by T. L. Haddix
“I’ll need a good manager.”
Feeling mischievous, she pursed her lips. “I hear Pam’s available.”
Caleb narrowed his eyes and grabbed her, tickling her ribs gently. “I meant you, you impudent wench.”
“Did you, now?” she asked, laughing at him.
“The position does come with a stipulation, however.” He threaded his fingers into her hair, capturing her head. “There’s a contract you have to sign.”
“Mm, okay. What sort of contract?” She looped her arms around his neck, enjoying the easy banter. It felt good to laugh again, even though the sadness wasn’t gone.
“A lifetime one. To have and to hold, his and hers matching bathrobes, kittens, and picket fences.” He inclined his head, his tone softening. “Maybe rug rats someday, when we’re both ready.”
When the meaning behind his words sank in, she gave a tiny shake of her head. “Caleb?”
“Will you marry me? Come build a life with me? Let me wake up with you every morning for the rest of our lives?”
It was a good thing his arms were around her because Brooke couldn’t stand on her own. With shaking fingers, she touched his chin. “You’re serious?”
“One hundred percent.”
With tears in her eyes, she nodded. “I’d love to marry you, and yes to all the rest of it too.”
The kiss he gave her was so tender and sweet it nearly broke her heart.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I’m going to spend the next several decades proving that.”
“I’ll prove it right back to you.”
They stood holding each other for a long while. Finally, Caleb drew back with a sigh. “We should get out of here, get to someplace clean at least.”
As they walked to the truck, she laughed. “You know, we’re going to have to get Amelia something really nice as a thanks.”
He carefully boosted her into the seat even though she was perfectly capable of getting in on her own. “I’ll owe her for the rest of my life. She was so smug too, when she first mentioned you to me. She knew you were the one.” He kissed her again.
Brooke smiled at him. “I like being the one.”
“Do you, now?”
“Mm-hmm. I’ll love you forever, you know.”
“I was just thinking that very thing,” he whispered.
As they drove home, she closed her eyes and let out a quiet breath, letting some of her guilt go with it. She knew being engaged wouldn’t make her grief and sadness go away completely, but knowing a future with the man she loved was waiting for her was enough to start healing the wounds of loss.
Chapter Nineteen
Walker was both surprised and grateful that Brooke was able to pull their wedding together in only a month. He knew it was a lot of work even with help from his mother, Jeanette, Gina, and a host of other friends and family members. As he was busy working on the rehab of the clinic they were buying from Dr. Logue, most of the burden fell on Brooke’s shoulders, but she assured him she didn’t mind.
“I’ve been planning for this since I was a little girl,” she’d teased. “Just wait until you see me walking across the yard in all my debutante-esque glory. Furbelows and tulle and ruffles… it’ll make your head spin. And that’s your suit!”
He’d tickled her mercilessly until she was shrieking with laughter, begging him to stop. As they’d been in her father’s living room and he was starting to get dirty looks from her brother, who was slowly warming up to him, Walker had given in to her pleas.
“I’ll pay you back for that later,” he whispered in her ear.
The look she gave him nearly had him dragging her out the front door. “I’ll hold you to that.”
Now, the night before the wedding, he was standing in a quiet alcove outside the restaurant where they were having the rehearsal dinner, catching a bit of fresh air before everyone arrived and the festivities began. He’d been out on a late call the night before, and the long hours were catching up to him.
“Careful, or you’ll fall asleep standing up,” Trent said from beside him. When Walker jumped, his father laughed. “You really were snoozing. I’m sorry.”
“I was examining my eyelids from the inside,” Walker retorted.
Trent leaned against the wall. “Are you excited about tomorrow?”
“I’m about to be carried away by the herd of butterflies in my stomach, but yes. I can barely stand to wait another day.” As his father laughed, Walker frowned a little. “What?”
“Oh, I don’t know. I’m happy for you. Glad you saw what was in front of you, glad you have a woman like Brooke in your life. Proud of you for doing what you’re doing with the new clinic—all of it, really. And I guess I’m enjoying watching you discover the truth about yourself.” Trent laid a hand on Walker’s shoulder. “You’re finally seeing the Caleb we’ve all known for years, and that’s enough to make a father feel like laughing with joy.”
The words choked them both up, and for a bit, they didn’t speak.
“I worried that I was like them, Gene and Doris,” Walker finally confessed. “I still wake up in the middle of the night and can’t believe this is real. I didn’t know how much I wanted to belong to someone until I did. Tomorrow, I get to tell her and the world. That’s stunning, you know.”
“I know. You’ll get used to it, at least until the first baby comes along. Then it starts all over again. And then you think you’re used to that, and the second one comes. Then the third, the fourth…” He chuckled when Walker held up his hand.
“I went to veterinary school, Dad. I know what causes all those kids to show up. Three’s about as far as we should go, I think.”
Trent doubled over laughing. “I remember Owen Campbell saying something similar after his twins were born. How many kids does he have again?”
Walker huffed. “Yeah, yeah.” Amelia was the youngest of five.
Just then, Brooke stepped outside, breaking into a smile when she spotted them. Her dress was floaty and filmy, her hair danced around her shoulders, and she positively glowed with happiness. In that moment, Walker knew that if she wanted a dozen kids, he’d give them to her, whatever it took.
“Come in?” she asked, holding out her hands. “We can’t start without you.”
Trent kissed her temple as he passed her. “I’ll see you inside.”
She started to follow him, but Walker held her back, committing the sight of her to memory. “I love you, you know.”
“I love you too.” She closed her eyes when he touched her face. “You’re my heart, Caleb Walker.”
“And you’re mine.”
He knew it would mean messing up her makeup, but he had to kiss her. Fortunately, she didn’t seem to mind, as she kissed him back just as eagerly.
As they went inside a few minutes later to meet up with their loved ones, he couldn’t help but think he’d gotten more lucky than he’d known when his mother had dropped him off with a distant friend from school all those years ago. The universe had done him a big favor back then, had truly blessed him by setting him on the path to true love, and he was looking forward to spending the next several decades making sure he did his best to pay it back in spades.
Also by T. L. Haddix
The Firefly Hollow Series:
Firefly Hollow
Butterfly Lane
Dragonfly Creek
Cattail Ridge
Cricket Cove
Stormking Road
Fern Valley
Snapdragon Way
Stardust Valley
Kathy
Spring Valley
The Shadows Collection:
Secrets in the Shadows
Under the Moon’s Shadow
Shadows from the Grave
Hidden in the Shadows
In the Heart’s
Shadow
Deception in the Shadows
Seduction in the Shadows
Redemption in the Shadows
Writing as Mallory Love:
Capturing Colleen (Sunset Motel, Book One)
Seducing Samantha (Sunset Motel, Book Two)
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