Page 86 of New River Gorge(ous)
“And you’ll keep your eyes closed?”
I scrunch them shut as he exits the truck.
“I’ll open your door when I’m ready.”
I lean my head back against the headrest while I wait for Beck. There’s a scuffling and scraping sound, but then Beck opens my door, and the look he gives me is full of such tender care that I can’t help but shiver.
“Cold?” he asks with concern.
“Not really,” I say, but he wraps his arm around me just the same.
Beck guides me to the back of his truck, where the tailgate is down. A blanket is spread across the bed, and the stars overhead cast a canopy of lights against the inky sky. Before I can ask where we are or what we’re doing, Beck lifts me up and sets me on the edge of the tailgate. He steps up to me and presses his lips against mine in a soft and warm kiss.
“Brooke,” he breathes. “I have a question for you.”
“Okay,” I murmur back, closing my eyes. I try to lean against him, but a rush of cool air hits me where Beck was just standing. In alarm, I open my eyes and find that Dr. Beckett Whistler is down on one knee, holding out a ring in the palm of his hand.
“Brooke Belle Bastion,” he says, his voice choked with emotion. “Will you marry me?”
I hop off the tailgate and crouch to be at his level. “Yes.” I throw my arms around him. “I will absolutely marry you.”
His lips crash into mine with a delicious promise, and it finally hits me.
“You smell like ginger.”
“Uh … yes?” He holds his hand up in a guilty-as-charged gesture. He must have forgotten he was holding a ring, because for the briefest moment in time, it flies up, out of his hand, and I catch sight of the gold band and the red gem atop it in the starlight before it disappears. “Oh no,” he whispers, his eyes growing huge. “June is going to kill me.”
“Meemaw isnotgoing to kill you,” I quip back. “She’s been wanting her grandbabies to get married and give her great-grandbabies for years. If anything, I think you are making her dreams come true.”
Beck scratches behind his neck as he surveys the field. “Yes, but that ring was … really special.”
“It’s just a ring,” I say, because truthfully I didn’t look at it much; I was too busy looking at the man offering it to me.
“No, honey,” Beck says, and the endearment is so natural on his lips that my heart melts. “That ring was June’s mother’s. It was the only thing of value she kept when she had to sell everything else to survive. The ruby was her favorite gem. It symbolized wisdom, virtue, and the blood of Christ. It’s a part of your history that June kept for you. She wanted you to have it, and she wanted me to give it to you when I proposed.”
Tears rise unbidden, and my throat tightens. “You asked Meemaw?”
“Yes. Of course I did. And your parents.”
I can’t see anymore because of the tears streaming down my face. “Does she know you’re asking me tonight?”
“No, I told her it had to be on our timeline. I planned to wait longer, but there doesn’t seem to be much point. It’s you, Brooke. You’re the one.”
“Can we look for the ring now?” I ask.
“Yes, I’d really like to live to marry you, and I don’t want June to use Ol’ Eddie on me before I have the chance to call you my wife.”
I giggle and pull my phone out, clicking on my flashlight. Beck does the same. I start to walk toward where I think the ring landed, but Beck’s arm circles my waist, and he pulls me close for a lengthy kiss.
Slightly breathless when he pulls away, he whispers, “Now we can look for the ring.”
He keeps his hand in mine as we walk methodically over the ground, searching with our lights.
Finally, I spy something shiny.
It’s my ruby engagement ring, and it landed on a wild violet.
When we find the ring, Beck slides back down to one knee and slips it on my left ring finger. Before he stands up again, he presses a kiss to my knuckle. “Now, it’s up to you to survive until our wedding day.”
