“You made that?” he said. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen, Ivy. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say those were live flowers.”
She smiled the biggest, most beautiful smile he’d seen since the fire.
“I made them,” she said, and he could hear how proud she was. “It’s my version of my and Charlie’s garden. I don’t think I’d have ever finished it if I hadn’t met you, which is why I wanted you to be the first to see it.”
She beamed—a ray of sunshine on an otherwise cloudy day.
He stepped closer and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Are you calling me your muse?” he teased, and she laughed.
“I’m calling you my everything, if that’s okay,” she said, then kissed him.
He smiled against her. “That’s about the okayest thing I’ve ever been called, darlin’. So yeah, I think I’m good with that. As long as you’re good with me spending the rest of my days making good on that title.”
She kissed him again, and he took that as a yes.
* * *
Ivy and Carter tied Ace and Barbara Ann to the fence. She stared at the beautiful, stubborn man she loved and shook her head.
“What would the doctor say if he knew you were on a horse three days after breaking your arm?” she asked. She’d tried to stop him, but he’d threatened to ride off without her if she didn’t join him.
He opened and closed his right hand. “Arm’s broken,” he said. “Thanks to Shane O’Brien, the hand’s just fine. Besides, who’s snitching on me to the doctor?”
She removed the pack from Barbara Ann’s saddle and tossed it on the ground. They’d get to that shortly. Then she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him in the place where they’d kissed for the first time. When they finally parted, he spun her so her back was against his torso, his hands resting on her hips.
From the top of the hill above town, Ivy could see the ruins of Mrs. Davis’s home. She could also see the inn where Pearl would give her—and her animals—a place to stay for as long as it took for her to rebuild. She could see the bell above the firehouse, the one that would forever remind her of the day she didn’t lose the man who held her in his arms right now.
“Can you see that?” he whispered in her ear. “I don’t mean the town. I mean what’s right in front of you.”
Her brows furrowed, and she shifted her gaze from the tapestry of Meadow Valley to a shock of color just a little way down the hill. A sunflower.
She spun to face him. “I don’t understand. How did it—I mean, those don’t sprout up in a matter of days.”
He laughed. “I talked to Sam Callahan, and we thought it might be fun to start a community garden up here between locals and ranch guests. It’s public property, so there are permits involved, but I’m sure you can point me in the right direction of who to talk to.”
“You want to build me a garden?” she asked, her eyes wide.
“I want to build you everything,” he said. “But if the garden’s too painful—if the memories are too much…”
She shook her head.
“It is painful,” she admitted. “But it’s also wonderful and thoughtful.” She pressed her palms to his chest. “I don’t want to forget the painful stuff. And I don’t want to wrap myself in a bubble of fire extinguishers and interconnected smoke detectors and—and loneliness to protect myself from getting hurt again. I want to start something new—with this garden and with you. I will always be scared, but I don’t have to be alone. We’re not alone.”
“Although fire safety is important,” he teased. “So don’t abandon your extinguishers just to make a statement.”
She laughed.
“You know,” he said, looking past her and down at the town, “if you need to when things get tough, we can always come here to forget the rest of the world for a little while, pretend it doesn’t exist.”
She shook her head. “I want to experience it all, the good and the bad. With you.”
She gave him a soft kiss and ran her hands through his hair, smiling against him. “Starting with a hilltop haircut,” she said. “Are you ready, Lieutenant? Brought all my tools.”
He laughed and stepped away. “At the risk of you miscalculating and lopping off my ear, I need to ask you one quick thing before I potentially lose my hearing.”
Ivy crossed her arms. “Cut off your ear? Please, Lieutenant. And here I thought you trusted—”
He dropped down to one knee, and Ivy lost the ability to form words.
“I know there’s supposed to be a ring and everything, but I’m kind of doing this out of order. It’s as simple as the text you sent me the night of the fire. Everything’s been so crazy the past few days I didn’t even see it until later the next day. I’m here, Ivy. If you’ll let me, I will always be here for you. I love you. Say you’ll marry me, plant gardens with me, and build a life with me, and then I’ll let you cut my hair.”
She wasn’t sure if she was laughing or crying because the tears were flowing, but she was smiling from ear to ear.
She clasped her hands around his neck and kissed him and kissed him and kissed him some more.
“Yes,” she said against him, and she felt his smile mirror hers. “Yes. Yes. Yes.”
Discover Your Next Great Read
Get sneak peeks, book recommendations, and news about your favorite authors.
Tap here to learn more.
About the Author
A librarian for teens by day and a USA Today bestselling romance writer by night, A. J. Pine can’t seem to escape the world of fiction, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. When she finds that twenty-fifth hour in the day, she might indulge in a tiny bit of TV to nourish her undying love of vampires, superheroes, and a certain high-functioning sociopath detective. She hails from the far-off galaxy of the Chicago suburbs.
You can learn more at:
AJPine.com
Twitter @AJ_Pine
Facebook.com/AJPineAuthor
First Kiss with a Cowboy: Includes a bonus novella Page 35
