by Kait Nolan
“I know. Walk me out to the car.”
They loaded their respective bags and met in the middle.
He pulled her into his arms. “This never gets any easier.”
“No. I gotta admit, though, I’m glad you’re not in the Army anymore. I’m not sure I could hack it as a military girlfriend, with all those long deployments.”
“I figure I’m right where I’m supposed to be. Finally.”
She grinned. “Damn straight.” Rising to her toes, she kissed him, drawing him in with her sweetness and still simmering heat.
Because he knew he had to, he pulled back. “You’re gonna be late to class.”
“Damn it. Okay.” She let him go, stepping back and opening her car door. “See you soon. Talk tonight?”
“Absolutely. I love you.”
“Love you, too.”
She got into her Mini Cooper and blew him a kiss as she pulled out of the drive.
Sebastian watched until she was out of sight, feeling like the luckiest bastard on earth and wondering how a woman like her was truly into a guy like him. Then he smiled, knowing her response to that question would be some kind of fierce argument and probably taking him to bed to show him. Repeatedly.
Life was really fucking good.
Now he just had to be patient and get through the next eight weeks.
At long last, it was over. Laurel was officially a graduate of Vanderbilt Law School. Number three in her class. She’d been hooded, congratulated by faculty and friends, and now she was wading through the chaos of the crowd on Curry Field, trying to find her family. It had rained last night, so she hadn’t worn her heels on the sodden grass, and she cursed the fact that the DNA gods hadn’t seen fit to pass on any of her father or brother’s height. Maybe she should stand on one of the chairs set out under the big tent.
“Laurel!”
Turning, she spotted Sebastian, cutting through the crowd like a knife. Everything inside her lit up at the sight of him. So she was laughing as he scooped her up, spinning her in a circle.
“Hot damn, you did it!”
“Yes, I did! I missed you.” She framed his face and kissed him hard and fast.
“There’s our girl!” Beaming, her father broke through next, trailed by her mom, Logan, and Athena.
She got passed from one to the next. With every hug, every congratulations, it seemed another layer of the stress and anxiety that had lingered like a malaise finally began to lift. Joy and relief had her almost vibrating through all the requisite pictures. She was finished, and she could finally get started on the next phase of her life. But that necessitated a chance for some one-on-one conversation with Sebastian.
“Okay, I’m starting to bake in this cap and gown, and I’m absolutely starving. The graduate requests food!”
As the day belonged to her, she announced where she wanted to go, and everyone split up to take separate vehicles. Sebastian came with her. Laurel slipped her arm through his, happy for the chance to touch him.
“I’m proud of you, you know.”
She tipped her head up to study his face. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. You figure out how to take your degree and make it work for you.”
Her step hitched. Had someone told him and ruined the surprise? “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. And I’ve got a lot of will.”
“It’s one of the things I love about you.”
They reached her car, and she stripped out of the cap, gown, and hood. Sebastian looked utterly ridiculous folded into the front passenger seat of her Mini.
“You’ll be great at this grant-writing thing. I mean, how many did you help me submit this semester in the middle of everything else?”
“Six.” Laurel swallowed, suddenly nervous as she backed out of the space. If she waited for him to bring it up, they’d lose this small window alone, and she couldn’t trust someone not to spill the beans at lunch. “Shouldn’t you have been hearing about the Calico Foundation grant this week?”
“Actually, I heard this morning. But today is for you. I didn’t want to detract from that.”
Exasperated, she shot him a look. “How would you getting the grant detract from that??? Today is for celebrating!”
His brows drew together. “How did you know I got the grant?”
“Of course you got it. It’s my foundation.” Her mouth snapped shut like a trap. That wasn’t how she’d meant for that to come out.
“It’s what now?”
Well, she was in it now. “Calico Foundation is the non-profit I set up with the money from my trust.”
“What trust?” Was there suspicion in that neutral tone? She couldn’t tell.
“My maternal grandparents left both Logan and me trusts that we gained access to when we turned twenty-five. It’s how he could afford to buy the farm. This is what I decided to do with mine.”
She chanced another glance in his direction and found him frowning.
“You set up a foundation just to fund my program?”
Disbelief was probably bad. She needed to salvage this situation. “Not just your program. I set up a foundation to provide grant funding for all sorts of regional projects. Things that will make life better for the people of Tennessee. Yours just happened to be the first one I chose to fund.”
Sebastian sucked in a breath. “I—don’t know what to say.”
She couldn’t read him, and it rattled her. Biting her lip, she tried to find a way to explain this that wasn’t going to be a blow to his pride. “You were worried that you wouldn’t be enough, that helping you with the therapy program wouldn’t be enough for me. You were partly right. I want to make a difference, Sebastian. I need to make a difference. And this way I can, on a much broader scale, without ever having to leave Eden’s Ridge or you.”
She pulled into a parking space at the restaurant and turned to face him. His jaw was working and he wasn’t looking at her. She laid a hand on his arm, needing to make him understand.
