hits the battlefield,” she finished for him.
“That’s right.”
Maren shook her head, but she was smiling too.
“Ready to go?” Colin asked.
“I am.” She lifted her hand, ostensibly to smooth her hair, but really to admire her brand-new engagement ring for about the seven-hundredth time since he’d put it on her finger.
Colin had proposed the night before.
They’d had dinner in Lyons, just the two of them, which still felt like a miracle.
Afterward, they’d walked along the St. Vrain while the last of the day faded from the sky.
The sun had set behind the mountains, and the first stars were just beginning to show themselves overhead.
The night had been quiet and soft and perfect.
Then Colin suddenly dropped to one knee.
Maren’s heart stopped.
“Are you all right?” she asked, because apparently when the man she loved knelt in front of her on a river path with stars overhead, her brain immediately abandoned ship.
“Yes.” Colin looked up at her, and the love in his eyes nearly undid her before he said another word. “I’ve never been better in my life.”
Maren’s eyes went wide. “Wait a minute. Are you—”
She covered her mouth as he took a small box from his pocket.
A couple walking a golden retriever slowed down. Another woman on the path stopped outright. Then more people did, because of course they did. One of them even pulled out her phone and started recording.
“Maren Walsh,” Colin said, his voice steady even though the emotion in his eyes was anything but. “I know we met under strange circumstances.”
She laughed helplessly. So did he.
“But I never expected to be as happy as I am right now. I didn’t think that kind of life was still out there for me. Then you came through that gate.” His smile softened. “You and Juni both.”
Maren pressed her hand tighter over her mouth.
“I love you more than I’ve ever loved any woman in my life. I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much. I want to be your husband. I want to protect you and support you and stand beside you while we raise Juni into a strong, smart, beautiful woman, just like her mother.”
Her heart damn near pounded out of her chest.
“And I want to be there for both of you,” he said. “If you’ll have me.”
He opened the box.
Maren stared down at the most beautiful rings she had ever seen. They matched the rings worn by Sean’s friends and their wives.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
The stone was an amethyst, the color of lilacs in early spring. The band was white gold, and worked into it in fine relief was a hammock strung between two trees, lilac bushes curling along either side. It was so specific, so entirely hers, that her breath had caught before she could stop it.
Colin’s own band sat in the box beside hers—white gold, the St. Vrain worked into it in the same fine relief, the foothills rising behind it, the river catching light between the stones. The place Sean Volker had called paradise and now the place where Colin had dropped to one knee.
She’d noticed something else on his band, small enough to miss if you weren’t looking. A tiny teacup. Pinkie extended.
She laughed until she cried.
“So.” Colin’s smile turned a little shaky. “Will you marry me, Maren Walsh?”
“Yes.” The word came out as a sob and a laugh and the easiest answer she had ever given. “Of course I’ll marry you.”
Colin slid the ring onto her finger, then surged to his feet, caught her in his arms, and lifted her straight off the ground. Maren laughed as he spun her around, and the strangers on the path clapped and cheered like they had known them forever.
They had been surrounded by the applause of strangers then, but tonight, they would be surrounded by the applause of friends and family when she showed everyone the ring.
Maren looked at the ring one more time, then lowered her hand and turned to Colin.
“I’m ready to go.”
Her friends did not disappoint her. The applause was deafening. But they did turn on Ben, who of course knew about the proposal. Several versions of Why didn’t you tell us? rang through the air.
“So you could crash their proposal the way you did mine and Charlie’s?” Ben asked. “No way.”
“Oh, we did not crash your proposal,” Stephanie scolded back. “Besides, Charlie wanted us there, didn’t you, Charles?”
Charlie laughed. “It was already the best night of my life and you all made it better.”
Stephanie crossed her arms, a smile of smug justification on her face. “That’s what I thought.”
After dinner outside on the back deck, the women all gathered in the great room.
“Okay, ladies,” Stephanie said as she plopped down in the middle of the leather couch, “while the menfolk are out grunting over fire, let’s do our classy and cultural thing and get this book club meeting started. Where’s the booze?”
Maren was standing at one end of the couch, not sure if everyone had a usual spot where they liked to sit. She’d wait until everyone was seated, then sit wherever there was room.
Stephanie looked around. “And where’s Gina? She still outside? Hey, Gino, get in here,” Stephanie shouted. “Yo, Gino.”
Gina rolled her eyes as she stepped inside and closed the sliding door behind her. “No one in my entire life has ever called me Gino.”
“Yeah, but how else are you gonna be in the club?” Stephanie looked at Maren. “Let’s see…Maren…Maren. That’s a tricky one.”
“What club are you talking about?” Maren asked.
“It’s our little club for women who have men’s names.
I’m Steve.” She pointed to Frankie. “That’s Frank.
Over there at the end of the couch, we got Charles.
Who else we got? Well, now we got Gino here.
” She patted Gina’s arm and studied Maren.
“How about Darren, rhymes with Maren? Does Darren work for you?”
Maren laughed. “You mean like that jerk from Bewitched who never let his wife do anything fun?”
Stephanie wrinkled her nose. “Oh, yeah, you’re right. You don’t want to be Darren. Hmm. We’ll have to keep thinking. Anyway, come on over. Have a seat. This month’s book was a real hoot.”
“Yes, Charlie, thanks for introducing us to Kat Healy’s lumberjack bear shifter,” Wren said. “The Lumbersnack is so dreamy.”
“I think the guys outside are pretty dreamy for keeping an eye on the kids this time,” Frankie said. “I never minded bringing Danny—”
“And we never minded having him here,” Arden said.
“—but it’s also a good break.” Frankie turned to Ellie. “Speaking of bears, I can’t believe Bear is the one who’s doing most of the babysitting. He’s not what you think of when you think ‘babysitter.’”
Arden laughed. “Actually, I can believe it, the way that he carries little Star around on his shoulders. It is the most adorable thing I have ever seen.”
“Oh, I know!” Ellie said. “He is absolutely head over heels for our daughter. Some days, I think he’s a better mom than I am.”
Everyone laughed.
“Well, there’s a big difference between watching one adorable little baby girl and watching a whole gaggle of kids,” Frankie said.
“That’s true,” Ellie said. “And…that’s the point.” She smiled and her whole face glowed. “He offered to watch them all because he wants to practice handling more than one kid at the same time.”
Suddenly, everyone in the room was staring at Ellie.
“Um, Ellie, sweetie, do you have something to tell us?” Stephanie asked.
“I do!” she squeaked. “I’m pregnant again!”
“Oh my God!” The room exploded in cheers and laughter and clapping.
“Ellie, congratulations!”
“That’s awesome!”
“Oh, that is fantastic!”
“Thank you. We are both over the moon. I’m two months along already. This one’s almost an Irish twin to Star. We started trying for another one right away. We both want a big family. And obviously we’re not waiting on it. So I won’t be drinking any adult beverages tonight.”
“That’s fine by me,” Arden said. “I’ve got the makings for virgin pina coladas and margaritas, too.”
“And I can attest, they are great,” Maren said.
“I’ll join you if you want so that you’re not the only one who isn’t drinking tonight,” Arden said as she got from the couch to head for the kitchen.
“You don’t have to do that.” Ellie waved her off.