Protecting What’s Mine: A Small Town Love Story
Page 37
Mack laughed and took Sunshine as Linc headed off to go find Luke.
Harper hurried down the porch steps, bundled up in a bright red parka.
“Your house looks stunning,” Mack told her.
It did. There were thousands of lights. Every window, every door, was framed in white Christmas lights. The porch columns and railings were wrapped so tightly the wood wasn’t even visible. The roof was lit up like a runway. Wreaths hung from every window. Candy canes lit the walkway from sidewalk to front porch.
“Thank you,” she said, beaming. “Luke goes bigger and bigger every year.”
“I think he does it for you,” Mack guessed.
Harper’s eyes filled with tears, reflecting the dancing lights that covered just about every inch of her home. “I can’t believe I could have missed this. I could have left. I was going to leave. Move on. Start over again. And I would’ve missed out on the greatest things in my life.”
Lola the pit bull in her Santa sweater and tiny Max in his bowtie barked playfully at an inflatable snowman in the front yard.
The kids ran in and out of the crowd, playing keep-away with a reindeer mitten. Luke and Linc stood side-by-side, arms crossed, feet wide on the sidewalk as they admired their handiwork.
Tears rolled down her friend’s face. Tears of joy and gratitude, of a happiness that filled her to the point of overflowing.
“I’m glad you stayed,” Mack said, clearing her throat.
“I’m glad you stayed,” Harper said, leaning in to give her a hard hug.
Mack swiped her sleeve under her nose. It wouldn’t do to have the town’s family practitioner sobbing on the sidewalk on Christmas Eve.
* * *
Linc
“Dreamy, we need to go back home and get naked together soon or I’m going to go hypothermic,” he groused as she led him somewhere. He wasn’t sure where because she’d insisted he close his eyes. He just knew that as soon as the Wellness Club’s Christmas Light Walking Tour wrapped up, she was dragging him off.
“Yeah, yeah. Soon. I promise.”
“It’s Christmas Eve. I want to unwrap my Christmas present.”
“Almost there,” she promised breathlessly.
“And by ‘Christmas present,’ I mean you, and by ‘unwrap,’ I mean take your clothes off.”
“Okay. You can open your eyes now.” Mack sounded practically giddy.
Linc opened his eyes. She was bouncing on her toes, hands clasped under her chin, in front of the old fire station. Sunshine danced excitedly next to her.
He glanced up to the second-floor windows. The exact spot where only a few weeks ago they’d fucked themselves senseless.
“Since your place is too small and mine burned down, I thought we’d need a more permanent option,” she said gleefully.
“Another option?” he parroted.
“To live in.”
“You want to live here? With me?” He was leveled. Absolutely fucking leveled.
She nodded. “That’s kind of the plan. I mean, if you’re smart enough to recognize what a good deal this is.”
He was having trouble comprehending what she was saying.
“Run this by me again one more time?” he demanded gruffly.
“I’m picking you. I’m choosing you. And I’m asking you if you’ll…” Her voice got tight. Her words stalling.
Dreamy was never without her nerve.
“Are you okay?” He reached for her, but she took a step back.
She shook her head impatiently and took a breath. “I’m asking you, Lincoln Reed, if you’ll marry me. If you’ll move into this fire station with me. If you’ll help me plant roots here.”
Sunshine let out a happy little bark as if she understood everything Linc was having trouble grasping.
“What? Wait. What?” This time when he reached for her, she let him.
“Oh, come on! I’m asking you if you’ll make an honest woman out of me, Hotshot.” She grinned up at him and threw her arms around his neck. “Say yes.”
He was the luckiest son of a bitch in the world.
“You’re damn right I’ll marry you,” he said, lifting her feet clear off the ground and spinning her around. Sunshine ran in delirious circles.
“I knew you were beautiful and smart.” Mack laughed. Her arms tightened around him, and he saw the glisten of tears in those beautiful, bottle green eyes.
“Are you sure about this?”
She shook her head. “I’m scared shitless. That’s how I know it’s going to be good.”
“I won’t let you down, Dreamy,” he promised her earnestly.
She smirked. “I know you won’t. And I’ll do my best to return the favor. This is going to be one hell of an adventure.”
“I’ll make sure it is,” he promised fervently.
“It’s a wreck,” she warned him. “I’ve already walked the building with Luke. It’s gonna be a lot of work to make it livable.”
“A hell of an adventure,” Linc repeated, feeling his heart swelling in his chest.
She’d chosen him. Mackenzie O’Neil had picked him to spend the rest of her life with. He wasn’t just lucky. He was golden.
“You must really like this idea,” she whispered, cuddling against the hardness in his pocket.
And that’s when he remembered what he’d put in there.
“About that, Dreamy,” he said, sliding a hand into his pocket.
“Don’t you dare get your dick out yet,” she hissed.
“I’m not getting my dick out.”
But his complaint was drowned out by the creaky ascent of the fire station’s garage door. He saw feet. A lot of them. And tires. And a gleaming chrome grill.
“What did you do?” he asked her. Sunshine darted under the door and disappeared.
Mack grinned at him and pressed her face into his chest. “Happy engagement present.”
His crew, all of them grinning maniacally, surrounded his beloved Betsy. His 1954 Mack B85 Antique Fire Engine. But it wasn’t the wreck it had been. It was pristine, perfect.