“Please don’t be angry. I didn’t decide to fund your program just because it was yours. I believe in what you can do with it. And I didn’t tell you about it because I wasn’t sure if you’d accept the money if you knew it was from me. I knew for sure you wouldn’t if it came directly from me, so I got Dad to help me change the beneficiary of the trust to the Calico Foundation.”
His gaze snapped back toward her. “Your dad knows about this?”
“Yeah. He specializes in estate planning, so he’s the one who wrote the original trusts for my grandparents.”
“And he didn’t pitch a fit that you did this?”
“No.” And hadn’t that been a surprise? “He’s pretty psyched about my new direction and excited about the kinds of programs it could support. He was actually really impressed with your proposal.”
Sebastian went quiet, his expression utterly blank.
Anxiety began to curl in her belly. She’d wanted to do a good thing for them both, but what if she’d overstepped? What if he couldn’t accept what she brought to this? Had she ruined everything by setting this up behind his back?
“Please say something,” she whispered.
Instead, he lunged across the seat, cupping her nape and dragging her mouth to his for a fierce kiss. “I love you. I love you so damned much. Thank you for doing this.”
“You’re…not mad?”
“I’m not mad. I’m in shock. You’re the most generous, capable woman I’ve ever met. You could do literally anything with your life, and you’re choosing me.”
Relieved, she cupped his face, stroking a thumb across his cheek. “I know a good investment when I see it, and a life with you is at the top of my list.”
“Thank God.” He leaned in to kiss her again.
Somebody knocked on the window, and Laurel startled back in the seat.
From outside the car, Athena smirked. “Hey, if you two are done making out in the parking lot, we’re all going inside to eat.”
As her sister-in-law strolled on toward the
restaurant, Laurel snickered. “For the record, I am never going to be done making out in the parking lot.”
“Noted, counselor.” Sebastian sobered. “I’m going to buy an entire farm.”
“I’m going to run an entire charitable foundation.”
“I need a burger.”
“Dad’s buying. Let’s eat steak. And lobster.”
“That’s my girl.”
Epilogue
1 Year Later
“Careful.” Sebastian and Ty eased up the front porch steps and set the whiskey barrel planter opposite its mate by the front door. The bright-faced impatiens nodded in the early May breeze, a nice contrast to the freshly-painted house.
Further down the porch, Harrison and Ivy hung the last of the massive Boston ferns from eye bolts in the eaves. In the yard, the last of Porter’s crew packed up their trucks. It had been a whirlwind week, taking advantage of the fact that Laurel was out of town, meeting with the board of the Calico Foundation to settle on this year’s grant recipients. Sebastian had recruited all his friends to help him finally tackle the exterior of the old farmhouse.
After the funding came through, he and Laurel had moved in to Josiah Massey’s place last summer. With the addition of the three smaller grants they’d received, there’d been enough to rehab the barn and get the therapy program solidly started. They’d managed all the basic repairs on the house, but the focus had necessarily been on the business. The business was thriving now. Felicity Harmon, their new therapist, had been a Godsend, allowing Sebastian to spend the majority of time on his rescues. Now he was thinking toward the future. That meant taking the steps to give her the home she’d imagined all those months ago.
Looking at it now, he thought they’d pulled it off. The siding had been painted the blue-gray she’d described, with crisp white trim and new dark gray shutters. Window boxes he’d built with his own hands were mounted across the front of the house, multi-colored petunias spilling over the edges. At the far end, a big porch swing, with bright, overstuffed cushions—Ivy’s contribution— hung looking out over the view of the barn and pastures beyond. Mr. Rochester had already taken ownership of that, curling up on one end and swishing his tail. They needed some kind of a table to put in front of it for that coffee and lemonade, but Laurel would probably want to pick that out herself.
As the last of Porter’s crew pulled out of the drive, Sebastian cast a final look around. “That should do it. Thank y’all for all your help. I couldn’t have pulled this off without you.”
Harrison clapped him on the shoulder. “Happy you finally asked for help with something.”
“See? And it didn’t even kill you,” Ty teased.
“I’m all about supporting love,” Porter announced. “Congratulations, man.”
“You can’t congratulate me until she says yes.”
“She’s not gonna say no,” Ivy insisted. “When is she supposed to be getting home?”
“Soon. Y’all need to vamoose.” He tugged out his phone and pulled up her location. “She’s—oh hell, she’s a quarter mile away! They’re early! There’s no way you can get out of here without being seen. Scatter.”
“Where?” Ty asked.
“I don’t know! For fuck’s sake go hide. Y’all weren’t supposed to be here for this.” Tunneling both hands through his hair, Sebastian reviewed the plan, wondering what needed to change.
His friends bolted for the barn. Maybe she wouldn’t look down there. Maybe she’d just think it was the latest therapy clients. As long as Logan had the blindfold in place and Laurel was cooperating…
A truck turned in at the end of the drive. Logan’s truck. Sebastian’s palms went damp.
You got this.
They pulled up in front of the house. He checked to make sure the guys were hidden away, then circled around to open the passenger door.
