Jaded (Walkers Ford #2)

“With the grand opening over, you’re due for a climbing trip,” he reminded her.

“You can take the girl out of the library, but sending her up a rock face isn’t a good idea,” Alana said with a laugh.

“I’ll be your anchor,” he said.

“I just might do it, then,” she said.

Duke sat at their feet and looked at them expectantly.

“What’s that all about?” she asked.

Lucas tipped his head toward the kitchen window. She followed his glance and saw the bud vase on the shelf. A single pale pink rose bloom leaned against the edge.

“The first bloom! I thought it might open today, with the sunshine and nice weather.” She reached for the clear vase. Lucas turned her so she leaned back against his hard chest, and he bent to nuzzle in her hair as she examined the flower. “It’s perfect,” she murmured as she turned it in the small vase. “The new fertilizer really . . .”

Her voice trailed away when she saw the single loop of green wire wrapped around gleaming gold. Lucas’s arms tightened at her waist as she carefully unwrapped the wire. A ring dropped into her palm. It was an old-fashioned setting updated for the modern era, a center diamond surrounded by tiny diamonds that winked in the twilight.

Or maybe it was the tears in her eyes. She turned to face him, her heart pounding in her chest.

“Marry me?” he said quietly.

She looked out the window at the backyard, at the promise of spring in the greening grass and the rosebushes bursting out of the cold winter earth toward the sun. She looked at Duke. “You knew about this, didn’t you?”

He shifted on his haunches and looked at her, ears perked expectantly. Of course I did! Say yes!

She lifted her gaze to Lucas, to the man who’d opened his heart and life to her when he’d thought he’d never feel again, who’d given her the thing she’d wanted most. She held her palm open to him, offering him the ring. He picked it up. She held her left hand out in front of her.

“Yes,” she said, and watched as he slid the ring onto her ring finger. “Always yes.”

He kissed her, slow and sweet. She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you, too,” he whispered back.

Familiar female voices sounded in the driveway. “Look at the sky. Really look at it. Have you ever seen anything that spectacular in your life?”

“Mother, when have you not seen a spectacular sky? The sky is, by definition, spectacular.”

Alana peered up at Lucas. “That sounds like—”

A delighted squeal shocked Alana nearly out of her skin. Freddie hauled open the kitchen door, tears in her eyes, her hands clasped together under her chin. Her mother stood slightly behind Freddie. Tears gleamed in her eyes as she watched Freddie leap across the kitchen and engulf Alana in a huge hug.

“What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in Dublin!” Alana said as she automatically hugged her sister.

“It’s a surprise! You didn’t think we’d miss the Walkers Ford Spring Fling Carnival and library grand reopening, did you? You did,” Freddie said, answering her own question.

“There was a conference,” Alana protested. “I booked hotel rooms. I booked plane tickets. I researched the impact of economic austerity programs on poverty.”

“The conference is going on without us,” Freddie said. “I lied about the rest of it. You aren’t the only person who can book plane tickets.”

Lucas stifled a laugh. “I won’t forget that,” Alana said, regaining her footing. “You knew about this,” she said to her fiancé.

He gave her a smug smile as he loosened his tie. “I picked them up in Sioux Falls on my way back from court.”

“Hello, Mother,” Alana said, leaning forward to kiss her mother’s cheek. “I hope you had a good flight.”

Her mother lifted Alana’s left hand and looked at the engagement ring. “Congratulations, darling,” she said quietly.

Not exactly the enthusiastic response she hoped for, but Freddie was more than making up for it, and genuinely, too. “It’s beautiful. Perfect for you,” she said, turning Alana’s hand so the diamond caught the light.

“I’m going to get changed,” Lucas said, edging away from the all-girl reunion. Duke followed him.

“I want to take them on a tour of the library,” Alana said. “Meet us at the beer garden.”

“Hallelujah,” Freddie said. “My two favorite words. Beer garden.”

“I thought your two favorite words were on-time departure,” Alana said.

“Nope,” Freddie said. “Beer garden ties for first with cheese curds, funnel cake, and corn dog, courtesy of all of those campaign stops at the Illinois State Fair.”