Page 12 of Mountain Man's Mail Order Challenge
For a long moment, neither of us moved. The only sound was our ragged breathing, the distant rustle of wind through the trees outside. Then, carefully, Collin lifted his head, his eyes searching mine.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his thumb brushing my cheek.
Tears welled in my eyes. Not from pain, not from regret, but from something so much bigger, something that filled my chest until I thought it might burst.
“I love you,” I whispered.
The words hung between us, fragile and fearless. Collin’s breath caught. Then, slowly, he smiled—the kind of smile that lit up his whole face, the kind I knew I’d spend the rest of my life chasing.
“I love you too,” he said, and kissed me, soft and sure.
And just like that, I knew. This was only the beginning.
EPILOGUE
COLLIN
Iknew this hike like the back of my hand. We’d done it at least a dozen times before our first child was born, and now that the kids were getting older, we’d probably bring them up here for a fun weekend camping trip. But today was all about us—me and Paget—celebrating our ninth wedding anniversary.
Next year would be the big one. A full decade of wedded bliss—every day better than the last. We were already planning a trip to celebrate. Not relaxing on an island or kicking back on a cruise. No, that wasn’t for us. With me and Paget, it was scuba diving in Mexico or cliff camping in Colorado. She constantly pulled me out of my comfort zone, and I was a better man for it.
She grinned back at me. “Come on!”
I stepped out onto our favorite overlook to stand next to my wife. This was where I proposed. We got married here too—a small ceremony, just the two of us and our witnesses. We had a bigger celebration later for extended friends and family, but that first wedding had just been for us.
There was still one thing we hadn’t done up here, though, and I planned to change that today. She had no idea, but she’d be getting a surprise soon.
I was pretty sure she’d be game. My girl was all about getting naughty in public places. We even made a return trip to the fire tower for our anniversary a couple of years ago.
She spread the blanket on the ground while I unpacked our provisions from my backpack—some cheese, meats, olives, veggies, and a small bottle of champagne. Just enough for two glasses.
“We should come up here more often,” she said as she helped me unpack. “I haven’t felt this at peace in weeks.”
Paget’s job was pretty high-stress. She worked remotely as a sales manager for a large digital advertising firm. She’d started in sales, but when the kids were still young, she managed to leverage her skills into a promotion—one that reduced her travel significantly so she could be home with us like she wanted.
I handed her a plastic champagne flute and poured the bubbly liquid between the two of us. Normally, we’d each have a full glass, but we still had to hike back down this sucker. Besides, we needed to stay hydrated for the activity I had planned next.
“To us,” I said. “To nine of the happiest years of my life.”
“What about the two months before we got married?” she teased.
“Okay—nine years, two months, and twelve days. Not that anyone’s counting.”
“I can’t even remember life before I met you,” she said softly. “I feel like I should’ve known I was looking for you.”
“You knew. You just needed to wait until the right time to find me.”
She smiled, sipping her champagne.
“Ready to eat?” I asked, setting my now-empty flute down.
“You know,” she said as she grabbed a cracker and stacked it with cheese and salami, “I was thinking…it’s been a while since we…you know.”
I frowned. “We ‘you knowed’ just this morning. In the shower.”
She laughed. “And last night in bed after the kids were asleep.”
That was when most of our lovemaking happened—quietly under the covers in a pitch-dark room, the kids just down the hall. But I got what she meant. It had been a while since we’d made love outside our house. Our three-bedroom cabin—the one we’d built when we were expecting our first child—had seen its share of passion. But out here, under the open sky? That was a different kind of excitement.
