Chapter 45 Free-Range Hearts #2
“So I did, quite happily. Your dad had told me to make sure the jeweler only wore gloves when working with the pearl. I don’t know how he knew, but when it was finally done, I brought it home and your dad was waiting in the workshop for me.
He asked to see it, then took it in his hand.
He said he erased all traces of the jeweler, the wholesalers, the miners, anyone involved in the platinum and the opals, so all that would be left was my love in the pearl. ”
I thought about Dad being so angry when I was talking to him underwater, him saying he’d given Declan his approval. Why wasn’t I allowing my mate to help me? That conversation made more sense now. “So you two have been scheming, huh?”
He scratched his beard. “Not too much. Only a little. But then you had that dream that we’d not only have Quinn, but Mac too.
We’re staying together and happy. I wanted to ask you then, but I was so overwhelmed, my brain and tongue wouldn’t work together.
There was something about Osso referring to me as your boyfriend last night that gave me a kick in the ass.
I’m not a boyfriend. I’m your mate and I want to be your husband.
” His hand moved up to cradle my face. “Will you marry me?”
I stared up into his warm brown eyes. How’d I get so lucky? “Do you promise to always make me breakfast?”
He grinned. “I do.”
“And pick me up and carry me places for the hell of it?”
“I do.”
“And be a kind, patient, loving father and mate?” My vision was getting blurry.
He kissed my chin. “I do.”
“Okay then.”
He laughed and kissed me until I’d lost the thread of our conversation. When we came up for air, he was slipping the ring on my finger and I was hit with a wave of love. Gasping, my eyes flooded with tears as I crushed him to me, riding the wave.
“You feel it?” he whispered.
I nodded, my heart bursting.
On a quick intake of breath, he spread his hand over my abdomen. “She kicked or moved or something. Did you feel that?”
I shook my head, laughing. “I’m too busy feeling everything else.”
He brushed his fingertips over me. “Maybe she feels it too.” He gave me another kiss and rolled out of bed, grabbing his pajama bottoms and slipping them on. “I need to go make my girls breakfast. It was one of the vows I recently took. I’ll be back with your juice in a minute.”
My hand replaced his over our growing daughter. “What do you think, Quinn?” I whispered. I felt her flutters answering me.
As it was Sunday, he made us toad-in-the-holes, with fresh fruit. And bacon, of course. We made it to the gallery as Elizabeth was dropping off Faith and Frank. I invited her to come in for a minute so I could talk with them about last night.
“It was that man, wasn’t it?” Frank asked. “I knew he was trouble. There was something about him that felt off.”
“And you were right,” I told him. “Here’s Carter’s truck. And Hester is right behind him. I’ll tell everyone at once.”
He caught my arm. “I’m sorry, Arwyn. We should have stayed.”
Declan patted Frank on the back. “She was covered. Carter stayed, then I came. Thank you, though, for wanting to protect her.”
I threw my hands up in the air as I led the group toward the front door. “Why does everyone keep forgetting I can protect myself?”
I opened the door, walked across the gallery, and out the back door. “Bracken?” I called.
I heard a quiet “Yes?” coming from the bench beside me rather than the distant RV.
“Oh. Hi. Can you come in? I wanted to update people on last night.”
Nodding, he stood, following me in. “How are you feeling today?”
I put my hand in the crook of his arm. “I’m good.”
He looked down at my gloved hand and smiled. Wait. Did he know what was under my glove?
Mom was talking to Elizabeth and Hester. I glanced over at Declan, and he nodded. That man was handy. I hadn’t thought to call Mom, but he clearly had.
Once we were all assembled, I went through what happened with the mayor. Mom, Elizabeth, Hester, and the kids were all shocked and asking questions. Declan, Carter, and Bracken had been here, so knew what I was going to say. What they didn’t know was the second part of the evening.
“Remember the vision about me being hit by a car?” I asked Mom and Faith.
Faith nodded, looking worried.
“Well, that happened—”
“Almost,” Declan clarified.
“Almost.” I told them what happened with Milena and her car.
“Are you shittin—sorry.” Carter tipped his head to Mom, Hester, and Elizabeth. “Are you kidding me. After all the cops left, that psycho tried to run you down?”
“I thought I heard something,” Bracken said. “I was in the shower. When I went out afterward to investigate, I saw patrol cars and an ambulance. I assumed there’d been a traffic accident.” He shook his head in disgust. “Did she survive the crash?”
I leaned into Declan, who wrapped an arm around me. “She’s in police custody with her twin and grandmother. I wouldn’t be smiling this morning if I’d killed someone last night.”
Bracken held up a hand. “That wasn’t what I meant. She was the one driving out of control with her lights off. Such thoughtless recklessness. I don’t understand it.”
Hester, who was standing near Bracken, reached out to pat his arm.
“Wait,” Frank said. “So the Swans and the serial killer were all locked up yesterday? We should have a party.”
