Page 5 of After the End
“Y-y-yeah?” The woman—June, apparently—responded.
“I’m s-sorry I flirted w-with your s-sister,” the man said, and Callum met Lou’s gaze, barely able to refrain from rolling his eyes. She twisted her head away, her mouth turning down in a way that Callum knew meant that she was trying to hold back a laugh. “I l-love you. You’re m-m-much prettier than Dana is.”
“Aww,” June cooed. “I-I love y-you, too.”
Derek coughed, staring straight ahead as they crested the hill. They helped the paramedics load the patients into the ambulance, and then watched as, lights flashing, it drove away. It had clouded over during the rescue, and a few fat snowflakes started falling. Callum hoped the paramedics wouldn’t have any trouble driving to the hospital in Connor Springs, forty miles away.
“You okay?” Lou asked. Callum glanced at her, but she was looking at the deputy.
“Yeah.” He dusted a few snowflakes off his jacket.
Callum frowned at him. “That was stupid.”
“I know.” Deputy Sweetness grimaced. “I realized that when the ice started sagging under me. Sorry. I’m from Phoenix. Frozen reservoirs are new to me. I figured if it held up those two morons, it’d hold me.”
Callum opened his mouth to continue lecturing the deputy, but then Lou gave a full-body shiver. “C’mon,” he said instead, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. It felt incredibly good to have her tucked against him, safe. “You should change in the dive van.”
“I need to get the boat first,” she protested.
“We’re on it, boss.” Derek gave her a salute and headed back down the slope, Wilt on his heels.
“I kind of like being lead,” she said as he led her toward the back of the dive van. “I get to have minions do all the grunt work.”
A laugh burst out of him, and he marveled at how Lou always brought out his lighter side. She made him so damnhappy. Looking down at her grinning face, beautiful even framed by the dry suit hood, Callum was hit by a rush of love so strong that he couldn’t breathe for a second.Now, he thought, dropping to one knee on the packed snow in front of her. He couldn’t wait another second.
“Are you okay? Did you slip?” Looking concerned, Lou tugged at his biceps, trying to help him up.
Ignoring her efforts, he dug the ring out of his pocket. His hands didn’t even shake as he opened the box and held it out. Why had he been nervous? He loved Lou Sparks. There was nothing he wanted more than to have her next to him—on calls, at home, in bed, everywhere—for the rest of his life. He’d never been so sure of anything. “Marry me.”
“Whoa,” the cop said. “You’re asking herhere?”
“Go away, Deputy Sweetness,” Callum ordered without looking at the man. His gaze was fixed on Lou’s shocked face. “Well?”
“Deputy Sweetness?” she echoed, sounding dazed.
“You’re killing me here, Sparks. I love you. I want to be with you forever. Tell me you’re going to marry me.” The nerves were returning.Hewas sure—positively sure—that he wanted her, but the silence was gutting him.
She stared at him, eyes wide with shock…and then she started to laugh. It was a joyful sound, and Callum couldn’t help but smile at her in response. “Yes! Of course it’s yes!”
A wave of elated relief crashed over him, and he yanked out the ring, tossing the box to the side. The sound of clapping made him look over his shoulder to where the annoying deputy still stood, a huge grin on his face. At the bottom of the rise, Derek cheered and whistled, and even Wilt gave a smiling thumbs-up. Turning back to Lou, Callum reached to grab her hand.
They both stared at the blue nitrile glove that encased her fingers. Since it attached to her dry suit, there was no way to remove it without stripping Lou down to her long underwear. Looking up, Callum met her gaze, and they both started laughing. Bringing her gloved hand to his mouth, he kissed the neoprene over her ring finger. Her eyes filled with tears, although she still kept her huge smile.
“I love you so much!” Lou said fiercely, launching herself into his arms and knocking him onto his back in the snow.
With her face just inches from his, Lou said again, “Yes, Cal. I will marry you.”
“Good.” He pulled her head down for a kiss. Lying in the snow, with flakes falling around them, Callum smiled against Lou’s mouth and felt her lips turn up in response. A successful rescue mission, topped by a kiss from his future wife.
It was a perfect moment.
Spring
“My dog!” the man shouted, straining against Ian and Rory’s hold, trying to run back into his burning cabin. He started to cough, wheezing out painful-sounding words. “My dog…Casey’s…in there.”
“Junior!” Ian yelled, and the EMT firefighter jogged over. “Get him some oxygen.” When the man began to protest between heaving coughs, Ian bent so he could meet his gaze. “We’ll get your dog. Where is he?”
“Bed…bedroom. Last I saw—” Coughing overtook him again, and he doubled over with the force of it. Junior took Ian’s place and started guiding him toward the rescue truck.
