Page 92 of Further To Fall

Butterflies started fluttering their wings deep in my belly. “All right.” I slipped the mask over my face and leaned back in my seat. The drive was quiet, other than rock music playing softly over the stereo. Austin seemed to be lost in thought while I was trying to figure out where we could possibly be headed by attempting to keep up with the turns he made.

Finally, after what seemed like about twenty minutes, the car came to a stop, and Austin cut the engine. “Keep the blindfold on.”

“All right.” I twisted my fingers in my lap. The passenger door opened, and the warm air of a late Southern California afternoon dusted over my skin.

Austin spun me around in my seat and took both my hands. “Okay, step down, nice and easy.” Of course, I almost tripped over my own feet. Austin caught me around the waist. “Easy there, Firecracker.”

“It was your bright idea to blindfold me, you know how clumsy I am!” I huffed.

He chuckled, taking my hand and leading me forward at a snail’s pace. “Just put one foot in front of the other, there’s nothing in your path.”

After a few steps, blades of grass tickled my toes. I had no idea where we were. In fact, I couldn’t hear any people, a rarity in LA. The only thing I could hear was the sound of far-off traffic. Austin tugged on my hand, bringing me to a stop. Carefully, he raised the sleep mask. I blinked, temporarily blinded by the sun. As my vision cleared, I saw that we were at Griffith Observatory. Looking around, I realized there were no other people here. Then my vision snagged on a picnic laid in the exact same spot we had sat on our first date.

I tilted my face up to Austin’s. “How?”

He brushed a lock of hair away from my face, tucking in behind my ear. “I called in a few favors, got this place to ourselves for a couple hours.”

I beamed up at him. “Youarea romantic.”

Austin gave my lips a swift kiss. “Just don’t tell anyone.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” I assured.

Leading me forward, I noticed that the blanket was kitted out with overstuffed pillows and the same ginormous picnic basket he’d used before. My stomach grumbled, and Austin gave a good-hearted snicker. “Don’t worry, I brought your favorites from Joan’s again.”

“You are truly the man of my dreams.” I squeezed his hand and then let it go to make myself comfortable amongst the plethora of pillows. Austin reached into the picnic basket, removing a bottle and popping the cork with a satisfying sound. “Oooooh, champagne! Fancy.”

He poured the bubbly liquid into two glasses. “Well, this is a celebration.”

“That it is.” We spent the next hour sipping champagne, nibbling on some of my favorite foods, and laughing ourselves silly. The pall of last month’s attack was finally lifting, both for Austin and me. It felt so good to have nothing to worry about, having nothing to do but soak up this time together.

As the sun began to set, I climbed into Austin’s lap, leaning against his chest, eyes fixed on the horizon. I felt Austin turn his head, and then he let out a loud whistle. Jarred, I twisted around to see a small, reddish-brown puppy flying towards us, ears flopping in the wind, and pink leash trailing behind her. When she got a foot away, she launched herself at us. I immediately cuddled her to my chest, cooing, “Well, aren’t you the cutest. Where is your owner?” I looked up, searching the grounds, seeing someone standing far off.

Austin squeezed my side. “You’re her owner, baby. She’s for you.”

Tears begin to gather in my eyes. “You got us a sister for Blue?”

“Yep, I figure you’ve both earned it. She’s a red nosed pit, just rescued from a puppy mill.”

I cuddled her even closer, relishing the smell of her puppy breath. “Oh, you poor baby. Don’t you worry, we’re going to take great care of you. I think we’ll call you Ruby. Ruby and Blue is cute, right?” I asked Austin.

“I don’t know, she might already have a name. Why don’t you check her collar.” I fumbled with the collar as the puppy I already knew I was going to call Ruby squirmed in my lap. I finally felt metal and spun the collar around. All air rushed from my lungs when I saw what my fingers had a hold of. Tied to the metal loop in Ruby’s collar with a cream ribbon was the most beautiful ring I had ever seen. The large stone caught the last rays of the setting sun as Austin whispered into my ear two words. “Marry me.”

The tears in my eyes spilled over then as I whispered back, “Yes.”

Austin’s arms reached around me and rested the ribbon from my shaking hands. He swiftly untied it and slipped the ring onto my finger. “Build a home with me,” he continued.

“Yes,” I echoed, bobbing my head up and down.

“Make a family with me.”

My heart stuttered. Skipping a beat at that mental picture of little dark-haired boys with my green eyes, and tow-headed girls with Austin’s sparkling blue irises. I spun around, tears falling down my cheeks. “Yes.” I set the puppy down and launched myself at Austin, knocking him to the ground. “I love you so freaking much,” I said between kisses. Ruby yipped in agreement, running circles around us.

Austin rolled me to my back, careful to keep most of his weight off of me. “I love you, too, Firecracker. We’re going to have a good life.”

My heart, full to bursting, cracked open with his final words and all I felt was warmth.

Epilogue

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