Page 81 of Man of Honor

“Gage,” Wyatt said with a dry chuckle, “this is cute and all, but I watched you plant half this garden. Pretty sure I know what it looks like.”

I grinned despite myself. “Yeah, well, since you decided to hightail it back to your own house as soon as you could walk without wheezing, you missed the finer details.”

“Finer details, huh?” His tone was skeptical but affectionate. This must seem ridiculous, but he’d always had endless patience for my bullshit. “What’s next? A roller coaster for the kids? Maybe a statue in your honor?”

“Nah, that would ruin the aesthetic,” I shot back, laughing so he wouldn’t suspect how close I was to puking. “C’mon, we’re almost there. Keep up.”

The blindfold made it impossible to fully read his expression, but his sculpted lips were pressed together in that stubborn way that made me want to kiss them. I couldn’t see them, but I could imagine the lines crinkling the corners of his eyes, the ones that only appeared when he was secretly enjoying himself and didn’t want to let on. God, I loved every expression this man made. I knew them all, and they delighted me every single day.

I wanted to see them for the rest of my life.

I’d never been good at planning things, but for Wyatt, I wanted this to be perfect.

“Okay, stop here,” I said, dragging him to a halt beside the pond we’d installed near the greenhouse. Ivy had made it her special project, and I’d helped her plant a lush border of deep green vegetation that was starting to thrive. Irises and cattails hugged one side of the pond, and a young willow tree dipped its branches in the water. A pair of dragonflies darted near the pond’s edge, their wings catching sunlight like tiny prisms. Everything was just right. The more I absorbed the tiny details, I began to settle.

“This is the strangest way I’ve ever started a day—” Wyatt was saying, but I reached up and tugged the blindfold free before he could finish.

He blinked against the light, and then his gaze swept the garden, taking in the newly restored greenhouse with its sparkling glass panes, the flower beds bursting with color, and the winding paths edged with stones we’d pulled from the creek ourselves. The kids had loved every minute of it. They’d never had the responsibility of building something before.

“Wow,” he said, sounding genuinely impressed. “I barely recognize the place.”

Even though he appreciated the transformation, I could tell he was nonplussed. He liked it, sure, but he didn’t understand the importance. Not yet.

“Do you know what today is?” I asked, shoving my hands into my pockets to hide my shaking.

“The twenty-second.” He gave me a confused frown. “What, am I forgetting someone’s birthday?”

“In a way.” I swallowed hard and licked my dry lips, but I was so scared, I could barely work up enough spit to talk. “It’s the day you found me.”

That stopped him cold. His eyes narrowed, brow furrowing as his mind raced to make the connection. “In the bayou?” he asked quietly.

I nodded. He didn’t seem to know what to say, but that was fine. I’d been saving this up for what felt like my entire life. Swallowing thickly, I managed to say, “You came out of nowhere like some kind of miracle. I was so scared, I nearly ran back toward my old man. The devil you know, huh? But you were so patient. I remember how you knelt in front of me, and it felt like you’d wait right there a million years if that’s what it took for me to trust you. You didn’t just save my life that day, Wyatt. Yousaved me from thinking I’d never been worth anything. Every good thing in my life since that day is because of you, but thebestthing—the only thing I’ll ever need—is you. I need you more than I need for my heart to keep beating. If I dropped dead right here, it wouldn’t matter, so long as you’re beside me when I do.”

His eyes were dark, and for a moment, I thought he might say something. Then his hands came up to cup my face in a touch so gentle it stole my breath, and he kissed me, slow and deep and reverent. When he finally pulled back, he didn’t go far. His forehead rested against mine, and his breath was warm on my lips when he whispered, “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” I said hoarsely. “Just…look around. Really look.”

He took a deep breath and stepped away from me, scanning the clearing with that professional attention to detail that used to drive me nuts. His gaze landed on a bronze plaque at the base of the willow, and he tilted his head curiously. Slowly, he approached the plaque and crouched to read the inscription.

To the man who turned dark into light, lost into found, and broken into whole.

–GB

“This garden was the start of a second life for Atticus and Rosalind,” I plowed on, twitching nervously when he didn’t look up at me. I couldn’t see his face or read his expression. I was flying blind, on faith alone. “That’s what you are for me, Wyatt: a chance to be more than I ever thought I could be. It’s…it’s like this garden, you know? Every day, you show me ways to keep growing and changing, no matter what odds are stacked againstme. And I…I was hoping…I wanted…” I trailed off, and my mind went white with panicked static.

He pinched the corners of his eyes, and his shoulders heaved in a deep, body-wracking breath. When he finally lifted his head, there was a shine in his eyes that had nothing to do with the rising sun.

“You didn’t need to do this,” he rasped hoarsely.

I shrugged, trying to play it off, but I was in too deep for nonchalance to ever be believable. “I did it because I love you. I wanted to give you something that will last. Something that says…I’m all in. Forever.”

My knees were stiff with fear, but somehow, through sheer force-of-fucking-will, I managed to drop to one knee. At first, he shot to his feet in alarm, like he thought I’d fallen. Then he realized it was on purpose, and his eyes shot wide.

“Gage…” he whispered, but I didn’t let him finish.

If he stopped me now, I’d never have the courage to start again.

“I never thought I’d get this,” I admitted in a voice that wouldn’t stop shaking. “Not with my past. Not with who I am. But you…you made me believe I don’t need to prove myself to you. I don’t need to earn your love. I might not be where I want to be yet—maybe I’ll never get there—but I know you love me anyway. And I promise, for the rest of my life, I’ll keep trying. Every damn day, I’ll prove that you chose the right man…if you’ll marry me.”

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