Page 102 of Wild Hearts

Loud clapping and cheering erupted in the room. I didn't enjoy being the spokesperson here tonight, but I wanted to share our experience. Addison had mentioned in her planning that personal stories helped make the cause more relatable for people. They wanted to know who they were helping.

"I want to thank everyone for their support tonight. We have a foster parent, Meghan Jeffries, who wanted to briefly speak about her experience. Our community is so grateful for people who are willing to be foster parents. It's not an easy job, but as she'll tell you, it's a rewarding one."

I hugged Meghan before she stepped up to the podium. She spoke about their experience as foster parents of teenagers. Why they choose this age group and how they came to the decision to adopt their kids. She had the crowd laughing at her kids' antics, and by the time she was done, I was blinking away tears. I wasn't sure how Addison managed to do her job without wanting to take all these kids home.

I should discuss with her and Dakota whether they wantedto foster or maybe even adopt one day. Did I need the experience of holding a baby? It would be nice, but helping others would be good too.

When Meghan finished speaking, we vacated the stage. I wanted to talk to Addison, but I kept getting stopped. Several thanked me for sharing my story. By the time I got to Addison, I was ready for stage two of our evening. But she didn't know about that, and we needed to stick around until the event was officially over.

We worked a shift at the table collecting donations. The number of people donating, even if it was a small amount of money, was staggering. We had quite a few businesses in the community who'd pledged larger amounts.

Toward the end of the evening, we tallied the funds raised, and Eli went to the podium to make the announcement and to write a matching check.

Addison turned to me, her face filled with emotion. "I think this is the most successful event we've ever had, and it's all thanks to you."

"I don't know about that. You and Noelle planned and ran the entire evening."

"It was your speech and your idea to have Meghan share her story that impacted everyone the most. And it was your family that matched the amount raised that put us beyond our expectations. I'm so grateful to you and your family."

"I hope this is the first of many events like this one. Your office has impacted our lives tremendously. We want the same for the other kids in the system."

We said our goodbyes to the remaining guests.

Noelle hugged Addison. "I'll clean up tomorrow. I have to get up early to bake."

"Do you need help in the morning?"

Noelle looked from her to me. "I think Walker wants tospend time with you in bed." Then she laughed. "Have a good evening."

Addison sighed when Noelle walked away. " What do you say we head home?"

"I thought you'd never ask." I loved that she called my cabinhome.

As soon as I opened the door to the cabin, we heard whining.

Dakota bit her lip to cover her smile.

"What is that noise?" Addison asked, and Dakota exchanged a look with me. "Why don't you go see?"

Addison looked at me warily but followed the sound to the living room where our new puppy was wiggling his butt in his cage with excitement.

"Aw. You got a puppy and didn't tell me?" Addison asked as she knelt in front of the crate and opened the door.

I dropped next to her on the floor. "We thought it would be a nice surprise."

As soon as the metal door opened, the puppy scrambled on the tray and burst out of the cage into Addison's lap. "Aren't you adorable?" Addison scratched behind the dog's ears, and then stilled. "What's on his collar?"

"We didn't name him yet, so the tag just has our number. We thought you'd like to help us name him."

"I don't know. That's a big decision." Addison's hand touched the tag and then gasped. "What's this?"

Her gaze lifted to me, and I couldn't help but grin. I moved to one knee and took her hand in mine. "Addison, I've been in love with you since I met you at fourteen. You've been my rock ever since, and you make my life better in every way. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and I want you to be officially part of our family."

Dakota sat nearby on the couch. I wanted her to be part of this. Because we weren't just getting married, we were askingAddison to be part of our little family. "What do you say? Do you want to be a Wilde?"

"There's nothing I want more." Addison threw her arms around my neck, pulling me down to kiss her while the puppy wiggled on her legs.

When Addison pulled back, she was laughing.

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