Page 68 of Ridin' Solo
Oakley
“We’re going to be late, Vee.”
I checked my watch for the millionth time. I should never have let Vee talk me into getting ready at her house before heading to the end-of-summer bonfire down at the beach. She’d lured me in with talk of going to beauty school to be a hairdresser. I’d been trying out new hairstyles lately—Wyatt went wild when I left it down, which was quite the motivation—and was game to let her experiment on me. And my hair looked gorgeous in soft waves down my back, but then she’d wanted to dress me too, and then do my nails in a soft pink shellac that I’d normally forgo because it wasn’t conducive to my job. The bonfire had started fifteen minutes ago and, quite frankly, I planned to spend the evening cuddled up to Wyatt, not making myself into a pageant queen.
“All right already. Calm your tits.” Vee came out of her tiny closet, dressed in jeans and a sweater.
I looked down at my sundress and flip-flops, ignoring her vulgarity, though it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. “Um. We seem to be dressing for different seasons.”
Vee tossed me a ball of pink. “Here. Take my sweater. It matches the dress and will keep you warm if the breeze kicks up.”
Considering changing would make us even later, I stuck with the dress. I might freeze, but that just gave me more reason to snuggle up to Wyatt or suggest we leave the bonfire early.
By the time Vee stopped to get gas, made a left instead of a right on Main Street, and then took forever to successfully parallel park along the coastline, I was ready to press my luck by jumping out the window.
“What is up with you tonight?” I asked her crossly as she backed up a third time.
“What? Parallel parking is hard, okay?”
I pressed a hand to my forehead, telling myself to calm down. Tonight was supposed to be a night of fun and relaxation. “I just don’t know how you grow up in a small town your whole life and still make a wrong turn.”
Vee put her little car in park, her front bumper still a few inches over the line into the lane, but whatever. “Oh, I’m sorry. We aren’t all cops who drive around all day and have the map of the county burned in our brains.”
I stared at her, wondering why she was so grumpy. I knew why I was grumpy, but come to think of it, Vee had been grumpy a lot lately.
“Everything okay, Vee?” I asked sincerely.
She sniffed, but pasted on a smile. “Peachy. Let’s go already. We’re late!”
I rolled my eyes, but climbed out of the car, following her carefully down the dirt path to the beach where I could hear a bunch of people talking and loud music already playing. We came around the bend and I looked up to try to find Wyatt’s head over the crowd.
I gasped. “What in the world?”
Vee ran off giggling, leaving me there at the foot of the path, my feet sinking into the sand. Thousands of tiny white lights were strung high in the air across the beach from palm tree to palm tree, the blazing bonfire in the middle. Off to the right, someone had laid down a bunch of plywood boards, forming a makeshift dance floor which was already crowded with all kinds of people I knew from growing up in Auburn Hill. This was far fancier than any bonfire I’d ever been to.
The music decibel lowered, and the crowd shifted to the sides, leaving Wyatt standing alone in the center of the dance floor. He raised his arm and beckoned for me to come closer. I did, my gaze focused solely on him, but aware everyone was staring at us. My knees wobbled, and even though I smelled the salty breeze off the ocean, something else was in the air tonight too. Something big and important.
When I reached him, the music stopped entirely, and I noticed Mom and Dad standing in the front of the crowd. Since when did my parents come to a bonfire party? It was as I was gazing at them with that question in mind that Wyatt moved.
He dropped to one knee, holding a tiny black box.
My hand went to my mouth, and I knew. He’d only told me a hundred times over the last four months he intended to propose the first second he felt I’d say yes.
“Oakley, I’ve loved you from the moment you put me in my place on day one.”
Dad interjected with a muttered, “Thatta girl.”
Mom shushed him, and I couldn’t help the smile that split my face.
Wyatt cleared his throat and continued. “I admire you for putting your life on the line every single day for the town you love. I respect you for your ideals and beliefs about right and wrong. And I love that I’m the one you trust to let your hair down with. I promise to always be your safe shelter, the partner who will never let you ride solo as long as I’m still breathing. Will you do me the honor of marrying me and taking whichever last name you prefer?” He cocked a sly grin. “I clearly don’t care what our last name is, as long as I’m standing next to you.”
“They should totally hyphenate,” Esme whispered loudly.
“Shh!” Izzy responded.
I shook my head, still smiling. Everything in me shouted just one word. “My answer will always be yes. Over and over again yes.”
Wyatt’s smile intensified. He popped open the box to show two rings. I tilted my head. One was a white gold band with tiny diamonds lining the entire circle. The other was an enormous diamond surrounded by smaller ones, the setting fit for a queen.
