Page 87 of Finding You

“I do,” she whispered. “I really do.” They lay there in companionable silence for several minutes before she spoke again.

“I have a confession to make,” MacKenzie said softly beside him.

“What’s that?” He kept his gaze on the sky.

“I sort of…played around with the Mustang the first time you had it fixed.”

He chuckled. “Seriously?”

She nodded. “I wasn’t ready to leave and I thought I needed to do something to guarantee you wouldn’t kick me out.”

He turned onto his side and faced her. “I never would have kicked you out, MacKenzie. Ever.” Then he laughed again. “You have no idea how crazy it made me that the car broke down! I have always prided myself on my ability to fix anything, so when you called me and said it was running hot? I kind of freaked out.”

That made her laugh. “That’s hysterical! And I really am sorry for freaking you out. I just felt like I had to do…you know…something!”

“How did you figure out how to mess with the car? I didn’t think you knew anything about cars.”

“I Googled it,” she said sheepishly. “I loosened some wires. I was prepared to do it again–or something like it–after you fixed it the second time, but it broke down on its own.”

He nodded and got comfortable again, kissing the top of her head. “Okay, if we’re going for confessions…I have one. Well…two.”

Turning her head toward him, her eyes went wide.

“Your car was actually done sooner. But I told you it wasn’t because I didn’t want you to leave.”

Her immediate response was laughter. “Really? That’s awesome! I love that you did that!”

“I felt really guilty about it!” he admitted. “It was killing me that I was being so childish!” He paused. “And as for the second time it broke down…well…”

“No!” she cried and broke into a fit of giggles again.

He nodded. “What a pair we make!” And then he had her back in his arms and was kissing her.

“We make the best pair,” she said when they broke apart.

“I think so too.”

They fell into companionable silence and went back to stargazing.

“Can I ask you something?” she said after a minute.

“Anything.”

“Was the entire town in on this today?”

He chuckled. “Yup.”

She smiled. “Wow. Just…wow. That’s impressive.”

“You have no idea. It wasn’t even that hard. A few phone calls and everyone was on board.”

“I thought it all seemed a little odd. I couldn’t believe how many people were interested in how I was getting out of town!” With a laugh, she snuggled closer to him. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like this before.”

“Like what?”

“The closeness you all have here. It’s a little overwhelming.”

“You get used to it. At the end of the day, it’s like one big family.” He paused and placed another kiss on the top of her head. “And just so you know…everyone was on board because they’re just as in love with you as I am. Well…maybe notexactlythe same way, but…you get what I mean, right?”

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