Page 18 of Wrapped Up with the Mountain Man
Hope flickers in his eyes, quickly suppressed. "That's... that's great, Dove. You'll be an amazing teacher."
"I will be. But I didn't take the job just for me." I step closer. "I took it because I'm still in love with you, Tannon McKenzie. Because I've tried for two months to forget what we had, and I can't. Because some things are worth fighting for, even if you're too scared to fight for them yourself." I pull the job listing Helen gave me from my pocket, holding it up. "Helen showed me this. You've been carrying it around for weeks. Researching schools, making plans. Were you ever going to tell me? Or were you just going to show up and hope I'd take you back?"
He stares at the worn paper, his face flushing. "I didn't know if you'd want to see me. After the way I handled things..."
"You handled things like an idiot," I say bluntly. "But that doesn't mean I stopped loving you."
"I love you too," he says, his voice rough with emotion. "God, Dove, I've missed you so much. I've been dying without you."
"Then why didn't you call? Why didn't you write? Why didn't you fight for us?"
"Because I'm a coward." The admission seems to cost him everything. "Because I'd rather lose you to my own fear than risk having you leave me later. Because I'm broken, and you deserve better."
"Stop." I reach up, framing his face with my hands. "Stop deciding what I deserve. Stop making my choices for me. I'm a grown woman, and I choose you. I choose us. Broken pieces and all."
He sucks in a breath, listening.
"I came here to tell you something else. I love you. Not just Christmas magic love or situation love. Real, deep, change-your-whole-life love. The kind that makes you quit a good job and move across the country on the chance that maybe, just maybe, the man you love will be brave enough to love you back."
His hands come up to cover mine, his eyes bright with unshed tears. "I do love you back. I love you so much it terrifies me."
"Good," I whisper. "Love should terrify you. It should make you want to be braver than you've ever been."
"I want to be brave for you," he says. "I want to be the man you deserve."
"You already are. You just have to believe it."
When he kisses me, it tastes like coming home and starting over all at once. Like second chances and forever promises. Like the future we almost threw away because we were both too scared to fight for it.
"Marry me," he says against my lips, the words surprising us both.
"What?"
"Marry me. I know we still have things to figure out, but I can't lose you again. I won't make that mistake twice."
I laugh, tears streaming down my face. "You don't even have a ring."
"I do, actually." He pulls away, reaching into his pocket to extract a small velvet box. "I bought it three weeks ago. Been carrying it around like an idiot, hoping maybe someday I'd be brave enough to find you." He opens the box to reveal a simple, perfect solitaire. "It's not fancy."
"It's perfect," I breathe. "But you should probably actually ask the question properly."
He drops to one knee right there in the middle of our cabin, holding the ring up with hands that shake slightly. "DoveWilliams, will you marry me? Will you build a life with me here in these mountains? Will you let me spend the rest of my life making up for being too scared to fight for you the first time?"
"Yes," I whisper, then louder: "Yes, yes, yes."
He slides the ring onto my finger with reverent care, and it fits perfectly. Like it was made for me. Like I was made for this moment, this man, this life.
"We'll visit Mia and Bentley," I say suddenly. "The Ashfords want to maintain contact. The kids want us in their lives."
"Every chance we get," he promises, pulling me into his arms. "They're part of our story."
"And we'll have our own children someday?"
"As many as you want," he says, kissing me softly. "Though I'm hoping they inherit your courage instead of my tendency to overthink everything."
I laugh, feeling lighter than I have in months. "I love you, Mountain Man."
"I love you too," he says. "And I promise you – I will never stop fighting for us again."
