Page 39 of The Hang Up
Her hands fly to her mouth. “Holden…”
“I made them for us,” I say, stepping beside her. “Thought maybe we could sit out on the porch and grow old in these.”
Her fingers trace the carved heart. “They’re beautiful.”
“I wanted them to be.”
She turns toward me, eyes shining. “You always do things like this. Things that make me feel like I’m the only person in the world.”
“You are.”
She starts to cry, and I wrap my arms around her, holding her tight.
“Wait,” I say, reaching into the pocket of my hoodie.
She sniffles. “What are you?—”
I pull out a small velvet pouch and press it into her palm.
She opens it slowly, and her breath catches.
Inside is a delicate wooden ring, sanded smooth, the grain rich and dark. Set into the top is a small heart, carved carefully by hand.
“I made it from the first tree I ever cut down on this property,” I say quietly. “I was sixteen. The same week I met you.”
Her eyes widen.
“I knew then,” I continue. “I knew you were it for me. So I carved this ring and kept it. I told myself if I ever became the man worthy of you, I’d give it to you.”
Tears spill freely now, and she clutches the pouch like it’s the most precious thing she’s ever held.
“I don’t have a fancy diamond,” I say, falling to one knee. “But I’ll buy you one, Lena. I swear. I’ll get you anything you want. Just… marry me. Say you’ll be mine forever.”
She stares at me, her chest rising and falling with shaky breaths.
Then she whispers, “Yes.”
And my heart nearly explodes.
I slide the wooden ring onto her finger.
She laughs through her tears. “It’s a little big.”
“I can fix that.”
She drops to her knees and throws her arms around me. I hold her there, in the middle of the workshop, surrounded by sawdust and memories and the scent of pine.
“I love you,” she whispers. “I love you so much it hurts.”
I bury my face in her neck and hold her tighter. “Good,” I murmur. “Because you’re stuck with me now.”
SEVENTEEN
Holden
Six Months Later…
I’ve faced combat drills in the Army, jumped out of planes at night, and once got stuck under a flipped canoe in a freezing river.
