Page 26 of Autumn Feud With The Mountain Man
The wood floors gleamed as they squeaked underfoot. The sound caused a flurry of activity as a big dog rounded the corner, running up to us.
Shelby dropped to her knees. “Well, hey there, big guy. Who are you?”
“That’s Bandit. His owners are relocating to Florida, and they’re afraid he won’t do well because of his fur coat.” He was a Siberian Husky with a thick coat on his body.
“They’re leaving him here?” She looked stricken at the idea.
“Not exactly. But… he can come with the house if the buyers are interested. He already knows the house. He wouldn’t even have to move.”
She sat her butt down on the floor and started laughing as Bandit gave her long, sloppy dog licks.
“So this is a package deal. A house and a dog? Sold!”
“Not so fast. There’s a man in the deal, too. Do you want the man?”
Shelby met my eyes, love shining through them. “As long as the man is you, the answer is yes.”
“How much of a yes?”
She looked at me curiously.
Then I gently grabbed the dog’s collar and pointed at the small velvet pouch hanging from it.
“What is that?” she asked breathlessly.
“It doesn’t come with the house. And you don’t have to say yes to the house, the dog and me all at the same time. But I hope you at least say yes to me.”
She got the pouch off his neck, then opened it. When she spotted the ring box inside, she started crying. “Are you seriously proposing to me right now?”
“Open it.”
She flipped the lid and gasped. “What in the world—how did you?”
There was a gorgeous ring in there.
“It’s an antique, too. As old as this house. The ring belonged to my grandma. And seeing as I’m the first Woods brother to propose to a woman, I got first dibs on the ring. Of course, if you want something more modern, that can be arranged.”
Shelby laughed and slid it right onto her ring finger. “Yes. Yes. And Yes. Yes to you. Yes to the house. And yes to the dog. I want all of it.”
“You haven’t even seen the whole place.”
She shook her head. “But I’m already in love with it.”
We kissed then, and it was a kiss of two people that had found their other half. Out of this wide, wide world we’d come together. A perfect match. A love to last through the end of our days.
Everything about this moment was perfect.
Just like her.
And even though our journey was just starting, I knew it was going to have a spectacular ending.
Epilogue
Thatcher
Seven years later.
Shelby groaned and shifted her belly.
