Page 146 of Last Light

My eyes are swimming in tears as I finally drag my gaze from the ring in his hand. “Where did you get that?”

“Found it. Been lookin’ for a while now. And Mack helped me dig up a couple of wedding bands. I think they’ll fit us. Cheryl said there’s been a preacher moved into their little town. So he could probably...” He shifts from foot to foot. “If you want.”

“You want to—”

“Marry you. Yeah. I do.” His eyes drop and then lift again. “You wanna?”

I’m shaking. I can’t stop. I smile at him through my tears. “Yes, I want to marry you!” I throw myself into his arms.

He manages not to drop the ring despite the force of my enthusiasm, and he wraps me in a tight hug.

Interested in either our excitement or the smell of food, Duke wanders into the kitchen and snuffles at our ankles.

Travis finally releases me and slides the ring onto my finger. It fits just right. I have no idea how he managed to find it.

We both gaze down at the ring on my finger in a sappy daze.

I never believed I could have this again. Never thought it was possible in the world as it is now.

Joy that’s almost perfectly pure.

I bask in it, reminding myself that it’s mine and Travis’s and Duke’s and our baby’s, from now until the end of the world.

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