“How?” It was the only word he could get out.
“Abner Kersh and Shorty’s garage helped out with the bodywork, but your guys did the rest,” Mackenzie told him.
“You do a lot for us, chief,” Brody, in a Santa beard, told him. “This is a thank you.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Linc said, feeling his throat tighten.
“You shut the fuck up,” Brody countered, pulling him in for a hug.
“Thanks, chief,” Kelly said, elbowing her way into the hug.
There were hugs, a few manly tears, and a lot of appreciative nodding as they circled Betsy with him.
“Who wants a beer?” someone yelled.
“Me!” they all responded.
Linc found his way back to Mackenzie. He always would.
“Pretty confident that I was gonna say yes,” he teased, slipping his hands around her waist and bringing his forehead to hers.
She pinched his ass. “It was incentive. I mean, I already bought the station.”
“Doc Dreamy owns real estate?” he teased.
“Doc Dreamy and Chief Dreamy own real estate,” she corrected.
“About that,” he said, once again slipping his hand into his pocket. “Sunny, come here.”
Sunshine trotted up to them and plopped her butt on the cold concrete.
“Mackenzie O’Neil, let’s make this official,” Linc said, producing the box from his pocket.
“Shut the fuck up,” she said, bringing her gloved hands to her mouth.
“I will once you put this damn diamond on your finger,” he promised.
She tore off her glove and threw it on the floor.
Sunshine helpfully picked it up and watched dopey-eyed while her mommy and daddy made things official with a bit of sparkle and a long, sweet kiss.
*********
Not ready to let Linc and Mack go? Take a peek into their future and find out how many firefigh
ters it takes to teach a seven-year-old her reindeer choreography.
TAP HERE: Please, please, please give me this scene now!
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Also from Benevolence…
Pretend You’re Mine: Luke and Harper think a temporary fake relationship will solve both their problems.
Click here to read PRETEND YOU’RE MINE
Finally Mine: Aldo finally gets a second chance with the girl he never forgot.
Click here to read FINALLY MINE
Author’s Note to the Reader
Dear Reader,
How was that for a five-alarm happily ever after? Whew! **smears sweat around on face with third wear taco t-shirt**
I hope you loved Linc and Mack and your re-visit to Benevolence. This was one of those books that just flowed like queso through my fingers and onto the screen. It felt like Linc had been marinating in the back of my mind for a very long time! And I had the best time catching up with Luke and Harper and Gloria and Aldo. All the heart eyes!
I delved pretty deeply into research for this book and came away obsessed with Air Ambulance ER episodes. Plus, I got to fictionalize some real-life events. That opening scene with Linc on his way to buy an extension cord? That actually happened. And so did the roadside open heart surgery.
I couldn’t have written this book without the help of Brooke Kell Morgan and her reluctant brother Christopher Kell, along with the rest of the Help a Lucy Out: First Responder Research Group. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me write this book!
Loved Linc and want to leave a review? Thank you! You’re the sweetest and you clearly have phenomenal taste! Don’t want to ever miss a word I write? Sign up for my rarely annoying, always entertaining newsletter. Thank you for spending your reading time on this book. You’re the bestest!
Xoxo,
Lucy
About the Author
Lucy Score is a Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon bestselling author. She grew up in a literary family who insisted that the dinner table was for reading and earned a degree in journalism. She writes full-time from the Pennsylvania home she and Mr. Lucy share with their obnoxious cat, Cleo. When not spending hours crafting heartbreaker heroes and kick-ass heroines, Lucy can be found on the couch, in the kitchen, or at the gym. She hopes to someday write from a sailboat, or oceanfront condo, or tropical island with reliable Wi-Fi.
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Acknowledgments
Brooke Kell Morgan and Christopher Kell for making sure I didn’t write a super inaccurate fire department.
All of the members of Help a Lucy Out: First Responder Research Group.
Author Jamie Schlosser for hunting down and tackling real life fire chiefs to get answers to my random questions.
Kari March of Kari March Designs for this hawt AF cover and all of the teasers and graphics and for just being a lovely human being in general.
Joyce and Tammy for being so pretty and fun and not letting me linger in the “this book might be garbage” phase.
My eagle-eyed proofers and editors: Jessica Snyder, Dawn Harer, and Amanda Edens.
Mr. Lucy for being so Mr. Lucy-y. You’re my real-life bearded hero!
My readers. Loves of my life. You guys are too tacorific for words. Thanks for always showing up for me!
First responders everywhere. You are the heroes of everyday life and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Stay safe out there.
Lucy’s Titles
Standalone Titles
Undercover Love
Pretend You’re Mine
Finally Mine
Protecting What’s Mine
Mr. Fixer Upper
The Christmas Fix
Heart of Hope
The Worst Best Man
Rock Bottom Girl
The Price of Scandal
The Blue Moon Small Town Romance Series
No More Secrets
Fall into Temptation
The Last Second Chance
Not Part of the Plan
Holding on to Chaos
The Fine Art of Faking It
Where It All Began
Bootleg Springs Series
Whiskey Chaser
Sidecar Crush
Moonshine Kiss
Bourbon Bliss
Gin Fling
Highball Rush
Sinner and Saint
Crossing the Line
Breaking the Rules