“Why am I blindfolded?” Laurel demanded.
Lips quirking, he leaned in to brush a kiss to her cheek as he unbuckled her seatbelt. “Hello to you, too.”
“Sebastian, what is going on?”
“A surprise.”
“I’m not sure how I feel about surprises.”
“You’re going to like this one.” God, he sure as hell hoped she did.
Taking her hands, he helped her out of the truck. Logan grabbed her suitcase from the back and deposited it by the steps.
“I’m gonna get on home to Athena. Welcome back, Pip.” To Sebastian he mouthed, “Good luck,” and climbed back in the truck.
As soon as he disappeared, Sebastian’s tongue turned thick and clumsy. Feeling more than a little stupid, he blurted, “How was your trip?”
“Seriously? You’ve got me standing here blindfolded and you want to chat about my trip?”
“Okay, okay.” It was time. He could do this.
Walking her out a little ways, he turned her to face the house, so she could get the full effect. “Welcome home, baby.” With that, he slid off the blindfold.
Laurel gasped, bringing both hands to her mouth as her eyes went wide. “Sebastian!”
“I hope I got it right.”
“It’s perfect!”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she was already moving up the steps, running her hands over the freshly painted railing, the flowers in the barrels, the trailing ends of the ferns.
Christ this was happening so much faster than he’d planned. He hurried to catch up.
“And my swing!” As she rushed over to investigate it, he dropped down to one knee. “Sebastian, this is so—oh!”
Her legs seemed to go out from under her and she sat down hard on the swing, almost missing the seat entirely and narrowly avoiding the cat. Mr. Rochester yowled in protest and leapt down, disappearing around the edge of the house.
Swallowing hard, he tried to remember the speech he’d prepared. “Laurel, I think you know I love you.”
Her lips quirked. “Yeah I’ve kinda had a suspicion.”
Her tone of dry amusement eased some of the tension in his chest. “The first time we came here, you painted a picture of how you imagined the house, the grounds, the life that could be built here. Over the last year, we’ve come a long way toward bringing that picture to life, but there’s still one piece missing. And it wasn’t from what you described that day. It’s from what I saw in my own head—getting to wake up every morning and come out here to have a cup of coffee with my wife before going to do the life’s work she helped to make a reality.”
He pulled the ring out of his pocket, grateful he’d taken to carrying it around for the last two weeks. “In all our time together, I’ve never asked you for anything. Asking has always been hard for me. But asking you this isn’t hard, because I know, deep down, that it’s exactly right. So what do you say to doing this last thing, making all this perfection official. Will you marry me?”
Her eyes shone and her smile was the brightest thing he’d ever seen. “There’s nothing I want to do more.”
Blowing out a breath, he rose and moved to slip the ring on her finger.
An explosion of cheers pulled their attention down to the barn, where the peanut gallery hadn’t stayed in the barn.
“Sorry. They were supposed to be gone already. You got home early.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “I couldn’t wait to see you. And this is the best surprise ever. I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He kissed her, immediately sinking deeper and wishing he could cart her upstairs.
Easing back Laurel grinned up at him. “Let’s go accept our congratulations and kick them out. We have some celebrating to do.”
Choose Your Next Romance
The third and final installment of the Rescue My Heart trilogy will absolutely follow Ty finding his happily ever after. While you’re waiting, have you checked out The Misfit Inn quartet? It begins with When You Got A Good Thing, Kennedy and Xander’s story. This whole series is all about the family you make and the bonds between sisters, with plenty
of Ari’s matchmaking.
Can’t decide? Keep turning the pages for a sneak peek!
When You Got A Good Thing
The Misfit Inn, Book #1
Charming, poignant, and sexy, When You Got a Good Thing pulled me in with its sweet charm and deft storytelling, and didn't let go until the very last page. It has everything I love in a small-town romance! ~USA Today Best-Selling Author Tawna Fenske
* * *
She thought she could never go home again. Kennedy Reynolds has spent the past decade traveling the world as a free spirit. She never looks back at the past, the place, or the love she left behind—until her adopted mother’s unexpected death forces her home to Eden’s Ridge, Tennessee.
* * *
Deputy Xander Kincaid has never forgotten his first love. He’s spent ten long years waiting for the chance to make up for one bone-headed mistake that sent her running. Now that she’s finally home, he wants to give her so much more than just an apology.
* * *
Kennedy finds an unexpected ally in Xander, as she struggles to mend fences with her sisters and to care for the foster child her mother left behind. Falling back into his arms is beyond tempting, but accepting his support is dangerous. He can never know the truth about why she really left. Will Kennedy be able to bury the past and carve out her place in the Ridge, or will her secret destroy her second chance?
* * *
Get your copy of When You Got A Good Thing today!
Other Books By Kait Nolan
A complete and up-to-date list of all my books can be found at https://kaitnolan.com.
The Misfit Inn Series
When You Got A Good Thing (Kennedy and Xander)
Once Upon A Wedding (Misty and Denver)