Declan squeezed me. “We should.”
I glanced up at him. He was waiting to see if I was going to tell people. “There’s something else we should celebrate too,” I told them all as I took off my left glove and held up my hand.
Chaos ensued. Everyone wanted to hug me, but they knew they couldn’t, so they hugged Declan, who then passed the hug on to me. It worked for us.
Carter was the one who noticed it was opening time.
Frank and Faith jumped into action, opening the point-of-sale system.
One of them stayed at the register while the other filled in a little.
Luckily, since it had slowed down last night, they’d already gotten a lot of the prep work for today taken care of.
I showed Mom and Elizabeth the nursery and discussed my plans, walking them through what would soon be Bracken’s apartment.
Both were excited and wanted to discuss wedding plans.
I told them I’d only been engaged a couple of hours and wasn’t ready for planning.
The way the two looked at each other, I was pretty sure planning would begin today.
We walked back out to the café, where Hester was brewing Bracken a cup of tea. Mom and Elizabeth decided to go get lunch so they could put their heads together on the whole wedding deal. I told Hester she should go too.
When Mom and Elizabeth quickly agreed and asked her to join them, I could see Hester was conflicted. On one hand, she was excited to be included. On the other, she had a job here.
I went behind the counter, untied her apron, and tied it around my own waist. “I’ve got it. You guys go have a nice lunch.”
“Are you sure?” Hester asked.
“I absolutely am.”
She looked down at my gloved hand. “Can I see it up close?”
I whipped off my glove and all three leaned in to get a better look.
Mom rubbed my back. “He knows you—the ring is proof of that—and he loves you. It’s a wonderous thing to be known and loved.”
I nodded. “It is.”
“Okay,” Mom said. “We’re kidnapping your employee. We may or may not bring her back.”
Declan gave me a kiss and went home. He had baby furniture to work on.
The café did brisk business, which was fine. It kept me from worrying about what my mom and aunts were cooking up.
When Hester returned, she looked lighter and happier than I’d seen her for quite some time. She’d always grieve her daughter Pearl, but some of the crushing sadness was lifting.
“If anyone needs me,” I told her, “I’ll be in the studio.”
“Okay, sweetheart. You should try to take a nap, if you can.”
I thought about it and realized she was right.
I was exhausted. Nodding, I waved and slipped through the door to the studio.
I flicked my fingers, blocking the light from the windows, kicked off my shoes, pulled a blanket over me, and lay down on the couch.
In what felt like no time at all, I was out.
Quinn and I are sitting on the floor of the gallery nursery.
Her little baby curls stick out in every direction from her head, looking like she was recently awakened from a nap.
We’re in the center of a soft rug. Quinn sits with the unsteadiness of one who’s only recently mastered sitting. At any moment, she could topple over.
Currently, she’s grinning at me while she gums the tentacle of her squishy octopus toy. The door behind me opens. Everyone but Declan knocks first, so Quinn and I turn toward the door, smiling.
It’s not Declan. My dad walks in. “Hello, daughter.” He beams down at Quinn, reaching for her. Quinn puts her hands up. She knows and loves her grandpa. “She looks exactly like you did at this age, even the curls sprouting from her head like a sea anemone.”
He’s wearing a cardigan, which will never not be funny to me. Quinn may be a baby, but she knows the drill. As soon as he picks her up, she reaches for his pocket, though her little arms are too short.
“Is this what you want?” he asks, holding out a small, perfect strawberry for her.
She claps her hands, dropping the octopus, which I catch.
He places the berry in her tiny hand, and she begins to mash it in her mouth, still grinning at him.
“Emrys tells me her swimming lessons are going well. Next time, I will come and work with her myself.”
“She’d love that,” I tell him.
I sense something else in the room with us and pop to my feet.
“Relax, child.” The soft, lilting voice has my heart racing.
The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life steps around my very tall father, her eyes on Quinn. “She’s perfect,” Gloriana, the fae queen, says.
“Of course she is,” Dad responds easily, though his whole body has tensed, like he’s turned a corner and run into a rabid dog.
Dad’s eyes widen as they shoot to me, and Gloriana gives me an annoyed look.
“I’m hardly a rabid dog. I was complimenting your daughter.” She shakes her head, her focus back on Quinn as I try to lock down my thoughts hard.
“Okay,” I reply. “But you got the most beautiful woman ever part too, right?”
She shrugs a delicate shoulder, running a finger over Quinn’s chubby arm. “She doesn’t have your vision-filled skin?”
My hands are clutched tight. “She doesn’t seem to, no.”
“Good,” Gloriana says. “That’s one vulnerability taken care of.” She turns to me. “Has she shifted?”
I shake my head again.
Gloriana studies me a moment, rummaging around in my mind, and says, “Ah, good. You’ve seen that she will.” She turns back to Quinn. “Yes. This little one will prove to be just perfect.”
My racing heart drops to my stomach. What does she have planned for my child?