Page 70 of Along Comes Trouble

TESSA

I expectColton to hire builders for the house, but apparently, that is not the Carmichael way. With the help of David, Liam, Ty, and Mr. Carmichael, Colton pours the foundation himself and intends to build the house from the ground up. The men argue late into the night, throwing around words like plum and true. I help, too, learning the right way to wield power tools and a healthy respect for anyone who’s ever built anything. Slowly but surely, our house takes shape .

Spring becomes summer, acquaintances become friends, and friends become acquaintances. I haven’t heard much from Sarah. No one has. She took off without letting anyone know why she needed to leave or where to find her. The Carmichaels take it in stride. They’re sad, but not surprised. Apparently, this is just Sarah’s way. I miss her. I worry about her. But Bailey, Lexi, Michelle, and Faye have stepped up and I couldn’t ask for a better group of women to share my life .

My landlord lets me break my lease early, and I move in with Colton while we build. I lost my deposit, but my savings account is healthy enough for that to be a non-issue. When I show Colton how much I have saved for a down payment on a house, he balks at the number. For the better part of a week, he refuses to let me spend any of it on the house. Logic prevails, eventually. We build with an eye on the future, whatever that may be .

In the meantime, we live in his trailer. Well, kind of. We sleep there, but every morning, we invade David’s house for breakfast. Annabelle and Michelle bustle around the kitchen, helping me back into my seat every time I try to do anything. One of these days, I’ll talk them into letting me cook too, but for now, I satisfy myself by refilling coffee for everyone .

Every Sunday, we meet for what’s supposed to be poker but quickly devolves into the men planning the next week of work on the house and us women talking about Bailey’s pregnancy or discussing how I’d like to decorate once the structure is finished. Today, the men argue over Liam’s insistence that we need a skylight in the kitchen and a second bathroom off the master .

Bailey rolls her eyes and gives me a pointed look. “Take it from me. Put in the second bathroom now .”

Lexi shakes her head at her friend. “Enough about the bathroom already, Bay. We get it. You had to live without one. It was hard. We’re all ready for you to move past it .”

Annabelle and Dean return with the kids while Michelle fills me in on Bailey’s bathroom drama. The kitchen erupts in chaos as parents stand and children jabber excitedly about their day. I watch, smiling, glad for the comradery but overwhelmed by so many people in such a small space. For some reason, I think of Ellie. I always give her a hard time about her attitude regarding her in-laws. I assumed she was being obstinate, while she told me I was romanticizing the idea of a large family. I decide we were both right, and wonder if I should call her tonight .

Colton stands and clears his throat. “I know you guys have places to go and things to do, but I have something to say and I’d like all of you to hear it .”

The many threads of conversation stutter and die and all eyes land on Colton .

“I’ve been lost for a long time. That’s not news to any of you, but it was news to me. You might not all understand why I was lost. I had a lot of reasons for the decisions I made and they probably only make sense to me …”

David shakes his head. “They make sense, little brother.” He wraps an arm around Michelle and pulls her close. “Now that I understand the sacrifices you made, everything about you has come into focus .”

Annabelle scrunches up her face, her focus darting between her two sons. Colton waves away the question before she can ask it. “I’ll explain later, Mom. I promise .”

“What’s David talking about? Sacrifices?” Annabelle raises her eyebrows and holds out her hands. “Colton ?”

“It’s okay, Mom. Really. I’ll explain later, but right now, I have something more important to talk about.” He wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Tessa says she took one look at me and knew I was trouble, and maybe she was right. Hell, we all know she was right. But she took a chance on me and thank God she did. She helped me find my way. Helped me see how all the choices I made for all the right reasons had me backed into a corner. That there was nothing but, well, nothing ahead of me .”

Annabelle turns to David, who waves away her questions .

Colton looks me straight in the eye. “Tessa, you made me reevaluate who I was, how people saw me, and who I wanted to be. You helped me realize I was way out in the weeds and helped guide me back to who I am. You’re the sun to my moon. Without you, I am nothing and I like it much better when I’m something.” Colton pauses and takes my hand. “So, please, don’t ever make me live without you again .”

Lexi gasps and I look down to find Colton holding a ring. A string of small black diamonds loops around a large center stone and meets an identical string of white diamonds that finish the loop. It’s simple, elegant, and symbolic. I blink back tears. “It’s a yin yang .”

Colton nods. “Two halves, light and dark, that make a whole .”

“Like us .”

“Like us.” He smiles at me and holds the ring over the fourth finger on my left hand. “I can’t promise you a perfectly planned out future, but I can promise you the most perfect future we can create together. Compromise doesn’t have to be about sacrifice. It’s also about growth and learning, and in my mind, that’s the greatest gift a couple can give each other. Not an echo chamber of the same thoughts and ideas, but careful discussion and thoughtful debate so we can discover different ways to look at the world. Challenge me to be a better version of myself, Blue Eyes, and I’ll promise you the same. Will you marry me ?”

I nod, a blush flaring across my face. “Yes.” Colton slides the ring on my finger and I wrap my arms around him. “Yes.” I kiss him deeply, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Yes,” I whisper, the word just for us .

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