Page 199 of Huckleberry Hill
“And you don’t want her to kill the messenger, right?”
“She’ll kill me anyway. When she finds out I’ve known for a while. And when she finds out that Jane had dinner here and sat at Mom’s place setting? Yeah, I do not want to be around Mount Saint Salem when that happens.”
“You and me both, sugar.” She sighed.
A phone chimed.
“Mine,” she said. She picked it up from the counter and glanced at it. “Why don’t you go find Declan? I can finish this up.”
My gaze narrowed. “Who texted you?”
She gently pushed against my hip to get me moving in the direction of the door. “Go.”
Chapter Forty-Six
The Ranch
* * *
I stepped out onto the porch and slid into my most comfortable slippers. My jaw dropped when I saw that the walkway to Declan’s cabin was lit with candles in mason jars, lighting my way underneath a starry night sky.
When I arrived at the cabin, I bent down and picked up a pair of candy-cane patterned socks resting on the lowest step.
The next pair of socks had Santa Claus on them. The pair after that had gingerbread men. I followed the trail of socks into the cabin.
“Declan?” I called out.
There was no answer.
I continued to follow the sock trail—all of them were Christmas themed. The path of socks led into the bedroom. The bottom drawer of the dresser was open and a pair was hanging out. And then only one sock with a mistletoe pattern hung out of the top drawer. I had to open it to get to its mate.
Something was inside the sock; an obvious, square-shaped object.
Declan appeared in the doorway and leaned against the doorjamb.
“Where did you come from?” I asked.
He grinned. “I was hiding in the bathroom.”
I turned my attention back to the sock. “What’s in there?”
“Why don’t you find out?”
I picked up the sock and put my hand into it, my fingers encountering a smooth velvet box. I pulled it out and stared at it.
With a deep breath, I opened it.
A gorgeous, traditional diamond solitaire twinkled back at me.
“Declan,” I whispered.
“I love you, Hadley.” He pushed away from the doorjamb and came to me. His hands cradled my cheeks. “Marry me.”
“Yes,” I breathed helplessly.
He took the engagement ring from the jewelry box and slid it onto my finger. He then linked our hands and brought them to his chest. “Come to bed with me.”
He undressed me slowly, like a present he wanted to cherish forever. He worshipped my body with his tongue and fingers, mindful that I still had some bruising on my side. But he was gentle and unhurried, drawing out my pleasure until I could no longer contain it.
