Page 28 of Crew

“When Zara’s done on the porch, she’s going to help Avi clean out the chicken coop, so you and I can get to work.”

“Perfect.”

He bided his time in the den, checking over the security feed from the night before and making sure nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

“Hey, she’s outside now,” Tris whispered, sticking her head in the doorway.

“Why are you whispering?” he asked with a laugh.

“It seemed like the thing to do,” she said.

He followed her to the kitchen where she had set out several plastic containers that had sections in them. He recalled her sending them out into the field with lunches packed in the containers that she called bento boxes.

“I thought we could do a snackle-box one with cheese and crackers and stuff, and then the actual meal plus a dessert to share.” She lowered her voice again. “Did you get a ring?”

“I ordered one online and it came yesterday,” he said.

Tris squealed happily. “This is the best thing! I’m so happy for you both. I love Zara; she’s a doll and has fit right in like she was born to be here.”

“That’s the way it is with soulmates,” he said.

“One hundred percent.”

They talked about the menu, finally deciding on turkey and cheese sliders and pasta salad with garden cherry tomatoes and mini cucumbers for the main meal, and the snackle-box filled with several dips along with crackers, veggies, and cubed meat and cheese. For dessert, she helped him whip up a two-person parfait of chocolate pudding, crushed cookies, and whipped cream.

He packed everything away in a cooler and filled it with ice, adding sparkling flavored waters and a few electric candles, along with the thick red-gingham blanket they were going to sit on.

Now he just had to wait for the perfect moment to ask his soulmate to be his wife and tell her that he loved her.

He couldn’t wait.

* * *

The golden glow of the sky as the sun was setting cast the pond in hues of amber and peach and pink. The water rippled along the bank and the croaks of frogs and chirp of crickets were the perfect backdrop to their dinner.

He’d set the thick blanket at the end of the wooden dock that extended over the manmade pond, and then he’d revealed the snackle-box and dinner boxes, and Zara had been tickled by everything he’d helped prepare for their picnic date.

While they ate and enjoyed the view of the sun slowly setting, they talked more about the future, as they had all week—a home filled with children and love and laughter, the herd growing as the others found their mates and had children, and how she couldn’t wait for their first holidays together so they could celebrate the way she’d read about in books and seen in movies.

A Thanksgiving table set with enough food to feed an army.

Presents around the tree and cookies out for Santa.

A champagne toast on New Year’s Eve.

He loved to hear her talk about the future; he could picture everything so clearly when she described it, even as he was heartbroken at how little she’d gotten to enjoy the simple things he’d taken for granted, like celebrating holidays with loved ones. Once she’d been alone after her parents passed away, the life she’d had with her former herd hadn’t been pleasant. He vowed to make sure every holiday was special for them, and that she got to experience all the fun things that family and herd celebrations could be like.

She finished the last bite of the parfait and gazed at the sky.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a beautiful sunset.”

Shit, this was definitely the perfect moment.

The ring in his pocket suddenly felt heavier.

“It’s beautiful,” he said, keeping his eyes on her.

She glanced at him and ducked her head. “You’ve been staring at me through our whole date.”

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