Page 94 of After All

She found the file she was looking for, and an hour later, she had a business proposal written up. She e-mailed it to Adrianne. And then sat back with a smile.

Feeling what she could only describe asgood, she headed out to her truck. She was in the mood to go for a drive. She ended up, as always, up on the hill overlooking the town.

It had been raining most of the last two days, but the sky was clear now as the sun began to sink. Peyton climbed up onto the hood of the truck, reclined back against the windshield and took a deep breath.

This place always calmed her. It helped her think. Gave her perspective.

But tonight, she didn’t feel like she needed calming. She already felt content. Not as good as when she was sitting next to Scott on the couch in his living room, but definitely satisfied.

And she wondered how Scott would feel about getting married in this very spot. Eventually. In time. Or the week after he got back from North Dakota.

She laughed out loud. Yeah, she wanted to marry the guy. Without a doubt. All it took was him leaving town for her to realize that. She was sure he was going to cuss when she told him that. He would have probably left town a year ago if he’d known that’s what she’d needed to see what he meant to her.

And that thought warmed her from a place inside that she hadn’t even known existed. Scott wanted to be with her. He would do whatever it took to make that happen. She knew that. She trusted it. And it wasn’t creepy or clingy or dependent. It was…exactly what she needed.

The idea of marrying him, of having everything they’d had for the past weeks forever, made butterflies swoop through her belly. She wasn’t usually a butterfly kind of girl. But then she wasn’t the wedding and babies and big goofy in-love grins and leaving-silly-sticky-notes-all-over-the-house kind of girl either. Until Scott had loved her.

She hugged her arms around herself and just let all of that sink in. Then she pulled her phone from her back pocket, suddenly missing him with an intensity that shocked her.I miss you. She had no idea when he’d see it or if he’d be able to respond, but she wanted him to know.

Her phone dinged with a return message almost immediately.Ditto. So damned much. Home in two days.

Her heart flipped in her chest. He was coming home early. She couldn’t believe how excited she was about that.

Everything okay?she asked. She hoped it was a good thing he was leaving North Dakota more quickly than expected.

Will have to come back, but we have what we need for now. And I need you.

He’d have to go back. She swallowed. Okay. That was fine. The work mattered to him, and she could absolutely keep her shit together in order for him to go and do it.

But she was going to make his homecoming something special. Not a big party—she didn’t want to share him—but this was definitely something she wanted to celebrate.

And she’d throw a party every time he came home to her. He’d need that after the ops, to remind him of all the things in life worth celebrating, and really, parties were her way of showing people she cared. Which she finally now fully understood.

I can’t wait to see you,she told him.

I love you.

Those three words, in print, made her tear up.I love you too. She hoped it would do the same for him.

Oh, no, don’t you think for one second that you’re going to get away with saying that only over text.

Fine. I’ll say it in person too. But you’re probably going to have to take your clothes off right afterward.

Can do.

Yeah, she definitely missed him. Just him. And everything he made her feel.

With a stupid, in-love grin, she slid to the ground and got back in the truck. She had some plans to make.

She was ready to make him cookies. Because she definitely wanted to keep him, and while she was pretty sure she couldn’t get rid of him even if she tried, she was pulling out all the stops.

But as she shifted into reverse and pressed the gas pedal, nothing happened. Well, the engine revved and the tires rotated, but the truck didn’t move. She could feel that the back tires weren’t grabbing onto anything. Dammit. It was muddy up here, but she hadn’t thought she’d actually get stuck. She frowned and tried shifting into drive. But the tires were doing nothing but spinning in place.

Crap.

She took a breath and shifted into reverse again, trying to rock the truck as much as she could. But there was no way she could get the thing moving by herself.

Double crap.

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