Page 103 of Noble Neighbor
“We’ll protect them for as long as possible, but sweetheart, Kenzie’s smart, and I reckon she knows more than you think she does. When she asks the hard questions, we’ll both be there for her. Same with Molly.”
“How can it be as simple as that?”
“Such is the power of love, Sunny.”
29
Hope and promises
Six months later …
“We’re on vacation, and the sun’s not even up.” Sunny inserted a bit of a whine to her voice. She’d wanted to linger in bed, make love to the man who shared it, a man she loved to distraction, but yeah, watching the sun rise with Oliver was special, too.
Especially in such an incredible setting. They were on vacation, spending ten days in the heart of Colorado,the Rockies forming a majestic backdrop to the lake before them.
Only a handful of cabins circled the water, lending them a semblance of privacy.
With her hand clasped securely in Oliver’s, they walked in the first light of dawn, and Sunny gave some thought to the last six months.
In the end, all it had taken was love.
There’d been many changes, the biggest was Oliver and Clement moving in with them, slotting seamlessly into their lives.The kid — okay, he wasn’t really a kid anymore, having turned twelve in April — had set up his whittling studio in the attic, and Molly was learning to be a handy assistant.
Tabitha had taken a while to settle with Nala around,but the two animals learned to tolerate each other. Luciferwas growing by leaps and bounds, even conquering the roof — Frank had installed a cat flap on the dormer window. And Hooch … well, Hooch stuck by his chosen human, mostly defending Kenzie against the latest addition to the coop. Kenzie and Fury — and yes, the Rhode Island Red rooster deserved the moniker — had taken an instant dislike to each other.
The publishing house had accepted Oliver’s demands — they’d’ve been short-sighted not to have done so,as book four in the Dirk Storm series made the best-sellers list within a week of release. Book five would hit the shelves in November, and Oliver had sent book six in just before they left. The identity of A. C. Strong remained a mystery.
Oliver had suggested she maybe do a few designs for Merle, but she vetoed the idea. That part of her life was over.
She was going to try her hand at horse breeding. Like her family. She’d have loved to buy stock from them, build her stables with Wind River horses, but she couldn’t risk the contact. And that was the only shadow over her life. She wasn’t able to share her new life with her family.
Thinking of family, they were expecting the Mosses later today. She’d met Christie’s parents, and they were two of the few people who knew her old identity. Sunny had balked at telling them but ended up trusting Oliver’s judgment.
Their first meeting had been stilted, but by the end of the visit, it had been clear they held no animosity toward her and her girls. Kenzie and Molly gained “nonory” grandparents, and it would be fun to see Vera and Bert again this week.
Despite how she’d gotten here, her life was full and rich and happy.
“Earth to Sunny.”
Oliver's amused voiced nudged her back to the present. She blinked, looking around in confusion. They’d walked all the way to the communal area by the main dock and stood beside a spreading willow. The sky had lightened to a soft grey-blue, and soon the sun would rise over the towering mountains. “How’d we end up here?”
“I am a good guide. You were deep in thought, sweetheart?”
Sunny turned to face him and moved in, linking her arms around his neck. “I was reminiscing. I love you, Oliver, so incredibly much. Thank you for loving me back.” About to press her lips to his, she gasped. “Oh, Oliver,” she murmured with wonder. “The sky. Look.”
He turned and stepped in behind her, his arms slipping around and pulling her back to his front. The sun was not quite visible yet, just pinks and lavender streaking across deep grey. And gold, the glorious early morning gold arrowing across the skies above the midnight-blue mountains.
Awed, Sunny stood wrapped in the arms of the man she loved and watched the sky lighten, the gold turn to yellow to orange as the sun rose higher, rays of light playing hide and seek with dignified mountain peaks.
It took her a moment to comprehend the winking object Oliver held up between his thumb and forefinger.
“Marry me, Sunny,” he whispered into her neck.
Dumbfounded, she stared at the ring. “Oh.”
“You’re supposed to say ‘yes’, sweetheart. Not ‘oh’.”
“Yes. Yes, yes. Yes! A million yesses.”
